Breaking- United sacks Mourinho

Manchester United announces that manager Jose Mourinho has left the club with immediate effect," a statement read.

"The club would like to thank Jose for his work during his time at Manchester United and to wish him success in the future.

"A new caretaker manager will be appointed until the end of the current season, while the club conducts a thorough recruitment process for a new, full-time manager."

Mourinho replaced Louis van Gaal in the United hotseat in the summer of 2016 and was tasked with leading the 20-time English champions back to the top of the domestic game after a barren three years since Sir Alex Ferguson's appointment.

He started well, winning the Community Shield in his first match in charge before claiming the League Cup thanks to a Zlatan Ibrahimovic-inspired 3-2 win over Southampton.

Form in the league was not as strong, however, with the Red Devils only able to finish in sixth place, though their season did end on a high as a 2-0 win over Ajax in the final of the Europa League saw them qualify for the 2017-18 Champions League.

Mourinho's second season in charge saw United finish a distant second in the Premier League to Pep Guardiola's record-breaking Manchester City, and while they crashed out of the Champions League to Sevilla in the last 16 and lost the FA Cup final to Chelsea, there was hope the former Real Madrid boss would be able to kick on again having signed a new improved contract in the early weeks of 2018.
That has not come to pass, however, with United currently on a run of just two wins from eight matches in all competitions.

Further to performances on the pitch, reports of dressing room unrest have overshadowed Man Utd's performances over the course of the season, with Mourinho's relationship with club-record signing Paul Pogba a constant talking point.

World Cup winner Pogba has struggled for consistency under Mourinho, and this season things seem to have taken a turn for the worse, with the former Juventus man unable to hold down a regular berth in Mourinho's preferred 11.

The nadir came at Anfield on Sunday, with Mourinho deciding against bringing Pogba off the bench despite his side needing to find a goal to get back into the game following Xherdan Shaqiri's own match-winning performance off the bench for Jurgen Klopp's side.

Whomever takes temporary charge until the end of the season will now be tasked with pushing United back into the race to finish in the top four while also plotting a path towards silverware in both the Champions League - where they play Paris Saint-Germain in the last 16 - and the FA Cup, with Reading their third-round opponents.

Reports suggest assistant coach Michael Carrick is not in the frame to take on that role, with the interim manager's first game on Saturday away at Cardiff City, with an external candidate expected to be appointed within 48 hours.

Zinedine Zidane and Mauricio Pochettino, meanwhile, are among the favourites to take the role full-time come the summer.

Comments

Tottenham closes gap after demolishing Everton 6-2

Harry Kane and Son Heung-min starred in a remarkable and breathless 6-2 Tottenham win at Everton on Sunday. Tottenham produced a devastating display of attacking football as Son Heung-min and Harry Kane inspired the 6-2 hammering of Everton in a Premier League Christmas cracker, moving Spurs to within two points of Manchester City. The past week had been dominated by speculation linking Mauricio Pochettino with the Manchester United manager's job, and Spurs' attack-minded showing at Goodison Park showed exactly why the Argentinian is a front-runner.

Will accepting United's job be a backward step for Pochetino?

One outstanding candidate for the Old Trafford hotseat has emerged since Mourinho's sacking but Pochettino is at the right club to kick on and succeed. Much of the week’s Premier League chat has been focussed on Manchester United and Jose Mourinho. No sooner had the unshaven Portuguese been driven out of Carrington had speculation begun over who would replace him and the weekend's festive football programme was a bit overlooked in the midst of it all. It didn’t take long for much of the media to alight on the name of Mauricio Pochettino, notwithstanding the fact that Ole Gunnar Solskjaer was hired to keep the hotseat warm until the end of the season. The Norwegian did well in his opening game against Cardiff City but he won't be there long. Besides, what United do is pretty inconsequential between now and May. The teams who will matter are Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea. While Jurgen Klopp and Pep Guardiola have spent heavily to get their teams into content...

Real Madrid wins club world cup

Real Madrid players celebrating their victory Santiago Solari celebrated his first trophy as Real Madrid's coach with a 4-1 defeat of Al Ain in the Club World Cup final. Luka Modric's wonderful goal helped seal Club World Cup history as Real Madrid beat Al Ain 4-1 to become the first team to win the tournament three years in a row. Santiago Solari's first silverware since being appointed as Julen Lopetegui's successor was set up by Modric's first-half strike as Madrid comfortably triumphed in Abu Dhabi on Saturday, moving past rivals Barcelona with their fourth title in the competition.

"It's a bad dream"- Sala's father finally react after missing aircraft was found

Premier League star, Emiliano Sala’s father, Horacio Sala, has said he has remained in shock after the missing plane carrying his son was found. He also said that it was “a bad dream” hearing the news of the missing plane. DAILY POST had reported that the wreckage of the aircraft which disappeared over the English Channel in January, carrying the Cardiff City striker and his pilot was found on Sunday. A privately-funded underwater search had begun on Sunday, several days after investigators said they found two seat cushions on the French coast that likely belonged to the aircraft. Sala was travelling from Nantes to the Welsh capital to join his team-mates following his £15million move when his plane went missing over the English Channel on January 21. Sala’s plane was lost from the radar as it crossed the English Channel and the 28-year-old is now feared dead. “I can’t believe it. It’s a bad dream,” Horacio Sala told Cronica TV at his home in Progreso when contacted that his ...

Manchester United have a future without me_Mourinho finally breaks silence after sack

Jose Mourinho has broken his silence after being sacked by Manchester United, insisting he will be back in football and refused to blame anybody for his failure. The Portuguese’s time at Old Trafford was cut short after two and a half years, despite penning a new contract in January. Mourinho, 55, splashed out close to £400m on 11 players during his time at the club, but results and the style of play were deemed unsatisfactory. A day after he was sacked the former United boss issued a statement which read: "I have been immensely proud to wear the badge of Manchester United since the first day I arrived, and I believe all United supporters recognise this. "Just as was the case with my previous clubs, I have worked with some wonderful people and I believe that some will be my friends for life. "I know that you are all aware of my professional principles. Each time a chapter is closed I show my deepest respect and I don't make any comments about my former coll...

Palace 0 Chelsea 1: Kante scores a 3 point goal

Chelsea midfielder N'Golo Kante is enjoying his most prolific season in a blue shirt and scored a fine winner against Crystal Palace. N'Golo Kante scored his third goal of the season to earn Chelsea a deserved 1-0 win at Crystal Palace that moves the Blues five points clear of fifth-placed Arsenal. David Luiz provided a rare assist from open play to allow Kante an opportunity that he pounced upon before scoring a goal that trebles his previous best tally in a Premier League season. Palace went into the game seeking to extend a three-match unbeaten streak that included a famous win over Manchester City before Christmas, but they struggled to prise the ball away from a Chelsea side determined to avoid a repeat of their Selhurst Park defeat last season. The result left Roy Hodgson's men just five points clear of the relegation zone, while fourth-placed Chelsea pulled away from Arsenal, who lost heavily at Liverpool on Saturday. Antonio Rudiger headed tamely into t...

Man United defeats Newcastle to earn their fourth win in a row

The Norwegian threw on his two big-name replacements and was given immediate rewards as United beat Newcastle on Wednesday with two late goals. Whether it’s playing the opposition off the park or delivering the key decisions at the vital moment, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer cannot seem to do any wrong right now. This wasn’t a vibrant attacking performance full of goals and showreel highlights like the trio which had preceded it, but Manchester United’s 2-0 win over Newcastle United at St James’ Park on Wednesday night gave further proof that Solskjaer has injected something new into his side’s make-up. In throwing on players as talented as Romelu Lukaku and Alexis Sanchez for the final half-hour, the United caretaker manager must have known there was half a chance his substitutes would deliver. But the former Everton man’s immediate opener, and then the involvement of both replacements in Marcus Rashford’s clinching second, would have delighted the man who made his name as a super-sub ...

Guardiola: Man City are better now than last season

Despite having fallen behind in the title race to Liverpool, the Catalan still believes his side are showing improvements on the pitch. Manchester City may have won the Premier League title with 100 points last season, but Pep Guardiola believes they are even better this time around. The Catalan's second campaign at the Etihad Stadium also delivered the Carabao Cup as City finished a record 19 points clear of nearest challengers and neighbours Manchester United. City lost just two league matches in 2017-18 - to Liverpool and United - but defeats to Chelsea and Crystal Palace this month mean they have already equalled that tally before the halfway stage of the season. Nevertheless, Guardiola feels his side look stronger as they aim to achieve what no City team has done and win back-to-back Premier League crowns. "In little details we are better than last season, which is normal because we have more time together," he told Sky Sports . "Our process, our bui...

Mourinho rejects offer to return to his former club

Former Manchester United manager, Jose Mourinho, has reportedly rejected an approach to take charge at Benfica. It was gathered that the Portuguese coach was linked with a return to Lisbon giants who are searching for a new manager after Thursday’s dismissal of its first team coach Rui Vitoria. Just like Mourinho, Benfica fired Rui Vitoria after a series of poor results for the team – he led to back-to-back Portuguese titles in 2016 and 2017. Before his successful spell with FC Porto, Mourinho had briefly managed Benfica in 2000 where was assistant to Jupp Heynckes before the German was sacked after the fourth week of the domestic season with the side languishing in seventh place. The former Manchester United gaffer was in charge for 9 league games but quickly left the club after a contract dispute with the recently elected president Manuel Vilarinho. However, The Times reports that the Lisbon club is hoping to tempt their former coach back to Estadio da Luz by offering him an i...

Modric: We made bets about Ronaldo

Modric, 32, admits the exits of Ronaldo and Zidane in the off-season took everyone associated to Real by surprise after their integral roles in the hattrick of UEFA Champions League titles. "I didn't expect it for either of them [to leave]," Modric told France Football. "I didn't think Zidane was going to leave, same thing for Ronaldo. "Actually, when the rumour about Cristiano came out, we made bets between us in the dressing room and we were convinced that he would stay in the end. But everyone makes their own choices in life." On his chances of breaking the Ballon d'Or monopoly of the Portugal captain and FC Barcelona's Lionel Messi, the Croatian playmaker refused to claim he 'deserves' the most coveted individual honour in European football. "Truth be told, I don't like that way of talking and saying: 'Yes, it's me who deserves the Ballon d'Or'," he said. "The important thing for me is to be ...

Gonzalezsports

Search This Blog