Mourinho should consider Asia move after MU sacking

DESPITE an unprecedented spending spree, Manchester United were closer to the bottom than the top of the Premier League when they parted ways with manager Jose Mourinho this week.

The Red Devils are 19 points behind leaders Liverpool, who condemned them to a 3-1 defeat at Anfield last Sunday. They’re 17 points above cellar dwellers Fulham, and only 14 points from the relegation zone.

Their seven wins in 17 games is the same as Wolves, West Ham, Watford and Bournemouth and half of the tally of their crosstown foes, Manchester City.

Mourinho’s familiar thirdseason woes, mirroring his struggles during his second spell at Chelsea in 2015-16, mean that it will be difficult for him get another job at a big Premier League club.

And, with his options similarly limited in the major leagues of continental Europe, Mourinho might need to consider Asia as his next destination. That could be one of the oil-rich leagues of United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia, or the Chinese Super League (CSL).

His former colleagues and rivals Andre Villas-Boas, SvenGoran Eriksson and Luiz Felipe Scolari have all enjoyed healthy pay days in China, despite mixed on-field results.

The CSL might be a more palatable destination than fringe European options like Turkey or Russia: nations which could also offer big bucks, but have more volatile football environments. While his native Portugal would surely be attractive, there is no way that the Primeira Liga could afford their most famous export’s excessive wage demands.

Mourinho only turns 56 in January, but already his coaching methods seem outdated, compared to the likes of Pep Guardiola, Mauricio Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp.

Once known for his man management skills, Mourinho fell well short at Old Trafford when it came to dealing with Millennial players like Paul Pogba.

Iftherewasonedefiningmoment of his downfall this season, it was surely his falling out with the 25-year- old France midfielder, whom he stripped of the vicecaptaincy in September.

According to reports, there were also grumblings in the Manchester United dressing room about Mourinho’s dour tactics, which clearly weren’t in keeping with the club’s rich tradition of attacking football.

The Red Devils’ lack of goals, and victories, at their home ground over the past couple of seasons didn’t sit well with the fans.

Reviewing his two-and-a-half year tenure, the Europa League triumph in the 2016-17 season was the highlight.

This was vintage Mourinho as he gambled everything on the secondary competition, having missed the chance to qualify for the following season’s Champions League by achieving a top-four finish (they came sixth).

They also won the 2017 League Cup, beating Southampton 3-2 in the final after two Zlatan Ibrahimavic goals.

His s e c ond s eason s aw Manchester United a distant second in the Premier League behind Manchester City.

Mourinho described it as one of his greatest career achievements.

But in truth, he was probably using hyperbole to buy more time with the club’s supporters and owners. In truth, finishing 19 points behind your biggest rivals is nothing to crow about.

Mor e p oi g nant ly, they disappointed in the 2017- 18 Champions League, losing 2-1 on aggregate in the Round of 16 to unfancied Sevilla.

Ma n c h e s t e r U n i t e d ’ s qualification for the knockout stages of this season’s Champions League appeared to have bought Mourinho more time.

This week, they were drawn to play PSG in the Round of 16 in February, so there was a feeling that he was assured of a job until then.

But, clearly, the Red Devils felt it was better to make the change in the lead up to Christmas.

With ex- striker Ole Gunnar Soskjaer coming in as interim boss, United are 11 points behind fourth-placed Chelsea and eight points adrift of Arsenal, in fifth.

Just two days before his sacking, Mourinho was adamant that a top- four finish was still possible, but in reality, it seems a forlorn dream.

Almost a decade and hal f after he announced himself as a dashing, young manager at Chelsea, the Premier League could be saying goodbye to Mourinho for the last time.

His connection to England began as a translator/assistant coach to ex-national boss Bobby Robson at Portugal’s Sporting Lisbon’s in 1992 when he was just 29-years- old.

But, unless Mourinho opts for the less demanding world of an international head coach in Europe, Asian clubs would welcome the self-titled Special One with open arms.

And his siege-mentality antics to galvanise the dressing room, not to mention the ‘ park the Mourinho bus’ style of counterattacking football, are likely to resonate in destinations like Shanghai, Beijing, Dubai and Abu Dhabi.

Jason Dasey is CEO of Singapore- based Cockatoo Media and an emcee of corporate events in Borneo.