On the BBC 'Gossip' page -

Jose Mourinho has signed a pre-contract agreement to become Manchester United's next manager. (El Pais - in Spanish)

Mourinho will make Tottenham's 22-year-old striker Harry Kane his priority transfer target if he replaces Louis van Gaal at United. (Independent on Sunday)


Hmmmm, interesting!

Edited to add:

Manchester United could outbid Atletico Madrid for Chelsea's 27-year-old Spain international striker Diego Costa this summer. (Fichajes.net - in Spanish)

It originated in Spain, through your man who wrote a book on Mourinho (the one where it's alleged he cried when he didn't get the job when Fergie left).

The idea that we've negotiated a £15m pay off for someone NOT getting a job is a bit mental.

It is a bit similar to the Cech situation, in so much as he has shown great loyalty by staying here, and that for a player of his standing he really should be playing in the biggest and best competitions, and we can't offer him that currently, and we look a bit of a shambles (apart from him and Martial).

So if he did want to leave, then you can perfectly understand why he would want to.

Of course we could dig our heels in, and say, no to every offer for him that comes in, but I don't know if that would be the right or correct strategy in this situation.

As for spending the past year etc, well yes, I was not expecting us to have a season quite as horrible and bad as we have done.
If we had say anything close to a good season, then I would not be saying the things that I am saying.
I would be saying keep him, but that is not the case sadly.

If it's not true it's horrendous journalism, if it is true we should get Charlton packed off to the nearest nursing home pronto.

Well we have gone about trying to appoint a new manager in a but of a mental and haphazard manner, so something along these lines, would be par further course.

I can't even be bothered getting into this but it's yet another change of mind from you. In fact it's your most laughable on yet.

Oh and he didn't show any loyalty at all, he signed for Real but someone cocked up the paperwork.

This post it some of your best work.

Just politely remove him somehow from the board, and put him as an ambassador like Robson, that way, he can still be part of the club, but just not hold as much power as he does currently it seems.

How? What have we done so far that you can back up that's been mental and haphazard? We have had the same manager all season and made no public statements at all.

It is not "yet another change of mind" from myself, it is looking at the situation after the season we have had, and trying to be fair to De Gea.
A player like him should not be playing for a team just scrapping around for a Champions League place, he deserves to be playing in the Champions League.
I would love to believe that we will magically improve for next season, but while things are so up in the air regarding our manager for next season, then it is hard to say to De Gea, "please stay, we will be challenging for all of the major trophies next season".

He also signed a new deal with us, that is something of a bit of loyalty to the club is it not?

That is a no on the Costa transfer.


We should have parted ways with LvG a while back, and whilst we may not have commented publicly, there has been enough leaked going back and fourth over this situation.

I can't be bothered digging them out but anyone including yourself can look back at your posts on this topic over last summer and the start of the season.

You have completely altered your viewpoint despite nothing changing. It's actually hilarious to see you attempt to deny it.

Is it just Charlton though, there are rumours that Fergie doesn't fancy him either.

Christ knows why though?

Criticising the club because of nothing more than things you've read in gossip pages or "heard rumours" on Internet forums, Twitter etc is stupid at best.

You may as well be critical that the tooth fairy doesn't give you 50p anymore,

What have we done about "trying" to appoint a new manager that is "mental and haphazard"?

I think with Fergie it's supposedly more that he wants Giggs to get it as opposed to actively not wanting Mourinho.

Maybe it's because I' m too young to have seen Bobby playing, but I am really annoyed at the influence he seems to hold. There's a time to let go and he has long reached that stage.

I've always liked Mourhino (perhaps even because of his mad running when Porto best United). I have no problem with his belligerent style of making enemies left right and centre. My flabber was well and truly gasted when TPTB seriously thought Moyes was a better prospect.

I don't want to be the prophet of doom but I really think this appointment will be defining for United given where we are. I would vote Mourhino even as a soon short term 3 year fix over anyone currently available. And as for Giggs, well I remember many times people wondered what exactly did he have on Fergie to keep on being picked even when he was rubbish. If he gets the job over Mourhino, I'll know that he has some seriously dodgy pics - I'm thinking animals might be involved.

Can he not see that our current situation is no place for a rookie manager?

Hopefully he gets as much of a say as he did with LVG's appointment.

My viewpoint matches the season that we have had, how in the heck was I to know last summer that we would have the sort of season that we have had?

I am certainly no Nostradamus, and cannot predict with accuracy things like this, otherwise I would have put my life savings on Leicester being in next season's Champions League for a start!

As for this topic, I hope that De Gea stays and plays for us next season, that would be fantastic, but if he does leave then that would be understandable, given our current state of affairs.

Couldn't have put it better!!!

Well keeping LvG on this long, when it is obvious that we are not making progress is not exactly a sign that all of the faculties are there with the people who make these decisions.

If we've agreed to pay Mourinho £5m for each month we don't appoint him then how does that constitute a 'pre-contractual' agreement. Would can't be bound to pay anyone anything without a contract. So is this a contract to dictate terms of the pre-contract?

Why would we sell him when he has signed a long term deal? We don't need the money and we would look stupid?

That's been your argument. At no point did you link it to our success or lack of it.

If you ever just said "I've changed my mind" you might gain a little respect but it's your constant attempts to try and justify your every changing viewpoints as being anything but that that make you look so completely foolish.

It is a vital appointment, which is why we should be staying away from Jose, we need to be appointing someone that we should have a degree of trust in, could we trust Jose, I don't think that we could.

Giggs should be nowhere near the managers job, not until he has proven his managerial credentials, and that would require him cutting the strings he has had with the club all of his adult life.

That has nothing to do with your original statement that our attempts to appoint a new manager have been mental and haphazard. What attempts and in what way have they been those things?

We have not had the best of seasons, so it is only natural that a player of his talents and abilities would be drawn to wanting to further himself by playing in the biggest tournaments, and currently we cannot offer him that (unless by some miracle we can finish in the top four places).

The tv deal allows us to not be relying on the transfer money if we are to move forward, that does not have anything to do with the sort of season that we are currently having.