Simone Inzaghi for Man Utd? But has he ever scored six goals v Iran?
Who will be the next Man Utd manager? It could be Simone Inzaghi, it shouldn’t be Ruud van Nistelrooy and there is a case for Gareth Southgate, made by a Liverpool fan.
Inz the know
Mediawatch loves a good old-fashioned back-page exclusive, and the near-monopoly of tabloid newspapers by Reach means that the Daily Star‘s Jeremy Cross is given the back pages of the Star, Express and Mirror for his massive exclusive about Simone Inzaghi being a ‘serious contender’ for the Manchester United job.
Inzaghi must have had a premonition about this September 30 exclusive from Cross because as early as March, the Inter manager was calling links with United “enormously pleasing”. He was then strongly linked again in Tuttosport in April, with the rumours gathering pace again last week when they emerged on InterLive.
But of course we could not believe a word until the Daily Star’s own Jeremy Cross broke the story in the wake of Manchester United’s defeat to Tottenham.
And he has the inside track from Manchester United, where the ‘power-brokers have been impressed with the job Inzaghi has done’ at Inter Milan. It takes real talent to spot the manager who has recently won Serie A after taking Inter Milan to the Champions League final; and we thought these jokers knew f*** all about football.
The Daily Mirror splash this story as their back-page exclusive despite knowing full well it’s not an exclusive; the clue is that they had published a ‘Simone Inzaghi and his dad have already responded to Man Utd job links’ story within a couple of hours of the supposed exclusive being published on Monday.
But where one leads, others follow, and The Sun also have the story, claiming: ‘Inter Milan boss Simone Inzaghi emerges as shock contender to replace Erik Ten Hag with Man Utd chief two games from axe.’
We would be rather more ‘shocked’ if Manchester United were not interested in Inzaghi; save the real surprise for his decision to leave the Italian champions for the club currently 13th in the Premier League.
And we already know that would never happen because, well, let’s let Liverpool.com take up the baton:
Simone Inzaghi already told Liverpool why he would turn down Man Utd amid Erik ten Hag plan
Now that would be a bizarre phone call.
MORE ON THE MAN UTD MESS FROM F365:
👉 Top 10 Manchester United lows under the doomed Erik ten Hag
👉 Big Midweek: Ten Hag sack, Arsenal v PSG, Aston Villa host Bayern, Foden, big Championship clash
👉 Next Man Utd manager: Who should Red Devils appoint if they sack Ten Hag?
Where is the world-class coach Man Utd deserve?
Ruud van Nistelrooy is obviously the bookies’ favourite to take over at Manchester United and it is thought that the Dutchman is ‘open’ to the job. Because of course he is.
But the Manchester Evening News are claiming there is an ‘elephant in the room’ when it comes to Van Nistelrooy. They have spotted a quite big problem…
‘He is not yet a world-class coach, so even if he does get the job on a temporary basis and improves results, he shouldn’t be considered for the permanent position.
‘Dan Ashworth and Omar Berrada were appointed as United’s sporting director and CEO respectively because of their proven track record in their areas of expertise. Ratcliffe is expected to take the same approach when hiring Ten Hag’s successor and Van Nistelrooy doesn’t fit that billing.’
Mediawatch patiently waits for the name of a coach who is a) available, b) ‘world class’ and c) ready to take on an absolute sh*-show.
The real elephant in this room is that Manchester United are currently 13th.
Give it to Gareth
Back at the Daily Mirror, Chief Sports Writer Andy Dunn has been making his recommendation for the next Man Utd manager.
As he’s a Liverpool fan, his choice is Gareth Southgate.
A manager who has taken a national team to two European Championship finals, a World Cup semi-final and a World Cup quarter-final – and is a thoroughly likeable sort – would, seemingly, not be a popular choice to succeed Erik ten Hag if the INEOS guys finally decide the Dutchman’s time at Old Trafford is over. And the main reason for that? His style of play is too conservative, is not adventurous enough.
That’s not the main reason though, is it? The main reason is because not one single person has ever lauded Southgate for his tactical nous. Not one. Not even Andy Dunn can bring himself to do that.
Citing the fact that England scored 213 goals under Southgate in 102 matches is an utterly pointless use of a statistic. And Dunn absolutely knows this:
Yes, that figure was inflated by big scores against minnows in qualification but that is the nature of international football.
And yet here you are claiming he should be given a massive job in club football.
Only scoring seven goals at Euro 2024 was – considering they reached the final – a poor return but at World Cup 2022, Southgate’s side scored 13 in their five matches.
Yes, give the man the Manchester United job because England scored six goals against Iran.
Let’s face it, the poor form of several key players was the main reason why England were hardly flamboyant on their way to the final defeat by Spain in Berlin in the most recent summer.
And yet those ‘several key players’ repeatedly stayed on the pitch, while Cole Palmer did not start a single game, Anthony Gordon played one whole minute, and Trent Alexander-Arnold was repeatedly used badly in midfield.
But what a disparate United squad needs more than anything else, one would have thought, is organisation, tactical discipline, a plan and motivation. Southgate showed himself to be capable of motivating big-name players over his eight years as England manager.
Is one out of four enough for Manchester United? It is if you’re a Liverpool fan.
MORE ON THE MAN UTD MESS FROM F365:
👉 Top 10 Manchester United lows under the doomed Erik ten Hag
👉 Big Midweek: Ten Hag sack, Arsenal v PSG, Aston Villa host Bayern, Foden, big Championship clash
👉 Next Man Utd manager: Who should Red Devils appoint if they sack Ten Hag?
