Mourhino to Utd: Should Fergie step step aside?

What we also know for a fact is that United have confirmed that Sir Alex will stay on at the club post retirement and will become a director at the club. He will have a huge say - possibly THE biggest say - on who will replace him.

Sir Bobby Charlton has no say - now acting in an ambassadorial role - on who will be the next United manager. I know he has gone on record as saying he 'doesn't see Mourinho here'....but he never ruled anything out, and really has no clue who it will be. 

Considering Fergie is likely to be retiring in the next three years, there are three obvious candidates for the job...1)Jose Mourinho, 2)Jurgen Klopp and 3)Pep Guardiola.

I would love it to be Mourinho, I think Mourinho wins big trophies everywhere he has gone and always gets to the latter stages in the Champions League. However, the fact that Ferguson seems very willing to welcome the Special One back to Chelsea this summer tells me that Mourinho is not the man he and Ed Woodward have in mind to replace him.

I tipped Jurgen Klopp for the Liverpool job here before Roy Hodsgon got it a few years ago and a few lads laughed at that, One Liverpool fan in particlular. It was obvious to me Klopp had something special in his second year at Borussia - and he will be considered a managerial great - I've never had any doubt about that. Ferguson seems like a big fan of Klopp and loves the way Borussia play. But I just don't see him coming to United - some other lucky club will pick him up before Fergie retires, though he does seem stern that he will not leave Borussia.

Pep Guardiola - not my favourite by any means - seems to be the man who will replace Fergie. I say this because he ticks all of the boxes Fergie has mentioned in the few times he spoke about his successor. He is of the perfect age too. He - definitely - met with Sir Alex just before Christmas in New York...a couple of weeks later, Guardiola spoke to a sport's journalist for the first time in 8 months and said "I will manage in the Premier League in the future". 24-hours later, Munich confirmed him - out of the blue - as their next manager. Guardiola was only too keen to say he would manage in teh Prem at some stage, just before he knew Bayern were announcing him as their gaffer. Always rang as strange to me that, especially considering Fergie met with him just before all of this. I wouldn't be surprised at all if his path has already been laid out for him. Fergie has met him at least twice in the last 8 months....I would think three years at Munich before Fergie retires is all set in stone.

Thsi of course is all just my opinion looking at it as best I can.

But there are only three contenders to follow Fergie.

ANyone talking about Solskjaer/Neville/Giggs are talking through their hole. Are these the same people that would have wanted Hughes/Bruce/Robson to take over if Fergie had have stepped down a decade ago? 

It looks like Guardiola to me - the signs point in that direction!