Mourinho to United anyone?

The other day I posted an article on Jose Mourinho about him being linked to the vacant England manager's position, there's been plenty of speculation suggesting that former Chelsea boss wants the job. As ever though, the truth of the matter is that the media hasn't got a clue as to what Mourinho's true intentions are. Some reports claim that the 'special one' is using his fawning friends in the press and the gullible FA to flush out interest from Italy's top clubs. This is a plausible suggestion in my view as Mourinho surely isn't daft enough to be tempted into the taking the poisoned chalice that is the England job.

Mourinho we are led to believe cannot coach in England for a couple of years, which would rule him out of taking over from Fergie should he suddenly throw in the towel after United lift the Champions League next May. It could happen. If it did happen, those who are charged with replacing Fergie, namely the Glazers - who by the way were subjected to a ketchup sauce attack in Manchester by disgruntled fans this week - would have the massive task of finding the right man to replace him.

If he's not already in harness at a big Italian club, then surely Mourinho would have to be in the frame. But would United and the fans want him? I have my doubts personally. Sure Jose is a winner, but his philosophy doesn't match United's best traditions of playing attacking football. Jose's teams win, but often it can be ugly, which is still in evidence at his former club when the Blues revert to route one football lumping the ball onto the granite forehead of Didier Drogba as they did against West Ham at the weekend.

A more likely destination if Mourinho does return to manage in England is Liverpool, which is a move that has been mooted in the press of late. My personal view is that Mark Hughes will become the Reds next manager.

Sam Allardyce to takeover from Fergie?

So then Big Sam Allardyce has resigned sooner than he'd liked to have done, he has stated that in an ideal world he'd have gone at the seasons end, which is just a couple games away.

However, Sam was pushed into going early, largely because The Sun and the Daily Mirror published that he was going to quit on the morning of the Chelsea v Bolton game. As I posted on Saturday morning, the story was printed as much as anything else to unsettle Bolton ahead of the crucial game for Chelsea, it was almost perfect timing for both newspapers. Allardyce was going anyway, but clearly not in the manner of his own choosing timing wise.

Listening to the reaction of Bolton fans on local radio, many feel that something is wrong and that the fans haven't been given the full story. Allardyce is being linked to Newcastle and Man City, but I'm wondering if Big Sam is being lined up to replace Ferguson at United this summer. Could a secret deal have already been agreed by the Bolton manager and the Red Devils?

If Bolton had got wind of this news and it appears that the Bolton chairman has been aware for some weeks that his manager was going at the end of the season, then maybe my theory might hold water, as nothing will upset the Bolton fans more than Sam joining United and this would certainly be a good enough reason for Sam to be told to go now rather than in two weeks time.

Watch this space.