COMMENT: The guys at Creative Artists (CAA) should've just come clean and addressed that statement on Saturday morning to Ed Woodward.
If Roman Abramovich thought Jose Mourinho was going to go quietly on Thursday, he couldn't have been more wrong. Or that is, those advising the Chelsea owner.
Claims of Mourinho "looking tired" and in "need of a break", look wide of the mark today. Rather than keep his head down, there he was on Saturday, at the Amex to see good friend Aitor Karanka's Middlesbrough win at Brighton. If Mou has lost his appetite or enthusiasm, he has a funny way of showing it.
Before kickoff against Sunderland, Mourinho made it clear, through CAA, this was no mutual decision. He was pushed. And what's more, there'll be "no sabbatical". He'll be staying in London with his family. Are you watching Mr Woodward?
And for Chelsea, this is all self-inflicted. There would've been no statement from CAA, Tribalfootball.com has been informed, if not for Emenalo's extraordinary interview on the club's in-house TV channel after the manager's exit. Refusing to acknowledge Mourinho by name disappointed the manager, but claims they parted by mutual consent left him infuriated. As he said to Blues fans time and again this season, he'd never thought of abandoning them.
Mourinho, publicly, is always calculating. If that famous 2013 Champions League meeting between Manchester United and Mourinho's Real Madrid was his open - but forlorn - job application. yesterday's actions were a decent follow up. Through CAA, he made it clear - to Woodward, United's executive vice-chairman - he's ready to jump immediately back into management. His appearance at the Amex only substantiating the position.
The CAA statement was put together just hours after it broke that intermediaries had made contact with Woodward to say Mourinho was available to talk. His reaction via CAA yesterday simply confirmed the second-hand approach fielded by the United exec.
At Old Trafford, Mourinho's availability changes everything.
As angry as supporters are, defeat at home to Norwich City wouldn't normally shift the board's thinking on Louis van Gaal. Talk of him being offered a 12-month extension isn't idle gossip. If United are on track for a top four finish, the Dutchman would be tabled a new deal to 2018. But that was before Thursday's events at Cobham.
Mourinho is Woodward's type of manager. And vice-versa.
Seeing Van Gaal discard Angel di Maria and Radamel Falcao has frustrated the United exec. If Mourinho had been in Van Gaal's place, there's a good argument to be made that results would've been much different. Just as if Emanelo had listened to Mourinho's concerns about Chelsea's squad being short on talent and attitude, the champions would be in a much better position today. Woodward, as he's shown with Van Gaal, isn't frightened of spending United's millions. Indeed, he relishes it.
And above Woodward, such an appointment would make box-office sense. The biggest name in football in charge of the biggest club? For the Glazers. it would be a no-brainer.
They'll remind those against the decision that listening to United's 'football people' landed them David Moyes. The Scot wasn't Woodward's, nor the Glazers', appointment. And his disastrous spell has only helped strengthen Woodward's influence on the higher ups.
Sacking your manager when the team sits in fifth place would be a huge call. But Van Gaal's relationship with United's support is at breaking point. There were even chants of 'Jose Mourinho, Jose Mourinho' at Old Trafford. The contrast between the Special One's rapport with Blues fans and LVG's battles with the 'attack, attack, attack' United crowd couldn't be more stark.
And this won't be about football. For the Glazers and Woodward, this will be about money, profile and the potential of putting Mourinho and United together. United are already putting plans in place to land one - if not two - Galacticos in 2016. But you don't get greater star quality than Mourinho. And given the track record of the pair, it's difficult to see how Woodward would feel more comfortable handing the club's new £150 million asset to Van Gaal ahead of the Portuguese.
For Woodward, there's a deal to be done. Mourinho is waiting, pen at the ready. The union that should've happened two years ago can be made. And it would be his appointment. Not Sir Alex. Nor Sir Bobby.
This would be Woodward's call. The United that he foresaw. The one of Di Maria. Of Falcao. Of Mourinho. The fantasy football he envisions with the one manager in the game capable of making it a reality.
INJURY TIME
There was a real, genuine Manchester United goal scored on Saturday at Old Trafford. And no, we're not talking about Anthony Martial's.
Alex Tettey's effort in the second-half was the stuff of Bryan Robson, Paul Ince and Roy Keane. Winning the ball inside his own half, breaking beyond his strikers and finishing past David De Gea.
It was the sort of goal you saw on a weekly basis from United. But not under Louis van Gaal.
The slow build-ups. The sideways passing. With so much - if not all - their possession play performed in front of the opposition, there's never a chance of one the central midfielders doing what Tettey did and break beyond the attacking line. Sir Alex, Big Ron, they would've enjoyed such a goal - as would've Robbo.
Unfortunately, under the current system, the only way United fans will ever see the like again is from midfielders in an opposition shirt.
