One name will be on everyone's lips as a resurgent Chelsea look to put Louis van Gaal out of his Manchester United misery on Monday
The shadow of Jose Mourinho looms large over Monday’s evening clash between two woozy Premier League heavyweights when Chelsea visit Manchester United.
‘The Special One’ is the elephant in the Old Trafford dressing room, as it becomes increasingly clear that Louis van Gaal is reaching his end game at Manchester United.
The 2-0 reverse at Stoke was a limp, lifeless display – even by United’s recent standards.
That made it four defeats on the bounce and no wins in seven, with the Dutchman showing no suggestion that he is able to turn around this wretched run.
Very few of the 11 men sent out on Boxing Day at the Britannia looked like they wanted to be there, as the squad’s confidence hit new depths.
Basic errors are now becoming a regular occurrence, with Memphis Depay’s dreadful back header for Stoke’s first goal summing up their afternoon – and the dying days of LVG’s regime – nicely.
And it is Van Gaal’s bad luck that one of the most high-profile managers in the world is on the market and up for grabs.
Just as the Liverpool board perhaps played their hand earlier than was expected when they ditched Brendan Rodgers for Jurgen Klopp, Mourinho’s availability could be the catalyst for Ed Woodward and pals to pull the trigger and snap up the Portuguese before someone else does.
But is he the right man for United?
The man is undeniably a winner and through sheer force of personality would be able to drag the Red Devils out of their current funk.
As well as inheriting a squad where the raw materials are there to build on, Mourinho would no doubt be given money to spend and he might even be able to solve the Wayne Rooney problem.
He did, after all, try and buy the United skipper two years ago, so he would at least feel wanted.
There are nagging doubts, though.
The Old Trafford faithful have been extremely vocal in their criticism of Van Gaal’s negative tactics, but the grass may not be any greener under Mourinho – who always sends his teams out to play in a methodical, functional manner.
And how much of his shine has been taken off by the last six months at Chelsea? Is the sideshow that his appointment will bring too much for a club of United’s traditions?
But it would appear that the planets are aligning and it would take a brave punter to bet against Mourinho landing the job he so craved back in 2013 in the coming days or weeks.
Meanwhile in London, life after Jose has begun for the second time at Stamford Bridge and the early signs are that the bleeding has been stopped.
Since Jose was given his marching orders the Blues are only a botched Oscar penalty away from six points out of six and their inevitable rise up the table has begun.
Guus Hiddink has so far resisted the urge to make widespread tactical and personnel changes, relying mainly on the fact that he isn’t Jose Mourinho to get his message across.
And that message could well be enough to see his compatriot be the next manager to land on the post-Fergie Old Trafford managerial scrapheap.
