My summary of his record is a bit disingenuous, and he's certainly an eminent figure in his field with a decent track record of success. But the circumstances around his appointment do show what a dysfunctional institution the rags have become. And there are certainly reasons to question whether the appointment will prove tpo be the masterstroke everyone's hailing it as:
1. He's achieved some outstanding things in his past, but these tend to involve having built teams to unexpected heights from a lower base. He's never had to handle a dressing room that's populated with the sorts of egos theirs currently is and, while he might manage to handle it, there isn't a guarantee - especially as he doesn't have the level of authority conferred by a long-term contract. The players will know he's gone in the summer.
2. His preferred playing style is a high-energy pressing game, exactly the sort of football United have very definitely moved away from this season to accommodate Ronaldo. How's he going to handle that? Drop the star man and risk the ructions that would undoubtedly follow from such a move? Or compromise in terms of the way he wants to play, which means he'd be working in a way completely different from that with which he's achieved the past success he's had.
3. He was available as a Sporting Director when they were supposed to be overhauling their football operations, and they passed him up. Now, as of the end of the season, he'll be a consultant with contractual guarantees that they'll take notice of him, but he'll be operating on top of the existing structure and with Ferguson still haunting the place like Banquo's ghost. Lots of potential for trouble there.
It's not impossible that he'll do well there, but it's not the given the British media would have you believe. And, as I said, the appointment clearly shows what a train-wreck that club currently is.
