The Premier League is hurtling towards the most competitive and star-studded managerial roster in its history, and the Red Devils need a boss who can hold his own in such company

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“The difference between stupidity and genius is that genius has its limits,” Albert Einstein allegedly once said. Seven months after winning the Premier League title, Jose Mourinho ’s genius has found its limit. But those who would look to write the Portuguese’s epitaph are yet to fully appreciate the depths of their own stupidity. Make no mistake, Mourinho will be back.Chelsea have sacked one of – if not the – best managers of his generation. He will not disappear quietly into the background. He will not need to rebuild his reputation. He leaves as a champion, his final trophy built on a frightening combination of attacking, relentlessly energetic football and an end-of-season pragmatism and resilience. He is still that same manager, he is still “the f***ing boss”, to quote Pep Guardiola.Managers are, of course, just as susceptible to peaks and troughs as players – more so, given the reliance on players to follow instructions and maintain form – yet when crisis strikes it is the coach who takes the hit, not a Player of the Year who has failed to score in 27 games, or a £32-million striker who has started more brawls than he has scored goals.Perhaps Diego Costa is a product of a manager too keen to poke the demon that lurks within (though it never backfired so spectacularly on Diego Simeone), perhaps Eden Hazard was anchored by an overly defensive manager, and perhaps the culture of paranoia Mourinho cultivated wore down the players mentally. Perhaps – if he could go back in time – the ‘Special One’ might do a few things differently.But that same manager, with largely the same players, cantered to the title last season. Mourinho’s reputation as being a little too dour and cautious was expunged as Chelsea went unbeaten until December, scoring a league-high 33 goals along the way. This time last year they were an unstoppable juggernaut. Now they are one point above relegation.A change of that magnitude is not the failing of one man alone, and Mourinho inferred as much two months ago: “If the club sacks me, they sack the best manager this club has had. And secondly, the message is again the message of bad results. The manager is guilty. This is the message, not just these players, the other ones before, they got [the message] during a decade. This is a moment for everybody to assume their responsibilities. To stick together. This is what I want.”Unfortunately for Mourinho, player power – especially at Chelsea – always wins. The narrative of Mourinho’s third-season curse has been well worn, but the curse of Roman Abramovich has almost been ignored. Whomever is appointed next will be the 12th manager – caretaker, interim or otherwise – of the Russian’s reign. If Mourinho wanted to prove he could lay roots and build a dynasty, he picked possibly the worst club to try and do so.There is a culture of blame at Stamford Bridge, a knowledge in the dressing room that the manager will go before they ever do. It may not quite be the viper’s nest of old, but it is almost impossible to stop the toxicity when results turn sour. This is a group of players who have had the notion that a change in manager is the only solution to adversity constantly reinforced, even though axed Chelsea managers have won everything from the treble to La Decima since departing.The idea, meanwhile, that Mourinho is somehow out-dated is wide of the mark too. Just three-and-a-half years ago he lifted the title with Real Madrid, seven months ago he did it with Chelsea. He has frequently adapted and updated his style, from Inter’s Catenaccio-like resistance to a Cristiano Ronaldo-led goal fest to Chelsea’s slick press-and-punch unit. He’s no pariah, the queue of suitors for his services will not have been extinguished.In fact, as Pep Guardiola’s likely move to Manchester City draws ever nearer, Mourinho’s stock in England can only go up. He remains the only manager to stop the Spaniard from winning the league title, the only manager to outwit him in a cup final. He is the kryptonite to Pep’s Superman, and if the powerbrokers at Manchester United have any desire to halt the rise of their noisy neighbours and reassert their dominance there is only one man they can look to.Sir Bobby Charlton once remarked that Mourinho “pontificates too much for his liking”, that his antics would not be tolerated at Old Trafford. But United is a club that, for quarter of a century under Sir Alex Ferguson, were defined by its success – regardless of how dirty one had to get in order to achieve it. Right now they are defined by a slow, sideways and ultimately boring style of play.Louis van Gaal got a lumbering giant back on their feet, but he can’t turn them into bona fide title winners or Champions League challengers. Mourinho can.At Chelsea he was denied the support and control he demands, but that would not be an issue at United – even with the ignominy of being knocked into the Europa League, still the voices that mattered in the corridors of power at Old Trafford insisted Van Gaal was a genius. Over the summer, the Dutchman got almost every target he asked for, while Mourinho watched as Petr Cech was sold against his will and Papy Djilobodji was recruited in place of No.1 target John Stones.Next season is lining up to be the most star-studded managerial line up in history, should Guardiola move to City and Chelsea appoint an elite manager of the Simeone variety. With Jurgen Klopp and Arsene Wenger already installed, United need a manager of real standing and gravitas to compete. That is not Van Gaal, nor is it successor-in-waiting Ryan Giggs or even Gary Neville, regardless of how successful his Valencia apprenticeship is.There is only one man for the job, and United feel ready for a manager like Mourinho. He will get little resistance from a largely young and hungry side who will absorb his ideas, and any concerns over his demanding methods are eased by who he would follow. Compared to the controlling and dictatorial Van Gaal, Mourinho is far more open-minded and laid back. He is the big-game tactician they need, a meticulous organiser, a game-changer; a manager pragmatic enough to prevent a 19-minute hammering at the Emirates, but forward-thinking enough to deliver the attacking football United fans crave.“We have to win because when you lose too much it's the end of the road for me also,” said Van Gaal earlier today on the subject of Mourinho’s departure. He may already be able to feel the breath of his one-time protégé on the back of his neck – many managers will feel that same sensation over the coming months. United must ensure it is they who act first.