So Jose Mourinho has been unveiled as the Manchester United manager and he's made a few points about what United's direction will be in the next season. Here are the highlights

1. Wayne Rooney Will not play in midfield

• This means that Rooney will have to compete with Ibra, Martial, and Rashford for the starting position. For a change, this may actually be a blessing in disguise. Roo is still the best player at United, but he is far form the player he was 4 years ago.

2. He has promoted 49 youth players.

• I actually want to see the list here. I bet a number of these players
  belonged to Porto team from 2000's. And maybe a few at Real Madrid.

3.He didn't force Giggs out

• Giggs wanted Mou's job. And his explanation was perfectly a reasonable one as it was the club's decision to pick Jose over Giggs and he had no responsibility in it.

4.Rivalry with Pep

• EPL is not a 2-3 horse race (Spain/Italy) and focusing on one manager/team will lead to shortcomings against other teams. I have no problem with this explanation, but as long as he manages to beat City at least once a year, I would have no issues with it. Currently, the record stands 7-3 in favor of Pep with 6 draws alongside.

5.Transfers

• He has identified 4 players and has already signed 2 players- Bailly and Zlatan. He hinted that the 3rd one (Mkhitaryan). The 4th one is probably Pogba, and he said he will have all 4 transfers wrapped up soon.

• This is probably the biggest impact on the club as it will be interesting to see what formation he lines up with and how the youth players from LVG's era - Rashford, Jackson, Mensah- will fit into his plans. I believe these players deserve to play regularly as their potential can be seen, especially Rashford who has had a solid Euros.

6. Goals

• United will challenge for all cups, and his goal is not a 4th place. He wants a guaranteed UCL spot.

Your opinions?

Great new start for United here, i hope we get at least top 4. We have no excuse not to, with record breakers and potential in our team.

With the squad he posses, I wont even be surprised if you won the EPL. Leiscter won't even be in the top 5, Arsenal havent made any big signings yet, Tottenham are tottenham, and City-Chelsea-Liverpool are the only competitions they have. So the least position for you guys is 3rd.

1-MU
2-City
3-Chelsea
4-Arsenal (Not joking)
5-Liverpool
6-Tottenham
7-Leicster

On the contrary I think Liverpool will do amazing this season. I predict

1. Liverpool
2. Chelsea
3. United
4. City
5. Tottenham
6. Arsenal

I am loving all the news coming out of the Red Devils camp.

His comments on Rooney specified he wouldn't be playing a no 6 like he was with England and towards the end of the United season. Mourinho did say playing him as a no 10 was a possibility.

I think this season for United will be a lot like Mourinho's first season back at Chelsea. Not winning the league, but doing well and laying down the law for next season. Of course, that's assuming City and Chelsea take large steps forward.

I really can't wait for Manchester first match under Mourinho, I will judge him from that. I hope he get all the player he want and show us the best he can do. Can't wait. :D

1. Rooney won't be competing for a place. He's the face and talisman of man united. If mou says he won't play midfield, then he's definitely above rashford in the pecking order, martial plays wide anyways, the only player left is zlatan (rooney could play up front with him or the other option is rooney playing upfront solo because i doubt a 35 year old zlatan will play every game in the premier this year. it's super high pace).

4.City have a better squad, let's just be honest here. It will be a tough derby, but city have more chemistry.

5.I doubt Pogba will come back to the team that wouldn't let him play or apprecated his talent from the beginning. Secondly, Juventus are extremely keen to win the CL this year so i doubt they would let any key players leave.

My prediction:

1. Man City ... pep, nolito replacing navas...gundogan, we will see beautiful football in england...
2. Arsenal ...they're consistent, that's all i can say...hopefully they buy a striker
3. Chelsea (we see what Conte did with that Italy team)
4. Liverpool (Klopp.....what can i say....we saw what he did last season with the players he had. He will now have his pick of players and we will see his football being played)
5. Man United (...there is just not enough chemistry. I don't see the players working together. We saw big signings come and go. A semi-prime falcao, a CL MOM di maria)....maybe i'm wrong we will see once they start playing
6. Tottenham - they have a strong competitive squad already, icardi will come maybe, they're finding form, lamela is finding form. They had their chance last year. It will be tough for them with all the big changes happening in the other clubs.

sorry leicester...lucky if you finish top 8

1-Tottenham
2-MU
3-City
4-Liverpool
5-Arsenal
6-Chelsea
7-Leicster

Moyes and Louis Van Gaal failed time and time again in their transfers and usually got no player that they were linked with. I blamed Woodward and the negotiating department at the time, but I'm amazed how Mourinho's mere presence is enough for players like Ibra and Mkhitaryan to come. The 4th player IMO is not Pogba, but Matuidi.

I expect Mourinho to win at least one trophy. To be honest, I would be happy if we see genuine work being done and foundations being laid for eventual success in his first year.

In the first few months, Mourinho will be judged mainly on the basis of United's playing style, especially because he is the successor to LVG. I'm super excited to see how we play.

On the subject of Rooney, I still believe he can contribute more from midfield than a striking role. But let's see how Mourinho can get the best out of him.

Great thread. It just amazes me how Mourinho's first 3, possibly 4, signings have been the top signings since SAF left. How was LvG this clueless given the amount he was given? That is beyond me. The younger players he left will be the mark of his legacy though, so I suppose he did one thing right. The jury is still out on Mourinho. I still can't believe he is the manager of my club. I despise the man so much that I cringe every time I see him at United. As much as it pains me to admit this, his press conference did exude a certain degree of unity and confidence that I haven't seen since SAF left. What matters now is what is done on the pitch and that's where he needs to focus instead of being so toxic as he was in his previous stints.

I really do think that City and Chelsea will not make top 4 next season. Arsenal, Liverpool, Spurs and United will do much better than them given that they all have better teams imo with the signings they've made this summer. City were terrible last season. The age of their squad really showed and when they fell into a slump, they only manage to get out because United's injury problems along with LvG's stubbornness. Chelsea? Seriously what have they done to fix their problems from last season? Worst of all, players like Costa and Courtois future looks dim at the club. Both of those teams are relying heavily on their unproven PL managers to bail them out and I believe that it is will be a recipe for disaster.

If Pogba is indeed the 4th player, I can't imagine the carnage that's going to happen after letting him go on free in 2012. I don't see a point in signing Mataudi since he's similar to Schneiderlin and to some effect Carrick. And if we do sign Pogba, we should put a clause in there for 200 Mil just to piss off Perez. But imagine the statement you make by signing Ibra, Pogba, and Henrik with out UCL...

matuidi is on a higher level than both schneiderlin and carrick. They don't call him "the machine" for nothing. You should be so lucky to sign him. Watch some PSG games. ibra in my eyes is a money move, but the fact that mou attracted henrik is very impressive.

@Gonzi: I agree, I've watched him. But considering that he's 31, that would be a short term move especially for the fee that PSG will demand. So, I don't see it happening. We have enough brittle bones already in Carrick, Smalling, Shaw, and Schweinsteiger. I don't think Mou will go for it. He will probably go for an alternative younger candidate like Bakayoko from Monaco. And although I hate to admit, I think Martial might be sold this season or next. He's not an out and out winger; he's a striker. I hate to see him on the wing; his talents are wasted there. I'm more curious about his formation and tactics. I'm too tired now, but will definitely post about it tomorrow!

@ashwin1729

And although I hate to admit, I think Martial might be sold this season or next.

@ashwin

Martial said himself he prefers playing on the wing, and sees himself transitioning to being a striker over time. I think it says alot that the French National Team never even considered playing him in that position when they were figuring out the position without Benzema.

@ashwin, so if Pogba comes that would mean we have signed the Serie A's top assist provider of the season as well as possibly the best player in their league. Along with signing the Ligue 1 player of the year (Ibra) and Mkhytarian who was Budesliga's players player of the year. That is an incredible set of players there and I don't see why that wouldn't make us title challengers. As for Martial, he might be an out and out striker but he is much more effective out on the wing. IMO we have to play him there because that's where he can terrify opponents.

@Sun: I haven't seen the interview where Martial said that. If he prefers to play there, I guess, that's not an issue.

@theGame: Whether we sign Pogba or not, we better win the title with the team we have.

1. City
2. United
3. Tottenham
4. Chelsea
5. Arsenal (unless Wenger gets busy)

@ashwin

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-3500159/Manchester-United-s-Anthony-Martial-happy-wing-admits-score-goals-emulate-Cristiano-Ronaldo.html

@Eden17Hazard17 Tottenham finishing above Chelsea? I'm not convinced by the idea yet, they had a very good season last season but they didn't really showed the consistence I would expect for a top four team. Maybe I'm too hard on them but I don't think they'll have a season as good as the last one. Personal opinion, lets not get offtopic because of it.

@Sunflash Am I the only one who can see Martial being the next Ronaldo? Or maybe more of a mix between Henry and Ronaldo? Then again, I don't think he need to emulate anyone else success. He already got a bright future if he keep doing what he is right now. Martial will be one of my favorite player for a long time I think. ;)