MANCHESTER UNITED should target Roberto Martinez as their next manager.

MANCHESTER UNITED should target Roberto Martinez as their next manager, claims football pundit Andy Gray.

United have made a dismal start to the new season having lost two of their first three matches to leave Jose Mourinho under huge pressure

.The United boss is in the firing line after his team crashed to a 3-0 defeat at home to Tottenham on Monday night.

That humbling, on top of the humiliating 3-2 loss at Brighton the previous week, have led to questions whether Mourinho has the ability to ever deliver success at Old Trafford.

Yet if the club did ever decide they needed to part company with their manager at such an early stage, there appears a shortage of top class alternatives waiting in the wings.

Zinedine Zidane, who led Real Madrid to three successive Champions League triumphs, is the biggest name currently available and not already in a top job.

Mourinho's odds to be sacked by Christmas have tumbled, and Zidane is now the bookies favourite to be the man to replace him.

But TV pundit Gray believes Ed Woodward and the United board could do a lot worse than turn to a man who failed to deliver success during his time in charge of Everton.

Gray was discussing United's troubles on BeIN Sport with host Richard Keys when he threw up his shock condidate.

Presenter Keys said: "I think his time is done at Manchester United.

"They are a club in crisis, I don't think players want to play for him and players don't want to go there.

"The football they play is not exciting."

He then claimed Zidane should be the man United turn to in an effort to bring success back to Old Trafford, but Gray accused his colleague of just picking a big name.

He then said: "I'll give you another name, and you might laugh at me - Roberto Martinez."

There was a period of silence in the studio, before Keys responded: "I'm not going to laugh at you. I'm speechless."

Martinez has rebuilt his managerial reputation with Belgium, leading the country to third place in the World Cup last summer.

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You've not paid attention if you think Chelsea fall without Roman Abramovich... he's made them golden

So what if Roman Abramovich sells? It doesn't matter who owns Chelsea. Not any more. Not these days. Abramovich's work is pretty much done. He has elevated his football club until it stands among the biggest in the world.

Chelsea's market worth is over £2billion, even without a new stadium.

Meaning, from here, the club will always be owned by an extraordinarily wealthy individual or group, one that measures its fortune in more than mere millions.

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Manchester United 0 Tottenham 3: Harry Kane and Lucas Moura scores two in two minutes to pile more pressure on Jose Mourinho

HE is out of ideas. Soon enough, Jose Mourinho will be out of a job.

The Special One, super-coach at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, is done as a manager.

He is a shell of a man, outwitted by Mauricio Pochettino and these rampant Tottenham players in his own backyard.

That will hurt like hell.

This defeat, with United blown to bits by Harry Kane and two from Lucas Moura, is an unforgivable result for United.

These players, certainly the majority of them, do not want to play for him any more. Simple.

“Sacked in the morning”, sang Tottenham fans as United - all over the place by the time Kane and Moura scored - chased this game.

The third goal, an accomplished finish tucked away by Moura after 84 minutes into this show-stopper, finished United off.

Even the Stretford End, losing the will to live as United lost back to back August Premier League games for the first time since 1992, could barely muster a show of support for these players.

It is hard to back them. It is impossible to back Mourinho

It will be continued 

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Kane vs Lukaku goal record vs top-six sides: One has scored more despite playing 2,000 minutes FEWER than rival

Two of the Premier League's most feared strikers will go head to head on Monday evening when Manchester United welcome Tottenham to Old Trafford.

Romelu Lukaku and Harry Kane have been two of the most consistent threats in the top flight over the past four seasons, racking up over 100 goals apiece.

Both are already off the mark this season, with Lukaku heading home last Sunday against Brighton, and Harry Kane having finally found the net in August against newly-promoted Fulham. 

But Kane has scored twice more than Lukaku in matches involving Tottenham, Manchester United, Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea and Arsenal — netting 18 goals against rivals compared to the United forward's 16. 

The question is who will be scoring to night ?

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Ed Woodward to solve the crisis around Jose Mourinho... for now

MANCHESTER UNITED bosses know there is a problem with Jose Mourinho but trust executive vice chairman Ed Woodward to fix it, according to reports.

The Portuguese 55-year-old has had rows with players Luke Shaw, Anthony Martial and Paul Pogba over the summer and complained about the club’s failure to land another centre-back.

Pogba’s agent Mino Raiola is also creating an ugly distraction with a verbal attack on United legend Paul Scholes.

And The Mail has revealed that the powerful Old Trafford hierarchy behind the scenes has admitted there is an issue but they trust Woodward to solve it before there is a crisis.

All the off-field aggro was quelled when United beat Leicester on the opening day of their season.

But the shock defeat to Brighton has brought all the ugly concerns back to the surface.

Loudmouth super-agent Raiola took aim at Scholes after he criticised French World Cup winner Pogba.

The midfielder's agent claimed Manchester United legend Scholes, 43, "wouldn't recognise a leader if he was in front of Sir Winston Churchill" and that "some people talk in fear of being forgotten".

It came after Scholes questioned captain Pogba's leadership after the France star admitted he had "attitude" problems in Sunday's 3-2 loss at Brighton.

The former Old Trafford midfielder said: "I hope that is lost in translation. There is no defence for that comment.

"You say it to yourself, don’t you? You’re constantly saying to yourself: ‘Attitude right, make sure it’s right.’ You don’t need other people to tell you.

"You don’t need a manager to tell you that or your team-mates.

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Mesut Ozil could’ve got away with murder under Arsene Wenger, but Unai Emery won’t stand for it

MESUT OZIL has been caught cold.

Arsenal’s sniffling playmaker, raking in an eye-watering £350,000 a week at the Emirates, is a sore loser.

Subbed at Chelsea, taking forever to walk off when he was hooked by Unai Emery, opted out of the next game. Poor form that.

Emery pulled Ozil on Thursday, outlining a redefined role for him against West Ham after opening the season with two nondescript displays.

The next thing Emery knew, Arsenal’s mercurial and moody No 10 reported a nasal issue and was signed off by the club doctor for two days. Draw your own conclusions.

At least his replacement, Aaron Ramsey, a man with half the talent but ten times the endeavour and application of sick note, put a shift in against the Hammers

But the Welshman is in his own stand-off with Arsenal over signing a new contract and will be a free agent next summer unless he puts pen to paper.

Arsenal won on Saturday — just — without Ozil on the field.

But this little power struggle with the German is a distraction for Emery in his early days at the club.

Under the previous regime, when Arsene Wenger overlooked every misdemeanour from his superstars, Ozil could have got away with murder.

Emery, with his outright devotion to the tactical nuances of the sport, has a different approach.

If he was picking players based on salaries, then Ozil would walk straight into the Arsenal team.

Emery has separated himself from all the hysteria surrounding Ozil, detaching himself from the superstar image the player has cultivated for himself in North London.

Until Ozil falls into line, he will face an extended spell on the sidelines under Arsenal’s new boss.

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Mario Mandzukic rejected move despite Jose Mourinho pleas

JUVENTUS striker Mario Mandzukic reportedly turned down a summer approach from Manchester United - despite the pleas of Jose Mourinho.

The 32-year-old has been a key player for the Old Lady since joining from Atletico Madrid in 2015, and is claimed to have rejected a move to join the Red Devils

.According to Calciomercato, the Special One was desperate to bring the Croatian international to Old Trafford.

The Italian news outlet have reported that the ex-Chelsea boss had identified Mandzukic as a top priority, but the player was persuaded to stay in Turin by Massimiliano Allegri.

They claim that the Juve manager guaranteed him that he would still be a vital member of his squad, and that Mandzukic harbours a dream of winning the Champions League with the Bianconeri.

While he is also hopeful that he will be rewarded with a new contract from the Serie A champions.

Mandzukic netted in the 2-0 win for Juventus against Lazio yesterday - his first goal of the new season.

Despite being a prolific goalscorer at Bayern Munich and Atletico in his one year in Spain, goals have been hard to come by for Mandzukic in Italy.

He has failed to net more than 13 times in a single campaign - while he mustered up just five league goals last tern.

The ex-Wolfsburg ace did however star for Croatia at the World Cup - scoring three goals in Russia - including in the 4-2 defeat against France in the final.

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