Former Austria defender and current Crystal Palace manager Oliver Glasner has fast-emerged as one of the favourites to replace Ruben Amorim as Manchester United manager.
In a long-expected move, Portuguese Amorim was today (Monday) sacked as Man U manager after 14 stuttering months, which saw England’s biggest club finish a lowly 15th in the Premier League last season 2024-25; their lowest top-flight position since 1989-90; and lose a lacklustre 2025 Europa League final 1-0 in Bilbao, Spain in May to fellow premiership strugglers Tottenham Hotspur.
This season United, currently sixth in the Premier League, have shown fitful signs of improvement.
Hype and Promise
But frustratingly–despite all the hype and promises–they have mostly only flattered to deceive and, crucially, have posted three draws in their last six outings — all of them games, from winning positions, they should have won.
Former United defensive midfielder and Scotland captain Darren Fletcher, currently managing the club’s under-18 squad, has now been named as the senior team’s Interim Manager, until a permanent replacement for Amorim can be found.
Glasner, a defender by trade, who played for his nation and Austrian Bundesliga club SV Ried, winning the Austrian Cup in 1998 and 2011, has been managing unfancied Crystal Palace since February 2024.
Last year he led the south London side to their first-ever major trophy, beating Manchester City 1-0 in the FA Cup final. And at the start of this season they won the traditional Charity Shield opener by overcoming Liverpool 3-2 on penalties.
Storied
51-year-old Glasner has been cited–along with recently-fired former Chelsea boss Enzo Maresca, and former Manchester United and France defender Laurent Blanc–as a favourite to replace Amorim, at odds of 11/4.
William Hill have posted Maresca as favourite to take the Old Trafford hot seat at odds of 2/1, while Blanc, a 1998 World Cup and 2000 Euros winner with France, is running at 8/1; followed by former England manager Gareth Southgate, who has won nothing in an otherwise storied career, except a knighthood and two League Cups, with Aston Villa and Middlesbrough, at 10/1.
Interim manager Fletcher, with the advantage of already having one foot on the proverbial ladder, heads the betting at 6/4.
But with United having had 11 either permanent or temporary managers since Sir Alex Ferguson stepped down in 2013, some may consider his situation more akin to one foot in the graveyard of a once-dominant football past.
France and Real Madrid great Zinadine Zedan (25/1) and Liverpool’s heavy-metal rockstar Jurgen Klopp (50/1) have even been mentioned as icons who may be tempted by the lustre of United lucre to seize the poisoned chalice.
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