5. René Meulensteen
If you take a look at the live betting odds for candidates to replace Sir Alex Ferguson as Manchester United manager, it's very unlikely that you will see René Meulensteen's name crop up. Currently first team coach at Old Trafford, the Dutchman has been at the club for a decade and is a respected and well liked member of staff at the Theatre of Dreams. He is largely credited for helping the likes of Cristiano Ronaldo and Wayne Rooney develop into the megastars they are today, and he came in for
some glorious praise from Robin van Persie recently. "The way he (Meulensteen) trains is exceptional," began fellow Dutchman RVP.
"He is truly one of the best coaches in the world. I have had a lot of good trainers, but its the way he prepares our team for games. Every match is different, so every training session in the build-up to games is unique. "We know exactly what to expect and he wins points for us through his training. Weve won a lot of games by the odd goal and they are point winners, which we train for. For instance, against Chelsea I scored after a low cross from Antonio Valencia on the right. It might seem a fluke but the whole week before the game was spent working on that move. "Another example is my goal against Wigan, when I cut the ball inside and shot with my right foot. Again this situation, we trained on. Training is really good. Its a very pleasant environment to work in.
An unlikely and perhaps even unconsidered option, yet the tremendous work Meulensteen has done at Old Trafford over the last decade cannot be understated.