Guardian:
Manchester United are planning to award a pay rise to the man many of their supporters blame for the club's failures in the Premiership and the Champions League. Sir Alex Ferguson's faith in Carlos Queiroz is not shared by a large proportion of United's followers and the news that he will be offered a new contract is likely to provoke a mixed reception.
Ferguson, however, remains wholly supportive of the former Real Madrid coach, now in his second stint at Old Trafford. Queiroz's present three-year contract runs out in June next year and, with Ferguson's blessing, the club want him to sign a new, improved deal within the next few months.
Queiroz's position at the club means he will also be considered for the manager's job when Ferguson retires, though his unpopularity with the fans will weigh against him. He was behind United's much-criticised 4-3-2-1 system - a formation which has now been ditched - and has far more responsibilities than the average assistant manager in terms of tactics, training and, in Ferguson's absence yesterday, media duties.
Ryan Giggs made as much clear in his autobiography, pointing out that Ferguson had handed over "large amounts of responsibility" to the man who was credited with discovering Luis Figo and Rui Costa when he coached Portugal to World Youth Championships in 1989 and 1991. Queiroz's job title might even be better described as joint manager given that Giggs said the multilingual Portuguese had been entrusted to "train us, prepare us for games, organise the team and decide the things we need to work on".
The criticisms stem from Queiroz's defence-minded philosophies not sitting easily with the beliefs of most United supporters. "If we need to defend with 10 players behind the ball we are going to do that," he said this season, suggesting that United should try to emulate Chelsea's habit of winning matches 1-0. His abandonment of United's traditional 4-4-2 system was intended to make life easier for Roy Keane but it is understood that their relationship had drastically deteriorated by the time Ferguson offloaded his captain in November.
Ferguson has taken the criticism of Queiroz personally and he devoted his programme notes for one match this season to writing a eulogy about the work of his assistant. Queiroz, who is keen to remain at the club beyond his present contract, seemed genuinely taken aback when it was pointed out to him yesterday that he had frequently been made a scapegoat for the team's shortcomings. "It's part of the show," he said. "We just have to keep going, do our jobs and continue doing the right things for this great club."