THIS is not a serious article by any means. I am playing a game with myself even though I am also trying to make some sense of what is going on in the EPL, particularly with the two giant teams from the city of Manchester.

As we draw closer to the finish line of the league, the city is becoming a very fertile ground for conspiracy theorists and creative minds.

The drama playing out about their coaches testifies to this. It appears that preparation is ongoing for a game within the game to be played out between Man U and Man City in the EPL next season.

Both teams appear to be watching each other as they strategise for what is likely to turn out to be an epic season in the history of the EPL.  Prestige, money, and the league trophy may all be at stake.

Take the case of Manchester United FC for example. Why is Luis van Gaal still in charge? Under normal circumstances he should have been history by now following his monumental disappointment as the anticipated messianic successor to Sir Alex Ferguson.

He has turned out not to be the coach that Manchester United FC were looking for when they hired him to return the team to its old winning ways and playing style established under the legendary Sir Ferguson.  Even the great man thought he could deliver and endorsed Van Gaal for the position.

Unfortunately the experiment is a monumental failure. The old Manchester United is unrecognisable in the new team assembled by Van Gaal.

The old team was physical but skillful, playing football at a thousand miles per hour and making it look delightful to the eyes with precise passing, movements, endless running and pressing. The old team had traditional strikers lurking always in the box ready to finish off galloping wingers with their deadly cargo of crosses raining endlessly from both flanks.

Manchester United would fight till the very last second of every match, never giving up, never backing down, and wearing down an opposition with grit, energy and fighting spirit! To defeat Manchester United anywhere was to pass through a crucible of fire!

Don’t let me describe the new Manchester City under Van Gaal. What he has now concocted as the new team does not have any resemblance to the old team in the character, style or achievements.

So, the question is this: if Van Gaal is not the right man as all evidence now shows why is he still being kept? To compound matters and confuse everyone even more, the club flew a kite that Jose Mourinho, sacked by Chelsea FC, has been contacted and would take over the team. Then nothing happened after.

Why allow such a story to fester and take Van Gaal through the psychological trauma of thinking he was living on borrowed time in the middle of the season?

Meanwhile, Mourinho himself is kept waiting and is obviously becoming restless. He has not taken up any of the several other offers that must have come his way since his dismissal by Chelsea some months ago, yet he has not been officially offered the Man U job.

It all does not make sense. I believe that Jose wants the Manchester United job very badly, even more than Manchester United wants him, that’s why he has been patiently waiting. He wants to make a point and settle some scores. He would not depart the EPL on a losing note so he wants a return to it but to a big team that will give him the best platform, resources and opportunity to win again, redeem his image and shame his critics who think he has been finally demystified!

The board of Manchester United may not be fully convinced yet about his style and temperament being right for a team with the deep and rich traditions of Man U. But the fans cannot seem to wait for that romance between Jose and United to take off.

Undoubtedly it is going to be a battle of two massive egos between them – of a very successful traditionally grounded club, and a very loquacious, confident, proud and successful manager

That relationship will surely be an interesting case study for the EPL next season if it happens.

Meanwhile what are their city rivals, Manchester City FC, doing in response? Until a few matches ago they were still looking as good as any team to win the league title they last won two seasons ago. They had invested in a great coach Manuel Pelligrini and some excellent players at the start of the season. The team could very easily have strolled through this season with its main contenders for the title (except Arsenal FC), in one organisational turmoil or the other, and not playing well.

They started to stutter recently probably as a result of avoidable pressures brought upon the team by the club’s management’s deliberate leakage of reports that Pep Guardiola, considered currently as the best coach in the world, would be moving to Manchester City at the end of this season.

Meanwhile, what was expected would happen to Pellegrini who was working hard to steady the ship of the Manchester City team, to take advantage of the shaky performances of its main rivals in the EPL, and to reclaim the EPL trophy it lost last season?

Of course, that un-refuted report must have thrown the team into a psychological quagmire. It must be a spirit dampener for Pellegrini. This would affect not only his concentration but also disrupt the state of mind of the players!

It appears that the excitement or expectation of having the best coach in the world come to Manchester City FC in response to Manchester United’s hiring of Mourinho for the next season is more important and has overtaken the clubs immediate ambition of winning the league this season.

Manchester City and Manchester United must be preparing for the settling of some scores next season.

As I am writing this I read that Manuel Pelligrini may actually be heading for Chelsea FC that sacked Mourinho.

What unbelievable drama!

The entry of Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho into two of the biggest city rival clubs in the EPL will set the league on fire!

The money and business this would generate would be mindboggling. The two club’s vaults will be emptied as both managers would have to bring with them some of Europe’s best players, particularly Pep, otherwise they would stand no chance of winning the EPL in the next season and guarding their huge reputations.

Add to Jose, Pep and Pellegrini the sensational best coach of the current season, Leicester City’s Claudio Ranieri. The EPL will become the theatre of the greatest battle of coaches next season. A field of 5 or 6 of the most reputable coaches in Europe on one platform every week for an entire season would provide unprecedented spectacle, and crown the EPL the greatest league in the world.

For sure the EPL will be flooded with the crème of the best and greatest players in Europe next season.

Just as a flitting thought.

Claudio Ranieri is running away with the title of best coach of the EPL this season. No matter what happens to Leicester City at the end of the league he has done enough already to earn that title.

Have you observed how his team has been playing? Does it not remind you of Manchester United of old – the fast pace, the energy, the determination, the fighting spirit, the exceptional talent in a few key players, and the typical British style football?

I believe the coach that Manchester United needs now is one who is grounded in the tradition of British football as defined by Manchester United under Sir Alex. Such a coach should either be of English stock or has demonstrated he understands the tradition.

Think about it. Don’t you think, that the coach that Manchester United have been looking for in Sokoto (a town in northern Nigeria) has actually been right in their backyard in the hem of their sokoto (the Yoruba word for trousers)? Claudio Raneiri for Manchester United? Just a crazy thought for that would truly explode the EPL.