"Woke up this morning feeling fine, got Man United on my mind. Jose’s got us playing the way United should, oh yeah. Something tells me I'm into something good!"
A song based on the tune of Something Good by Herman’s Hermits has been doing a lot of rounds around the stands occupied by Manchester United lately. The warmth has been flowing whether in the freezing cold at the KCOM where United lost the second leg of the EFL Cup semi-final 2-1, at Old Trafford where they walloped Wigan 4-0 or against Hull City again in a 0-0 home draw in the rain.
In spite of United being firmly stuck to 6th position in the table, the atmosphere around the club seems more upbeat now than it has ever been since the departure of Sir Alex. So what exactly is it about Mourinho that has the fans singing about feeling good in the cold Manchester rain, and how is he different from his predecessors?
One reason perhaps is that he has quenched the nostalgic thirst for late goals that the Red Devils were famous for under Ferguson, which had gradually dried up with each passing season under his successors. The ill-fated reign of Moyes, completed by Giggs, saw 12 league goals in the final 15 minutes of the game all season, and LvG’s two seasons reduced the number to 11 and 8 respectively.
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Under Mourinho, United have scored a total of 17 goals in the final 15 minutes - and although only nine of them have been in the Premier League, they have contributed a sizeable 12 points to their collection.
The added time goal from Rashford, a comeback win against Middlesbrough with goals in the 85th and 86th minute, a late Ibrahimovic winner against Crystal Palace, and another point rescued by him against Liverpool, have all sent the fans home, pumped up and have contributed to bringing back the old feel to United.
Another reason has been the deals made by Mourinho in the transfer market with all four of his big signings – Bailly, Ibrahimovic, Mkhitaryan and Pogba – hitting the right notes at the right times. While his initial handling of Mkhitaryan was criticised, the introduction of the Armenian into the starting lineup has reaped rewards and has made it look like a master stroke.
Compared to the £149.3 million spent by the Portuguese – most of which was on Pogba’s record breaking transfer – LvG’s £248m outlay in exchange for mixed results left the fans disillusioned.
While the Dutchman was responsible for bringing Blind, Martial, Herrera and Rojo to the club – with the Frenchman saving United the blushes on several occasions in his debut season – LvG’s biggest signings failed to deliver. Angel Di Maria was used out of position in a tactically rigid system – making him a complete misfit, Falcao never got going, and Schweinsteiger was barely used even back then.
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Depay and Schneiderlin have exited the club this past month, neither earning too many accolades during their spell at the club, while the verdict is out on Luke Shaw, Matteo Darmian and Sergio Romero. The less said about Victor Valdes the better.
It is worth noting though that David Moyes missed a trick here, making only two signings – Mata and Fellaini – while it was glaringly obvious that Ferguson had left a side desperately in need of rebuilding. Mata spent less than half a season under the beleaguered manager, and Fellaini has been divisive at best.
"José is quite simply the best manager in the game today," cooed Ed Woodward after United had officially announced him as the club’s new manager, and since then the mentality has been to be back at the top of the pack – none of the demands to comply with a philosophy – just a desire to win.
While Jose himself had to eat humble pie, stating that he might have underestimated the task at hand after a run of poor results in the league, all the pre-season talk about winning was perhaps quite enough to convince United fans they’d finally found a manager who matched their ambitions.
While van Gaal tried to stand up to the media in his own way, Moyes began to look like a wraith long before his sacking, but Mourinho has thus far managed to stay on top of the notorious press – if only by bringing referees into dispute and earning himself three misconduct charges from the FA in the process.
The experience of managing some of the biggest clubs in the world has no doubt helped Mourinho handle such situations better – although the “I have nothing to say” interview will not be forgotten anytime soon. LvG and Moyes were worse off for being in the glare of the spotlight.
In conclusion, although it seems unlikely that Manchester United will better the fifth-placed finish they managed last season, one can almost be certain that the song at the top of this article ensures Mourinho against a sacking.
Going by his second spell at Chelsea, where his “little horse” from the 1st season grew into a title winning mare in the succeeding season, the fans will almost certainly be optimistic and likely dismiss the Champions League as a distraction they’re better off without. Already in the EFL Cup final, United look likely to continue the flow of silverware, and as long as the late winners keep flowing, so will the songs.
