Jose Mourinho: A .22 caliber mind in a .357 magnum world?

You've seen him grinning on the fields of Camp Nou as the sprinklers turned on around him after stark defiance of the marauding Victor Valdes. You have seen him run onto the field and fall on his knees as his team scored their second goal to assure passage to the next round of the UEFA Champions League.

You have seen him shush the cameras as Mauricio Pochettino fumed behind him. You have seen him go toe to toe against Wenger on numerous occasions. You have seen him pump his fists. You have seen him put a hand to his ears. You have seen him raise three fingers in a Katniss Everdeen-esque fashion. And above all, you have seen him refer to himself as 'The Special One'.

And now, you have seen him gone.

Manchester United has announced that Jose Mourinho has left the Club. We would like to thank him for his work during his time at Manchester United and wish him success in the future. #MUFC
— Manchester United (@ManUtd) December 18, 2018

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Earlier today, Manchester United did the inevitable. After a season that had gone sour was threatening to go even southbound, the United board did what the fans had been screaming at them to do since the last two months.

And like every time when the Portuguese has been shown the door by employers, the resulting decision seems at the same time surprising and understandable in the wake of a 3rd season slump.

How could a practically identical team perform so much worse after a strong showing the previous season? And not just once, but twice. With two different teams in the span of two tenures.

The special one, indeed.

At the start of his appointment, the fans and pundits alike were split on the decision. While there were those who preferred the flashier Pep Guardiola, the others were happy with the more pragmatic Mourinho. While some were disappointed by the arrival of a manager who "parked the bus" to a club of United's stature, the rest were happy with the arrival of trophies that would coincide with his.

And therein lies the problem. The buses arrived, but the trophies have not. His attempts were thwarted in his first season by Chelsea's unexpected run under Antonio Conte, while the second season was overshadowed by the giants Guardiola had created at City. And in the third, United sit an unimaginable 19 points off the top and are closer to the bottom (17 point gap to Fulham) than they are to leaders Liverpool.

The cups have been much kinder to the Red Devils, but a UEFA Europa League triumph and an EFL Cup triumph in his first season (the Community shield as well, if you want to be pedantic about it) are all but forgotten in the eyes of the supporters who have been spoiled by bigger and shinier trophies.

The thing with Mourinho is that his failures are easier to remember than his successes. Of course, that is the case always, but his result-based approach to the game loses all basis when the results go the other way. A loss against Sevilla in the UEFA champions league last season, the loss in penalties against Derby County in the Carabao Cup this season, a 0-4 drubbing at Chelsea in his first return to his former club, and most recently, the 1-3 defeat at Liverpool where his side were out-shot 36 to 6.... the list can go on and on, and then some more when you remember his previous stints.

But how much of this is solely on Mourinho? If Alexis Sanchez and Romelu Lukaku are poorly impersonating world-class footballers, it is not his fault. If the back 3 or 4 or 5 or whatever number he puts up during the match play like strangers who don't speak the same language, there is nothing he can do. If Paul Pogba still thinks he is back at Juventus and can do anything he wants without working hard enough on the field, it is unfair to pin the blame on Jose.

Other things certainly are. Overpaying for an aging Nemanja Matic or not finding suitable replacements for the wing-back position or still sticking to the same tactics that once made him great are factors that cannot be ignored, and should not be.

With only 26 points in their first 17 games, the title race is all but over for United and with the Champions League knockout phase poised to be played against Paris Saint Germain, the dream of a dream cup run is out of the question as well. And sacking Mourinho at this point is a safe decision where this season can be written off, and begun anew the next year with a new head at the helm.

What this means for Mourinho, however, is the big question. Clubs endure. Coaches can be forgotten in a matter of months. With the tabloids running amok with the news of possible replacements that range from Sir Alex Ferguson to Big Sam Allardyce, Mourinho is destined to finally stay off the limelight for the foreseeable future, but talk of his exploits will not.

The emergence of the rest of the Top-6 playing attractive football (More attractive football than United at the least) will only convince the pundits to proclaim the death of Jose Mourinho and his "tactics". He will be written off, saying that he never developed as a coach and that he is more of a man manager than he is a master tactician.

While true, do not forget that tactics are always cyclical. And what works for one team will not for the other. Burnley's Brexit football worked as much magic as the Gegenpressing of Liverpool, and Zidane's pass-the-ball-to-Ronaldo was as useful as Barcelona's organized passing.

And like that, Mourinho is bound to return to football with the same cockiness we have come to love and hate. Perhaps, and hopefully, after a break from the shenanigans and hopefully to the Premier League again. If not, the videos of his celebrations on YouTube are more than sufficient.

Until then, stick to vastly exaggerating reports of his death and watching the interim manager call up Fellaini from the bench again.