Jose Mourinho's relationship with Manchester United fans has always been frosty to say the least. Ever since his first Chelsea side battled the way to the top only to see a resurgent Ferguson overthrow the Portuguese manager's team, Mourinho has been a key figure in Manchester United's past. From starting as a figure for hatred and scorn, Mourinho made his way to the Old Trafford dugout and started his reign as Machester United manager.
Many felt he wasn't up to the task, indeed a frequent topic of conversation across the web is Mourinho's suitability for the role. Some influential fans have taken against Mourinho, reportedly so has Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton. Recent flirtatious advances towards PSG have not gone down well, neither did criticism of the Old Trafford faithful.
However, signs are there that Mourinho is changing his old ways. After getting much deserved stick for his setup against the top six rivals in the league, Jose chose yesterday to attack Arsenal and create one of the games of the season. Led by a homegrown (and much maligned) Jesse Lingard, United's attack were in scintillating form, let off the hook from their former rigid system and instead allowed to express themselves. Whereas before Jose had been accused of trying to shoehorn his own signings into the team, former stalwarts Ibrahimovic and Mkhitarian have now been left out in favour of young flair such as Martial and Lingard. Anthony Martial who had previously struggled for minutes under the enigmatic Portuguese manager has forced himself into the first team and has produced performances that are lighting up the league.
It was also evident that Mourinho's once fiery temper has now tempered. Jose was full of praise for Arsenal's legendary manager after the game, talking about Arsenal's "amazing attacking football", far away from any comments about "voyeurism". Indeed Jose seems to have stopped a lot of the divisive comments he made before his stint in the Old Trafford dugout. Whether this is a natural side effect of his ageing or a conscious effort to win over some of his vocal detractors in the Old Trafford fanbase is not known, what is impressive is that he's managed to stay relatively controversy free so far in Manchester.
Eric Cantona recently said Pep Guardiola is a better fit for Manchester United than Jose. There isn't much controversy in this statement, United fans would much rather see the beautiful attacking football than the dull pragmatic style that epitomises Mourinho's career. However, United fans will be hoping that the club's ethos will be slowly changing Jose's style, indeed if the relationship is ever going to come to a fruitful conclusion, they will have to.
Many felt he wasn't up to the task, indeed a frequent topic of conversation across the web is Mourinho's suitability for the role. Some influential fans have taken against Mourinho, reportedly so has Manchester United legend Bobby Charlton. Recent flirtatious advances towards PSG have not gone down well, neither did criticism of the Old Trafford faithful.
However, signs are there that Mourinho is changing his old ways. After getting much deserved stick for his setup against the top six rivals in the league, Jose chose yesterday to attack Arsenal and create one of the games of the season. Led by a homegrown (and much maligned) Jesse Lingard, United's attack were in scintillating form, let off the hook from their former rigid system and instead allowed to express themselves. Whereas before Jose had been accused of trying to shoehorn his own signings into the team, former stalwarts Ibrahimovic and Mkhitarian have now been left out in favour of young flair such as Martial and Lingard. Anthony Martial who had previously struggled for minutes under the enigmatic Portuguese manager has forced himself into the first team and has produced performances that are lighting up the league.
It was also evident that Mourinho's once fiery temper has now tempered. Jose was full of praise for Arsenal's legendary manager after the game, talking about Arsenal's "amazing attacking football", far away from any comments about "voyeurism". Indeed Jose seems to have stopped a lot of the divisive comments he made before his stint in the Old Trafford dugout. Whether this is a natural side effect of his ageing or a conscious effort to win over some of his vocal detractors in the Old Trafford fanbase is not known, what is impressive is that he's managed to stay relatively controversy free so far in Manchester.
Eric Cantona recently said Pep Guardiola is a better fit for Manchester United than Jose. There isn't much controversy in this statement, United fans would much rather see the beautiful attacking football than the dull pragmatic style that epitomises Mourinho's career. However, United fans will be hoping that the club's ethos will be slowly changing Jose's style, indeed if the relationship is ever going to come to a fruitful conclusion, they will have to.
