Has José finally taken a job that is too big for him?
WHERE is the real José Mourinho? What is he now? What is he bringing to the Premier League and Manchester United? Where is his spark and enthusiasm?
These are some of the questions I ask myself when I watch the United manager’s behaviour during matches, his press conferences and TV interviews.
The spark has gone and I don’t know why. He has described speculation surrounding his pending exit from Old Trafford as ‘garbage’ and says he wants to sign a new contract. But his demeanour says the opposite.
His current body language is very similar to how he was behaving prior to getting the sack from Chelsea a couple of seasons ago. He looks fed up.
He is emotionless during games and although he has addressed this issue recently, and said he might react if there is a last-minute goal, there is no denying he just isn’t the same Mourinho during matches now. There is barely a flicker every time United score a goal. It seems odd. He looks thoroughly miserable and almost tortured by the role.
Sam Allardyce has returned to the game with a smile on his face at Everton, he looks proud to be there and invigorated by the role. David Moyes looks like he is getting back to his old self at West Ham.
We have come to expect overzealous celebrations on the touchline from Jurgen Klopp, Pep Guardiola and Antonio Conte. But it’s part of the theatre with the Premier League now, let’s be honest.
Mourinho says he is not a clown but he could, at least, look interested. Compare the manager in charge at Old Trafford today to the Porto boss who sprinted down the touchline in the same stadium after a Champions League victory.
And think back to when he first joined Chelsea. It was over the top but he was a breath of fresh air.
When he substituted players, he hugged hem as they came off, making them feel like a million dollars. It usually worked by the look of the interaction. He was their 12th man.
At times his behaviour was unsavoury, but most of the time he was warm and mischievous in a manner which didn’t offend and bend the rules.
His current living arrangements cannot help his mood. It can’t be easy living away from his family in a hotel, I know I wouldn’t like it.
It adds to the impression this is another temporary fix. It was always going to be difficult to convince a lot of United fans that he is the right man for the job because of his Chelsea history and it is almost like he has given up.
He has given up the title race too, judging by his press conference last month and his complaint that United cannot compete with their city neighbours in the transfer market.
Like every big proclamation of this nature, Mourinho knew what he was doing. He was setting the agendas, knowing it would have a wider impact because he is man- ager of Manchester United.
Yet it was hard to fathom who he was having a go at. It didn’t seem to be an attack on Manchester City, more an observation, for the United board, that he expects the biggest club in the world to be the transfer market leaders, not City.
But we are not talking about West Brom or Swansea here. This is Manchester United and they still have incredible resources as well as history to attract the best players in the world in any position.
This Manchester United team is better than the versions Moyes and Louis van Gaal assembled. It should be with the £300 million-plus Mourinho has spent.
But it will inevitably get stick from the ex-players of the successful Alex Ferguson era, such as Phil and Gary Neville and Paul Scholes in particular, because of Mourinho’s preferred style of play.
Their United team went to Liverpool, Chelsea and Manchester City to win games. Their opponents tried to stifle them.
But, with this United side, Mourinho has continually demonstrated his skill in stifling the life out of games and then winning or drawing them. He rarely loses against the top sides.
As titles-winning ex-players, big United fans and pundits, they are not afraid to speak their minds and they have a huge presence and following on TV and social media. And their love for the club comes first.
It is only natural that Mourinho doesn’t like it, but he knows it comes with the territory and he has to get on with it. I can’t understand why he has reacted, in particular, to Scholes’ assessment of Paul Pogba instead of just dismissing it in the way Arsene Wenger does at Arsenal when he is criticised by former Gunners stars.
We all know Pogba it starting to play well and was excellent against Everton in mid-week, but he is no Scholes.
Mourinho will never win that battle with former club greats but his coaching credentials and trophies outweigh any ex-player’s opinion.
They may be God-like figures among the Old Trafford faithful, and rightly so, but you cannot dismiss what the Portuguese has achieved as a coach at the biggest clubs in the world.
How much longer Mourinho will be in charge at Manchester United, only he really knows.