For better or for worse, Mourinho has changed

Jose Mourinho seems to have put an early-season rough patch behind him, and is showing signs, for better or worse, that he’s changing.

When, on Aug. 10, Jose Mourinho strode out onto the Old Trafford pitch to embark upon his third season at England’s most decorated club, he found himself in a particularly unique, unprecedented and ultimately unsatisfactory position.

The novelty was not that Mourinho had entered a third season, but that he had nothing to show for it — by his standards, anyway. For any ordinary manager, a League Cup, a Europa League and a second-place finish would no doubt be met with adulation. But when you appoint Mourinho, you’re entitled to expect, or even demand, rather a lot more.

He is, after all, the man who publicly goaded Rafael Benitez for lifting Europe’s least fashionable trophy. “I don’t want to win the Europa League,” he once stated with more than a hint of arrogance, “it would be a big disappointment for me, I don’t want my players to feel the Europa League is our competition.”

Yet, four years later, if it weren’t for this big disappointment, Mourinho and his players would have been powerless but to accept that the Europa League was indeed their competition. Worse still, another year later and this “big disappointment” has in fact turned out to be his “big achievement.”

Compare this rather underwhelming state of affairs with any other Mourinho tenure, and the Glazers, Ed Woodward, and indeed the entire Old Trafford hierarchy could be forgiven for lamenting histories’ inability to repeat itself.

Mourinho has failed to do what he says on the tin: Win the league, Champions League or, in his proudest cases, both.

Of course, domestic cups form an important part of his DNA as well — the League Cup has proved to be a familiar precursor to a title triumph — but his true currency is soccer’s most coveted silverware.

His ability to win the biggest trophies is what has set Mourinho apart from the pack, and has served as an insurance policy against his customary implosion. The euphoric highs have always justified the crushing lows.

Yet this time, the usual lifespan of a Mourinho reign faces an unprecedented subversion. The third season has begun, but the proverbial safety net —  that all but guaranteed league title — is absent.

What has not been absent, though, are the typically destructive antics that tend to accompany, and characterize what Antonio Conte once provocatively dubbed “a Mourinho season.”

The incessant preseason whinging and whining had a familiarly depressive ring to it. The dismay at transfer activity manifested, much as it did at Chelsea in 2016, as a direct and personal jibe at the club’s decision makers. “One thing is what I would like, another thing is what is going to happen,” was the polite way of putting it.

The self-destructive enthusiasm to malign fundamental players resurfaced. The “he should be here and he is not here” attack on Anthony Martial was swiftly followed by an accusation that Antonio Valencia had taken “too much holiday.”

Early results did little to suggest Mourinho would last the season. A limp defeat at Brighton, followed by a 3-0 loss to Spurs at Old Trafford, confirmed to many that Mourinho’s past was to rear its ugly, and inevitable head once more.

Yet the novelty with Mourinho appears to be working in more than one way. Yes, there has been, by Mourinho standards, a dearth of success, and yes, the usual shenanigans have ensued, but there remains the increasingly credible possibility of United bucking Mourinho’s miserable third season trend.

Many dismissed his post-Spurs outburst as laughable and embarrassing, which in many respects it was, but his talk of “unity” between manager, players and fans feels increasingly tenable.

“Unity,” or a lack thereof, has traditionally been Mourinho’s undoing. He famously accused Cristiano Ronaldo of thinking “he knows everything,” and what Sergio Ramos, Pepe and Iker Casillas thought of the Portuguese is most likely unpublishable.

At Chelsea, the pattern repeated. Disgusted at Eden Hazard’s “Chelsea are not made to play football” observation, Mourinho replied with characteristic venom; “it’s normal because he’s not the kind of player ready to sacrifice himself 100 per cent for his team mates.”

At face value, the same flaw might be extended to United’s current predicament. Paul Pogba’s cryptic comments appear to corroborate the blueprint, but four goals and a string of commanding displays would suggest otherwise.

Nor is it a coincidence that Luke Shaw’s revival has coincided with a public vote of confidence. Factor in Mourinho’s “sergeant,” Romelu Lukaku, and “one of his guys,” Nemanja Matic, and it’s becoming  implausible to conceive of any severe discord between manager and senior players.

The flawless display at Burnley, the neutralization of in-form Watford and the cruise against Young Boys evoke a clear sense of cohesion unrecognizable from his darkest days in London and Madrid. Saturday’s 1-1 draw with Wolves marked something of a step backward, but then Nuno Espirito Santo’s side have also taken points of Manchester City this season.

All in all, it’s hard to escape the feeling that this time, the penny just might have dropped for Mourinho — lose the players, and you’ll lose your job.

Of course, the season is young and volatility remains a Mourinho hallmark. As does the negative, arguably outdated playing philosophy and the sour likelihood that, however well United do, they shall continue to operate in their noisy neighbor’s shadow.

A strange and unprecedented middle ground is emerging. Mourinho looks set to resist history in ways that are both encouraging and discouraging. Any celebration of stability can be rudely interrupted by a sense of tangible failure, a sense that United are not where they should be. It’s hard to know what’s preferable — stability or turbulence.

But however one digests this bitter-sweet predicament, a compelling truth remains. After 18 years in management, Mourinho is doing things differently.