What to Expect If Jose Mourinho Arrives at Manchester United

On Thursday, news broke in Spain and the UK that Jose Mourinho is likely to be Manchester United's next manager.

Spanish online newspaper El Confidencial is apparently "100 per cent certain that Mourinho will be Manchester United’s manager next season," as translated by Tom Coast of Sport Witness. 

Miguel Delaney of ESPN FC wrote: "Mourinho and his representatives are increasingly confident he will be Manchester United manager next season...although a deal has yet to be signed." 

So given the weight of reporting around this, it is a good time to consider what Mourinho would bring to the United party. Let's take a look at what life at Old Trafford would be like under Jose.

Controversy

It is unavoidable. From the way his Porto players acquitted themselves in the 2003 UEFA Cup final as they dived and time-wasted their way to victory over Celtic to the infamous eye gouge on Tito Vilanova in 2011 when the latter was assistant to Pep Guardiola at Barcelona and Mourinho was Real Madrid coach, with Mourinho comes controversy.

Given his takeover at United in the summer would correspond with Guardiola's arrival at Manchester City, fireworks between the two rivals would be inevitable.

It is hardly as if age has mellowed Mourinho. The 53-year-old's handling of the Dr. Eva Carneiro situation earlier this season, for example, was a very public and very unedifying controversy.

A Siege Mentality

Sir Alex Ferguson was a master of creating a siege mentality. Describing it from an insider's perspective, Gary Pallister told Manchester Evening News back in March 2011: 

"

Fergie made us realise we were all in it together. There is always a certain siege mentality that has to go on in a dressing room because it is always about yourselves as a team.

But there are certain times when he ups that. The manager told us in the run up to that Forest match that you cannot let outside influences rule the roost.

It is not about what the press think, it was about trusting in each other. He used to say it is not about what others think or write - it is about us all as players sticking together. He impressed on us that you had to have faith in those players around you.

"

In January 2015, as Chelsea were on their way to winning the title last season, B/R's Garry Hayes wrote:

"

When Chelsea won the Premier League in 2005, it was very much Jose Mourinho and his players against the world.

...

As we look ahead to the second half of the Premier League, the Chelsea boss seems to be doing it all again. That same siege mentality is setting in at Stamford Bridge.

"

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That feeling will be familiar at United. If he can win the fans over—and he has arguably been trying to do that since his ultra-respectful performance at Old Trafford as Real Madrid manager in the Champions League in 2013—then an us-against-them environment is likely to be the order of the day.

Pragmatism

Mourinho is not an obsessively defensive coach. He may have parked a whole garage of buses as Inter played Barcelona in the Champions League semi-final second leg in 2010, but his Real Madrid side scored a lot of goals.

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Last season, Chelsea were fun to watch for the first half of the season—their 6-3 win at Goodison Park and their 3-0 home win over Tottenham Hotspur being good examples.

In the second half of the season, things got a lot more pragmatic. Their first 19 games in 2014/15 saw them score one or fewer goals just four times. Their second 19 games saw them score one or fewer goals on nine different occasions as they ground out the league title.

Mourinho has always made room in his sides for exciting and creative players, but when it comes to the crunch, he has demonstrated time and again he will prioritise winning.

Silverware

Since he took over at Porto in 2002, Mourinho has won the league title everywhere he has been. He won the Champions League with Inter and Porto. There are very few guarantees in professional sport, and it may be the game and the man have both changed in such a way that this no longer applies.

However, if past performance is any indicator, silverware is very likely indeed.

A Changed Man—at Least Somewhat

On January 23, Delaney, writing in the Independent, reported that: "Mourinho has written Manchester United a six-page letter explaining his strong desire to manage the club and how he would be willing to adhere to United’s principles. He also outlined his plans for the team, and the key decisions he would take."

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Being prepared to adhere to the club's principles would presumably involve a commitment to youth development and perhaps even some leaning toward attacking football rather than a willingness to indulge in rampant commercialism—which appears to have become the club's abiding principle of late.

All of these things seem likely to be part of the story if he arrives. While there are few certainties, one thing is guaranteed: If Mourinho does come to Manchester United, it will at the very least be interesting.