Fans' View: What Supporters Have Made of Jose Mourinho's Manchester United Start

Jose Mourinho is a name that has polarised the Manchester United fan community over the past few years.

There have been those advocating his appointment since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement in 2013 and those for whom the concept of his arrival was anathema.

With three games gone in the Premier League season, and the Community Shield won before that, Bleacher Report spoke with United fans from around the world to get their take on the campaign so far and what they think could be on the horizon in the months ahead.

To get a sense of where each person stood, the first question we asked our respondents was whether they had wanted Mourinho to succeed Sir Alex before David Moyes was appointed. The results ran the spectrum.

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Steven McDonough, a Stretford End season-ticket holder with 30 years of United matches under his belt, was all for it at the time: "You only had to look to Jose’s attitude in the last few years toward United when Fergie was in charge to see he wanted the job badly."

Joshua Graham, who watches United from Arlesey in Bedfordshire, replied: "I really, really didn’t want Mourinho to succeed Fergie. Then again, I thought Moyes was the right appointment, so what do I know?"

Abhay Sundaram, who describes himself as "following United from the cushy confines of Gurgaon, India," said: "The biggest reason I didn't want him in charge of the purest, most beautiful football club in the entire Universe was the youth-averse approach Mourinho has showed since he took charge of Chelsea in 2004."

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It should be noted that Sundaram's flowery description of United was delivered with tongue firmly in cheek.

Aleczander Gallo is the curator of the brilliant @MUFC_Facebook Twitter account and lives in Ontario, Canada. He said he "had the common Mourinho reservations—his antics in the press, his style of football, his record with youth."

He made an interesting observation from the point of view of a fan who had only ever known life under Sir Alex, saying: "I was young and naive, and the way that success seemed to gravitate to Fergie blinded me a bit. I didn't realise—and as such, undervalued—how important the manager was, simply because Fergie was all I knew.

"I thought that if Moyes came in, we might have some teething problems but eventually all would be fine and we'd remain a top team. Obviously, it's been a brutal awakening since then."

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Tricia, another Canadian respondent who asked to withhold her surname, went straight to the point when asked about whether she wanted Mourinho in charge then: "No, I didn’t. I find him an execrable and silly man."

Brandon Ulrich, watching United from the U.S., said: "I was all-in on the Ryan Giggs narrative. One of our own. Knows the club. Knows the legacy. So much like it was meant to be."

B/R's own Cal Gildart made a brave confession: "As much as it's not something you want to admit given his unfortunate current situation, Jurgen Klopp seemed tailor-made for the job and was my heart's choice. My head, however, wanted Mourinho."

Of course, 2013 is ancient history in football terms. Sundaram was the only one of our respondents who did not want Louis van Gaal to be replaced, citing his willingness to stick to the "[Sir Matt] Busby ideal" of calling academy players up to the first team.

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The overwhelming majority were happy with Mourinho's appointment too. Only Tricia and Sundaram were against it, though one respondent, who asked to remain anonymous, said it was a begrudging desire that came only once Pep Guardiola was installed at Manchester City and was thus unavailable.

However, even with those reservations, there has been a pretty tangible buzz around fans since the season started. We asked our respondents what they had made of United's bright start.

Tricia replied: "It’s been good, hasn’t it? Exciting. I’m not getting too carried away yet—the opposition hasn’t been that amazing—but the players seem to know where they’re supposed to play, what their jobs are, and the team spirit looks great. They’re playing with more joy, more freedom and more creativity. Though there is still a lot of improvement needed."

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McDonough said: "There has been an acknowledgement that fans and the club need attacking football, an arrogance and confidence returning to the players and fans of other clubs seething that United are back."

Graham's response captured a commonly held sentiment: "Since Fergie left, there’s barely been a game I’ve felt confident for, but under Mourinho, I genuinely believe we’re going to comfortably win every single game."

Sundaram said: "I remember being unbelievably excited when we signed Robin van Persie [in 2012], and it almost felt inevitable that we'd win the league from the minute he scored that first goal. Watching Zlatan [Ibrahamovic] in the first four games this season has felt a lot like that.

"The signings of [Paul] Pogba, [Henrikh] Mkhitaryan and [Eric] Bailly have catapulted the excitement way overboard. You'd probably have to go back many years to find the last time such a major facelift occurred in just one summer at United."

Our anonymous responder replied: "Mourinho has restored confidence and improved quality. United once more look like United."

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That viewpoint, that United look like themselves again, was repeated elsewhere.

Gildart said: "Those 10 minutes after Ibrahimovic's penalty against Southampton, when we just sent attack after attack and they couldn't get out of their own half, were exhilarating—the football equivalent of when Andy Dufresne rips off his shirt after emerging from the sewage pipe to freedom in The Shawshank Redemption."

Ulrich made the point that Mourinho has sprung a number of surprises: "I don't think any of us expected [Juan] Mata and certainly not [Marouane] Fellaini to not only be featuring in the side but looking a player reborn in Fellaini's case. The only aspect of the personnel choices that gives me real cause for concern is [Wayne] Rooney's continued involvement.

McDonough had an interesting take on what the Van Gaal era did to the fans' relationship with the team and how much that has changed since Mourinho's arrival.

He said: "The FA Cup final was an eye-opener in terms of the fan vibe. [Crystal] Palace were bouncing but United fans felt separated. There seemed a large number not invested in the team or getting behind them.

"Fast forward to the [Community] Shield, and you could already see a new hope and confidence in the fans who were also buoyed by the news of Pogba's arrival. By the time of Southampton at home, Old Trafford was rocking and responding to Jose’s call to back the team.

"

It's buzzing in here @br_uk pic.twitter.com/rola3EWpd0

— Paul (@UtdRantcast) August 19, 2016"

"You can feel we have the potential to be back where we feel we should be and also that the team now looks like a United one. We look big, imposing and, most importantly, a heck of a lot more dangerous than under Moyes or Van Gaal.

"The reaction of the players and fans to [Marcus] Rashford's winner at Hull City sums up the strong relationship with the fans but also that we feel this team has so much promise."

Sundaram echoes this in terms of the wider United supporting public away from matches: "The frustration and anger that consumed the Van Gaal era have given way to a far happier, if less rational, Mourinho-loving fan base. There was nervousness and hope in the Augusts of 2013, 2014 and 2015. There's just naked expectancy in 2016."

Tricia spoke of a perhaps excessively positive vibe around supporters given we have only just entered September but added: "It’s refreshing after the last few seasons of absolute drudgery enlivened only by the occasional bout of downright misery. And don’t we all love that tingly feeling of having other clubs fear us again?"

Gildart echoed this, saying: "Complaints [from fans of other clubs] about the fact we spent £89.3 million on Pogba betray a fear that United are going to be a force again."

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None of our respondents thought United would finish outside of the top three, but the modal average response was definitely second behind City. There was a sense that Mourinho has a tough task in outfoxing Guardiola.

There was one exception to this pragmatism, though. Graham replied with a simple message, echoing the most optimistic part of the fanbase, in the words of a song that has been sung many times on the Stretford End: "We're gonna win the league. We're gonna win the league. And now you're gonna believe us, and now you're gonna believe us, and now you're gonna believe us! We're gonna win the league!" 

He left off the "again" that was frequently shouted in call and response from United fans drenched with success during Sir Alex's reign, but the sentiment was clear.

Fans are optimistic again. A great deal has changed at Old Trafford. There is a long way to go, but for now, the honeymoon period between United supporters and Mourinho is clearly in full swing.

All quotations obtained firsthand.