The supporters are lapping it up, of course, but that's what football fans do. Most supporters of every club engage in mental gymnastics when it suits, including ours. For me, it's the narrative coming from united as an institution that is going to provide the most interest in the months ahead.
What impact will Mourinho's appointment have on the mood music emanating from the club? united, as an institution, have been keen for a couple of decades to pontificate to the wider footballing world about their distinct qualities as a club. Ferguson, Charlton and all their various foot soldiers in the media, ex-players and journalists alike, are very well drilled in talking about united's much vaunted policy in relation to youth, their attacking style of football, their policy of steadfastly sticking by their managers, as well as the tedious and nebulous "united way", whatever the fuck that is. They've claimed for years those things are all woven into the fabric of the club. Quite frankly, they've bored the rest of us shitless parroting on about it.
Will they still bang the same drum, making themselves appear even more hypocritical and absurd? Or will they stop talking in those terms, pretending those words were never said, quietly placed in a memory hole in the Ministry of Truth? Or will Mourinho come to heel and embrace a...errrr.....footballing philosophy that he's shown scant signs of engaging with to date in the course of his managerial career?
As I've said, in terms of this appointment, I don't think they had a great deal of choice, given where they find themselves, in actual and relative terms. They must realise that in addition to us, clubs like Spurs and West Ham are on the rise and they probably don't have the luxury of time to get back in the top four, given the commercial pressures the club is under to do so, but their words have spectacularly made themselves hostages to fortune.
Just like they did when they kept that banner up for all those years.
Some of our supporters might not like our media MO, but in that department we are reserved and understated in every respect. We don't mouth off about what we're about, what we represent and what we are. There is good reason for this. united have been doing this for years, and when the wind changes, and you've got to shift position and reinvent yourself a little, your previous statements can be rendered obsolete and absurd.
The lack of foresight at that club, when they were drunk on success, was grossly negligent. From Ferguson's succession, to the depletion of their youth set up, through to a hiring and firing culture that now subsists all point to a club that had it all and took its eye off the ball at the worst, or best, possible time, depending on what your viewpoint is.
Their football might not be entertaining anymore, but their decline has so far provided great viewing. Long may it continue.
