Jose Mourinho had his best chance at revenge over Man Utd scuppered but it is not entirely clear who by. Spurs supporters might have something to say.
Thank you for reading this post, don't forget to subscribe!No way, Jose
It’s safe to say the absence of Jose Mourinho has made Dave Kidd’s heart grow fonder.
Mediawatch covered The Sun writer’s glorious flip-flopping on the Portuguese before Fenerbahce hosted Manchester United on Thursday night. The short version was thus: in 2018 there was ‘a nationwide feeling of ‘Good riddance and never darken our doors again’, but now ‘an audience with Jose Mourinho never grows old’, which can be roughly translated to ‘please come back because you’re about the only thing that can reliably sell newspapers in 2024’.
Hence Mourinho takes up the entire back page of The Sun on Friday as Kidd goes to great lengths to write only about the manager and not the actual match.
Poor Kidd, who presumably spent the whole game fuming about the ‘dark narcissism’ of someone who used to have ‘box-office charisma and humour…when he was winning titles’. Or conveniently forgetting that’s what he wrote six years ago about someone whose touchline behaviour he duly lapped up the first chance he got.
Basket case
A reminder that Kidd chastised Mourinho in 2018 as ‘boring off the field’, ‘a busted flush’ and ‘a petulant manchild’ in that excoriating piece six years ago, which concluded that ‘when Jose Mourinho is soon drummed out of English football, there will be no affection and precious little respect’ as ‘nobody cares’ for his behaviour anymore.
You can really sense that anger in Kidd’s match report as he fawns over ‘the old devil’ and ‘old rogue’ who was ‘in typically mischievous form’ and ‘is never knowingly upstaged’.
He even includes this entirely nonsensical line:
‘Would he be smuggled back into the dugout in a laundry basket, one of the tricks he used to defy a touchline ban during his Chelsea days?’
Does everyone else remember the time someone randomly wheeled a laundry basket containing a banned Mourinho into the dugout during a game and no-one said a thing?
READ NEXT: Mourinho struts his stuff as careless, careworn Man United reach a year without a European win
Shout out to my X
The focus on Mourinho does create quite the quandary for The Sun website, who generally insist on leading pretty much every headline with the random thoughts on a punter from the social media website formerly known as Twitter.
Mourinho’s own words are surely BOX OFFICE enough to warrant being the lead without any extra push? They speak for themselves, no?
Seemingly not, because ‘Jose Mourinho creates ‘football heritage’ with outrageously sarcastic interview about referee after Man Utd draw’.
So Mourinho’s post-match interview was gripping enough to cover in a story, but because ‘one fan wrote on X: “Football heritage”,’ that takes precedent.
It makes perfect sense and doesn’t half sum up the state of the media in big 2024.
Revenge is a dish best served ages ago
Simon Mullock was on duty for the Daily Mirror and he writes:
‘Little wonder Jose Mourinho saw red. The Special One will never have a better chance of getting one over on the club that sacked him.’
It feels like Mourinho might consider beating Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford with Spurs four years ago to be sufficient in terms of ‘getting one over’ on the club that sacked him for being bad.
Mischief managed
Over at the Daily Mail it’s Chris Wheeler who marvels at Mourinho:
‘Mourinho had blagged and bluffed on the eve of this one, mischievously making United favourites to win the competition, but this is not as good as the team that he led to Europa League glory in 2017.’
Typical ‘mischievous’ Mourinho, naming Tottenham and Manchester United – the two most likely Europa League winners this season according to both bookmakers and just general common sense – as the two most likely Europa League winners this season.
He’ll be tipping Real Madrid or Manchester City to win the 2024/25 Champions League next, the rascal.
Wheeler does at least sum up the media mood with his closing paragraph:
‘Then it became the Jose Mourinho show again, and everything else was largely forgotten.’
Well quite. Just a shame that actual football apparently has to be included in a list of things which ‘was largely forgotten’.
Turn it up
‘What Casemiro did after spotting former Man United manager Jose Mourinho speaks volumes’ – Manchester Evening News.
He hugged and spoke to an old colleague. How voluminous.
Where there’s a WILL
‘”HE’S GONE!” Liverpool told England star Alexander-Arnold has decided on future and WILL make Real Madrid transfer next summer after contract nightmare’ – Daily Mirror website.
It is almost 160 words before Tim Sherwood – the inside source who has kindly ‘told’ Liverpool that one of their players WILL leave – is even referenced.
Webb of lies
‘Howard Webb singles out ‘the best’ Premier League referee after ‘bias’ controversy’ – Daily Mirror website.
Howard Webb is a curious man seemingly desperate to celebrify both himself and the literal concept of a Premier League referee. But even he isn’t dense enough to publicly identify who he feels ‘the best’ official is.
He will, however, tell Stadium Astro that Michael Oliver is probably the most talented footballer of the current crop of referees, likely exasperating Arsenal fans in the process.
Brutal honesty
‘Roberto Mancini brutally sacked from job as highest-paid manager in the world’
It is certainly difficult to think of more ‘brutal’ punishments meted out by Saudi Arabia than sacking an incredibly well-paid manager who has won one of his last five games and is third in a World Cup qualifying group, and giving him a whacking great pay-off for the privilege. Definitely the right word for it.
READ NEXT: One clamour for every Premier League club: fans demand Arsenal teen and £37.2m Man Utd forward start
