Simple question to determine if two potential trophies really constitute a good season for Manchester United:
If you took away the prize for winning the Europa League - Champions League qualification - would you really be happy with finishing sixth and winning those two cups?
It's not good enough.
Without the carrot of gaining entry into the premier European competition, whatever happens in Stockholm against Ajax would be completely irrelevant. A good night out, sure, but no-one will really give a shit about it two weeks afterwards.
Jose Mourinho is a master spin doctor though and he's force-fed a lot of United fans the erroneous idea that they're on the brink of something special - something that he really thinks justifies their unacceptable down-tools attitude in the last month of the Premier League. A behaviour which, ironically, was brought about purely out of a lack of trust or belief or talent from the manager that him and United could get the job done and finish ahead of Liverpool in the league.
The transformation has been remarkable. This is the same man who spoke the words the club desperately needed to hear at the start of the season - that they were going for the league and anything outside of that is failure. Now, he's celebrating John Guidetti missing an open goal with the last kick of the game and United clinging to another 1-1 home draw to edge past Celta Vigo and into what might as well be a shield final.
Do you even remember the last 10 winners of the Europa League? Imagine how quickly you'd rattle off the Champions League winners, the Premier League champions, the World Cup title holders - proper competitions.
It's admirable in a way how the manager of one of the biggest clubs in the world has manipulated its support.
Manchester United have reached heights that, in the last 11 years alone, Middlesbrough and Fulham were also able to scale. Rangers, Braga, Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk, they've all been able to make a Europa League final too but United have fallen so far that they're now willing to pretend like it's a bigger deal than what it really is.
https://twitter.com/Kate_flynn86/status/862787870293188609
Mourinho's management of expectations at this giant club with the best squad in the league and the millions bandied about to improve it further say more about the fans who are aggressively jumping to his defence at any sign of criticism now.
Two trophies, they'll say. If we get into the Champions League, it doesn't matter. He's always better in his second year, that sort of rubbish.
All it does is highlight their own desperation that they simply need to believe this guy is indeed the saviour. They keep the faith because they feel like they have no other choice anymore.
Even Gary Neville backs it up, saying outrageous things like Mourinho doesn't have HIS team yet. He's only made four signings, you see - never mind what mega signings they were. Basically, the man who's about to finish sixth in the league is being given a green light to go out and spend another fortune on another pile of players and he's also seemingly being allowed to ditch whatever he doesn't find useful in the squad - even though they're pretty useful.
Mourinho has somehow been given total autonomy to do what he likes at Old Trafford no matter how badly his results look and how, worse than that, his performances look. His greatest ever trick as a manager has been yielding more and more control and power as he oversees more and more of a decline.
And the only argument seems to be that this guy is a good manager if he's allowed to buy 10 of the best players in the world.
https://twitter.com/SportsJOEdotie/status/863062476329549825
There's been no consideration for the job Conte has done at Chelsea with what is actually Jose Mourinho's team, for Christ's sake.
There hasn't even been a realisation that men like Klopp and Pochettino have done better and miles better with lesser squads.
Mourinho came in and he promised that they had eyes only on being number one. He finally raised expectations again and, yes, his stature and reputation does attract big names and will attract more. He's not a total dud but he's a manager who was once very good now seriously - almost serially - underperforming. Somehow though, he's been able to spin his failures and, more than that, bring the fans along with him.
Now, it feels like a cult where United are one and no-one will speak ill of any facet of the club. If you do, the fans will jump down your throat and do Mourinho's work for him.
It'd nearly remind you of some Liverpool fans promising nothing but greatness for David N'Gog with no evidence but for the fact he played for Liverpool.
There can be no bigger insult to a United fan defending Mourinho right now.
