Jose Mourinho is an egotistical self-server who hit the self-destruct button at United... but he never lost the support of the fans, says Scott Patterson, author of The Republik of Mancunia blog.
A few weeks ago, Jose Mourinho was working for Sky Sports ahead of Manchester United's clash against Liverpool. With fans noticing him in the punditry box, he waved and blew kisses to them, showing his appreciation for the warm welcome he received.
Outside of Old Trafford, plenty of fans had grumbled about Mourinho, particularly in his final months in 2018 before he was sacked, but inside the stadium the support was unwavering.
Regardless of the performances or results, he was never booed, with the fan base adopting the same habit with all failing managers the club has employed since Sir Alex Ferguson's retirement.
While it shouldn't have come as a shock when the mood turned toxic during his reign, there had been some sympathy for the manager after not being backed in his final transfer window at the club.
United had won two trophies in his first season and finished second in the league in the following campaign. Mourinho had been desperate to sign at least one defender but the big money signing wasn't forthcoming.
The £80million transfer for Harry Maguire came a year too late for Mourinho, with United struggling defensively in the opening months of the 2018-19 season.
But it wasn't the lack of a star defender that cost him, rather the impact the lack of support he was shown by Ed Woodward had, signalling his time at the club must be coming to an end, despite him penning a contract extension at the beginning of the year.
Manchester City had won the title with ease, finishing a massive 19 points ahead of United, yet Pep Guardiola was still given more money to spend in the summer than Mourinho. Jurgen Klopp spent more than double at Liverpool, having already secured the most expensive defender going at the time the season before.
Understandably, Mourinho had to question how on earth he was expected to bridge that massive gap, and threw his toys out of the pram as a result, seeing that he was being set up to fail.
Mourinho slated the capability of the squad he had available to him, made scapegoats out of some players and offered steadfast support to others, regardless of how undeserving of that faith they may have been. He hit the self-destruct button, as he has done so many times before, so it was no surprise when he was dismissed.
Yet his claim that finishing second in his final full season at United was up there with his greatest achievements, which had been scoffed at then, has looked increasingly credible as time has gone by. It wasn't pretty and it certainly wasn't very enjoyable for the fans, but his two seasons at the club have been the most successful of any manager since 2013.
Mourinho and United will be reunited on Wednesday night, with Spurs travelling to Old Trafford as both sides look to improve their chances of finishing in the top four.
It's hard to believe it's taken the north London club just two league games to leapfrog United after sacking Mauricio Pochettino. Had United beat Aston Villa on Sunday, or held on to their 3-2 lead against Sheffield United the weekend before, it would have been a different story.
But those ifs, buts and maybes are all too frequent as they find themselves floundering under Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, while Spurs have recorded three wins on the bounce in all competitions under Mourinho, scoring 10 goals.
The Spurs manager will receive a good welcome from his former club, something he shouldn't expect when he takes on Chelsea in a few weeks time despite the fact he is their greatest-ever manager.
He pointed to the United badge on his jacket following victories against Chelsea in the past, in response to the fans at his former club booing him and calling him 'Judas', but it's unlikely he'll be as keen to rub the impending victory in the faces of the United faithful.
For United, Mourinho barely registers in the club's history, despite him being the man to lift the Europa League, the final piece of the puzzle when it comes to silverware in the club's museum.
But at Chelsea he represents so much more. He is responsible for half the league titles they've won since the club was formed in 1905, and saw them crowned champions for the first time in 50 years in his debut season.
They adored him, a banner reading 'one of us' finding a permanent fixture on their stands, but have since learnt he was only ever in it for himself. That's the way Mourinho works.
He may now like to describe himself as humble, but he is an egotistical self-server, and it's likely that all fans who find themselves enamored with him initially will eventually come to the same conclusion.
He can be quietly smug when he sees Woodward and respectful of the supporters, but he knows he was pushed from a sinking ship and can be glad of it. Spurs, for now at least, are on the rise, while Solskjaer is overseeing one of the worst tenures in the club's history.
There may well be a managerial merry-go-round, with Pochettino the ideal man for some to replace Solskjaer should he be sacked over the next few weeks, presuming he won't be able to avoid defeats against Spurs or Manchester City.
Whether the Argentinian would fancy the job remains unknown, as in reality, who would be keen to sign themselves up to managing a club requiring a huge overhaul with owners who take more money out than they put in?
Pochettino has experience of delivering success of some sorts on a shoestring budget at Spurs, although his lack of silverware means their fans may soon be rethinking their opinion of him, with Mourinho more capable of winning trophies than any manager they will remember.
For United, Pochettino's record may have mattered more in the past than it does today, as what once felt as a right is now an unfulfilled and far off ambition. Their last trophy win came in 2017 under Mourinho when they beat Ajax in the lesser European competition.
The decision to sack Mourinho was the correct one, in those circumstances, but it could have been a different story if he hadn't been delivered the clear message that his days were numbered in the summer of 2018. United started that season feeling beaten already, with the manager saying as much, and never recovered.
He may well have only made it until the end of that season regardless, with his methods only successful in the short-term, but it would have made it easier to make a better thought out decision when it came to hiring his replacement that summer. We can be sure Solskjaer wouldn't have been on the short-list.
Yet Mourinho's presence on Wednesday will leave the United fans wondering what might have been, looking back with rose-tinted glasses, as he salutes the crowd before likely delivering a devastating game-plan that will leave Solskjaer with no chance.
The United legend has appeared out of his depth in the months since taking the job on permanently and Mourinho will have enjoyed seeing his complaints over the squad vindicated.
Regardless of what he says, nothing will give him greater satisfaction than beating United on Wednesday, and there won't be too many supporters inside Old Trafford expecting anything different.