I'm almost certain I watched an MUTV interview with Mourinho from just before the Madrid game where he said he wasn't really interested and intimated pretty clearly that it wasn't a natural fit anyway. A lot of the "we snubbed him/he snubbed us" shit is complete conjecture. Either from people desperate to think his main goal in life was to come here, or those desperate to think we're "better/above" him. Both are probably bollocks. Last week everyone was certain he'd go to Chelsea, so why this would send him into a panic I don't know. If he truly is desperate to come here he wouldn't have expected it to be right now anyway. Or perhaps, considering he's so close to SAF, and the Moyes thing has evidently been planned for yonks anyway, he knew, hence why he nonchalantly shrugged it off in that interview.
People's conjecture is merely projecting, influenced by their opinions of him. It's entirely possible his constant reverence to SAF is just that. Respect for someone he sees as an iconic figure in his profession.
As for Moyes, I've come round to the idea a lot. I respect that it's the "proper" thing to do. There's so much fuss made of how hard it is for British managers to break into the elite, and this shows a due respect for hard work and longevity and giving a chance to potential rather than the same crop of obvious heavyweights or flavours of the month. The only qualm I had with the initial announcement was this idea that Moyes & SAF were "cut from the same cloth" which also fit in with the same idea that Mourinho wasn't "our class" or whatever.
When Fergie first came here, his closest paralels were not other angry scots, but the likes of Jose or (hush it in whispered tones) Benitez when they first came here. Miraculously successful with 'lesser' teams, hired because they were winners but unknown quantities on these shores. I find the whole Mourinho/class debate tedious, because to most opposition fans Fergie is just as arrogant as Jose (how d'you think Liverpool fans see the famous "perch" comment?...Humble and classy?)
But as it is, whatever happens, it's interesting, and a good thing for British football (which has become wildly out of step with the other top leagues in how the big teams pick managers) to show that "doing your time" so to speak, can earn you the right to step up. As business equivalents go it's closer to promoting from within than hiring a swanky new manager from a rival firm. And that's good.
He deserves 2 years of fan patience at the very least. And if it goes tits up, then welcome to the world of pretty much every other football fan on the planet. I've never had much truck with the idea that our fans are inherently more or less classy than any other. And this will be the test of it.
He has my full support though
