Jose Mourinho spent much of the summer carrying the gaunt look of a man about to climb Mount Everest with only a rusty ice pick and a piece of 40-year-old rope for company. On Sunday, he was clinging on to the precipice of a jagged rock, not quite sure whether to clamber on with the equipment he had been given or turn back and give up.
Brighton taught his Manchester United team a harsh lesson during the course of their win at the Amex Stadium. The 3-2 scoreline flattered the visitors. United were an embarrassment from front to back. From the hapless David De Gea, in front of the comedy pairing of Victor Lindelof and Eric Bailly in defence, to the ineffectual Juan Mata. The rest of the side merely looked disinterested.
It may sound premature but it is a long way to the summit of the Premier League from here. With three points from two games, United are already out to a quite frankly massive 25/1 to win the league with bookmakers.
Recent history suggests that Mourinho and his men often call it a day when it comes to his third season at any one club.
Following the remarkable success he achieved with Porto, Mourinho took the Premier League by storm during his first spell with Chelsea. Winning the league in his first two seasons before finishing runners up in his third. He left five games into an unprecedented fourth season at Stamford Bridge.
Since then, back-to-back Scudettos in Italy with Inter Milan were followed by a swift trip to Spain. At Real Madrid, as he so often does, Mourinho delivered the La Liga title at the second time of asking, with Real finishing 2nd-1st-2nd in three seasons under Mourinho before he departed at the end of the campaign.
A return to a second spell with Chelsea ended in the third year as well. A third place finish in his first year back was followed by the obligatory title win in his second campaign, although a disastrous third year ended with him departing in December with the Blues languishing in 16th place.
It seems unlikely that things will get quite that bad at United, where he has overseen 6th place and 2nd place finishes so far, but the warning signs are there following a desperate opening nine days of a campaign that started with an unconvincing win over Leicester and culminated in that defeat to Brighton on Sunday. Mourinho usually delivers when it comes to reaching the peak of a domestic league. It seems unlikely at Old Trafford.
Admittedly, Mourinho has endured worst starts. In 2012/13, Real drew 1-1 with Valencia and then lost 2-1 to Getafe in their opening two La Liga matches before finishing 15 points adrift of Barcelona
In 2015/16, Mourinho's Chelsea lost the Community Shield to Arsenal before drawing 2-2 with Swansea and then losing 3-0 at Manchester City. The Blues won just one of their opening five games before Mourinho departed prior to Christmas.
Next up for his Manchester United team is a game against another team hoping to mount the summit of the Premier League as they host Tottenham on Monday 27th August. It remains to be seen whether either team has the proper tools for such an expedition. At this stage, United look as if they are regretting not investing in a better team for the task before them. If results and performances continue to underwhelm in the same manner, they might be looking for a new expedition leader to replace a beleaguered looking Mourinho.
