TERRACE TALK: Man United - The Unlucky One? Jose Mourinho fortunate fans remain on side

I write these words from France while covering the presidential primary fight between Sarkozy, Fillon and Juppé, and am reminded of the local maxim “jamais deux sans trois” — “never two without the third”.

Stoke, Burnley and now Arsenal; all home draws that leave you scratching your head and wondering how two points got picked from your pocket.

Mourinho wailed afterwards about being The Unlucky One, which will have prompted harder-headed Reds to remind him he has only himself to blame for not determinedly closing out a match we had dominated.

Arsenal had been thoroughly and enjoyably emperor’s new clothed — we usually have to wait until spring to witness this — and yet we took our foot off their throats in that last 15 minutes, duly paying the penalty.

Mourinho’s also wrong in a more fundamental way, though. He’s actually very lucky indeed, for he has fans like United’s. Six dropped home points in three games, and the title looking farther away than ever? “No problemo, Senor José.” At how many other Big Clubs would these endless bumps in the road be greeted with such patient equanimity?

Most Reds were perhaps surprisingly prepared to be very positive, once the initial Giroud gutting had worn off, thus continuing a pattern re-established since Anfield. And The Cliché That Shall Not Be Repeated was, umm, regularly repeated. (Clue — ends in “progress”.)

Certainly, the front six of that starting line-up was greeted more enthusiastically than any so far this season, with only Martial’s increasingly typical sulky display subsequently spoiling the picture.

Herrera and Mata conjuring together, Pogba pushing forward, Rashford right up the middle, rearguard Carrick dictating delivery in his best quarter-back style… it looked a little like an ideal future.

Now, if someone would just volunteer to go tell Zlatan and Rooney, thank you.

Ah, yes: our favourite Scouser, fresh from auditioning for ‘The Wedding Crasher 2’, but whose performance at The Grove last week sadly lacked Owen Wilson’s charm. It was more akin to Vince Vaughan’s, in fact; according to yesterday’s Sun On Sunday, one guest wanted to punch Rooney, which is how I tend to react to the sight of Vaughan.

According to my source among the ‘friends of Rooney’, Wayne was exceedingly and unapologetically unhappy about the way Ingerlund handled the fall-out, and I am told by Lisbon snouts Mourinho totally agreed with him.

“José’s crosser with the FA and the media than he is with the player,” assured one old friend. Perhaps so, but one suspects the old rogue won’t be too unhappy about the increase in solidarity and siege mentality the incident will have engendered at Old Trafford. It had pleasing echoes of times gone by, when Fergie would regularly exploit such clashes with the national blazers to exert further psychological control on his charges.

José has bigger fish to fry, anyway, such as sorting out his defence. Agent Jorge Mendes was in Manchester for the weekend, and I understand his client will have told him he is getting “antsy” over the lack of final assent from Ed Woodward regarding the next transfer window. José wants two centre-backs but the final green light has not yet flashed, or so it is being claimed to me. We don’t know which two he wants, but United scouts’ presence has been helpfully spotted at Austrian international matches and a couple of Bundesliga fixtures, which helps whittle down the guess-list.

There will also be spotters a-plenty in Manchester this coming week, although they’ll be from the local plod, getting anxious about the prospect of imminent visits from Feyenoord and West Ham.

Yes, it’s time to wheel out that favourite euphemism “fun ‘n’ games”, with the in-form Dutch the likelier providers — not least because they will be bringing at least 7,000 over for the game. (Minus those placed hors combat after last week’s ruck with Nancy and Strasbourg.)

So, whether you be a visiting Red or a guest in a hotel accommodating Wayne Rooney, mind how you go.