The arrival of José Mourinho brought with it the usual ragtag collective of uniformed foreboders of doom, you know the drill by now; threats of bus parking and how it would all end in tears. After just the one trophy in a decade, it amused me no end that there were still some out there who didn’t know that we’d run out of Man Size tissues some considerable time ago. Sky Sports’ unintentionally oafish Paul Merson warned that Harry Kane wouldn’t score goals under the Portuguese Pulis, in truth, that ought to have been one of those seminal moments where fans began to rub their hands in glee. If Merse had foretold rain, it would have been time to buy shares in suntan lotions.
Placing a bet on Tottenham in the past was a far from certain venture, our track record stank of unreliability, however the work undertaken by Mourinho in the transfer market since his arrival last year are reasons to regard Spurs as a credible threat. The 56-year-old Portuguese has addressed all of his squad’s weaknesses, and we now have two players for every position in the squad.
However, the real reason for cheer is that tactical improvement that Mourinho has made with specific players. Perhaps the very best example of this is the explosion this season, of Harry Kane. To date, Kane has performed better than even Thierry Henry did in the 2004/5 season.
It is only when one compares the 27-year-old’s assist tally so far in 2020/21 against broader opponents does it become clear that Harry Kane is suddenly operating on a different level.
When examining Harry’s previous seasons at Tottenham, it looks increasingly likely that this season could be the England captain’s most productive yet. What Mourinho has done here is simple yet immensely effective, and is reliant upon Harry’s fantastic footballing brain and technical expertise. Gone are games where Kane was running himself into the ground trying to get a touch on a ball, enter a far more intelligent approach to the game and one which has so far produced some immensely entertaining football.
All that remains is for Spurs to finally lift some silverware, as it is implausible for Kane to keep delivering this class of action for a side that fails to win trophies. Harry Kane looks to have finally arrived. Bravo, Mourinho. Bravo…
https://www.theguardian.com/football/2018/oct/28/pep-guardiola-manchester-city-harry-kane-tottenham-premier-league
Good blog. Enjoyed those stats. 👏
Jose calling Spurs the Pep team? Spurs calling Pep the Jose team? Call Peping Jose Kane the Team Harry?
I think that was Pep, actually!
Muller is very special. Not big strong or quick but so clever. He’ll be a fabulous manager one day.
In theory I mean! 😂
I always remember Jose calling Spurs “the Harry Kane team” while at Manure.
He got it.
Kane’s passing range is outstanding, as is his ability to score. Playing both roles at the same time is effective and long may he stay fit. Centre Backs do not know whether to stick or twist when he goes deep. As long as the other 2 forwards and the actual midfielder know he has dropped then it is happy days. Interchanging between a 9 and 10 role is what Dele did well for the first few seasons. Kane has eliminated the nonsense recently served up by Dele and we are stronger for it. With regard to Mourinho parking the bus, watching our insipid performances after Lockdown forced the issue. I am pleased we have moved on from these games, but we were playing awful football v awful football teams (Newcastle and Bournemouth) without any semblance of a plan. Even Kane was looking detached from the team at times. The new Kane and the new Spurs are heading in the right direction. We just need to put teams like Burnley to the sword.
Brilliant re. Kane but “disciplined” is not a word I’d use to describe our defence under the Special One!
He’s given him a free role pretty much while the rest of the team stick to set positions and moves to support him. Giving the game changer freedom was always part of what he did at Chavski, while the rest of the side was very disciplined.