Jose Mourinho is one of the most successful managers in the world, but the former Chelsea boss also hardly lasts at any club for an extended period.
He has managed some of the biggest teams in Europe including Inter Milan, Manchester United and Real Madrid.
It was a surprise that he took the Tottenham job at the end of 2019, but he has since proven to be one manager that can help them end their wait for a trophy.
His team started this campaign well and has even reached the final of the Carabao Cup.
However, Spurs are currently on a poor run of form and three consecutive losses in the league is not the form of a team that wants European football next season.
In the absence of Harry Kane, his team has looked out of sorts and it seems that things may get worse before they get better.
Some fans have begun to call for his head as the results continue to disappoint.
Daniel Levy has shown over the years that he isn’t afraid of making tough decisions.
But The Athletic says he has no plans to fire the Portuguese boss at the moment.
Although their current form is bad, they are still in at least three competitions and that is a good sign to Levy that things are not as bad as they look.
I am sure Levy’s stance for maintaining the ‘status quo’ is not remotely influenced by the 30 million quid it would take to pay Jose off if he had to fire him! Notwithstanding, one has to honestly assess management by current performance and there has been an alarming drop off in form since the dizzy, table-topping, heights of November.
Successive performances then, against Man City, Chelsea and Arsenal saw 7 points out of 9 gained and no goals conceded, a team playing with belief and determination, working hard for each other and evidently buying into Jose’s system, which was yielding results and which saw us sitting imperiously atop the EPL.
Fast forward a couple of months and the team’s level of performance, self-belief and work ethic has slumped precipitously. In apportioning blame for this sorry state of affairs, one can but look without bias at what has changed, noting that aside from the recent loss through injury of Kane and Reguilon, the players available to the manager are the same.
Which begs the obvious question, what HAS changed? If this squad of players was good enough to head the table a third of the way through the season, then they are surely at least good enough to make the top four. Let us not delude ourselves that this was a potential EPL winning squad, it wasn’t, but a solid top four candidate it certainly was.
In my observation, earlier in the season, when the team was playing winning football, the players were both playing for each other and the manager. In contrast now, too many players appear not to be playing for the manager or indeed believing in the system. In which case, all one can conclude is that in some way the players have been alienated by the manager and/or the system.
As the system manifestly works and as players like to be successful, regardless of how pragmatic the system might be, one would have to surmise it is more likely to be the manager who has disenchanted the players. The most likely areas of contention being issues with team selection and man-management.
I think some players could justifiably feel aggrieved at being discarded, whilst others, apparent Mourinho favourites, have been given a free pass. Toby, Sissoko, Aurier and Lamela fall into the former category, whilst Dier, Davies and arguably Bergwijn, are in the latter category. The very public excoriation of Dele and the ostracising of Winks, is also unlikely to have improved team morale.
A contemporary Mourinho managerial tenure is always a battle between the tactical brilliance and insatiable will to win of the manager, tempered by a divisive managerial style and a tendency to harshly scapegoat certain players, sometimes unjustifiably, which ultimately alienates the dressing room and leads to his demise.
The only question is whether this repetitive cycle is imminently approaching its bitter denouement or if the team can be re-focused, re-motivated, tactically re-calibrated and inspired to embrace the battles ahead and emerge victorious in the quest for silverware. Let us hope, in the year ending in 1, it is the latter!
Indeed we are now 9th.
Levy has hung his coat out to dry on Mourinho’s reputation and gravitas to secure some success to avoid the cost of a major revamp of the squad. It’s cheaper to shell out 15million a year on your manager than to invest the sum needed to drain the swamp of the dross we are carrying. Kane needs to get back quicker than anticipated and remain injury-free for the rest of the season. Son needs to refind his mojo with Kane back. Ndombele needs to up his level more consistently and stop rolling around on the ground every time he is tackled as if he has lost a leg plus play further forward. Hoijberg needs to move forward and hold the middle and Sissoko needs to play as a deeper DM behind him so we have a transition through the middle of the team. We need Requilion back to provide width and pace down the left flank and I would give Tanganga a try out at right-back. Pair up Toby with Rodon at the back. Take a risk and play Bale alongside Kane and Son for a run of games. Use Davies and Dier only in emergencies or as late subs if we are in control of the match. Use Moura and Lamela in the last 20 mins to add more energy in the middle and keep a high press. Swop Ndombele with Lo Celso if either looks off the pace. Then we may just win the Carabo Cup and challenge for the Wafa Cup. Maybe even grab a fourth-place if we stop dropping points. Our problem is though will this season be enough to keep Kane and Son at the club with Man City after Kane and RM interested in Son. Will Levy use the money from selling Kane and Son to rebuild the team for Mourinho? He has form for selling our best players to raise money for new players. If Kane and Son ask to leave then I feel it is inevitable and a damming indictment of our owners that these two world-class players had no success during their careers at the club.
We are indeed in 3 comps atm but
Sacking Jose will not improve the likes of Davies, Sanchez, Moura, Lamella, and a few more who are just not good enough. Maybe need to wait until the end of this season and hopefully next season, with some new additions and recalls for Skippy and Sessy we will have a better squad and fans in the stands will make a difference. But changing manger on a whim now will not help.
Levy has no plans because it would cost too much to get rid and I doubt he has a plan to bring someone else in. Levy has tried bringing in solid British coaches, fashionable Europeans, forward thinking South Americans and now he’s tried his hand at a successful one. None have worked. If he hasn’t worked out why and no one has told him our predicament will never change.