There are distinct caveats to be applied to the Mourinho regime and its ‘modus operandi’. Yes, Jose is a serial winner and his CV deservedly commands considerable respect, however it can’t be overlooked that his recent managerial tenures, at Chelsea and United, both unravelled fast and deteriorated into fractious factionalism, whereby he lost a significant portion of both dressing rooms, thus hastening his demise.
This doesn’t occur when he is winning, even if the occasional player might become marginalised, like a Dele Alli. However, once the team stops winning and Mourinho’s relentless perfectionism finds more targets within the team, as objects of his ire, the situation can deteriorate quickly. I am sure that most of the squad are still ‘on board’ with the manager, however in the last two EPL games the levels of performance have dropped off considerably, especially worryingly from Son and Kane,
Players, especially top players, want to win and Sonny and Harry in particular have bought into the Mourinho footballing ethos. Whilst we are winning, there is no problem in maintaining cohesion and harmony within the group. However once the team falters, inevitably attention starts to focus on the pragmatic but negative defensive tactics that Jose habitually employs. Shackling world class strikers like Son and Kane, with defensive duties, is a concern to me as a fan and I feel the fall out from the West Ham draw has had undesirable repercussions.
Not only is it disingenuous of Mourinho now to blame the players, for an overly cautious approach, it is dangerously counter-productive. I don’t believe it was the players who authorised the tactical change after the West Ham debacle, it was undoubtedly Mourinho. As a result, the devastating fluidity of our counter-attacking football in the second half against Southampton, against United and the first 15-minutes against West Ham, that garnered 14 goals, is now a distant memory.
We have a chance in the next three matches, all at home, against Fulham, Leeds and Brentford to really go for the jugular and ‘let slip the dogs of war!’ Let our world class strikers off the leash and attack these inferior teams, make our quality count. Any more defending 1-0 leads from the first minute, with 11 men behind the ball, especially if we ultimately don’t win and the disenchantment will grow, certainly from the fan base but one suspects also from within the team. Over to you Jose, remember the famous old club motto, “to dare is to do!”
N€w lan€ l€vy doing fine work so far.
How long have we been playing this type of football? And you can’t get behind the club while we are? Joke ting. “Don’t care what we win if we have to play like this? Says it all really. “Will lose Kane and son in the summer? Ok then! 6 points off top and the league’s too far gone? Struth
I’m with that too. For our young fans.
Personally, I think it is a box-to-box 8 type player that Spurs are missing.
Hojbjerg is a good 6, and Ndombele and GLC sub each other fine at the 10.
Neither of Winks or Sissoko can play the 8. That is exactly what is necessary for transition from the defense back to the front third.
Why are you giving up on top 4 in only the 18th week of 38 ?
Banging out Blanchflower quotes from the 1950s and 60s I find rather bizarre.. Back then it was black and white tv, cannonballs weighting a tonne, muddy uneven pitches.. Back then the defence barely came 10 yards in front of the penalty area. Back then they really did say back… Football has evolved so much since… I think alot of you older boys remember the 60s through rose tinted glasses because it was far more basic back then… The truth is that we have players who are not good enough. The likes of Winks and Davies are found out at the top level… We can’t rely on or have weak links like these guys.
😆 Four pussies I bet.. That’s why.
He wasn’t backed at Manure we all know Woodwards been running a 💩 show since Moyes was there… And the Chavs get through managers like hot meals! I can’t remember Chav fans wanting him gone, the vast majority were shocked.
That was a famous quote by Danny Blanchflower, thanks for repeating, just so apt now. It’s an unedifying prospect that we are going to play every game the same way for the rest of the season.
Fcuk Abba mate… And for your information it was Swansea who sold Siggurs to Everton for 50 mil. We sold him to the swans for about 12million… We do get 4.5mil odd from their deal. But thats it… Yeah he had a bad game the other day but hes a player. Pfa player of the year after we sold him I believe…. So bad business by us, not good at all. We lost the player and the money he was really worth.
Kwp not good enough.. What about Japh Tanganga?… Yes he had salah and de bruyne but they were never going to play in a squad with the likes of Lampard, Essien, Robben etc.. Sometimes players have to be loaned or sold for everyones sake. Sessy is loaned which was needed.
I couldn’t agree more with your assessment of levy. I think he did his but to move us forward, but when it came to the decision to invest to turn us into winners, his true colours showed. Was happy to get as much as he could from no investment.
Everything I’ve said about Levy was true.
Would have thrown Klopp out after 4 years?
We got a thin layer this season due to levy knowing he had taken the utter piss out of the previous one whose name I shall not mention as he is deemed as loser. Still amazes me.
Total beast ,luv him also the best judges are fellow professionals and they all rated him highly.
Vinicius?
Thank you- this is spot on. We go to watch and appreciate good football “style with a flourish”. I know where to find 80s and 90’s tedious cantenaccio if i want to have a nap.
RIP Tottenham Hotspur Football Club
You mention players don’t have the quality, yet the players are under instruction in the way they play, don’t forget that.
Haha. Just realized, but the courage to post it is still honorable.
Full kit w*nkers
Ok… Read it. I think you talking about the very long article where you chastise levy (as usual) but in the end still claim Jose is the saviour…it may just take a while. I really do struggle with how accepting you are of Jose and his tactics. Had poch played even 2 games in a row (despite result) you would have been leading the lynch mob. Time will tell if Jose will be Spurs saviour, but as you recommend, I am likely to only be watching via match of the day from now on, and honestly wish I had enough free time where I felt waisting 90mins watching this brand of football was ok. I expect I would have finished watching all the paint dry in my house first. I will always be a Spurs fan, so will leave more responses in this thread with a few words “The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning. It is nothing of the kind. The game is about glory, it is about doing things in style and with a flourish, about going out and beating the other lot, not waiting for them to die of boredom” no use just winning… You have to win well.
Didn’t get time. So likely missed it. I read most of your articles.
There are some horrible bastards about. I heard a cat outside crying so I opened the door and saw 4 blokes in Arsenal Shirts, playing football with it. I was just about to phone the RSPCA when the cat went 1-0 up.
Thanks for playing Gary.
Guest post – less haste – more speed.
Maybe you should start your own blog, they come fitted with just the one driving wheel.
It’s also depressing that you didn’t bother reading the 1500 word piece from yesterday.
This.
Fair point but ultimately the game is about seeing your team win silverware!!
We played some pretty dire football in the last 18 months of MoPo’s reign.
To touch on a couple of points HH raised in his article, I fully agree in regard to the tactics, a midfield three of Winks, Sissoko and Hojbjerg is not capable of playing attacking football.
In regard to Kane and Sonny looking disinterested, could this be down to the volume of games they have both played? There is no respite for them,Carabao, Ropey, Premier League, they feature in them all.
It’s been a while since you have not simply published a Jose puff piece Harry, about time you got back to calling it like it is. Jose history does not ensure success today. My opinion on how we play has never changed, much to the deridment from my peers in here. I don’t really care what we win, if we have to play like this to win it, I can’t be 100% on the journey.
If Jose finally wins a trophy… Great… But I assure you, blaming players for losses and taking credit for wins will almost certainly result in your top talent getting frustrated. With your squad getting disengaged with setting their mates made to scapegoat. So we win the league cup, but don’t get top 4… We will lose Kane and Son in the summer. Let’s see how well next season goes with this defence and a levy bought Kane/son replacement. Jose needs to win the Europa at the very least. The league to far gone now.
It is a myth there was any tactical change after West Ham. Sitting deep and defending has been the strategy virtually since he arrived, including in that West Ham game .. probably the only time in the club’s history that such a tactic has been deployed at home to West Ham.
People will buy into playing and watching such football for as long as wins can be squeezed out. But I doubt Ksne and Son are psyched by having to spend half the game tracking lesser opponents. I also doubt they have been wowed by the treatment of their mate Dele.
It is wise to recall how things ended in his last two jobs. The difference there though was that they could afford to fire him once it went toxic.
Harry Hotspur, the boyspur whatever they call you. This type of article I expect from you. Not the dangling shiny object you posted recently. If you read my comment on it you know how I felt. This certainly does not mean you do not support the man, but reading you in the past you call spades no fluff. Hats of to you Boy Spurs. Good stuff!!!
Mourinho treats Palace and Wolves like they are Barcelona circa 2016. The tactics are a disgrace. Even if we win a cup this year do you think Kane is going to sign up for another year of this offenseless football? He will be at PSG, Madrid, or worse United or City if we maintain this playing style.
Watching Spurs at the moment is not enjoyable. Jose does not progress young talent; why sell Kyle Walker Peters and let Ryan Sessegnon go on loan. He does not use the squad to rest key players and he alienates some of the best talent there is. Didn’t Mourinho have De Bruyne and Salah at Chelsea and let them go? If there had been investment in the team at least 18 months before Mourihno arrived at Spurs, we would have silverware and be enjoying free flowing, attacking football under MoPo.
Entering post Xmas spirit excellent Abba hit
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iyIOl-s7JTU
Call it lunacy yes I’d settle for winning the Carabs Cup over a top 4 slot. Yes I would!
Deprived of winning silverware since 2008 I’d settle for solely winning the Carabs Cup this season simply to celebrate the excitement of winning a trophy which really is what it’s all about supporting your club winning trophies meaningless or otherwise!!
We will take it to Brentford.
Winning a second rate cup – which the football authorities have done to our domestic cup competitions – is better than CL football? I’m not sure winning one of those will transform this team to the extent we challenge for a title or CL.
The winner takes it all!
Fair point but having won nothing under Harry Redknapp or Poch playing free flowing attractive football then if we win silverware under Jose playing this ugly stuff but effective way this season which is what he was recruited to do then whilst acknowledging it does not satisfy the purists surely the ends justify the means??
Find the odious egomaniac unbearable to be fair so my commentary may be biased.
It’s the new Tottenham way. Levy has overseen a period of chronic mediocrity.
But he was able to beat people, hold them off and also put his foot in. Loved him. Should have kept him for the CL run.
He’s a busted flush. Couldn’t win the title with Manure’s sizable budget. Also left the place on fire as is his want.
Ahhhh…. jam tomorrow. Where have I heard that before?
“Yes, Jose is a serial winner and his CV deservedly commands considerable respect”
Yes, Jose is a serial winner, with a diminishing quality of trophies during the last 5 years, and a CV which commands a somewhat lesser level of respect in recent years than during its first 10 to 15.
The quotes from managers & players of our prestigious past don’t sit right on Maureen, who’s style is primarily about stopping the opposition succeeding and then taking the few chances which come our way.
It’s not glorious it’s tedious.
Agreed nor replaced Modric either. Dembele had his critics on this blog but what he did well is that when he broke up possession he moved forward with alacrity but by his own admission could and should have chipped in with more goals via his potent left peg!!
Totally agree. Also we Still haven’t replaced Dembele who was a real class act.
Clearly spending millions on players does not guarantee success as Lampard discovered on his £200m outlay in the summer.
One of the best astute summer signings was Jotta (£41m) who ended up at Liverpool and could have done with him in our side. It is painfully obvious that our pedestrian cumbersome build up approach play is too slow and that we urgently need a creatively midfielder of Modric ilk.
With Kane and Son as our only attacking threat, the opposition knows what is coming. Our full backs and midfield do not have the quality to pose an attacking threat, so the opposition only have to plan for 2 players! We are better without the ball, because we have so little quality with it. How on earth can Hojbjerg, Davies, Winks, Sissoko, Aurier and Bergwijn offer a reasonable threat? It has been embarrassing watching us with the ball at times. This is easily fixable, we will need Levy buying a few top, quality players. Ones that can keep the ball, go past a player (imagine that). Yes, we need to get rid of the deadwood, but top 4 is not out of our grasp. The league is decidedly average and we are in a fortunate position that few teams have their own houses in order. Every game seems to be ‘very important’ which shows no one is convinced by what we are producing. Those wanting a league title need to wind their necks in, but if Jose is given players he wants, there is no reason why it can’t be done in the near future.
As said previously Jose needs to freshen things up by boldly drafting in the likes of Messrs Clarke, Cirken, White and
Scarlett.
Naturally it wont happen but not wishing to tempt fate based on current form I can see us losing all 3 matches!!
If we’re afraid of Fulham and Brentford or Leeds we are in trouble. As I said before we are a counter attacking team but at the moment it’s all counter and no attack. When Harry Kane has more touches in his own defence the coaches need to wake up
A worthy comment that was made into a Blogpost of it’s own. 👍
Whilst I fully concur with your sentiments, the fact that the Bale loan deal has backfired plus the underwhelming performances of other personnel IMO our style of play is likely to remain unchanged under Jose.
Jose clearly doesn’t trust his fullbacks to do their job. Playing Sissoko or Reguilion almost on of them. So much so we then have nothing to offer in midfield. Btw Reguilion is no midfielder. This style of play is down to team selection and tactics from Jose and it needs to change now. Attack attack, attacka attacka tack 👊🏻👊👊