Garth Crooks has said that Jose Mourinho should consider retiring from management if he cannot win trophies at Tottenham Hotspur.
The 56-year-old has been brought in to deliver the silverware that Mauricio Pochettino could not over his five-and-a-half year tenure, and won his first game in charge, a 3-2 victory away to West Ham United on Saturday.
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Former Spurs’ striker Crooks believes that Mourinho is lucky to have walked into a club that has everything in place to lift major honours, and a failure to do so may be a sign that ‘The Special One’ has had his day.
Writing in his weekly BBC Sport column, Crooks said: “The new Tottenham manager has been handed one of the best squads in the country, the best stadium in the world and one of the best academies in the game – and that is all accompanied by state-of-the-art training facilities.
“If Mourinho can’t win trophies at this club, he should consider retiring from football permanently.
“Let’s face it, that’s why he’s been hired – to win trophies. He can be rude and truculent. However, what he can do is win silverware.
“Regular readers will know that I have been one of Mourinho’s biggest critics over the past two years but Spurs are a very different club to Manchester United and this relationship might work.”
Crooks writes as though Mourinho has something to prove. This is a manager who has won 25 major trophies at five different clubs and, even during an apparently failed spell at Manchester United, delivered three pieces of silverware. How are United faring since he left, Garth?
I hope, beyond hope, that the Portuguese does satisfy our trophy craving. But if he doesn’t, he will have no problem finding work, if he wants it.
When he arrived, Kane was green, Alli was at Milton Keynes, Son was in Germany and Eriksen was not world leading. The club was not in UCL, paid lowish wages and had low to medium transfer budgets. The Bale money had not been that well spent.
What he did in the first three years was phenomenal: net transfer profits of £20m and reshaped the squad to his liking. If you think 86pts in EPL was average, you need some harsh words about reality.
You need to consider what the effect of stadium build did. 2017/18 was about making £100m for the stadium funding, not investing £100m in the squad. Then the stadium delay meant two windows without purchases.
The stadium build will transform the club, but stalled Pocchetino’s plans.
You should go read what people said about Ranieri and Chelsea….the ignorami said he was a loser, real football people knew he got Chelsea ready for success, just as he did before for Valencia.
Pocchetino left Spurs miles, miles better than he found it…..
Jose has come here to win all cups. Nothing else.
I wasn’t there unfortunately.
I think that is the most fresh. That is all. I agree though, we didn’t see many nights like the Inter one, but I would say the Ajax semi final was up there.
Should I tell you what I will remember about poch most in the future. We held SEVEN at home to Bayern. Was in the south stand. Will never forget it. In the last 10 years of my of my 47 years spurs journey my favorite memory is arrys team against inter. West upper. Beautiful night. So so proud. 😊😊
Once again it boils down to financial backing from our owners though. Mourinho has been brought in solely to prevent our top four spot disappearing down the khazi. That was always Poch’s primary brief above all else, and he knew we lacked the strength in depth to seriously challenge on multiple fronts. ENIC value the CL cash above domestic cups, and would quickly bin any manager who acted contrary to their objectives.
I appreciate you are new to Spurs, but I would be careful saying Poch Tormented Spurs – you never lived through pre-poch. I think what he did was brilliant, but he always fell at the last hurdle. Too many finals and semi finals where the players didn’t turn up mentally, one person said on here a few days back that Jose would have won us that final, and I agree, but Jose would never have got this team there in the first place. Not saying he cant and wont win something big for us, but Poch should have too.
I think we have more than enough to win the FA cup or League cup. The reason we have not won it in the past few years is because we don’t have enough to do that, compete in the CL and make top 4. Basically we need to accept the loss of Europe (so dodge the Europa too) and then we would win a domestic cup, or accept no top 4 and go for the other 3 and we will win one. If you want to compete to win all 4 you need a deeper better squad as you say.
Pochettino had four of the best players in the world – Kane. Delli Alli, Son and Ekikssen. And do you know how many trophies they won in their careers thanks to Pochetino’s brilliant tactics? Zero trophies for four players. Has any of the experts demanded that Pochettino get trophies? not. Everyone idolized him and did not demand anything from him in return. For six years he tormented the club and no one said a word to him. Mourinho is already being reproached for not winning the trophy in the first 5 days.
We have everything in place to win trophies except financial backing from the board, to sign, and adequately pay the players required.
Naturally I love Garth, but he’s sounded like a paid up shill for a while now.
Was asked once to choose between him and defo. I’d rotate. 😁
Loved watching crooks at the old place. Hoddle just used to pin point Delicious balls to him and Archibald. Good memories. Garth can do no wrong with me. My dad loved him more.
I don’t often agree with Crooks, but here I do – yet the same should have been said about Poch…but it wasn’t.