Jose Mourinho

[bubble07]

League table on 15th December 2020 before we played Pool

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League table today

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Were we overachieving in December? Probably.......but we are definitely underachieving now.

To think some of us were dreaming of a league title only 7 weeks ago, with regular "Mourinho masterclasses," tonking United 6 - 1 etc but now surrendering meekly to Pool, Brighton & Chelsea. What a car crash we are with only 8 points from 9 games.

Don't think sacking him is the answer, but think it might be the only option left.

Jeeez 8 points in 9 games?? Is that worst in that period? Assume Sheffield and the team we play Sunday are the worse ones

 

[spurs-r-us]

They're professional footballers. They don't forget how to do basic shit like passing or moving or closing down space. They just aren't good enough

This seems like a contradiction.

 

[spurs-r-us]

Have we made it too nice for them at the club?

The training ground and stadium, the wiping of their own arses but having a hotel at the training ground.

None of them are going to want to try harder if they are well paid and left in such a cushty environment.

Players want to win trophies. Other clubs also have nice facilities and that has done nothing to affect their mentality.

They're just badly organised playing boring football and feeling the pressure.

 

[riggi]

They’ll do as they’re told. It’s their job.

 

[lemony snickets]

If I could switch off the emotional attachment to this great club I would’ve done it along time ago. Sadly it’s never going to happen and so I’m destined for another few decades of disappointment.

I actually apologised to my eldest last night for subjecting him to a lifetime of misery following Spurs. Sad times!

I did the exact same thing with my Son last night. Poor little bugger went to bed crying... And he's 32 years old (joke, he's 8). Equal blame has to be applied to the players for not giving two shits and the manager for the dross that's on show currently. No idea where we go from here, but one things apparent to me and that is not paying that few extra mill for Grealish when we had the chance a couple years back. What i'd give for him in our side right about now.

 

[morris25]

If we lose to West brom he is sacked as we will lose to man city and that's 5 in a row

 

[spurs mental]

Jose quite obviously has not implemented a proper press. It's clear as day. Its not case that if the players just put some effort in suddenly our our press will look like Liverpool's. It has to be coached. In terms of 'basic shit like passing or moving', it's not as easy for players to hold and progress the ball against top sides in the premier league when the manager has clearly given them no proper/sufficient guidance in terms of buildup shape and possession structure. Granted some of our players are not good enough however if you can really look at how we are playing and see the tactical deficiencies we have and not think the manager is the problem then I give up. Our fans just need to accept this guy isn't a great coach anymore.

Jesus wept. Im not saying that he's not part of the problem. Laying all the blame at his door is outrageous though.

 

[Lumiere]

Face it we are no longer a top 4 or even top 6 club like the 80s. We are mid table and we over achieve those 2-3 years with Poch. All this talk of we should be beating teams like Sheffield or Fulham or WBA is funny. Anyone can beat anyone in the league right now.

We've finished top 6 for the past 11 years, and that's with some really poor seasons like under Sherwood.

 

[rez9000]

I did the exact same thing with my Son last night. Poor little bugger went to bed crying... And he's 32 years old (joke, he's 8). Equal blame has to be applied to the players for not giving two shits and the manager for the dross that's on show currently. No idea where we go from here, but one things apparent to me and that is not paying that few extra mill for Grealish when we had the chance a couple years back. What i'd give for him in our side right about now.

On the surface, I agree re Grealish (try saying that ten times quickly!) but I don't think it would have been enough in isolation. We need a deep clearout and a single player like him wouldn't have been enough. Not that I would turn my nose up - he's a great player.

 

[brasil_spur]

If we lose to West brom he is sacked as we will lose to man city and that's 5 in a row

Agreed, if we lose on Sunday Mourinho will be gone by lunchtime Monday. His record would be inexscusable at that point and with important FA Cup and EL games coming up it would make sense to get someone in.

Who that person is will be a tough question to answer though. But someone like Rafa on an interim basis till the summer seems like a viable answer.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

spot on.

 

[DJS]

i bet @scat1620 is laughing his arse off at all of us.

Maybe with any luck @scat1620 has waxed his head and currently en route to spurs training ground to stealthily ‘remove’ Jose from active duty...

 

[ohtottenham!]

Because I feel it's such a fundamental problem and such a large one that discussions over style of play, personality of the manager, all of the 'noise' that's being generated, are so secondary that they're meaningless. Plus you have the fact that it's so complex that it's difficult to remain concise. It's no secret that my posts are long. But would you believe in so many cases, I'm holding myself back from continuing so that it doesn't become book-length. But the issues are so complex that boiling it down to a single factor would be foolish even if that single factor was the prime contributory one.

Has Mourinho alienated some of his squad? Quite possibly. In a couple of cases I'd say definitely. But were any of them deserving of being pushed out of playing duties? Did he do it to anyone before giving them an opportunity to demonstrate why they shouldn't be left out of playing duties?

And does any of that relate to the problems when it comes to commitment on the pitch? Only tangentially, because it's happened before under a manager with a fundamentally different approach. If, say, we had a group of players who, no matter what was going on competitively, still put in a shift and then Mourinho arrived and they suddenly fell of a cliff, then logically you'd say he is likely the cause of it. But they've done it before, before he was appointed. In fact, he was appointed because they'd done it before.

And there may be other less visible factors at play too, namely our chairman and the recruitment staff. I read something in the Athletic a couple of years back, while Poch was still here. There was a suggestion that the manner in which Levy handled the players' contracts was a source of discomfort for them. What Levy has a tendency to do is regularly review the players' contracts, offering a small but significant increment while extending their contract. It all seems logical and a clever way of keeping your best players. But, the article suggested that this made players feel trapped by the club - they might not necessarily have wanted to extend their contracts, but at the same time didn't want to turn down the extra money. How much of it is true, I can't say (but it does explain Eriksen's stance on refusing to sign a contract - not that I excuse or deride that), but it's believable, it fits with what we know of Levy's approach to football, and it explains something. Not saying it is the fact, just that it's feasible.

The point though is that there are so many other factors that may have led to the attitude that our players have and that Mourinho isn't primary among them. He may have contributed - it would be naïve to suggest he hasn't, at the bare minimum, ruffled some feathers - but it still doesn't fully explain what the players are doing and it certainly doesn't excuse it.

Problems go much deeper than our squad and Jose, and Jose's appointment itself. We're left with what we have; which is a right old pickle for Daniel Levy to consider. The evidence is always on the pitch. Jose will have to adjust and adapt more than anyone to get the best tune out of this team. Not sure what we'll see...but I don't think he'll be here next season.

 

[G Ron]

I did the exact same thing with my Son last night. Poor little bugger went to bed crying... And he's 32 years old (joke, he's 8). Equal blame has to be applied to the players for not giving two shits and the manager for the dross that's on show currently. No idea where we go from here, but one things apparent to me and that is not paying that few extra mill for Grealish when we had the chance a couple years back. What i'd give for him in our side right about now.

Sadly agree with most of that post!

I think Grealish was out of our hands due to the ownership change from what @Trix has told us previously. He would’ve been a dream signing though (although at the time I remember a few of the usual suspects on here claiming he was shit!)

 

[morris25]

No happy training pictures on twitter today

 

[lemony snickets]

On the surface, I agree re Grealish (try saying that ten times quickly!) but I don't think it would have been enough in isolation. We need a deep clearout and a single player like him wouldn't have been enough. Not that I would turn my nose up - he's a great player.

Maybe, but at least he'd run at them each time he got the ball, instead of beating two people and then playing the ball back 30 yards like the rest of those twonks constantly do. I think for me, that is the most annoying aspect of our play, constantly getting into good positions only to then pass it backwards. I cringe when Sissoko / Winks / Viking / Stevie B / Davies / Aurier / Doherty (take your pick) receives the ball on the edge of their box, then without fail, always delivers that unnecessary momentum killing ball back to a centre back. Its insane

 

[isaac94]

Pisses me off how he can never take responsibility for defeat, and constantly has to blame others, its never his shitty tactics that are the problem

 

[rez9000]

Problems go much deeper than our squad and Jose, and Jose's appointment itself. We're left with what we have; which is a right old pickle for Daniel Levy to consider. The evidence is always on the pitch. Jose will have to adjust and adapt more than anyone to get the best tune out of this team. Not sure what we'll see...but I don't think he'll be here next season.

I don't think he'll be here next month. It's a bit like arguing over who steers the ship, but the ship is the Titanic. The helmsman may be the greatest sailor in all history or a wet-behind-the-ears rating fresh out of Portsmouth - the ship's still sinking.

 

[morris25]

Kane coming back Will save Jose as it should give the players a bit more confidence

 

[rez9000]

Maybe, but at least he'd run at them each time he got the ball, instead of beating two people and then playing the ball back 30 yards like the rest of those twonks constantly do. I think for me, that is the most annoying aspect of our play, constantly getting into good positions only to then pass it backwards. I cringe when Sissoko / Winks / Viking / Stevie B / Davies / Aurier / Doherty (take your pick) receives the ball on the edge of their box, then without fail, always delivers that unnecessary momentum killing ball back to a centre back. Its insane

No, I get that, and I agree. I just don't think it would be enough.