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Jose Mourinho

How do you feel about Mourinho appointment

  • Excited - silverware here we come baby

    Votes: 666 46.7%
  • Meh - will give him a chance and hope he is successful

    Votes: 468 32.8%
  • Horrified - praying for the day he'll fuck off

    Votes: 292 20.5%

  • Total voters
    1,426

Ionman34

SC Supporter
Jun 1, 2011
7,182
16,793
When we talk about Mourinho, I would like to add something: I'm quite interested in war history and especially WW2. I think we can kind of compare war strategists with modern football managers in the way they have to plan a battle and come up with a smart strategy. And, when we look at great war strategists like e.g. Rommel, he had great trained and many huge regiments and highly up to date tanks and technology on his side. How many great and famous modern war strategists from WW2 have you all heard about from lets say Greece, Norway or Holland? Not many. Because they didn't have the disposal of great forces, men and technology at that time (not compared to Germany, UK, USA, Soviet Union, Japan etc.) , and without it they did not win a single battle (almost). And what's my point (yes, I am drunk)? Great football managers have great players and very often also great owners/boards and funds behind them. Without great players to disposal, it is quite impossible to make an impact on the very top top level in the best tournaments in the world, like PL an CL. And even though some of our players are developed in our academy more or less, it is still based on resources we have. Lets wait until Son and Kane are back and Mourinho has had another shopping window behind him before we judge. Next season. And if he still manages to bring us a new season with CL and maybe also a FA-cup trophy this season, with Dele, Bergwijn and Moura as the front attacking line, he really deserves credit. I still think Mourinho is a great strategists and modern football hasn't changed much since 2004 if we are talking about how the game is played (warfare has changed a lot since WW2 though..).
Drunk or not, it's a good analogy, and one I've made myself before. Sport is effectively an upshot of War, take the Olympics, the vast majority of the original Olympic events were effectively War training (javelin, discus etc). Games like chess were devised as strategy training.

Obviously, sport as a whole has evolved well beyond this, but the core remains the same, devising strategy to gain an advantage, training of personnel to execute that strategy and communication to react to change.

The ones you missed though were belief and heart. If the belief and heart of the personnel wasn't in it, no strategy would work, so they're probably the first and foremost aspects to get right. No army ever won a War if the personnel didn't believe or have the heart to overcome adversity.

I believe JM knows this, it wouldn't surprise me if he could quote you excerpts from Tsung Su's Art of War!:)
 
D

Deleted member 27995

You might be waiting a while for a response - apart from this one!
I'm good with it, it'll probably be spammed before anyone might get what I was on about. It's fine, it was a long shot from a bygone age.
 

SpartanSpur

Well-Known Member
Jan 27, 2011
12,552
43,063
Cold hard facts don't wash with some around here though.

When you lay it out like that, I find it surprising the squad under the guidance of Jose have managed to do what they have done. Long may that continue because like every month, we have yet another key set of fixtures on the horizon.

We have been poxed this year with key injuries at key times. Mind blowing.

The timing of the injuries is a great point. Rumours are that Kane is ahead of schedule and that Son's surgery went pretty well overnight, no issues with the elbow joint as feared so could be a 6-8 week return. It's possible both could be back in 6 weeks, but even so in that time we'd have played Chelsea, Wolves, Man Utd, Sheff Utd, RBL 2nd leg, Norwich FA Cup and WH/FA Cup QF!
 
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Deleted member 27995

The timing of the injuries is a great point. Rumours are that Kane is ahead of schedule and that Son's surgery went pretty well overnight, no issues with the elbow joint as feared so could be a 6-8 week return. It's possible both could be back in 6 weeks, but even so in that time we'd have played Chelsea, Wolves, Man Utd, Sheff Utd, RBL 2nd leg, Norwich FA Cup and WH/FA Cup QF!
Well, we'll just have to overcome it all. Jose begun circling the wagons late last week and again Tuesday and we'll have to see how up for it both he, the coaching staff and the squad are for it all.
 
D

Deleted member 27995

A result tomorrow would certainly bring back some optimism. Fingers crossed.
Going to be really tough, like West Ham, we're now a cup final for them, same shit every season.

Still, I'll enjoy it come what may.
 

Colonel Dax

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2008
2,946
12,289
The timing of the injuries is a great point. Rumours are that Kane is ahead of schedule and that Son's surgery went pretty well overnight, no issues with the elbow joint as feared so could be a 6-8 week return. It's possible both could be back in 6 weeks, but even so in that time we'd have played Chelsea, Wolves, Man Utd, Sheff Utd, RBL 2nd leg, Norwich FA Cup and WH/FA Cup QF!

Yep, awful timing. We’re playing most of our rivals without our two top scorers. As Jose said we’re going to a gunfight with no bullets. Have to hope for a miracle, like the opposing teams getting their aim wrong or their guns jamming ?
 

Gb160

Well done boys. Good process
Jun 20, 2012
23,646
93,314
I'm starting to see those people weren't in peoples heads:LOL:. I guess where we had a few decent results I hadn't seen those people coming out the woodwork but here we are.
Oh they're out there mate, every now and again one will let the mask slip :ROFLMAO:
 

Ronwol196061

Well-Known Member
Apr 9, 2018
3,925
3,646
I cant believe how we start games. Totally dishevelled. No energy. Not sure whats going on. Even if we have fatigue,it doesn't happen in the first 10 minutes and yet we start half arsed. That's nothing to do with strikers not being there.
 
D

Deleted member 27995

I cant believe how we start games. Totally dishevelled. No energy. Not sure whats going on. Even if we have fatigue,it doesn't happen in the first 10 minutes and yet we start half arsed. That's nothing to do with strikers not being there.
Yeah, it was the same under Poch, who knew?
 

shelfboy68

Well-Known Member
Jun 14, 2008
14,566
19,651
Yep, awful timing. We’re playing most of our rivals without our two top scorers. As Jose said we’re going to a gunfight with no bullets. Have to hope for a miracle, like the opposing teams getting their aim wrong or their guns jamming ?
Tomorrow could get ugly at the bridge one win in thirty years mmmmm
 

13VanDerBale13

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2011
14,269
33,647
How anyone can lay blame Jose is beyond me, look at what he has to work with FFS, if theres any blame to be laid it should be with the board for leaving him in this ludicrous scenario
 

dudu

Well-Known Member
Jan 28, 2011
5,314
11,048
T
Love the positivity and realism mate and agree with a lot of this, I think the only thing is that he's setting us up so deep and defensively at home. I get it in big games away from home sure do what needs to be done but I think the fans are getting a little frustrate with the fact we barely have any possession at home repeatedly as its awfully negative and hard to watch. If he's doing this because he believes its the best way to grind out results until we have our players back and new signings then fair enough but the concern comes that this is how Jose set-up a lot at Man.U for example and eventually the fans just got sick and tired of it.

I'm in a similar boat to you that its a hugely tricky situation and we need to muddle through until next summer and then hopefully with 3-4 new signings in the right areas and Kane,Son, Sissoko etc back we can see more of a balanced approach rather than just completely surrendering all posession and initiative to the opposition, I'm positive this will be the case as I actually think Jose is playing like this to conserve our thereadbare squads energy otherwise they'll burnout, we'll then get muscle injuries to say Bergweign or Lucas or Dele and we will then be right in the shit.

Agree with you mate its a very tough situ for Jose and given the results we've been getting we need to be patient and judge him and the style of football etc from next season onwards.

I have to believe he is playing the way he is for self preservations sake. Kane, Son, Ndombele, Bergwijn and GLC on the pitch together would see us as a very different prospect for sure.
 

fishhhandaricecake

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2018
18,702
46,941
T


I have to believe he is playing the way he is for self preservations sake. Kane, Son, Ndombele, Bergwijn and GLC on the pitch together would see us as a very different prospect for sure.
I agree mate and hope that is the case which is why he's saying about fast forwarding to July 1st as he knows the stick is going to come his way with results and playing style both going to suffer from now until end of the season.
I saw enough more positive football in other games where we have had more of our team fit and available to think that as you say he's setting up like this to preserver their energy as if we went gung ho high pressing and even if we'd won that game 2,3-0 then we still have tons of the season left and our players would crash and burn so I think he knows what he's doing but as you say we need to be patient until next season to really judge the playing style etc.
 

fishhhandaricecake

Well-Known Member
Nov 15, 2018
18,702
46,941
Fuck me.

We've lost 3 games from our last 13 ffs.

Of those 13 games:

- Our best player and only striker has been injured for the last 11 of them
- Our second best player and second best goalscorer was suspended for the first 3, and injured for the last 1
- Son and Kane have played a total of zero minutes together
- Our captain and goalkeeper was injured for the first 7 of them
- Our (arguably) most consistent player from last season (Sissoko) has been injured for the last 10
- Our record signing has only started 3 times, being substituted at 25 mins and 61 mins in 2 of those games
- Our squad had the undoubtedly toxic presence of two players who openly wanted to leave for 9 of them

In spite of all of that, we've lost 3 games from our last 13. One of which, you could argue we really didn't deserve to lose.

If Pochettino had achieved that set of results in that set of circumstances, folk on here would be hailing him as a miracle worker. But because Jose's done it, he's apparently tactically inept and devoid of ideas.

The transparent desire a minority on here have for Mourinho to fail would be funny if it weren't so pitifully tragic.
Absolutely brilliant post!!! I almost hope that Jose pretty much comes out and says all of this if we lose and he gets more criticism because sometimes our fans and other fans and the media need spoon feeding and need the reality to be spelt out for them and I know Jose unlike Poch isn't afraid to do this.

The only concern I have is the playing style, is he playing this defensively out of necessity to preserve the players energy or is this his normal football philosophy rearing its head again because if it is and we see such a defensive approach at home in big games next season with all players fit then the fans will eat him alive BUT i'm very much inclined to believe that won't be the case and we will offer a much more balanced approach which is exciting enough to enjoy some of the football but also pragmatic enough to be successful.
 
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