Jose Mourinho

THOWIG said:

Think we need to calm down. Everton wasn't that long ago. We set ourselves up for this every time. The international break has come at the worst time especially with the momentum we were building. I'm more confident of top 4 and a cup win than I was a few weeks ago though.

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Yeah we'd be wise to not get too carried away. Liverpool and City might look shaky now but they've been racking up absurd points totals over the past few seasons and Chelsea's attacking riches are ridiculous - if they click they could be truly formidable, even with Lampard as manager.

That said, it's hard not to get excited at the moment. Compared to last season there are so, so many positives:

- Fit Kane and Son in amazing form (touch wood).
- Ndombele and Lo Celso both starting to really live up to their potential.
- Proper ball-winning midfielder in Hojbjerg.
- Full back positions both massively strengthened with real competition for places.
- A living, breathing, back-up no.9 who isn't Troy Deeney.
- Genuine strength in depth in practically every area of the pitch barring CDM.
- Gareth. Shitting. Bale.

If we can keep key players fit, strengthen our defence, and Bale is even half as good as he was last time, we've could seriously go places over the next season or two.

What a window, thanks to Jose and having a list of transfer targets we've had that slow painful rebuild already.

Poch was right that we needed new players ins and we've now transformed the team. With the bonus of Gareth Bale.

My expectations at the start of the season were for a trophy such as the Carabou Cup or potentially the Europa alongside challenging for the top 4.

With the squad we now have, we should be challenging for the league plus winning a cup.

THOWIG said:

Think we need to calm down. Everton wasn't that long ago. We set ourselves up for this every time. The international break has come at the worst time especially with the momentum we were building. I'm more confident of top 4 and a cup win than I was a few weeks ago though.

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Definitely. Let’s see what Bale coming into the side does. He will have to work hard like the players currently in the side. I think he will but it will take time for him to get up to speed.

Consistency is key. It’s boring but it’s true. 2 defeats in 17 games (All comps) since lockdown, suggests we are getting there

What I’ve been most impressed about is how Mourinho has adapted to the new players and what we’ve seen from the players on the pitch. We all know Mourinho has used his charm on Levy and got the transfers in that he wanted but he has tinkered a little and found (I’d say stumbled onto in some cases but I’m going to guess that it’s been by design) some really important changes in structure which have completely changed the way we have been playing.

The first game against Everton I was pretty concerned, we were obviously not sharp and miles off our best but we got dominated in midfield and looked pretty clueless on how to do any damage. After that game many fans were questioning why we signed Hojbjerg. He looked a bit ponderous, was getting turned around and caught out of position and bypassed pretty often when trying to press and harry which just left the midfield exposed. We’d assumed Hjobjerg was going to come in and be a defensive shield and mop up/protect Ndombele or Lo Celso and give them freedom but Hojbjerg wants to hunt the ball and it just left us wide open.

Fast forward to Sunday and things have changed a lot. Hojbjerg absolutely dominated Man Utd. Just taking the first 30 minutes when it was 11v11 it was really clear that Hojbjerg’s role has changed. So often in that first period he was dropping deeper in between Sanchez and Dier in our first transition of play, allowing Sanchez and Dier to go wider and Aurier and Reguilon to be much more advanced outlets. It’s brilliant not only because it allows the fullbacks to act more like wingbacks which is obviously where all of our fullbacks are going to benefit but it also plays into Hojbjergs strengths. His passing is really surprising and he likes to be progressive with it, so coming deep allows him to drop away from the opposition midfield and really start us ticking. He then also has a full view of everything in front of him so as he moves forward out of that position he sees where everyone is and is able to then come and hunt the ball from the deeper position



This is obviously benefitting the fullbacks but it also mirrors what is happening up top. Until the second half of the Southampton game, Kane had looked miles off his best and had barely touched the ball in 2 games. Cue a tactical change which may or may not have been directed by Mourinho but again I’m going to assume it was and we saw Kane dropping much deeper to find space and be creative. He’s an absolute nightmare in that role both when we are dominating the ball, due to him being a great passer, or playing on the counter since he can hold it up and have pace running off him. The central defenders are never going to want to follow him there and if a midfielder tries to pick him up it leaves more space for Tanguy or Lo Celso. It also allows Kane to press from the front which has looked far more natural and we’ve sat off teams much less as a result.

We are going to continue to play the “low block” and we are going to continue to not dominate possession and look for the counter. But how quickly we’ve adapted this style with both Kane and Hojbjerg dropping deeper (and then pushing forward) has completely changed the whole dynamic. I think this “double dipping”, yep just coined that, is going to continue and cause nightmares for opponents. Can’t give Hojbjerg or Kane the space to drop into their respective pockets but also can’t follow them and leave space for Ndombele/Lo Celso in middle or Son/Bale/Lamela/Whoever to expose at the back. Not to mention if you can figure it out by putting an extra man in their our full backs will have acres of space.

It was so consistent against Utd, happened over and over. Fully expect the double dipping to continue and fair play to Mourinho to getting us from looking flat and defensive to dynamic and a real puzzle for opponents to figure out. We’ve not even put our “best 11”out there yet. ?

InOffMeLeftShin said:

What I’ve been most impressed about is how Mourinho has adapted to the new players and what we’ve seen from the players on the pitch. We all know Mourinho has used his charm on Levy and got the transfers in that he wanted but he has tinkered a little and found (I’d say stumbled onto in some cases but I’m going to guess that it’s been by design) some really important changes in structure which have completely changed the way we have been playing.

The first game against Everton I was pretty concerned, we were obviously not sharp and miles off our best but we got dominated in midfield and looked pretty clueless on how to do any damage. After that game many fans were questioning why we signed Hojbjerg. He looked a bit ponderous, was getting turned around and caught out of position and bypassed pretty often when trying to press and harry which just left the midfield exposed. We’d assumed Hjobjerg was going to come in and be a defensive shield and mop up/protect Ndombele or Lo Celso and give them freedom but Hojbjerg wants to hunt the ball and it just left us wide open.

Fast forward to Sunday and things have changed a lot. Hojbjerg absolutely dominated Man Utd. Just taking the first 30 minutes when it was 11v11 it was really clear that Hojbjerg’s role has changed. So often in that first period he was dropping deeper in between Sanchez and Dier in our first transition of play, allowing Sanchez and Dier to go wider and Aurier and Reguilon to be much more advanced outlets. It’s brilliant not only because it allows the fullbacks to act more like wingbacks which is obviously where all of our fullbacks are going to benefit but it also plays into Hojbjergs strengths. His passing is really surprising and he likes to be progressive with it, so coming deep allows him to drop away from the opposition midfield and really start us ticking. He then also has a full view of everything in front of him so as he moves forward out of that position he sees where everyone is and is able to then come and hunt the ball from the deeper position

View attachment 75545
View attachment 75546
This is obviously benefitting the fullbacks but it also mirrors what is happening up top. Until the second half of the Southampton game, Kane had looked miles off his best and had barely touched the ball in 2 games. Cue a tactical change which may or may not have been directed by Mourinho but again I’m going to assume it was and we saw Kane dropping much deeper to find space and be creative. He’s an absolute nightmare in that role both when we are dominating the ball, due to him being a great passer, or playing on the counter since he can hold it up and have pace running off him. The central defenders are never going to want to follow him there and if a midfielder tries to pick him up it leaves more space for Tanguy or Lo Celso. It also allows Kane to press from the front which has looked far more natural and we’ve sat off teams much less as a result.

We are going to continue to play the “low block” and we are going to continue to not dominate possession and look for the counter. But how quickly we’ve adapted this style with both Kane and Hojbjerg dropping deeper (and then pushing forward) has completely changed the whole dynamic. I think this “double dipping”, yep just coined that, is going to continue and cause nightmares for opponents. Can’t give Hojbjerg or Kane the space to drop into their respective pockets but also can’t follow them and leave space for Ndombele/Lo Celso in middle or Son/Bale/Lamela/Whoever to expose at the back. Not to mention if you can figure it out by putting an extra man in their our full backs will have acres of space.

It was so consistent against Utd, happened over and over. Fully expect the double dipping to continue and fair play to Mourinho to getting us from looking flat and defensive to dynamic and a real puzzle for opponents to figure out. We’ve not even put our “best 11”out there yet. ?

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Great post.

I think this is truly the key to getting the best out of Kane long term. He's undoubtedly our best player but too often under Mourinho last season he was a peripheral figure. Sometimes this was due to him lacking fitness or sharpness, but it was also often because he was isolated up top and we just couldn't get the ball to him.

Now that Alli isn't in the team and we don't have such an obvious no.10 figure, Kane is able to drop into that space and play that 9 1/2 role to absolute perfection: he can either pick out runners like Son (and hopefully Bale) or play it wide to our fullbacks, run into the box and finish off moves himself. His passing is truly De Bruyne-esque and it seems a shame to waste it by playing him solely as a penalty box player, especially when we have 2 world class finishers like Son and Bale in the side to get on the end of his through balls.

I'm off to the bookies, Backing us for the league title.

buckley said:

In that case ditto with Tanguy he hardly played for Poch but Ultimately Lo Celso and Tanguy have come good so perhaps his dealings were not so bad . Tho he did seem reluctant to play both of them Whereas if fit Jose seems happy to play both of them odd isn't it because both these players are not the archetypal Jose players .

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We have moved on from Poch he deserves a lot of credit.
I don't think it's fair to compare the transfer activities of both managers... I mostly felt Levy waited far to long in backing Poch with players coming in and out he basically had the same team from when he started. Levy though has backed Mourinho and let's be brutally honest had too, we'd started stagnating from the season we finished behind Chelsea.

Archibald&Crooks said:

I must admit, there are one or two people who have been very quiet, if not totally silent for the last two or three weeks.

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Are you saying obvious trolls are obvious?

double0 said:

We have moved on from Poch he deserves a lot of credit.
I don't think it's fair to compare the transfer activities of both managers... I mostly felt Levy waited far to long in backing Poch with players coming in and out he basically had the same team from when he started. Levy though has backed Mourinho and let's be brutally honest had too, we'd started stagnating from the season we finished behind Chelsea.

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TBH, I think was more on the options provided by Poch being just too limited.

The ITKs we have had since Mourinho came were just unreal. Options after options, in the media limelight or under the radar. Noticed other than Skriniar, how the others were like quick-fire signings. The resolute and decisive characters of Mourinho and his team shouldn't be underestimated at all in terms of our recruitment. There are almost like having Plans A-J worked out in tandem, sparing us the soap operas in every transfer windows we had faced bar the latest one.

Shadydan said:

No one generally is after a loss or we suffer an adverse result, it's the nature of some football fans that they lack total perspective and tend to not look at the bigger picture because they are just emotional and pissed off.

Said this many time I've totally written this season off as a transition season and looking forward to the next, people just need to chill out really.

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I said what I said back in March.

Incredible respect for JM. Massively divided opinion. However, the good majority said give him a summer window. Well, boy, what a massive impact he’s had. “A has-been..?”..give me a break. The players who have joined or wanted to join prove he’s far from it. He knows exactly what he’s doing.

InOffMeLeftShin said:

What I’ve been most impressed about is how Mourinho has adapted to the new players and what we’ve seen from the players on the pitch. We all know Mourinho has used his charm on Levy and got the transfers in that he wanted but he has tinkered a little and found (I’d say stumbled onto in some cases but I’m going to guess that it’s been by design) some really important changes in structure which have completely changed the way we have been playing.

The first game against Everton I was pretty concerned, we were obviously not sharp and miles off our best but we got dominated in midfield and looked pretty clueless on how to do any damage. After that game many fans were questioning why we signed Hojbjerg. He looked a bit ponderous, was getting turned around and caught out of position and bypassed pretty often when trying to press and harry which just left the midfield exposed. We’d assumed Hjobjerg was going to come in and be a defensive shield and mop up/protect Ndombele or Lo Celso and give them freedom but Hojbjerg wants to hunt the ball and it just left us wide open.

Fast forward to Sunday and things have changed a lot. Hojbjerg absolutely dominated Man Utd. Just taking the first 30 minutes when it was 11v11 it was really clear that Hojbjerg’s role has changed. So often in that first period he was dropping deeper in between Sanchez and Dier in our first transition of play, allowing Sanchez and Dier to go wider and Aurier and Reguilon to be much more advanced outlets. It’s brilliant not only because it allows the fullbacks to act more like wingbacks which is obviously where all of our fullbacks are going to benefit but it also plays into Hojbjergs strengths. His passing is really surprising and he likes to be progressive with it, so coming deep allows him to drop away from the opposition midfield and really start us ticking. He then also has a full view of everything in front of him so as he moves forward out of that position he sees where everyone is and is able to then come and hunt the ball from the deeper position

View attachment 75545
View attachment 75546
This is obviously benefitting the fullbacks but it also mirrors what is happening up top. Until the second half of the Southampton game, Kane had looked miles off his best and had barely touched the ball in 2 games. Cue a tactical change which may or may not have been directed by Mourinho but again I’m going to assume it was and we saw Kane dropping much deeper to find space and be creative. He’s an absolute nightmare in that role both when we are dominating the ball, due to him being a great passer, or playing on the counter since he can hold it up and have pace running off him. The central defenders are never going to want to follow him there and if a midfielder tries to pick him up it leaves more space for Tanguy or Lo Celso. It also allows Kane to press from the front which has looked far more natural and we’ve sat off teams much less as a result.

We are going to continue to play the “low block” and we are going to continue to not dominate possession and look for the counter. But how quickly we’ve adapted this style with both Kane and Hojbjerg dropping deeper (and then pushing forward) has completely changed the whole dynamic. I think this “double dipping”, yep just coined that, is going to continue and cause nightmares for opponents. Can’t give Hojbjerg or Kane the space to drop into their respective pockets but also can’t follow them and leave space for Ndombele/Lo Celso in middle or Son/Bale/Lamela/Whoever to expose at the back. Not to mention if you can figure it out by putting an extra man in their our full backs will have acres of space.

It was so consistent against Utd, happened over and over. Fully expect the double dipping to continue and fair play to Mourinho to getting us from looking flat and defensive to dynamic and a real puzzle for opponents to figure out. We’ve not even put our “best 11”out there yet. ?

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What you’ve described is actually not a far cry in terms of player movement from what Peps Barca did, at least initially. Obviously a far different style of football in terms of using a far more regular press of the ball and far more short passing, those two facets combined producing absolute domination, but in terms of how Højbjerg split the centre backs and how Kane is doing away from where he can be marked, it’s got real hints of how Busquets or Toure would split the centre backs and how Messi would drop from the right forward into midfield to play balls into Et’oo and Henry, whereas previously under Riijkaard he’d basically wait for the ball on the right and start running at defenders.

Makes sense considering both Mourinho and Pep were schooled under Van Gaal, who basically cultivated the original false 9 in Litmanen.

Japhet said:

When Mourinho was appointed I was really pissed off and didn't want him at all. He'd always been an arrogant twat whose success was built on massive spending and a large amount of shithousing, so I was very skeptical.

Early days he had us playing some of the very worst football I've ever seen from a Spurs team and to my mind, persisted with the wrong players and tactics. The start of this season didn't give a huge amount of optimism either. I had no idea why he had Hojbjerg chasing the ball around whilst leaving Winks as the shielding player, and he was persisting with 2 in CM when it seemed blatantly obvious to me we needed 3 in there. When he did start using 3 in CM we bossed games, but would then revert back to 2.

To start with he didn't seem to like LoCelso which completely baffled me and seemed intent on driving Ndombele out of the club. Not happy at all. Sissoko and Winks were the default midfield pairing.

Suddenly though, it seems that multiple pennies have dropped. We have Hojbjerg playing as an orthodox DM (and doing it very well). We have GLC starting whenever fit, we have Ndombele back in the fold. We've just had a truly remarkable transfer window without breaking the bank and we now have proper squad depth that will allow us to rotate and compete on multiple fronts.

Most of all, I'd say Mourinho's personality revamp has quite shocked me. No more of the arrogant twat I so despised, but an amenable and engaging character who gives 100% to the club. Long may it continue. It seems, contrary to my initial belief, that he can work with Daniel Levy within a realistic budget. I'm now happy (at least until we line up with a CM2 again).

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I've been fairly neutral on Jose before he joined us. But I'm a big fan. And was excited when it was announced. Weirdly enough, the last time I had been that excited about a new manager announcement was Harry Redknapp. Couldn't really tell you why. But it seemed like he was the perfect person who was needed at that particular time.

If you want to talk about manager's who have built their success on massive spending... Pep.

I know he is fawned over. And I'm sure he has very good attributes as a manager. However, I will never fully embrace him as some sort of Sir Alex-like figure, until I see him manage a team successfully with less resources.

Barca - gobs of money, and some of the best players in the world.
Bayern - tons of money, in a league where they have no competition. Yes, he did well with them. But again... took over a team that was in their golden period.
Citeh - the richest club in the world, bar none. can throw down 200M if they wanted without blinking an eye.

I'm far more impressed with the likes of Ancelloti. Even before Everton. He has been at rich clubs and not-so-rich clubs and done very well.
Klippty Klopp.... again, greatly admire the guy for everything he has achieved without the same access to resources that the likes of Pep have received. And of course, will always love Poch, for he's another one that who has shown the ability to be successful with less than half the money of the super clubs. And let's not forget the Tinkerman, Claudio Rainieri... what he did with the Foxes was incredible.

So, yes, Jose has been one of those managers backed with a lot of money. Not so much at Porto. And his Inter team had nowhere near the spending power of Chelsea. Yet he killed it with them.

There is a reason why you often hear players speak in such glowing terms about Jose. I think there has to be some truth and merit to what they say.

Agree he can be a right arrogant bugger at times. And I'm really not sure if he has changed since joining us, or we are just more accepting as he's now one of our own. I am not a believer in the notion that people can change fundamentally who they are. They can't. They can certainly learn how to manage undesirable behaviors, but fundamentally, it's nearly impossible for someone's character to completely change.

Jose is what we've needed for a while. A guy that commands respect. Who the players will listen to. Who will turn our nice guy approach around and make us be a bit more bastardly. 'Cos he's right... nice guys don't win.

I believe that this will be a positive experience for everyone involved. I believe he will do some special things with us. And when all is said and done and the history of Jose is written, I'd like to think that he'll look back at his time with us, and say it was his best success and the job he was most proud of.

He's got the squad in tremendous shape. I'm so excited for this season. More than I have been for a season in a long time. I think big things will happen

I was indifferent to Jose. While I accepted that Poch had to go, I thought Jose was the wrong replacement. But there were no obvious other candidates out there so I adopted a watch and see policy, while supporting him. I was not impressed with his style up until the lock down. Since I have come around slowly as I now realise what he was trying / wanted to do. This was confirmed with the new acquisitions where he plugged up the weak areas, and now his tactics and performances have started to win me over. I have now changed my mind and now say he is the perfect one for the job!

Dougal said:

Fuck it, I’m in.

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But has really grown on me. He is a winner, demands 100% from players and has good in game management. He is dispelling the myth that all his football is boring, but we have to accept winning ugly sometimes if we ever want to get anywhere.

I was against the appointment in principle at first, but as soon as he was announced was willing to give him the chance. I felt he'd never win me over in the way that Poch had, and that I'd probably not feel that level of connection to the club again. I found him immediately much more engaging and warm than he had been at United and Chelsea, and felt willing to open myself up to possibility that he could really win me over.

I think many forget that the first few months under Mourinho were good. We had been stuck in a massive rut under Poch and he immediately brought a shift. We were very attacking, almost too attacking. Scoring well going forward, but an absolute mess at the back. There were really positive signs, and then the injuries. Almost everything that people moan about in terms of Mourinho's time with us happened in this time period. No Kane, no Son, no Davies, no Sissoko. It was no surprise that we struggled and looked a lot worse. I feel like many couldn't wait to be proved right, suddenly we were seeing a low block with little to no attacking impetus, and the knives came out. After the restart we looked a lot better again, despite a couple of poor displays (helped by VAR).

Now with a much more balanced squad we're looking really healthy. The performances have been largely good, and Everton wasn't actually as bad as everyone said. He's getting more out of Kane and Sissoko than we've ever seen. He's helped Ndombele find himself. We're finding a stronger mentality, and there's real excitement about the depth in the squad and where things could go.

Jose's whole reputation got tarnished in the end of his second spell at Chelsea, and then at United. His United team, whilst broadly effective played horrible football, and his man management skills came under the microscope much more with more pundits speaking out in favour of the players over him. He had an awful squad at United and got them to second. He's now assembled a really good squad, without significant limitations, I'm excited to see where this team can get to, and for the type of football we'll play.

Locotoro said:

Just to add to my last post on this...

Here you can see the UCL Winners, Bayern, most recent match where they have steamrolled a very capable opponents. Look at the goals, most from quick transitions, direct vertical passing where they have condensed the pitch. By all media accounts, Bayern are playing swashbuckling, penetrative attacking attractive football -their style has been likened to a well oiled efficient machine.




Now look at our highlights from the match against Southampton. There is a distinct similarity between what both teams are trying to achieve in terms of style of effectiveness. Its the same quick vertical passing, deep block followed by an opportunistic press. Whilst Bayern are considerably more effective at this style, our team has been described as turgid, boring, relinquishing possession etc. I suspect if we get a few more highscoring victories the narrative may change.

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I'll admit I thought you were bat-shit crazy when you wrote this at the time but you might just have a point.