Jose Mourinho

[Shadydan]

That's not true. All that summer the only thing we heard was how the Pep vs Mourinho rivalry coming to Manchester would shake things up. Pep was expected to win the title. He failed and finished eight points behind us. Mourinho was expected to challenge and the hype over Pogba and Zlatan (who won the league everywhere he went) was huge. The eventual top two - ourselves and Chelsea surpassed expectations over that league campaign from August.

What can we expect this year? (Your expectations for 2016/2017)

I know we were only fifth place last year, but could we expect a Premier League title this year? Mourinho has seemed to put the dampeners on this saying it is unlikely. But we've spent more than any other club, increased our wage bill dramatically. Can we expect a title challenge after finishing...

www.redcafe.net

On this forum I definitely recall them being expected to challenge for the title because many of us were bragging how far ahead we were. I certainly did

Premier League 2016/17

I'm a fan of your posts, @beats1, but I think you're going on the offensive for no reason. I'm not bedwetting, I don't think Utd or City will catch us this season, but I was just making the point that it can't be a bad thing for us that the mathematical chances of them catching us have reduced...

www.spurscommunity.co.uk

And it seems so did you

The race for the title

I'd love to agree but it's now a huge swing, particularly considering how easily Chelsea are putting away the teams that nobody else seems able to. A team with proper title ambitions wins away at Sunderland whilst everyone else drops points. Unfortunately I think we're now in a race for 2nd...

www.spurscommunity.co.uk

And this is not a dig at you btw. It's just I thought you were spot on then and spot on now looking back. My fundamental point is I'm not changing my opinion on Poch's reign as if he underachieved by not winning back at the point in time we were overachieving. It's like a narrative that what he did was simple and because he inherited the players as if they were considered so good when he got them.

I hope Mourinho does a FANTASTIC job and gets us over the line. That's what he's here for. The foundations have been laid by others and he needs to do some bolstering and apply the finishing touches which he has always done before.

This is an incredible reach you know

 

[ljinko888]

This is an incredible reach you know

Fair enough.

I'll probably get over my Poch grief if we win 6-0 tomorrow

 

[Primativ]

Some good new quotes.

“I asked him if he was Dele or Dele’s brother,” said the new Tottenham boss. “He told me he was Dele. ‘Okay,’ I said. ‘Play like Dele’.”

Ahead of Mourinho’s first Spurs game at West Ham on Saturday lunchtime, the Portuguese admitted he is not expecting an instant improvement.



“He is potentially a fantastic player,” said Mourinho. “Now, I have to create a tactical situation he is happy with, give him the right dynamics and prepare him physically well because he has had important injuries and he is not on the top of his form.


“I cannot expect him to play on Saturday – if he plays – and go there and be man of the match.


"But he needs to go through a process that will bring the real Dele back because the real Dele is the one who in the last few years has impressed us all.

 

[Primativ]

Jose Mourinho has revealed Daniel Levy’s tough negotiating skills left some of his former clubs “fearing” having to deal with the Tottenham chairman.


The 56-year-old reiterated that he is not expecting to do significant business in January but admitted he is delighted to be on the right side of Levy after attempting to sign several Spurs players while at Manchester United.




Mourinho, who has also previously taken charge of Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, was keen on signing Eric Dier and Danny Rose while Harry Kane was also discussed, although a deal for the England captain was never considered realistic.




And the new Tottenham boss said: “I used to be in clubs that fear him. It’s true. He’s powerful. He’s a business man, but he’s a football man. He has big experience, a part of his intelligence overall, he’s a football man, he understands football, he understands the industry, he understands the evolution, he’s very clever, he’s very intelligent, it’s great to have him on my side.




“I don't need transfers. That's the basic thing. So I think during the process, we are going to need ticks, you know. You lose a player you get a player, you sell a player you get a player, but this is readjustments to your squad.


“But the more you like a squad the less money you need. You go to a club: ‘I don't like the centre back, I don't like the keeper, I don't like the striker, I don't like the midfield player’ - more than football you need incredible I have these assets the ones that are let's say, and end products are almost the ones that are there to develop.”



Lampard rules out managing Tottenham as he echoes Mourinho claim


Mourinho’s decision to join a third Premier League club has dominated the sports agenda this week but he rejected the idea he was perceived as a Machiavellian figure some people want to fail.


“I'm a good guy,” he said. “Come on. People cannot wish that I fail. If you are a fan of another club, I understand that but general people? I'm a good guy. Come on! Give me a break.




“Maybe it's my fault. Maybe it's also the profile of club that I normally get. It’s like you people say, I always need money to spend with players. It’s not me it’s my clubs. It’s the profile of the club, it is the profile of the owner. The profile of, let's say, Real Madrid. Certain profile of players.


“Chelsea when I arrived 2004. I didn't spend money at Porto. I didn't spend money at Inter. It's just the profile of club that makes that.”




And Mourinho played down speculation that his role has diminished powers given his predecessor Mauricio Pochettino was appointed “manager” as opposed to his own title of “head coach”.




“Come on, but what's the title? I don't care about the title. I'm saying in in, in reality, who is the manager of any football club?


“Manager? You think there are many managers? Not many modern managers. You know, we are part of a structure. We don't work alone. We need other people, you have scouting departments. It depends on the way the club is structured. You have you have assets to develop, you have a structure in the club you have a president or CEO.


“There are many ways the clubs are organised. But what I am is the head coach. Nobody will decide which team is going to play. Nobody's going to decide when I'm going to train. “Nobody is going to decide that when I give a day off. That's my responsibility. But if you think in modern football, that you are the whole all-powerful, you are in trouble.

 

[13VanDerBale13]

I still can’t get my head around the whole thing, even the way he talks about individual players, will take some time to get used to him being in charge

 

[Primativ]

"I am not telling the ones recently, I go further back. Lucas, when he was at Sao Paulo, before he was transferred to Paris Saint Germain. I tried to get him to Real Madrid," he admitted.


"I met his mum, I met his dad, I met his agent, we spoke in Madrid, but Paris Saint Germain came into the picture and we didn’t get him. It’s just an example that I say because it was a long time ago, but some others recently, and some others we don’t even think about buying, because we know it’s the impossible thing to do. So you just admire the player, wish to have him, but forget about it."


One of those players is Harry Kane, who former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte admitted he tried but failed to sign.



"I think he was wasting his time, because I think as managers we must have also this feeling of what is possible, what is not possible and I think when you try to buy Kane it’s just an impossible mission," he said.



"He’s one of the best strikers in the world, no doubt. He just needs his team with him, if his team is England or if his team is Tottenham, he just needs his team to bring him, or to go with him to the next level.

"What is the next level? Titles. I think he needs to win, with us, with England, he needs to bring something to highlight the quality that he has as a player. The goals he scores, what he brings to the team. Top striker and I've worked with some of the top ones."

Keeping Kane at the club could be vital to whether Spurs and Mourinho succeed going forward but the new head coach says it's on the club to ensure the England captain remains in north London.

"This is not about me. This is about Mr Levy, this is about the club. He has a vision, and part of that vision is to make the club better, bigger,"



"There is no better and bigger football club without a bigger and better football team. So to keep the best players is obviously part of that plan. It is nothing new with me.

"It was not like a promise to me, it was not like I said ‘I only go if, I only go if’, there were no ‘ifs’. It was him [Levy], part of his explanation about his vision for the club. That without being specific about the players, he told me he does not sell players when the manager does not want to sell."

Another star player at the club in recent years has been Dele Alli, but the 23-year-old has struggled with hamstring problems and his form in the past year.
This week a fake tweet surfaced on the internet - it contained more than the 140-character limit for a start - claiming to be a post from Alli in 2012 slamming Mourinho.

"It looks like it was a fake. But if it was not fake? (shrugs shoulders). I will tell you a story. When I changed from Unao de Lena to Porto mid-season, I had played against Porto a couple of weeks earlier," he remembered.

"One of the players – and I have no problems saying his name because he laughs about this all the time – was Deco. For 90 minutes, I insulted him and he insulted me. Big, big insults. We insulted each other for 90 minutes.

"Then a couple of weeks later, I walked into the [Porto] dressing room and he had his head down on his hands. I went there and we talked.

"If it had been true about Dele, I would be happy about that."


Jose Mourinho talks to the media
Mourinho comes across as a changed man after his miserable spell in Manchester and has spoken about adapting his plans to fit Tottenhams as well as recognising mistakes he has made in the past and learning from them.

Having spent 11 months out of the game spent analysing his career and working out a new philosophy going forward, he was asked if had reinvented himself.

"I don’t go as far. I’m not reinventing myself. You know, I thought about my career, I thought about my evolution," he said.

"I try to define new targets for my career. I was very selective. I had to say no many, many times to a few clubs, good clubs with some very interesting projects, but I always thought to myself I have to be strong enough to wait for something that really motivates me, because one thing is the passion you have for football, but another thing is to feel that you have you have the right challenge, the right situation in your hands ahead of you. And this was something that really motivates me."



On whether his tactical vision for Tottenham had been dictated to him by chairman Daniel Levy, in playing football in a certain way, he added: "You know, the fans they must be happy. The players they must be happy, and I must be also happy. This is a process.

"One thing is the end product, another thing is the moment you start. I’m going to try - I’m not going to open the door for you - I’m going to try to make some tactical tweaks, if you can say that, not incredible changes.

"I’m not going now to try to be Einstein, but I’m going to try to make the players play the way I want them to play. Offensive football, yes, but winning matches, not offensive football and don’t win a match for 10 or 11 months. But yes, attacking football. You are not going to see Harry Kane playing left-back, that’s for sure!"





Mourinho was asked what the realistic ambitions were for him and Tottenham in the seasons ahead.


"At the moment, I am only thinking about West Ham and Olympiacos. I will try to win against West Ham and try to qualify for the Champions League next round," he said.

"I am only focusing on this, but with the squad we have and the quality of the whole structure of the club, I think we can have the same ambitions as they have at clubs that are bigger than us.

"I don’t want my players to fear anything. We go for everything against everybody and we can win."

 

[EQP]

I like when Harry was asked about Poch's sacking he said " there was nothing the players could've done to prevent it" Maybe play better?

 

[easley91]

The more quotes I read, the more I love him with us. I am so excited for our immediate future. Bring it on.

 

[Primativ]

I have to say I wanted Mourinho here for ages and I am so excited. Makes a change having a manager who talks so openly about winning. You just feel we are in good expert hands and we will finally get over the line.

This isn't a dig at Poch but I love the way Mourinho speaks, he doesn't hold back about setting the bar high. We will challenge everybody and we can win.

 

[thebenjamin]

So much content

 

[whitelanefever]

I have to say I wanted Mourinho here for ages and I am so excited. Makes a change having a manager who talks so openly about winning. You just feel we are in good expert hands and we will finally get over the line.

This isn't a dig at Poch but I love the way Mourinho speaks, he doesn't hold back about setting the bar high. We will challenge everybody and we can win.

I'm complete opposite, I just can't get excited about Mourinho's brand of football.. I'm dreading watching us turned into diving cheating thugs playing outdated football.. a club with no Identity

 

[Primativ]

I'm complete opposite, I just can't get excited about Mourinho's brand of football.. I'm dreading watching us turned into diving cheating thugs playing outdated football.. a club with no Identity

Have you watched Spurs play the last 18 months? It couldn't get any worse. I want winning football, it's invariably enjoyable. I get enjoyment from watching us defend well, keep clean sheets, scoring goals, and looking solid, and most importantly, winning.

 

[whitelanefever]

Have you watched Spurs play the last 18 months? It couldn't get any worse. I want winning football, it's invariably enjoyable. I get enjoyment from watching us defend well, keep clean sheets, scoring goals, and looking solid, and most importantly, winning.

Yes it hasn't been good & their is plenty of blame to go round for that & not just Poch.. I can see an initial upturn in form for the rest of season under Jose..but he's been surpassed by a new breed of coaches who will have structure but also encourage players to solve problems on the pitch themselves.. José doesn't allow anything outside of his way of thinking, once summer window comes he & Levy will clash & it'll all turn to shit is my fear

 

[Larryfromthelane]

I have to say I wanted Mourinho here for ages and I am so excited. Makes a change having a manager who talks so openly about winning. You just feel we are in good expert hands and we will finally get over the line.

This isn't a dig at Poch but I love the way Mourinho speaks, he doesn't hold back about setting the bar high. We will challenge everybody and we can win.

Makes a difference from the guy incharge continually telling us how we cant compete with anyone.

 

[Shadydan]

So much content

I've got about 10 articles to read and just as much videos to watch, it's mad.

I wouldn't have liked it if Jose went to Arsenal, can you imagine if we were forced to watch all this shit

 

[Shadydan]

Tactics



Makes you realise how stacked our squad is and the possibilities of what he can get out of them is very exciting.

 

[NovTHFC]

Yes it hasn't been good & their is plenty of blame to go round for that & not just Poch.. I can see an initial upturn in form for the rest of season under Jose..but he's been surpassed by a new breed of coaches who will have structure but also encourage players to solve problems on the pitch themselves.. José doesn't allow anything outside of his way of thinking, once summer window comes he & Levy will clash & it'll all turn to shit is my fear

Give the man a chance. He's been out of the game a year, admitted he's made mistakes and he's ready to learn new ones. He is a world class manager, and I am sure doesn't need to be told how the game/teams have evolved. Take his backroom staff for example, not one had been part of his team before. I have every faith in him, we will concede less, score more, play decent football and most importantly win something.

The man has won 8 career titles and various European titles against some of the best teams out there. We are in very good hands, the best hands in decades!

 

[Tucker]

"I am not telling the ones recently, I go further back. Lucas, when he was at Sao Paulo, before he was transferred to Paris Saint Germain. I tried to get him to Real Madrid," he admitted.


"I met his mum, I met his dad, I met his agent, we spoke in Madrid, but Paris Saint Germain came into the picture and we didn’t get him. It’s just an example that I say because it was a long time ago, but some others recently, and some others we don’t even think about buying, because we know it’s the impossible thing to do. So you just admire the player, wish to have him, but forget about it."


One of those players is Harry Kane, who former Chelsea boss Antonio Conte admitted he tried but failed to sign.



"I think he was wasting his time, because I think as managers we must have also this feeling of what is possible, what is not possible and I think when you try to buy Kane it’s just an impossible mission," he said.



"He’s one of the best strikers in the world, no doubt. He just needs his team with him, if his team is England or if his team is Tottenham, he just needs his team to bring him, or to go with him to the next level.

"What is the next level? Titles. I think he needs to win, with us, with England, he needs to bring something to highlight the quality that he has as a player. The goals he scores, what he brings to the team. Top striker and I've worked with some of the top ones."

Keeping Kane at the club could be vital to whether Spurs and Mourinho succeed going forward but the new head coach says it's on the club to ensure the England captain remains in north London.

"This is not about me. This is about Mr Levy, this is about the club. He has a vision, and part of that vision is to make the club better, bigger,"



"There is no better and bigger football club without a bigger and better football team. So to keep the best players is obviously part of that plan. It is nothing new with me.

"It was not like a promise to me, it was not like I said ‘I only go if, I only go if’, there were no ‘ifs’. It was him [Levy], part of his explanation about his vision for the club. That without being specific about the players, he told me he does not sell players when the manager does not want to sell."

Another star player at the club in recent years has been Dele Alli, but the 23-year-old has struggled with hamstring problems and his form in the past year.
This week a fake tweet surfaced on the internet - it contained more than the 140-character limit for a start - claiming to be a post from Alli in 2012 slamming Mourinho.

"It looks like it was a fake. But if it was not fake? (shrugs shoulders). I will tell you a story. When I changed from Unao de Lena to Porto mid-season, I had played against Porto a couple of weeks earlier," he remembered.

"One of the players – and I have no problems saying his name because he laughs about this all the time – was Deco. For 90 minutes, I insulted him and he insulted me. Big, big insults. We insulted each other for 90 minutes.

"Then a couple of weeks later, I walked into the [Porto] dressing room and he had his head down on his hands. I went there and we talked.

"If it had been true about Dele, I would be happy about that."


Jose Mourinho talks to the media
Mourinho comes across as a changed man after his miserable spell in Manchester and has spoken about adapting his plans to fit Tottenhams as well as recognising mistakes he has made in the past and learning from them.

Having spent 11 months out of the game spent analysing his career and working out a new philosophy going forward, he was asked if had reinvented himself.

"I don’t go as far. I’m not reinventing myself. You know, I thought about my career, I thought about my evolution," he said.

"I try to define new targets for my career. I was very selective. I had to say no many, many times to a few clubs, good clubs with some very interesting projects, but I always thought to myself I have to be strong enough to wait for something that really motivates me, because one thing is the passion you have for football, but another thing is to feel that you have you have the right challenge, the right situation in your hands ahead of you. And this was something that really motivates me."



On whether his tactical vision for Tottenham had been dictated to him by chairman Daniel Levy, in playing football in a certain way, he added: "You know, the fans they must be happy. The players they must be happy, and I must be also happy. This is a process.

"One thing is the end product, another thing is the moment you start. I’m going to try - I’m not going to open the door for you - I’m going to try to make some tactical tweaks, if you can say that, not incredible changes.

"I’m not going now to try to be Einstein, but I’m going to try to make the players play the way I want them to play. Offensive football, yes, but winning matches, not offensive football and don’t win a match for 10 or 11 months. But yes, attacking football. You are not going to see Harry Kane playing left-back, that’s for sure!"





Mourinho was asked what the realistic ambitions were for him and Tottenham in the seasons ahead.


"At the moment, I am only thinking about West Ham and Olympiacos. I will try to win against West Ham and try to qualify for the Champions League next round," he said.

"I am only focusing on this, but with the squad we have and the quality of the whole structure of the club, I think we can have the same ambitions as they have at clubs that are bigger than us.

"I don’t want my players to fear anything. We go for everything against everybody and we can win."

what’s all this from?

 

[Primativ]

@danielneeds get over it ffs

 

[whitelanefever]

Give the man a chance. He's been out of the game a year, admitted he's made mistakes and he's ready to learn new ones. He is a world class manager, and I am sure doesn't need to be told how the game/teams have evolved. Take his backroom staff for example, not one had been part of his team before. I have every faith in him, we will concede less, score more, play decent football and most importantly win something.

The man has won 8 career titles and various European titles against some of the best teams out there. We are in very good hands, the best hands in decades!

Hope you're right.. he's never played decent football before it's always cheating & thuggery & it's easy to talk in press conference about having changed.. he's good at sweet talking people but his actions everywhere tells a different story