Jose Mourinho

[rez9000]

'I'll save judgement on Mourinho until summer'

Tottenham lack a system and identity under Jose Mourinho but he needs to have the summer before he can be properly judged, writes Jermaine Jenas.

www.bbc.co.uk

pretty hard to disagree with the majority if not all of what jenas has said

Much as I love JJ, that isn’t an analysis - it’s just his snapshot of where we currently are.

He doesn’t ask why these problems exist in any real way. He does mention some underlying issues, such as injuries to Kane and Son and our possibly less than stellar performance in the transfer market.

But he doesn’t really delve too deeply into what’s going on. If you asked me why there are the problems he mentions, I could point to a number of possibilities that could explain some of the things he’s complaining about.

I’m not saying these are definitely the issues, but what if Mourinho is still chopping and changing because he wants to see how his squad work in different systems; perhaps he’s chopping and changing because there are fitness issues, which can’t be solved partway through a season; maybe he’s holding off on establishing a baseline system in the absence of Son and Kane because it won’t work without them.

Again, not saying these are the issues - just that there might be factors of that nature in play and that questions around identity and all that jazz is premature at this point.

 

[Hakkz]

Wonder if his old assistant coach used to be the defensive tactician and his new one isn’t all he was cracked up to be. I’m always a little weary of coaches that haven’t played the game at a professional level and that are almost the same age as the current players. The way footballers ego’s are these days would it surprise anyone if he didn’t have their respect and is seen as nothing more than Jose’s cone placer?

just a thought as to why we could be seeing such defensive horror shows from a Jose Mourinho team.

That question has been asked before.

Is Jose Mourinho's missing right-hand man Rui Faria the reason for Manchester United's defensive disarray? | Goal.com

The Potuguese lost his closest ally in the summer when Rui Faria quit Old Trafford and the current defensive woes suggest he is hugely missed

www.goal.com

I don't have an opinion either way simply because I don't know anything about Faria or Sacramento.

 

[rez9000]

The football wasn’t great I agree but it has got undoubtedly worse and the results no better. Do you think we have a chance to get to a final this year for example ?
We got rid of Poch on the back of those performances on the promises of top 4 and trophies.

No we didn’t. No chairman, no manager will promise to deliver specific objectives. At no point did the club say that Jose will deliver anything. We hope he will, we may even anticipate he will, but no-one can promise he will.

Mourinho isn’t a long term build manager , he won’t be here for 3/4 seasons.

Why is that such a mandatory requirement, though? If you look at the Premiership, very few of the top flight’s managers have been there 3/4 seasons. Of the 20, only five have been there for three or more years.

He is one of the most expensive managers in the world and the narrative has changed from a few players here and there (loves to work with these players) to a whole rebuild job job and the football will get no better under him whatever happens.

Pardon me for being blunt, but you know this how?

And this idea of there being a ‘narrative’ - you speak as if there’s a conspiracy going on to gull the fans. To what purpose?

Could it not be possible, just possible, that his assessment of the squad before he took over wasn't, perhaps could never be, deep enough for him to know precisely how many problems there were?

Or alternatively maybe, just maybe, he felt it wasn’t the best idea to criticise a group of players low on confidence in his first days in the job?

 

[Japhet]

No we didn’t. No chairman, no manager will promise to deliver specific objectives. At no point did the club say that Jose will deliver anything. We hope he will, we may even anticipate he will, but no-one can promise he will.

Why is that such a mandatory requirement, though? If you look at the Premiership, very few of the top flight’s managers have been there 3/4 seasons. Of the 20, only five have been there for three or more years.

Pardon me for being blunt, but you know this how?

And this idea of their being a ‘narrative’ - you speak as if there’s a conspiracy going on to gull the fans. To what purpose?

Could it not be possible, just possible, that his assessment of the squad before he took over was, could never be, deep enough for him to know precisely how many problems there were?

Or alternatively maybe, just maybe, he felt it wasn’t the best idea to criticise a group of players low on confidence in his first days in the job?

All fair points. I do wonder though what Mourinho intimated to Levy about the squad when he took over. Publicly, everything was hunky dory and he would sort stuff out with what was available. A short time later we're talking about a huge rebuild and half the squad deemed not good enough.

 

[Metalhead]

No we didn’t. No chairman, no manager will promise to deliver specific objectives. At no point did the club say that Jose will deliver anything. We hope he will, we may even anticipate he will, but no-one can promise he will.

Why is that such a mandatory requirement, though? If you look at the Premiership, very few of the top flight’s managers have been there 3/4 seasons. Of the 20, only five have been there for three or more years.

Pardon me for being blunt, but you know this how?

And this idea of their being a ‘narrative’ - you speak as if there’s a conspiracy going on to gull the fans. To what purpose?

Could it not be possible, just possible, that his assessment of the squad before he took over was, could never be, deep enough for him to know precisely how many problems there were?

Or alternatively maybe, just maybe, he felt it wasn’t the best idea to criticise a group of players low on confidence in his first days in the job?

Well said. Any promises of finals or league finishes are definitely in the minds of said fans.

 

[Metalhead]

All fair points. I do wonder though what Mourinho intimated to Levy about the squad when he took over. Publicly, everything was hunky dory and he would sort stuff out with what was available. A short time later we're talking about a huge rebuild and half the squad deemed not good enough.

A squad normally gets a clean slate under a new manager but he must have determined by now that it's not good enough.

 

[allatsea]

A squad normally gets a clean slate under a new manager but he must have determined by now that it's not good enough.

So Poch was right the rebuild is going to be painful. We have made a decent start with Lo Celso, Ndombele, Bergwijn and Fernandez. Unfortunately virtually the whole defence needs a lot of work.

 

[Trix]

So Poch was right the rebuild is going to be painful. We have made a decent start with Lo Celso, Ndombele, Bergwijn and Fernandez. Unfortunately virtually the whole defence needs a lot of work.

He was right but, that half his fault. When he said he desperately needed a CB, what he actually meant was he desperately wanted DeLigt. Whenvit became abundantly clear he was unobtainable, he put no other names forward and knocked back those offered to him.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

So Poch was right the rebuild is going to be painful. We have made a decent start with Lo Celso, Ndombele, Bergwijn and Fernandez. Unfortunately virtually the whole defence needs a lot of work.

What he was correct about was the “painful” bit.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

I for one is backing Mourinho and his staff 100% for the rest of the season no matter what. If they should be judged, that’s for next season, for now, more than support he actually has my sympathy.

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

So Poch was right the rebuild is going to be painful. We have made a decent start with Lo Celso, Ndombele, Bergwijn and Fernandez. Unfortunately virtually the whole defence needs a lot of work.

Whilst the aforementioned signings are decent, we've completely ignored the critical areas for change. No right or left fullback, holding midfielder or striker signed. Based on this, I would say our recruitment strategy is shocking, bordering on incompetent

 

[sparx100]

He was right but, that half his fault. When he said he desperately needed a CB, what he actually meant was he desperately wanted DeLigt. Whenvit became abundantly clear he was unobtainable, he put no other names forward and knocked back those offered to him.

Cheers Trix. You would think that a football manager would have a number of options that he thinks would work better or provide more competition than what he currently has at his disposal so really surprised at that with De-Ligt.

 

[spursfan77]

Sturridge has just been released by his team in turkey...

 

[archiewasking]

HAVE, damn it, HAVE.

This frustrates me even more than losing. Not loosing.....

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

Sturridge has just been released by his team in turkey...

Mostly because he’s shit

 

[rez9000]

All fair points. I do wonder though what Mourinho intimated to Levy about the squad when he took over. Publicly, everything was hunky dory and he would sort stuff out with what was available. A short time later we're talking about a huge rebuild and half the squad deemed not good enough.

My own feeling is that regardless of whether he believed it or not, he was always going to compliment the squad at the beginning of his tenure.

It boils down to this: either he was aware of the state of the squad or he wasn't.

If he was, the worst thing he could have done would be to undermine the squad's already low confidence by criticising them before he'd even held a training session or played more than a couple of games.

If he wasn't, then he can't be blamed for complimenting them and neither can he be criticised for now giving a factual analysis of the problems that exist.

And from the wider perspective, we don't know what Mourinho's objectives for the rest of this season are. There are so many possibilities. I have to stress I'm not saying this is definite, just that it's possible (in that the possibility exists, nothing more) that Levy has himself written the season off, has told Mourinho that he just wants to keep us ticking over and that this summer he'll be entrusted with a rebuild that Levy didn't trust Pochettino with. Levy is an arch strategist, so who knows - it could have happened. Again, before the usual suspects jump on it, I'm not making any claims about the likelihood of it, I'm just trying to demonstrate that we don't know enough to draw any kind of real conclusion.

And, that for me, is why we need to show some patience - to see what the longer-term direction of travel is, once Mourinho has had a meaningful opportunity to actually shape what's happening with the squad as well as other new factors, particularly the impact of the new stadium on revenue and spending. Another gripe is that people seem to believe that less than a year of being in the new stadium is enough time to make definitive statements on its effect.

People seem blind to the fact of just how febrile the club's situation is right now and speak in definitive terms that just sour and degrade the discussion.

We need to be patient. To wait and see.

 

[rez9000]

Mostly because he’s shit

FYP

 

[THOWIG]

He was right but, that half his fault. When he said he desperately needed a CB, what he actually meant was he desperately wanted DeLigt. Whenvit became abundantly clear he was unobtainable, he put no other names forward and knocked back those offered to him.

This was what I always wondered about Poch. It's been alluded to on here that he turned his nose up at the likes of Perreira, Maddison, Maguire etc...

 

[Japhet]

My own feeling is that regardless of whether he believed it or not, he was always going to compliment the squad at the beginning of his tenure.

It boils down to this: either he was aware of the state of the squad or he wasn't.

If he was, the worst thing he could have done would be to undermine the squad's already low confidence by criticising them before he'd even held a training session or played more than a couple of games.

If he wasn't, then he can't be blamed for complimenting them and neither can he be criticised for now giving a factual analysis of the problems that exist.

And from the wider perspective, we don't know what Mourinho's objectives for the rest of this season are. There are so many possibilities. I have to stress I'm not saying this is definite, just that it's possible (in that the possibility exists, nothing more) that Levy has himself written the season off, has told Mourinho that he just wants to keep us ticking over and that this summer he'll be entrusted with a rebuild that Levy didn't trust Pochettino with. Levy is an arch strategist, so who knows - it could have happened. Again, before the usual suspects jump on it, I'm not making any claims about the likelihood of it, I'm just trying to demonstrate that we don't know enough to draw any kind of real conclusion.

And, that for me, is why we need to show some patience - to see what the longer-term direction of travel is, once Mourinho has had a meaningful opportunity to actually shape what's happening with the squad as well as other new factors, particularly the impact of the new stadium on revenue and spending. Another gripe is that people seem to believe that less than a year of being in the new stadium is enough time to make definitive statements on its effect.

People seem blind to the fact of just how febrile the club's situation is right now and speak in definitive terms that just sour and degrade the discussion.

We need to be patient. To wait and see.

I completely agree. I personally didn't want Mourinho here but that is irrelevant in the overall scheme of things. What I want is for the club to progress and be successful and Mourinho has been appointed to try to make that happen. That's a decision we have to accept, like it or not, and anybody thinking he should be got rid of has put no thought into their opinion. I still have a lot of reservations about Mourinho in the long term, but for now I hope he manages to get things on an even keel for us and at least leaves us with a platform to build on. My original point was that on his arrival, he seemed to intimate that there was nothing wrong with the squad and it just needed somebody who knew what they were doing in charge. I think he's probably now finding out that Poch was bang on with his assessment of where we were at the time, but I hope he doesn't expect to be bankrolled like he has been in the past to try to sort it out. I guess we'll find out in the summer.

 

[Ossie85]

I am behind Mourinho at least until the end of this year when he has the chance to sign whoever he wants.
But I still think we made a huge mistake sacking Pochettino.