Jose Mourinho

[Gb160]

I guess you are going to get banged too!

how so? I haven't guaranteed success or written him off.

 

[Japhet]

For me he gets until Xmas. After a full pre-season, with a fit squad, full of the players he identifies he needs to win things.

I agree with that. This is the bed that's been made, and like it or not, we have to lie in it for a good while. My main concern is that I personally doubt whether we'd be doing much better with Kane and Son. Could quite easily be wrong on that, and I hope I am because I want the club to succeed. It just feels to me like we have the same old Mourinho instead of the new reborn one we were promised but he has a convenient list of viable excuses to draw on for every disappointment. If we (most likely) don't get CL, Levy then has all the excuses he needs to not spend in the summer as well. Mourinho then has his excuses for next season in the bag, and so it goes on. Probably being overly pessimistic but that's how it feels to me.

 

[Haddock]

Despite what people thought of the Mourinho appointment, then and now, I'd say most knew Pochettino needed to go. From there on it's a question of who was available and who had the credentials as a manager to come in and try to 'save' the season. Now it's quite clear that the squad in itself wasn't in a position to push on, furthermore the injuries to key players is extremely unfortunate. It's so easy with the benefit of hindsight to claim that Mourinho is past it and that everyone and their mother could see that we needed a total rebuild. But the vast majority of us fans maintained the notion that the squad was underperforming and that it had done so for a very long time. Truly, how many fans sat here thinking "Yeah this squad isn't good enough for a top four finish even top six will be a stretch..."?

Even if you were blessed with clairvoyance and could see that the squad just wasn't good enough - Then what difference would someone like Eddie Howe or Nagelsmann (...not that any of them were available anyway midseason) have done? We'd be in the exact same situation but this time around we'd blame Levy for hiring a young and inexperienced manager.

If you take everything in to account Mourinho was probably the best option to try squeeze the last out of this squad midseason. It was a roll of the dice that his experience and authority as a manager could swing around our season, but given the state of club and how we perceived things when Pochettino was sacked it was probably the right call.

 

[Gb160]

Yeah but we won, and I enjoyed it. Do you like football?

There's a growing number of fans who are only happy when all of the following terms and conditions are met.

1. We win by 4 or more clear goals.
2. We create at least 5x the amount of goalscoring opportunities as our opponents.
3. We complete a minimum of 1000 passes.
4. We have at least 80% possession.
5. We have an xG of at least 5.5
6. Our opponent has an xG lower than 0.01
7. The average age of our team is below 16
8. Our fans behave like the Vienna Boys Choir.
9. Our manager will individually namecheck and praise every single member of the playing staff and coaching staff, failure to do so constitutes 'throwing them under a bus'.

The modern internet fan reserves the right to have a good old fucking moan if any of these conditions aren't met.

 

[Deleted member 27995]

There's a growing number of fans who are only happy when all of the following terms and conditions are met.

1. We win by 4 or more clear goals.
2. We create at least 5x the amount of goalscoring opportunities as our opponents.
3. We complete a minimum of 1000 passes.
4. We have an xG of at least 5.5
5. Our opponent has an xG lower than 0.01
6. The average age of our team is below 16
7. Our fans behave like the Vienna Boys Choir.
8. Our manager will individually namecheck and praise every single member of the playing staff and coaching staff, failure to do so constitutes 'throwing them under a bus'.

The modern internet fan reserves the right to have a good old fucking moan if any of these conditions aren't met.

Ding ding ding!

This site has had an influx of people that want to moan about everything. I'd go to the grinding my gears thread but I want to keep it free of football.

Before people tell me - not to read it or block those in question - I'd almost be posting to myself. It's no good being closed minded to debate and opposing opinions but every thread is someone not happy about every infinite detail

Imagine paying top cash to moan about everything in this world. There aren't enough hours in the day!

Entertainment they said, joy they said, bollocks I say.

 

[HW61]

For me he gets until Xmas. After a full pre-season, with a fit squad, full of the players he identifies he needs to win things.

That’s the problem. He won’t get a full preseason. The Euro players will join preseason late. Possibly even the Argi boys. Then we have Levy transfer techniques. Even if there was sizeable net spend, which there won’t be (as Levy has laid down his no champions league excuses already), he’ll hardly get players in early. More like the final day.

Personally loved Poch, but he had to go unfortunately. I quite like JM. But boy...it looks like he’ll be stuffed before he even starts next season.

JM haters will slam him. But something tells me it won’t solely be his fault.

 

[Gilzeanking]

Truly, how many fans sat here thinking "Yeah this squad isn't good enough for a top four finish even top six will be a stretch..."?

I'd claim this . Our success was built not so much on sheer player quality , but mainly on pure effort . Alderweireld 'Without our effort we are just ordinary' .
When our energy subsided we were always going to be in trouble .

 

[spids]

That’s the problem. He won’t get a full preseason. The Euro players will join preseason late. Possibly even the Argi boys. Then we have Levy transfer techniques. Even if there was sizeable net spend, which there won’t be (as Levy has laid down his no champions league excuses already), he’ll hardly get players in early. More like the final day.

Personally loved Poch, but he had to go unfortunately. I quite like JM. But boy...it looks like he’ll be stuffed before he even starts next season.

JM haters will slam him. But something tells me it won’t solely be his fault.

He has close to 20 years experience managing top clubs and the very best international players who regularly have competed in summer international tournaments. That should not be a problem to him, and certainly not a bigger problem than the other top 6 clubs will face.

 

[shelfboy68]

Levy must be hoping that we'll be in form by then to avoid the email.

Seriously though, I think that the majority of us will be concerned if we are still struggling by then albeit the summer transfer window will play a part.

I really hope that whoever we bring in, it's early on for once.

Can you see that happening mate because if we are tightening our belts then the search for value for money will be worse, doubt much will happen end of July.

 

[Haddock]

I'd claim this . Our success was built not so much on sheer player quality , but mainly on pure effort . Alderweireld 'Without our effort we are just ordinary' .
When our energy subsided we were always going to be in trouble .

Yeah, but it's not like we are Sheffield United. We have (...had) seasoned internationals, world cup winners, top scorers and top assisters etc in our squad. That said, it doesn't matter how good players you have if the effort isn't there, that's a good point. But you don't finish top four severals seasons in a row based on effort alone.

I'd say most of us believed that the lack of effort was by large due to Pochettino and the squad growing tired of each other, and that by appointing a new manager we'd might have a rejuvenated squad.

 

[Hakkz]

Despite what people thought of the Mourinho appointment, then and now, I'd say most knew Pochettino needed to go. From there on it's a question of who was available and who had the credentials as a manager to come in and try to 'save' the season. Now it's quite clear that the squad in itself wasn't in a position to push on, furthermore the injuries to key players is extremely unfortunate. It's so easy with the benefit of hindsight to claim that Mourinho is past it and that everyone and their mother could see that we needed a total rebuild. But the vast majority of us fans maintained the notion that the squad was underperforming and that it had done so for a very long time. Truly, how many fans sat here thinking "Yeah this squad isn't good enough for a top four finish even top six will be a stretch..."?

Even if you were blessed with clairvoyance and could see that the squad just wasn't good enough - Then what difference would someone like Eddie Howe or Nagelsmann (...not that any of them were available anyway midseason) have done? We'd be in the exact same situation but this time around we'd blame Levy for hiring a young and inexperienced manager.

If you take everything in to account Mourinho was probably the best option to try squeeze the last out of this squad midseason. It was a roll of the dice that his experience and authority as a manager could swing around our season, but given the state of club and how we perceived things when Pochettino was sacked it was probably the right call.

Just go to the predictions thread for the season and you'll find most people put us in 2nd or 3rd place with a league cup or fa cup win.

 

[synththfc]

That’s the problem. He won’t get a full preseason. The Euro players will join preseason late. Possibly even the Argi boys. Then we have Levy transfer techniques. Even if there was sizeable net spend, which there won’t be (as Levy has laid down his no champions league excuses already), he’ll hardly get players in early. More like the final day.

Personally loved Poch, but he had to go unfortunately. I quite like JM. But boy...it looks like he’ll be stuffed before he even starts next season.

JM haters will slam him. But something tells me it won’t solely be his fault.

The way things are going, the Euros aren't a guarantee to happen IMO.

 

[SpartanSpur]

There's a growing number of fans who are only happy when all of the following terms and conditions are met.

1. We win by 4 or more clear goals.
2. We create at least 5x the amount of goalscoring opportunities as our opponents.
3. We complete a minimum of 1000 passes.
4. We have at least 80% possession.
5. We have an xG of at least 5.5
6. Our opponent has an xG lower than 0.01
7. The average age of our team is below 16
8. Our fans behave like the Vienna Boys Choir.
9. Our manager will individually namecheck and praise every single member of the playing staff and coaching staff, failure to do so constitutes 'throwing them under a bus'.

The modern internet fan reserves the right to have a good old fucking moan if any of these conditions aren't met.

This post deserves to be in a museum.

Absolutely nailed it good sir

Some people act like the opposition is a training dummy not a live opponent.

 

[SpartanSpur]

Yeah, but it's not like we are Sheffield United. We have (...had) seasoned internationals, world cup winners, top scorers and top assisters etc in our squad. That said, it doesn't matter how good players you have if the effort isn't there, that's a good point. But you don't finish top four severals seasons in a row based on effort alone.

I'd say most of us believed that the lack of effort was by large due to Pochettino and the squad growing tired of each other, and that by appointing a new manager we'd might have a rejuvenated squad.

At the time it was the right decision. With hindsight the squad was broken to an extent far greater than any of us expected.

A Nagelsmann or Rodgers may well have been the better appointment for a rebuild in hindsight, however I don't think either were available midseason. At the time I was convinced the likes of Kane and Son wanted to see a proven winner arrive, rather than start a new 5 year project with a bright young manager that may impress but ultimately fall short like Poch did. This kinda aligns with the ITK we had from Trix at the time. Mourinho's record speaks for itself, when he has a team he is happy with he gets over the line more often than not. This may backfire with hindsight considering how bad it looks currently, but the players still seem to be playing for him for now.

 

[homer hotspur]

That’s the problem. He won’t get a full preseason. The Euro players will join preseason late. Possibly even the Argi boys. Then we have Levy transfer techniques. Even if there was sizeable net spend, which there won’t be (as Levy has laid down his no champions league excuses already), he’ll hardly get players in early. More like the final day.

Personally loved Poch, but he had to go unfortunately. I quite like JM. But boy...it looks like he’ll be stuffed before he even starts next season.

JM haters will slam him. But something tells me it won’t solely be his fault.

Also unknown is how the likes of Kane and Son are going to feel about things as the big offers arrive for them

 

[DFF]

Preseason, my arse. Transfer deadline week is back to being after the season starts now. You know what that means.

Besides, what good did getting Ndombele in early to get him “Poch fit” do? Lo Celso came in at the last knockings and has been our best player. Get ‘em in by hook or by crook and get ‘em playing. There’s international tournaments nigh on every summer now. No top side has a “full preseason” anymore, it’s just another excuse imo.

 

[homer hotspur]

I agree with that. This is the bed that's been made, and like it or not, we have to lie in it for a good while. My main concern is that I personally doubt whether we'd be doing much better with Kane and Son. Could quite easily be wrong on that, and I hope I am because I want the club to succeed. It just feels to me like we have the same old Mourinho instead of the new reborn one we were promised but he has a convenient list of viable excuses to draw on for every disappointment. If we (most likely) don't get CL, Levy then has all the excuses he needs to not spend in the summer as well. Mourinho then has his excuses for next season in the bag, and so it goes on. Probably being overly pessimistic but that's how it feels to me.

Absolutely agree. The waters have been totally muddied by the incredibly unlucky run of serious injuries. You can't really justify a judgement either way on Jose's tenure. Many of us have been concerned by what appears to have been a reversion to type both in playing tactics , player management and general demeanour but because of the incredibly limited options open to him, you have to allow him the pre season and to start next season afresh.
The only thing which may change this is if the players were to start revolting , with transfer requests and/or negative comments or if Jose himself wanted out, possibly due to a lack of support in the transfer market. I just hope we go into the next season in a settled state and not in a continuation of this awful season.
After all, next year is 2021, so we should be favourites for the Fa cup at least, although even that old chestnut is looking a bit outdated these days!

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

This is exactly the problem. Too many fans think we have great players because we did well for a couple of years. Hardly any of our players would get in any of the top 6 teams. Just shows how quickly football changes. We fucked up 3 years ago when we didn't build.

100% mate we've gone from a team under Poch in 15-16 chasing down Chelsea & Leicester title bids and also last season in the CL final but I think there was a stat saying that in one of our recent games we only had 2 players the same as the CL final.
For one reason or another we've either lost or not replaced or have players who are not as good as they were a few years ago:
Lloris - injuries and less form that in the past
Walker - Gone and not sufficiently replaced
Toby - not the player he was
Jan - certainly not the player he was
Rose - not the player he was and gone and not sufficiently replaced
Wanyama - gone, injured and not replaced
Dembele - replaced with what looks like a possible dud/crock in N'Dombele
Lamela - constantly injured
Eriksen - our most creative player gone
Dele - patchy form compared to when he burst onto the scene
Kane - more injured than in the past

Now in recent line-up how many of these players are top 4 worthy? barely any...

Gazzaniga - good but he'd not get in a top 6 side

Aurier - has been good this year but again not a top 4 RB
Toby - mabye gets in top 4 sides
Sanchez - mabye gets in top 4 sides but not quite consistent enough yet
Davies / Jan - won't get in top 4 sides

Lo Celso - would get in a top 4 side, class player
Winks - barely top 6 never mind top 4 player, love the bloke but very mid table player at best

Lucas - not consistent enough for top 4 really
Lamela / Ndombele - neither fit enough to get into a top 4 side
Bergqweign - wouldn't currently get in top 4 sides as young and not consistent enough

Dele - would mabye get in some top 4 sides

So in summary we've not manged the squad well, when fit we have mabye 5 players who are top 4 worthy but we've had injuries to our 2 best players, we are weak in a lot of other areas and our strength in depth especially up front is not good enough.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I agree a lot would right now. But if we were playing football, how many really would? Right now only GLC is playing football.

Oh yea i agree we aren't playing football and its painful to watch and doesn't suit our players. They're very ill suited to park the bus and counter, we have a lot of neat and tidy ball players who'd far rather be dominating posession which they quite easily could if we were set-up correctly.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

I've been thinking about this and I wonder if Jose is being negative and dramatising our situation in order to build up huge momentum next summer when hopefully we have new signings and all of our players back fit?

It could also plausibly be he's doing it to take the focus off our poor on the pitch performances but it could also be the seige mentality thing being built up from now so everyone feels sorry for us and lowers their expectations and then next season we start with a bang and do great things...