Jose Mourinho

[Japhet]

His vision is superb and he does seem to have a sense if the player he is passing to sees the same thing he does. So in one sense, he is tactically astute. however, i don't see him making great runs off the ball which could be an issue with work rate or not having a strong sense of that especially in the EPL where the game plays as fast as it does. I may not be watching him close enough, but i can't recall ever saying "What a clever run". part of that is positional but i would have thought i would have seen something.

Modric wasn't one for making great runs off the ball either but he could move the ball quickly and accurately, and similar to Ndombele seemed to have a radar that picked out passes others wouldn't see or be able to execute.

 

[emiley heskey]

Modric wasn't one for making great runs off the ball either but he could move the ball quickly and accurately, and similar to Ndombele seemed to have a radar that picked out passes others wouldn't see or be able to execute.

Modric is one of the finest tactically astute player in the world ...

 

[Rusta81]

770 pages on whether you want JM to stay or go

love it

 

[Metalhead]

770 pages on whether you want JM to stay or go

Apart from George Graham, who would no doubt have generated just as many pages on here, can anyone think of any other managers who have been this divisive for our club in living memory? There isn't is there? I think it's partly because of the age that we live in where obviously social media amplifies things but it's incredible at least on the face of it to have maybe the most decorated manager in our history being so controversial as managerial choice. Graham must be fairly close behind in terms of trophies and clearly he's probably on a par in terms of being a controversial choice.

 

[Albertbarich]

Yesterday made me doubt myself. It was still pretty boring and I felt we gave a poor newcastle side far too much but I could see improvements and confidence in the side.

 

[Gb160]

770 pages on whether you want JM to stay or go

Not true at all.
765 pages on whether we want JM to stay or go, and 5 fucking pages on whether Ndombele is a tactical or technical player.

 

[shelfboy68]

Personally I'm happy with Jose slowly he is starting to stamp his mark with making us harder to beat.
I hope he gets the players he wants in and that some of the fanbase let go of the poch thing and trust him.
If a manager of this calibre can't make us successful then I don't know who will.

 

[Rusta81]

Yesterday made me doubt myself. It was still pretty boring and I felt we gave a poor newcastle side far too much but I could see improvements and confidence in the side.

I think there midfield is stronger than ours and Maxima is a player we could do with . On paper there 11 isn’t that far behind ours . The keeper is having a top season also . I think yesterday was a good result with the players we have at our disposal

 

[sausage]

Apart from George Graham, who would no doubt have generated just as many pages on here, can anyone think of any other managers who have been this divisive for our club in living memory? There isn't is there? I think it's partly because of the age that we live in where obviously social media amplifies things but it's incredible at least on the face of it to have maybe the most decorated manager in our history being so controversial as managerial choice. Graham must be fairly close behind in terms of trophies and clearly he's probably on a par in terms of being a controversial choice.

It's not really comparable. The world has changed in the last 5-7 years, with people being encouraged to have and share opinions, unprovoked, and to almost be divisive. We've obviously seen it in lots of areas of politics, but arguing/trolling on Facebook/Twitter is now as regular as a bowel movement for the average person, so people are far more open with their opinions than they would have been back then. It's almost like people associate having an opinion with being, or seen to be, knowledgeable.

I mean, who the hell would have thought people would turn their nose up at Jose Mourinho even a few years ago.

 

[soflapaul]

Modric wasn't one for making great runs off the ball either but he could move the ball quickly and accurately, and similar to Ndombele seemed to have a radar that picked out passes others wouldn't see or be able to execute.

Good counterpoint as he didn't create space but it seemed to me that he did exploit it effectively. It seemed to me taht he often found the gaps of space to sit in or move towards before or as they appeared. And that led me to think he was clever when it came to his positional sense. Ndombele is clearly clever on exploiting space when he has the ball but i jury is still out for me whether he is clever off the ball. He is young and as such, I hope he gets a chance to demonstrate or grow into it because he could be quite the player.

 

[rossdapep]

I disagree, I think it's less dangerous than having 8 outfield players committed in forward positions and trying to open up spaces using our centre backs as playmakers and getting caught with pace in behind a high line.

When we sit and defend and selectively press where able to we can craft many more clear-cut opportunities and we're able to keep a much more solid defensive shape.

There was a time when people used to think fast direct interchanging attacking play was attractive football but since peps tika taka everyone seems to think you need to have 70% possession to play attacking.

It's a complete lie

..and people also forget Pep had Iniesta, Xavi Busquets and of course Messi. 4 of the best players of that generation (or any generation) in moving the ball quickly and finding space. It worked because the better 3 of those players were all magicians with the ball and could defeat the opposition by having them chase the ball with no hope of getting it, thus getting tired out. Others adopted it but forgot to include the penetrate the defence part or it wasn't treated as the main objective.

 

[rossdapep]

One thing about jose is that he has quite a high level of extrinsic motivation (part of this is being motivated to do well so you're recognised by others), listen to any of his press conferences and as much as he tries to deflect it to say its not about me its about the team etc, it is absolutely 100% about him but that's fine because he needs the team to succeed for him to succeed.

Anyway as I studied this element of Sports Psychology a while back it got me thinking about how the Tottenham job in so many ways is perfect for what Jose wanted:

• Ultimately this is all about winning with a slightly underdog club so people can say oh ok so Jose isn't finished and look what an amazing job he did at Tottenham
• Club has only won one trophy in the past 20 years so if he can just win one League Cup with us that will be a huge success in his and other peoples eyes, if he wins anything bigger than that, FA Cup, Europa League etc or two trophies then he'll be hailed as the messiah and his legacy won't be tarnished it will be reinvigorated, as he and others will be able to always say you have to rate Jose pretty highly, he's won it all, he even won trophies with Tottenham
• The FFP rhetoric against Man.City is another great blessing for Jose as this adds to this siege mentality of oh poor Spurs and other clubs they can never compete with these clubs and whilst he and we know it will be very difficult, its certainly not impossible, Leicester have proved it, to an extent Liverpool have proved it and we proved under Poch that with our resources (which should only now improve financially once fans and events are back) that it was possible for us to make a CL final, 2 title 'challenges', FA Cup semi finals, League Cup finals
• PL top 6 club, its his favourite league and also the main neysayers are the english media after his recent times at Chelsea and Man.U (which were actually very successful anyway so the stick he gets in the media is very unjust) but he's now got this job in almost the perfect 'underdog' club in the PL, one who don't have the riches of some of the other top 6 but one which has an amazing infrastructure and who keep improving on and off the pitch.
• If fans and events come back then Jose will know that he will have a reasonable amount to spend to improve what he knows is an already talented squad which does need some improving and tweaking but not a complete overhaul, it has the nucleus of a strong side: Lloris, Toby, Dier, Sanchez, Lo Celso, Son, Kane

So to summarise I just thought it would be interesting to bring this up because whether you like or dislike Jose or his football, the fact he's so extrinsicly motivated for me is partly why he's so successful as this drives him to keep going, it can be a slight negative as we know he doesn't react well to criticism but there will be a huge fire inside him which is determined to make a success of this with Spurs and to win something with us, I think ideally he wants to win something in his 3 year contract and if all is going well mabye extend a year or two to win more than one trophy, otherwise if he can just win one trophy for us and then walk away I think he can move onto International management a happy man with the press and fans singing his praises.

Fingers crossed we back him and he can be successful with us.

COYS.

Excellent post. Agree with every word

 

[rossdapep]

I’ve coached at a good level - Ross I know you coach too... I don’t know what a tactical player is.

Ndombélé isn’t just a player who can execute a scissor kick or take a volley on his weak foot over his shoulder. He has phenomenal awareness of how players are moving around him and passes the ball with perfect weight to take advantage of that movement ie plays intelligent / killer balls. That seems to me to be a tactical player with the ball.

Unless all you meant was he doesn’t work hard enough off the ball. But both Poch and mourinho expect that so it’s not a pertinent difference,

Sorry mate, I wasn't trying to come off as a know it all or trying to put you down in anyway.

For me, tactically would be the understanding of the game. Where to be in transition - defensive and attacking, where to position and cover when we are pressed back, which players to pick up - zonally, spacially or man-to-man, how to play in a 3 man midfield or a two man midfield, etc etc.

Last year at my club, we had three cms who were all technically sound, athletic and strong but they constantly got in each other's way because they didn't understand where they should be. We had to drop one for a more attacking mid just to get them operating. If they could understand where they were supposed to be in relation to one another and when in position they'd have operated very well.

So when we look at Ndombele and our midfield we'd certainly benefit from his technical ability but we wouldn't be able to operate well in our tactical strategy because he's not a player who can sit deep and cover, he needs to be given a bit more freedom, and his off the ball work when in possession needs work. Remember the away game against Chelsea? He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing, he was unsure of positioning and couldnt connect with his teammates, that's not down to his technical ability it's all tactical.

Hopefully Jose can do some great work with him and hopefully a DM can give him the platform to not rely so much on the tactical play.

 

[tototoner]

I am not a Mourinho fan but I heard on the radio earlier that only Man City and Liverpool have won more league games than us since he took over as Tottenham manager

 

[Saoirse]

I am not a Mourinho fan but I heard on the radio earlier that only Man City and Liverpool have won more league games than us since he took over as Tottenham manager

Yep - although Man United are level and 25 minutes away from going ahead.

 

[LeParisien]

Sorry mate, I wasn't trying to come off as a know it all or trying to put you down in anyway.

For me, tactically would be the understanding of the game. Where to be in transition - defensive and attacking, where to position and cover when we are pressed back, which players to pick up - zonally, spacially or man-to-man, how to play in a 3 man midfield or a two man midfield, etc etc.

Last year at my club, we had three cms who were all technically sound, athletic and strong but they constantly got in each other's way because they didn't understand where they should be. We had to drop one for a more attacking mid just to get them operating. If they could understand where they were supposed to be in relation to one another and when in position they'd have operated very well.

So when we look at Ndombele and our midfield we'd certainly benefit from his technical ability but we wouldn't be able to operate well in our tactical strategy because he's not a player who can sit deep and cover, he needs to be given a bit more freedom, and his off the ball work when in possession needs work. Remember the away game against Chelsea? He didn't know what he was supposed to be doing, he was unsure of positioning and couldnt connect with his teammates, that's not down to his technical ability it's all tactical.

Hopefully Jose can do some great work with him and hopefully a DM can give him the platform to not rely so much on the tactical play.

If I’m honest I haven’t noticed what Ndombélé is like off the ball. It’s been a long time ! And his fitness has completely undermined any attempt to see what he’s seeing. @thekneaf made a great point that he could be a player who sees what’s happening on instinct rather than any developed « game intelligence ». At least to the standard required at an elite level.

He was capable of being accommodated at Lyon where he had discipline. He was a bit immature in that his decision making could be suspect in dangerous areas.

We will see I guess whether he has what it takes. But given his fitness I think it’s harsh to say he had no idea what he’s doing !

 

[DJS]

The 2 domestic cups ain't worth shit these days.

I reckon Kane for one would be ecstatic to lift one of them.

 

[DCSPUR64]

The 2 domestic cups ain't worth shit these days.

It is to me

 

[ClintEastwould]

True, and despite that Man City still try to win them every year, and often do.

This is true but they also have the resources to win these cups. Spurs are in a stick or twist and I think that was Poch’s dilemma. Risk the league and CL for “minor silverware” and play our starters in the cups or concede that to challenge for the big ones we need to play the likes of Nkoudou and Jansen in the cups. City can call upon a bench that will rival 3/4 of the league

 

[BuckeyeSpurs11]

José said no more attacking mids - has he as manager of any other team made that sort of statement only to go back on it and act differently in the window? Some real quality attacking mids could be relegated and on the market.