Mourinho was appointed on the 20th of November 2019. With the international break we don't play again until the 21st so between now and his anniversary nothing is going to change. How are we feeling about the start he's had? A full year of Mourinho at Spurs! I was firmly Poch in until the end but once the decision was made I was pretty happy with the actual replacement. I didn't think Mourinho would really succeed here but he was the highest calibre of manager realistically available. Perhaps it's the circumstances of the world at the moment but I don't feel like we've had 12 months of Mourinho. Last season had its ups and downs, meanwhile this season feels too soon to get carried away. I'm feeling pretty good about Spurs at the moment but I'm not sure that's necessarily due to the manager (who I've always been a big fan of). I've liked a lot about Mourinho so far and he has my full backing but I don't know that we're in a position to say he's proven any doubters or critics wrong. I'd like to think he'll still be here 12 months from now but I also don't really know how to judge his Spurs reign so far. After years of Poch taking us to unusual heights we've probably reverted a bit closer to par for Spurs under Mourinho. He hasn't really under or overperformed so far. Thoughts?
Agree with you. Probably a bit too soon to make a full assessment on Mourinho because of the situation last season. But he's had his transfer window and gotten all the support from Levy he needs to succeed. We've not yet reached the level we had at our best under Poch but we are again seeing a similar level of performance compared to the periods just below that. Where we're able to absolutely destroy teams if they play into our hands but have trouble breaking down teams who defend deep and don't make mistakes when being pressed. Despite the media's attempts to make it look like Mourinho is still the same asshole he's looked like a pretty good influence on the players, been mostly positive. He's obviously had some issues with the like of Dele and Ndombele previous season not being fit or motivated enough but isn't that his job? We've got a big squad and that's good and if players aren't performing they are going to drop out, they will get a couple more chances but they have to take them and that's up to them. So far we've only seen the good side of Mourinho and lets hope that can continue, he looks happy to be here and Levy seems to love him so there might actually be a chance for this to last longer than 1 or 2 seasons.
One year in and we have articles like this: Can Jose Mourinho's Tottenham win the Premier League this season? Being in a title challenge was completely unthinkable this time last year, Levy has backed Jose and Jose has certainly proved me wrong in my criticisms of him being a boring football manager. We have the 2nd best goals for and joint best goals against so far. There are some big games coming up and if we get through those and still look good then we have to be very very happy. I am also quite happy that Jose is taking all competitions seriously, and is rotating his squad nicely to ensure we are competitive in all competitions.
I was a bit disappointed Jose didn't come in and immediately improve our defence. I wasn't expecting miracles but I thought he would at least make it hard to score against us. I appreciate he could only use the players available but it's only recently that we've improved in that area with investment. I like the direction the team is heading. I genuniely thought Jose and United could become an absolute powerhouse of football and of course didn't get anywhere near it. I'm under no illusions that this "project" for Mourinho will only be temporary for a number of reasons including the fact he and Levy WILL fall out, but he doesn't need to match his Chelsea or Inter spells to be one of our greatever managers if we can win a trophy or two. It will be very interesting to see how we negotiate such a crazy fixture list if we're able to go far in the cups, but we bought in a lot of players in the summer to give Joe options so he can't say he hasn't been backed. Jose Mourinho has been a huge name in football for 15+ years, I'm pleased he's here and hope he can achieve with us what he's done everywhere else he's been, trophies in the cabinet.
Oops, I haven't been posting much over the break so sorry for the slow responses It's interesting. I'm happy with where we appear to be heading but nothing is decided in November so I don't want to get carried away either. I don't want to read too much in to the discontent among certain individuals. I saw pieces about Harry Winks over the past few days and the reality is he isn't playing for Spurs because he doesn't offer us enough and N'Dombele and Hojbjerg have also both impressed this season. We're one year in and there's still positivity so I suppose that is something on its own. I think many were expecting it to be a short marriage so he's already proving some wrong. I agree being in a title challenge was completely unthinkable a year ago but I also think it's way too soon for anyone to be hinting that we're in contention this season. We've had a good start but we've also had some kind fixtures so far which is part of the reason for that. We've got some tricky games coming up in the next few weeks so hopefully we'll maintain that momentum in all competitions. The backing adds a really unexpected factor that I hadn't seen coming. I was quite happy with the appointment in the sense I rate the manager but also quite realistic in that I expected him to 'fail' without a supportive board which I was anticipating. Nothing about last season blew me away to say it was the right appointment but in all honesty an average season for an average squad was to be expected. I've not been too critical of Mourinho up to now because I haven't had any real expectation. I think the reason I'm a little torn on the job he's done one year in is because the summer changes a lot. Imo you can write off last season which accounts for 8 months of his management. Being fair, I think you can only judge Mourinho's "first year" between September and November. Ultimately it's probably a stupid thread for that reason but I was just curious what other Spurs fans thought about year one. After one year I'd expect to have a good idea of how well or poorly he's doing but from my point of view we're still in that "wait and see.." period with Jose. I can see it going in either direction, obviously hoping it'll be the successful route rather than failure. The board deserve a lot of credit. I don't think it was really something too many saw coming and it makes me really excited about the cups in particular. I still feel like Liverpool and City are probably the ones to beat in terms of silverware but that leaves the likes of the Europa and even the League Cup (no Liverpool) as a real real possibility. If he's still here in one years time you'd say we've undoubtedly had a good season. Be it by winning something or finishing in the top 4.
The time had come for Poch to go so that was the right decision. As well as he did, it was clear that he'd come to the end of the road with us and we'd come to the end of the road with him. The rot had set in and we'd been poor for a year, the slightly fortuitous but amazing run to the CL Final papered over a lot of cracks and we were done. Mourinho was a good match because of where both parties were. We desperately need a trophy (and he's one of the best managers in the world at that) and he needed to restore his reputation from the allegations that he's yesterday's man. So it was perfect in that way. I just wondered what would happen when the Irresistible Force met the Immovable Object and to my surprise, Levy did put his hand the club's pocket and backed him in the market. I'm quite hopeful that we will at least get back in the CL this year but really do think we need a trophy also.
I often thought that Poch wasn't high profile enough to take us up that extra notch and said it on numerous occasions. For me Ancelotti, Klopp, Pep, Jose and Lowe were the tier of coaches I wanted at Spurs. I said if Poch leaves let's get Ancelotti or even Conte, Sarri also is a higher profile coach than Poch. It was time for Poch to go and a lot of supporters said that Jose's style of football was no good for Spurs. Partially right up until now it seems. Top of the league and not runaway leaders which is good because the early pacemakers at the top with a clear gap rarely last the pace. it only takes one defeat to halt the momentum. Having lost one and drawn two is perfect because it keeps feet on the ground. We will win something this year, not sure what but we have the right tier of coach in JM to do it.
As I've already explained, under Poch yes but under a top coach..................no. But to be totally precise, it wasn't a matter of want it was a matter of what was best. Sell him for £100mill or so and buy two quality strikers.
He's doing a grand job this season that's for sure, for Tottenham I think it's important he wins them something though before his usual year 3 meltdown/burnout to make it worth it. Sent from my moto e5 play using Tapatalk
I dunno, the expectation to deliver at Spurs will be smaller than at any of his previous appointments and might alleviate some of the pressure which has got to him in the past.
Not sure this time, jimjams has hit the nail spot on. At Utd he was another minnow who had to try and follow the biggest fish in world football and they wanted him to repeat the feats of the past which, of course, nobody will. He's the highest profile coach Spurs have had since George Graham so the pressure isn't as great. Normally JM starts with a bang and things go well for him and then start to fall away and he has proved that he is not the man for a crisis. This time he didn't start with a bang and now things are going well and this is the difference this time. Spurs were once the top team in the country having won the double in 1961, Bill Nicholson turned himself into a top name and so it follows that Spurs need another top name to turn them back into a top team again...........the winds of tradition blow. We had a LOT of mediocre names so the mediocrity manifested itself in their results and league positions but not this time. A top name will turn Spurs upwards.
Sorry. It’s all too familiar. We’ve seen this literally 3 times. Mourinho classic 2nd season syndrome. He strings some good performances and results together. Atmosphere around the club is positive with the us vs them mentality. Fans get excited and even though silverware may be won, they know in the back of their head the football they play is not sustainable. Third season comes around and players are thrown under the bus. Football becomes dull and predictable. Mourinho throws his toys out the pram when things dont go his way then he gets sacked. It’s humorous though. United fans played off the 3rd season syndrome as well to me 3 years ago so I enjoyed rereading that thread after Mourinho was sacked. Looking forward to rereading this one too in a year from now.
Yes. 2nd season syndrome. That means a title, like in 11-12 with Madrid, 14-15 with Chelsea, or even in 17-18 with ManU if not for Pep's City freak season. Mou's back in full force. He believes in himself again.
Well, first full season and Spurs are in a final but this time it isn't second season syndrome. At the other clubs he took over sides which had been winning trophies whereas at Spurs he hasn't, he took over nearly men. This is a far greater achievement for him than various previous feats because Spurs is one of the hardest jobs in football. Top name, top results again.
