Tottenham is my club, my one and only club. I do have a small affection for Torquay Utd based on being there on holiday as a child and they won something and the whole place was alive with atmosphere… but that aside Tottenham is it so the title of “not my club anymore” is probably very dramatic. I know, a football fan online being dramatic, no one has ever heard of such things.
This blog like hundreds if not thousands being smashed out on keyboards of rage all around the world from Tottenham fans is of course about the state of things at Tottenham and that loveable figure; Jose Mourinho.
I had a lot of concerns when he was appointed but I found myself really daring to believe he could help us turn the corner and if Levy got in THIS manager then Levy must be planning to back him otherwise we know the relationship will end in flames – we have seen it before so somewhat foolishly I jumped aboard the Jose express and defended him on a regular basis.
When Tottenham appoint a manager I do often feel the need to get on board, much like when they sign a player. I remember seeing pure hate being directed at the signing of Joe Hart from my fellow Spurs fans and I hated that (still do) as what a welcome to the club that is. The bloke is a Premier League experienced player who has won it all domestically and (from memory) has around 70 caps for England. Home grown. It was a good squad signing. Yet the hate was insane. Was he a player I felt was an upgrade on Gazzaniga … no. on Vorm; maybe or at least the same but with the bonus of being that all allusive home grown.
Key thing here is people wrote him off from day one so no matter what to some he would be shit. I was determined to not be that person. I applied that to Jose too and so here we are now.
In February I wrote a piece for this website saying if it was up to me he would be gone already and there was a 50:50 split between those who agreed with me and those who were calling me a clown. “Only a Tottenham fan would want to sack one of the most successful managers in history like its his fault….” It is an interesting thought that as it is something I have wrestled with. This is Jose, his CV is second to none (still working managers anyway, Sir Alex you still the man for me when it comes to managers in the Prem era) and so surely the problem is with us. We are the club that always falls short, we are the team of players who fell away so bad under Poch that he lost his job…. its us… its the players…. hell if Jose held a press conference and said the cleaners at the stadium were shocking I do think some fans even now would blame them before they blame Jose for our results.
Anyway, I digress. You see I read something today which has prompted me to write this. It is from an article about Jose Mourinho and here it is:
Jose Mourinho has managed expectations down to the point that some supporters have alleviated him of some responsibility for making the mess, but no reasonable fan could be proud of that performance. The team were so passive that there were signs of rigor mortis visible to the naked eye.
It is a message that needs repeating, because plenty disagree with it: This is not a bad group of players. It is not an ideal squad, of course, but then nor are most others. Most of this squad have succeeded here or elsewhere. The squad was good enough initially this season to keep pace with the leaders. They have not all suddenly lost all footballing ability.
But all of these players succeeded outside of a toxic environment and within a consistent system which allowed them to flourish. They are a group devoid of confidence, made miserable by their habitat and the responsibility for that lies with the manager. If one or two key players were in abject form then blame them however the whole squad? It suggests a larger problem and the system itself is broken. Mourinho’s man management has not worked. His constant tinkering with personnel has not worked. His siege mentality has not worked. Nothing has.
Now I hope like me most of you are reading that following our 3-1 defeat at home to Manchester Utd and thinking damn, yeah, that is right. Sum’s up things. Would it surprise you to learn then this was not written following our most recent game? Now I know, now I have said it you are thinking could have been written after us crashing from Europe…. or after that Arsenal game…. probably a few times over the last month or so could have seen the above words.
The above three paragraphs were taken from an article in December 2018 while Jose was manager of Manchester United. How are you feeling now? That hit me like a ton of bricks. Could have been written about us, could have been written about Sunday… and yet…. it was from the last club he managed. Every Man Utd fan I knew personally laughed when we appointed Jose, those that actually like me told it was going to be tough to watch and I thought it was just bitter as it did not work out for him there. I was wrong. Just reading that and knowing it applies to us now has removed any lingering doubt in my mind at all about who is at fault here.
So why have we not sacked him? The answer is likely a combination of things but many have reported a key reason, which is tough for me, is his relationship with Harry Kane. Kane is the talisman of the club, every fan and most importantly every senior figure at the club know it. To lose him would be huge and likely something the team does not recover from for some time. To keep him Harry has made it very clear that the club needs to keep progressing, competing for the top honours and showing ambition.
Since losing the Champions League final (could be argued League form had already gone out of the window before but that could have been due to the UCL run) the club has been in free fall with a small brief glimpse of a recovery at the start of the 2020/21 season only for that to be snuffed out in the most brutal of ways… that is only getting harder and harder to watch.
To fire Jose would mean whoever is coming in needs to be a name that Kane is excited by, someone he would be keen to work with and also has to be someone who is going to be back financially to sign some players which will again show that ambition is back… even if the conversation is “okay, one more season to show me we can do this….” the club MUST act in a way to keep him… could that be to keep Jose? I hope not personally.
I guess I need to wrap this up here with the final point about the squad needing an overhaul.
Understanding that is needed no matter who the manager is … well that is essential. Daniel Levy must realise that if neither Pochettino, who knew them six years or Mourinho after a season and a half can get some to a level that is needed then those players need to be moving on to pastures new. The quite unbelievable irony being that some of our players are happy to stay with is on the contracts they are on because they are earning such good money when in the past all you ever heard about was how we did not pay our players enough.
The overhaul needs to feature a “night of the long knives” but for me it should not be just about the players. From director level down the club needs to take a really good look at itself. Daniel Levy for me needs to acknowledge his error with Jose and like the CEO of any business with shareholders explain himself in order to keep his job; there needs to be a plan / proposal put forward by him which justifies it.
The club has no identity. Recruitment is handled by a man who seems to hate transfer windows and as such we always seems to be playing catch up, always a step behind or window behind and the number of “oh we nearly signed” players is just laughable. The system needs to become clearer within the club with a role defined for someone to step into a director of football position. Levy or the board hand over the budget to this person and he or she goes out and identifies the players (with the scouts) and makes the moves.
The management of the team and the coaching needs to be changed. As above we have no identity and whoever comes in needs to arrive understanding the club tried something, it didnt work, so we want to get back to playing football the right way and pushing forward as a united group. The team also need to meet a fitness and conditioning coach again as the levels of this squad is shocking compared to what was happening under Pochettino. Hell even ‘tactics’ Tim Sherwood would be screaming at this lot. Teams practically walk past us in the second half and fitness is a factor in that, not only physically but mentally too. When you are blowing out your ass you do not make the same clear headed decisions that you do when you are fit. First half looking good, second half… we have seen it almost every game this season. A disaster.
Lastly the players and they should be last. Levy should entrust the appointed DOF to clear the deadwood. Not look to maximise profits or minimise the loses but clear what is not needed or what is having a negative impact on the team. Could you imagine working in an office where a guy comes to work every day and literally does nothing but moan about the job, where he is, the people which includes you. It would be he needed to go or you needed to find some other place and that is what is happening here. People are unhappy and that is making normally VERY happy people …. unhappy. Just look at Sonny.
Possibly one of happies most joyful men on the planet in Son Heung-min has been reduced to near tears in post match interviews. Where you work, the atmosphere and who you work with is important. We all know that. Anyone thinking; “So what, they get paid enough, suck it up…” needs to reflect on that as that thinking is so out dated it practically drags its own knuckles into the conversation.
How much someone earns has no impact on them as a human and their very human reactions to situations. I wish it did and if it did everyone would aspire to earn that much right. Let me know the figure too please… £1,000 a week allowed to be said but £1,500 suck it up buttercup? £100,000 a week and need to smile 24 / 7 otherwise its illegal?
The very striking image of Sonny looking this down is staying with me. Much like that game where Vertonghen sat on the bench after being hauled off seemingly feeling his time was up with the club, like that was it and he was done. It was hard to watch that (miss you Super Jan).
What happens next is of course completely in the hands of Levy and despite the awful abject showing against Manchester United I think nothing will happen before that League Cup final. He will hope somehow the team rallies and the season ends with us winning a trophy and by some fluke grabbing fourth place. I however am no longer even buying into that miracle hope. I am done.
I did not watch the Manchester United game. I was not busy; I made the choice. May not sound that much of a big deal but when I look at it that game is likely one of five I have missed since Martin Jol took charge. Be it at the ground, watching on my computer, TV or even on my phone I have always watched Spurs play. I will admit to a time during AVB / Sherwood era I was watching the youth team more than the first but my link with the club was there.
Now, I am done. I cannot keep watching men I consider heroes be treated like this and to be allowed to fall this far. I cannot anymore have the same conversations with my fellow fans after every game and every performance. I have a commitment due to the podcast that I co host which means I will be watching the League Cup final and my expectation for that is defeat. My hope for that? It is no longer to somehow steal a win but to just not be embarrassed.
Tottenham play Everton and Southampton before the cup final and team selections will be interesting as we learn what Jose is targeting. A top four spot is something the club will want most. Money, greater pulling power in the the transfer market but I think Jose is about Jose and he knows his time is up. I think he wants a trophy so at least ONE record he has will stay in place when he is eventually fired.
-SJ
