Jos Mourinhos squad reached the last Champions League final and going one better would make him uniqueJos Mourinho says he will not make the same mistakes at Tottenham that he made at some of his previous clubs, and though naturally he is not about to reveal what those mistakes were it is safe to assume Alexis Snchez will not be reappearing in north London any time soon.The unlikely Mourinho admission that he spent the first two days of his new job smiling may give some sort of clue. Not only must a fat new contract and players of the calibre of Harry Kane and Son Heung-min to work with give him plenty to smile about, it must have entered his...
This was a derby with the surface tension of lukewarm custard tart, but there were still glimpses of a brighter future for SpursStill humble, five days in. At the end of this strangely brittle Tottenham victory, a sustained thrashing of an invertebrate West Ham that somehow ended up a chancy 3-2 win, Jos Mourinho appeared on the London Stadium turf wearing his most convincing relievedyetrespectful face.Behold: for I am the humblest. The humblissimus, a superstar of humility. Frowning deeply, face contorted into a rictus of dignified integrity, Mourinho pointedly shook the hands of the West Ham players, who looked a little surprised. There was a tentative round of applause towards the Tottenham fans, but from a distance, like a tremulous...
When Mourinho is in the dugout you have to keep one eye on the pitch and one on the touchline. He is pure box office On Thursday I bumped into a couple of friends of mine, both dyed-in-the-wool Spurs fans. Before I even spoke to them, their shoulders slumped in unison and they let out a joint groan. It was as if they had just been summoned for collective root canal surgery. Its not going to end prettily, they grumbled.Hang on, I said. He hasnt even started. Continue reading...
Hiring of Jos Mourinho shows Daniel Levy has changed his mindset and the players must do so too if they are to succeedTottenham have been a likeable club for such a long time. From David Ginola to Christian Eriksen they have had gifted players and allowed them to play nice football, without winning very much. There have been two League Cups in the past 20 years: this is a team that have not trod on many peoples toes. Outside Arsenal and Chelsea, and even then just for tribal reasons, nobody can really hate Spurs. I certainly like them a lot. This is not a bad image to have, but it is one that is about to change because Tottenham have...
Given past successes, the former Real Madrid manager may just be the one to turn Tottenham into a club to win trophiesI cannot come to this club and think it is about myself. Perish the thought old bean. And indeed, lol. Over the years Jos Mourinhos Premier League unveilings have tended to arrive expressly branded, like a high-end fairytale dwarf troupe. The pre-Tottenham years brought us Special, Happy and looking back Incredibly Angry. And now we have this. Welcome to Tottenham Hotspur, the Selfless One.One day on from his appointment and two days before his first game Mourinho was duly announced to the world at the Tottenham training centre. As ever he spoke with fluency and a well-rehearsed charm. Related:...