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:...
Tottenhams current woes are rooted in the lack of new signings two summers ago but is Jos Mourinho really the right fit?Fifty years ago this season Liverpool went to Watford, then struggling near the bottom of the Second Division, in the sixth round of the FA Cup. On a dreadful pitch, its central third rutted and bare, they lost 1-0 to a diving header from Barry Endean. Bill Shankly called Watford the worst team that ever beat us. He was aware the upset could be as epochal as the defeat to Worcester City that had led to him replacing Phil Taylor as manager in 1959 and was provoked into action. I knew I had to do my job and change...
Manager needs to show he is not yesterdays man with a squad more talented than the one he inherited at Manchester UnitedThe good, the bad and the ugly: Jos Mourinhos appointment by Tottenham Hotspur means his managerial modus operandi is back in the Premier League.Fans of Spurs and (some) players may mourn the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino and will look to their new No 1 and wonder which Mourinho has just walked through the door. Because this is the big question, the 100-tonne elephant in the room regarding Daniel Levys appointment: is Mourinho a spent force? Is he yesterdays man whose scintillating peak came between 2002-10? Related: Mourinho for Pochettino: are Spurs run by Amazons documentary makers? | Max Rushden...