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Jose Mourinho

How do you feel about Mourinho appointment

  • Excited - silverware here we come baby

    Votes: 666 46.7%
  • Meh - will give him a chance and hope he is successful

    Votes: 468 32.8%
  • Horrified - praying for the day he'll fuck off

    Votes: 292 20.5%

  • Total voters
    1,426

wrd

Well-Known Member
Aug 22, 2014
13,603
58,005
We were 14th and had Poch stayed theres no guarantee we would have got more points or he would have won games Jose did.

Cool you're the 2nd person to quote me and retort with that nonsense which is something that I never said.
 

jolsnogross

Well-Known Member
May 17, 2005
3,729
5,431
We were 14th and had Poch stayed theres no guarantee we would have got more points or he would have won games Jose did.
This is true. But as the original poster said, it was 12 games into the season and lots of flux still happening in the table. Unfortunate draw at everton when yer man had an ugly ankle break and Son wrongfully sent off. Poor draw against Sheff Utd at home. Poch sacked. Things had dropped, but only from the great heights he was pivotal in creating. two wins later in the Mourinho bounce and we were 5th.

I reckon had Poch stayed we'd not be tearing it up, and there would possibly be similar levels of discontent as now. But a mitigating factor would be that we'd be well on the way with an evolution of a first eleven from the previous cycle that was ending. We spent club record money on Ndombele, LoCelso, Sess. We gave the guy who signed them 12 games to create the new first 11. Then we binned him. Abandoning not only him but his front foot blueprint.

We look like we're back in the pre-Jol days. That's certainly a danger now if we keep regressing while other sides improve.
 

makeveli

Well-Known Member
Aug 2, 2012
879
2,082
We have no leaders on the pitch we are pansies way too soft so was poch , Jose is right we need leaders captains , I’m glad his in charge as he will get us players that want to achieve rather than flash pansies , had enough of this so called rose tinted we are spurs play the Spurs way , it don’t work full stop ..
 

jay2040

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
2,636
4,165
This is true. But as the original poster said, it was 12 games into the season and lots of flux still happening in the table. Unfortunate draw at everton when yer man had an ugly ankle break and Son wrongfully sent off. Poor draw against Sheff Utd at home. Poch sacked. Things had dropped, but only from the great heights he was pivotal in creating. two wins later in the Mourinho bounce and we were 5th.

I reckon had Poch stayed we'd not be tearing it up, and there would possibly be similar levels of discontent as now. But a mitigating factor would be that we'd be well on the way with an evolution of a first eleven from the previous cycle that was ending. We spent club record money on Ndombele, LoCelso, Sess. We gave the guy who signed them 12 games to create the new first 11. Then we binned him. Abandoning not only him but his front foot blueprint.

We look like we're back in the pre-Jol days. That's certainly a danger now if we keep regressing while other sides improve.

I love Poch however 2 away wins from 14 is not good enough and indicative of his time being up!
 

Ionman34

SC Supporter
Jun 1, 2011
7,182
16,793
I'd lay some of the blame at Mourinho's door for continually starting with 2 in CM, neither of whom has great defensive skills. In the Sheffield game, our CBs were half trying to deal with stuff coming into the box and half watching for the ball being played to the edge of the box for a shot at goal. If we had a midfielder in that central position it would be his job to block shots, but not only did we have nobody there, but Sissoko was spending a load of time covering Aurier. All that was so that we could have an extra player in our attack, and all that seemed to do was create confusion and cramped space. Any of our midfielders could have played centrally 9Winks, Gedson, Skipp etc) and even if they're not dedicated DMs it would have helped.
Gotta agree with this, overloading the frontline did expose us in the middle of the park when they countered. However, I do feel that our wide forwards were far too narrow. I can understand Moura not being too wide to allow Aurier to overlap, but Son should have been hugging the touchline to stretch their defence and create gaps for the other 3 to exploit.
Having said that, I'm not sure it would've made that much difference as our final ball throughout the match was pony 9 times out of 10. Had that final ball been more clinical then I believe we have a totally different scoreline.

But yes, the setup wasn't right, as the one player with that kind of guile, who started the game, was sitting too deep. Mind you, Lo Celso wasn't exactly pulling up trees with his passing either.

Basically everything about the game was wrong from the setup to the technical ability to the mentality. We can't even really crow about the possession as SU ceded that to us as part of their gameplan.

Not a good day.
 

jay2040

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
2,636
4,165
Gotta agree with this, overloading the frontline did expose us in the middle of the park when they countered. However, I do feel that our wide forwards were far too narrow. I can understand Moura not being too wide to allow Aurier to overlap, but Son should have been hugging the touchline to stretch their defence and create gaps for the other 3 to exploit.
Having said that, I'm not sure it would've made that much difference as our final ball throughout the match was pony 9 times out of 10. Had that final ball been more clinical then I believe we have a totally different scoreline.

But yes, the setup wasn't right, as the one player with that kind of guile, who started the game, was sitting too deep. Mind you, Lo Celso wasn't exactly pulling up trees with his passing either.

Basically everything about the game was wrong from the setup to the technical ability to the mentality. We can't even really crow about the possession as SU ceded that to us as part of their gameplan.

Not a good day.

Taking away the set up I felt that their players were hungrier and had a greater desire than ours collectively.
 

Spartan Spurs

MOLLON LAVEH
May 20, 2015
279
905
There are a number of issues at the club.

Having a leader in the middle of the park being a DM is one of them.

But it is no coincidence that a number of our troubles started at the turn of the year 2019 when we sold Dembele.
We didn't have a monster DM but Dembele's physicality & ball retention papered over the cracks.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
There are a number of issues at the club.

Having a leader in the middle of the park being a DM is one of them.

But it is no coincidence that a number of our troubles started at the turn of the year 2019 when we sold Dembele.
We didn't have a monster DM but Dembele's physicality & ball retention papered over the cracks.

and now we are trying to replace that with sissoko!

A player who doesn’t get in the other teams in the top half of the league, the downgrade is unfathomable. The squad is so badly put together, we need at least two central midfielders in this next transfer window.
 

Gassin's finest

C'est diabolique
May 12, 2010
37,353
87,817
There are a number of issues at the club.

Having a leader in the middle of the park being a DM is one of them.

But it is no coincidence that a number of our troubles started at the turn of the year 2019 when we sold Dembele.
We didn't have a monster DM but Dembele's physicality & ball retention papered over the cracks.
Wanyama
 

daveduvet

Well-Known Member
Oct 6, 2008
5,610
15,214
People have already been candid with that opinion - plenty when he was originally being linked with the job. I was of that opinion before he got the job but he's here now so I do feel like he should get backed until Levy decides otherwise. Unfortunately it must be proving obvious with two managers struggling with the team in the space of a year that a simple managerial change doesn't address the issue.
Fair points; having read about the infrastructure at Liverpool, it would appear there is an issue we need to address beyond the managerial appointment
 

Gassin's finest

C'est diabolique
May 12, 2010
37,353
87,817
I'm one of those who has expressed tedium over Jose. But he did warn us of this in a way.

When he came in, he gave Dele his head, built the side around him, and he was excellent, and we scored. But without that midfield anchor we've desperately missed since the decline of Wanyama and Dembele, it compromised the defence. So we shipped.

He said that he could fix that defence, but didn't want to resort to it yet, as he knew it wouldn't be pretty. The problem he didn't anticipate was Jan's decline, and how compromised Dier would be by his appendicitis.

Right now it looks like he's trying to strike a balance again, but finding the same problem Pochettino did. The squad is woefully unbalanced, with no real width, and no leadership in defence. Not to mention no specialist protection for the back 4.

Without trying to sound like a broken record, the disaster of that transferless summer is having exactly the long term effects we all warned about. And now we need to substantially rebuild, on a limited budget, with a manager who demands proper backing, and strong characters willing to put everything on the line. And to be fair, Jose always made that clear.

The club, since we left The Lane, has been far too short term about things, and not been looking at proper long term success on the pitch. Like Pochettino said, there's no point in having the best stadium in the world, with all the big sponsorships and deals, if you then don't match that ambition in the first team.

As much as I dislike Jose's brand of football pragmitism, if we're going to hire the most famous manager in the world, we should only do so if we properly back him. And if we cant, then what's the point of it, beyond those share prices?

Jose will be done with us long before we are with him.
 
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NEVILLEB

Well-Known Member
Nov 6, 2006
6,733
6,335
Lloris
Sissoko Aldeweireld Sanchez Davies
Vertonghen
Lo Celso Ndombele
Alli Kane Son​

Might be crazy but Sissoko can’t really pass but has tremendous energy/speed and can tackle so I would move him to right wingback. Vertonghen has lost his pace so maybe he could now sit in front of the back 4 for some protection. I think we need 3 in midfield not 2 so I would bring in Ndombele as our playmaker. Alli is swappable but I’d try this team if I was Jose.
 
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ComfortablyNumb

Well-Known Member
Jun 28, 2011
3,970
6,128
Why not? Many teams do.

It's quite clear from that the way Mourinho has us set up that the full backs are supposed to be key to our attacking play. Yesterday evening, they were given the ball in great positions on numerous occasions, with plenty of space and time. Not once did they deliver a cross (high or low) of any quality or accuracy. Not once did they create a chance. Wholly unacceptable from highly paid professional footballers. If they had done their job, we would have won regardless their (and others') comical defending.
When Liverpool’s full backs rack up assists, it’s not by luck. When Robertson delivers a raking cross/centre into the box, there will be four’Pool players running on to it, in a diagonal line, so that even if it’s slightly under or over hit, there’ll be a player on the end of it. Those four players will be making their runs before the cross is hit, and they’ll take their cue from the way that the midfield work the ball out to the full backs. That’s tactics.

When the ball goes out to our full backs, our front players take that as a cue to stick their thumbs up their arses, turn their backs to the opposition’s goal and stand very still. Don’t blame the full backs for that.
 

The General

Active Member
Sep 10, 2014
128
191
Despite the shambles the other day, I’ve seen signs since the restart of a plan being implemented. If we hadn’t been so sloppy in possession in the final third we should have been a few goals up before they scored. Unfortunately the problems JM inherited (such as mental fragility, lack of fight and unbalanced squad due to poor recruitment) take a long time to fix.

I’m not sure I like the man, although I find him very intriguing. However his credentials are unquestionable. I also believe he’s clever enough to adapt so don’t accept the argument he’s past it. I keep hearing people ask where is the evidence he can do it without a big spend, but i’d counter that with the argument, where is the evidence he can’t and what examples are there of anyone doing it without big money in modern football.

I believe he can succeed but only if given time and backed with the players he wants (even if they’re not the very best). Otherwise what was the fucking point?). I’m a huge fan of what Levy has done for this club, but if the Mourinho appointment doesn’t work, surely Levy would have to accept he needs to go too.
 

Gassin's finest

C'est diabolique
May 12, 2010
37,353
87,817
Lloris
Sissoko Aldeweireld Sanchez Davies
Vertonghen
Lo Celso Ndombele
Alli Kane Son​

Might be crazy but Sissoko can’t really pass but has tremendous energy/speed and can tackle so I would move him to right wingback. Vertonghen has lost his pace so maybe he could now sit in front of the back 4 for some protection. I think we need 3 in midfield not 2 so I would bring in Ndombele as our playmaker. Alli is swappable but I’d try this team if I was Jose.
giphy.gif
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
Lloris
Sissoko Aldeweireld Sanchez Davies
Vertonghen
Lo Celso Ndombele
Alli Kane Son​

Might be crazy but Sissoko can’t really pass but has tremendous energy/speed and can tackle so I would move him to right wingback. Vertonghen has lost his pace so maybe he could now sit in front of the back 4 for some protection. I think we need 3 in midfield not 2 so I would bring in Ndombele as our playmaker. Alli is swappable but I’d try this team if I was Jose.

I don’t want sissoko anywhere near the team. I’d rather see Sanchez at right back again than him!
 

JCRD

Well-Known Member
Aug 10, 2018
19,153
30,013
I'm one of those who has expressed tedium over Jose. But he did warn us of this in a way.

When he came in, he gave Dele his head, built the side around him, and he was excellent, and we scored. But without that midfield anchor we've desperately missed since the decline of Wanyama and Dembele, it compromised the defence. So we shipped.

He said that he could fix that defence, but didn't want to resort to it yet, as he knew it wouldn't be pretty. The problem he didn't anticipate was Jan's decline, and how compromised Dier would be by his appendicitis.

Right now it looks like he's trying to strike a balance again, but finding the same problem Pochettino did. The squad is woefully unbalanced, with no real width, and no leadership in defence. Not to mention no specialist protection for the back 4.

Without trying to sound like a broken record, the disaster of that transferless summer is having exactly the long term effects we all warned about. And now we need to substantially rebuild, on a limited budget, with a manager who demands proper backing, and strong characters willing to put everything on the line. And to be fair, Jose always made that clear.

The club, since we left The Lane, has been far too short term about things, and not been looking at proper long term success on the pitch. Like Pochettino said, there's no point in having the best stadium in the world, with all the big sponsorships and deals, if you then don't match that ambition in the first team.

As much as I dislike Jose's brand of football pragmitism, if we're going to hire the most famous manager in the world, we should only do so if we properly back him. And if we cant, then what's the point of it, beyond those share prices?

Jose will be done with us long before we are with him.


The thing with properly backing Jose if that youre going to be spending a lot of money on players who will either be in their 30s or ones with absolutely zero resale value... Koullibally is all well and good but 90 odd million is a lot.

Needs to be a balance between experience and youth in our squad.

Jose will certainly be done with us but i suspect at end of the season Levy and Jose will shake hands and off we go for someone else. Jose needs to go to PSG or somewhere like that
 
D

Deleted member 27995

The thing with properly backing Jose if that youre going to be spending a lot of money on players who will either be in their 30s or ones with absolutely zero resale value... Koullibally is all well and good but 90 odd million is a lot.

Needs to be a balance between experience and youth in our squad.

Jose will certainly be done with us but i suspect at end of the season Levy and Jose will shake hands and off we go for someone else. Jose needs to go to PSG or somewhere like that
We've been linked to both young and old, what are you going on about? That's low hanging fruit perpetuated by lazy journos and fans.
 

H-SF

Well-Known Member
Jan 2, 2020
2,198
10,484
Lloris
Sissoko Aldeweireld Sanchez Davies
Vertonghen
Lo Celso Ndombele
Alli Kane Son​

Might be crazy but Sissoko can’t really pass but has tremendous energy/speed and can tackle so I would move him to right wingback. Vertonghen has lost his pace so maybe he could now sit in front of the back 4 for some protection. I think we need 3 in midfield not 2 so I would bring in Ndombele as our playmaker. Alli is swappable but I’d try this team if I was Jose.
Sissoko would be fine at RWB but I don’t see how he would offer anything different to Aurier. Aurier’s strengths are his athleticism, heading, tackling etc and that’s what Sissoko would bring to the role. Aurier’s mean weakness for me is his technical quality and I’m not sure Sissoko would bring that in abundance.
 

doctor stefan Freud

the tired tread of sad biology
Sep 2, 2013
15,170
72,169
I’m not convinced by Mourinho. This doesn’t mean I was against his appointment- I was indifferent because he comes with both a history of winning things and also alienating players. So let’s say, I was content to see what he could do. While he’s had to deal with a raft of injuries he’s also three games into the post lockdown schedule and I wouldn’t say we’ve been impressive or fluid in those three games. In fact, I’d say we don’t look much better than we did under the last few months of Poch

I think the broader issue rests with Levy and Enic who continue to play ultra safe when we’ve been on the cusp of successes. I think the 2018 summer transfer window was, and continues to be, a monumental disaster for the squad. I blame Poch for his stubbornness and Levy for his appalling leadership in bringing about this disaster. I blame the club’s recruitment strategy for replacing sold first team players for weaker replacements. I also blame our recruitment strategy for not identifying and acquiring affordable, much needed players like Sander Berge who could easily walk into our central midfield and address some very old and obvious team deficiencies.

I think Mourinho will be another costly disaster for the club, and this is why. For three or four years, it was universally acknowledged that Poch’s supreme talent lie in his ability to get average or good players performing beyond expectation. He did it at Southampton and he did it with us. While he lacked the tactical acumen of the best coaches in the world, he created a squad full of hungry, well drilled, committed players willing to lay themselves on the line for him and the squad. When things soured, those qualities disappeared and with them the squad identity and potency. After his sacking we were left with a squad, through sales and poor recruitment as well as disillusionment with him, bereft of identity and drive. In short, apart from a couple of excellent players, the mostly average group of players were back to being average yet also affected by the sense that they were probably never going to be as good as they once were. In short, this is not a Mourinho squad. It lacks technical nous, confidence and identity. Mourinho would need to rebuild most of this squad to be successful and this is something that Enic would never buy into. Through no real fault of his own, Mourinho has inherited a wreck of a squad, and his skill set is not aligned with what this squad needs.

Essentially, if a total rebuild isn’t possible- which it won’t be- we need another Poch type manager. Someone whose strengths lies in building confidence and elevating limited players into something greater than themselves. A manager who looks to play on the front foot, who emphasises energy and movement rather than control and counterattacks.

Mourinho will be a failure here. He just isn’t the right coach for how we operate as a club. And all the time he’s here, the squad continues to decay. The only way this situation transforms into something productive and successful is if Enic lay out a massive chunk of cash in order to dismantle the squad and rebuild it. And they absolutely won’t do this. So, we need another coach who can get the best out of limited players, who may not be the greatest tactician but who can create a powerful and potent squad at least worthy of challenging for greatness. I won’t hold my breath
 
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