The Return of the Special One - Jose Mourinho to Tottenham
By: Wayne
Tottenham Hotspur made a controversial and honestly pretty surprising move in firing Mauricio Pochettino. I’ve long seen the Argentinian as one of the top managers in the world, despite never winning the Premier League in 5 seasons with Spurs. He led them to their highest point total ever in 2016–17 with 86 points after finishing 3rd place the year before. Poch led Tottenham to the fucking Champions League final this year. Yeah, they were clearly the second-best team in that game, but Liverpool was a team on a mission and Poch got his team far further than anyone expected. But 14 points in 12 matches played this year is a bloody awful start, and it makes sense for Tottenham to want to move on from their manager, as they hope to make a leap towards title contention.
Enter Jose Mourinho — self-dubbed the Special One. After being sacked by Manchester United in 2018, it was unclear when, where, or if he would coach again. But when a coaching job opened in England for a perennial top 6 side, we all knew Jose would be getting the first job. But perhaps nobody was more confident than Jose himself, who spoke about coaching against Tottenham in the past and thinking to himself that he could manage them one day.
“I met you in cup finals, in semi-finals, in big matches and to keep that respect was probably in the back of my mind that one day I could be one of you.” But such is life in the mind of Jose. He’s a brilliant tactician and a great manager of talent when he has the right pieces around him. He has the confidence to succeed at any level — and he has. The Special One has won 25 trophies while managing 8 different teams in his career.
Despite some consistent success for Tottenham in recent years, the team hasn’t won any silverware since 2008. This seems to be a match made in heaven, with a manager who has won trophies everywhere he has managed. Mourinho has already spoken to his love for the players in place at Spurs. “The majority of the times we go to clubs and we always think ‘we like some, I don’t like enough’ and you think immediately about what to do to change, what to do to make an approach between your ideas and the profile of the players. This is a completely different case. I really like this squad.” As a Manchester United fan, this feels like a shot at our board, but frankly, Ed Woodward wouldn’t know talent if it hit him upside the fucking head so I can’t really blame Jose for that.
The Special One has a special way with words, and his warm and fuzzy feelings for Spurs players might fade fast if their shitty early-season form continues. Tottenham has arguably the third-most talent in the Prem, with star scorers like Harry Kane, Son Heung-min, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, and a solid center-half pairing in Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld. But the talent in place has performed closer to a relegation level squad than a top-4 one this season. 18 goals for is 5th in the Prem, but there is a 9-goal drop-off from 4th leading scorers Chelsea. 17 goals against and only 1 clean sheet are poor defensive stats. Tottenham’s +1 goal differential is far from Leicester’s +21, Manchester City’s +22, and Liverpool’s +18.
Jose has a tall task in getting 14th place Tottenham back into Champions League contention, as they are 11 points away from 4th place Manchester City. But Mourinho has done great work with less talent in the past, and I think he’ll find a way to right the ship for what has been a great team recently. Mourinho called the new Tottenham Hotspur Stadium the best soccer grounds in the world, and the honeymoon period should yield immediate results as we’ve seen many times for new managers, Mourinho in particular.
The Portuguese superstar manager has had tumultuous terms at some of his recent teams, being sacked in ugly fashion by Chelsea (twice), Manchester United. Mourinho has a way of rubbing some people the wrong way, and if any Mickey Mouse shenanigans take place he really can’t be trusted. But Tottenham has plenty of funding, as their $1 billion stadium investment proves, and the board should provide Jose with the talent he needs to succeed. This could end up being a long-term home for Mourinho, and I’m looking forward to seeing what the team can accomplish with him at the helm.
