By Mohamed Jaward Nyallay
“Respect, respect, respect.” This is Jose Mourinho’s famous meltdown rant after his Manchester United side was thrashed 3-0 by Tottenham at Old Trafford last year.
On that August night, as he repeated the lyrics of a popular Lucky Dube song, he waved three fingers in the faces of the journalists saying: “Do you know what was the result? This (whiles holding his three fingers) 3-0, 3-0. Do you know what this is? 3-0. But it also means three premiership and I won more premiership than the other 19 managers together.”
This week he is walking to North London to take over that same opposition.
Back in business after 11 months of refreshing, following his sack at Manchester United.
The man he is replacing is a legend at Spurs, Mauricio Pochettino. Both men are also completely different; in playing style and personality. Pochettino is the man that took an average Spurs side five years ago, took the team to four Champions Leagues and went as far as to the finale last season.
Pochettino also led this Spurs team to second place in the league and constantly inspired the boys to punch above their weight. He did all these whiles keeping net spending on transfers at £95 million over the last five seasons.
This is not even to mention how he handled the transition of the team from White Hart Lane to their new US$1billion stadium.
But all this success seemed like stagnation lately. It seemed like stasis, so something had to give.
Desperate Levy
On Tuesday, Spurs Chairman Daniel Levy had to sack Pochettino following a poor run in the league which has left them languishing in 14th place. This is the English Premier League, where chairmen must be vicious and throw their managers under the bus. The economic sense is that it is easy to cut a manager loose than a whole team. Football economics 2.0.
The man who has walked in with perhaps his own bus is a serial winner. Mourinho is also a serial killer. A killer of talent, style and joy. He is so good at winning, but that winning has always come with a heavy cost.
At Real Madrid, Chelsea and Manchester United the stories are all similar. In his wake he left these teams with battered spirit, depleted confidence, bruised egos and gigantic media cyclones.
Levy’s decision to hire him desperately shows desperation. A desperation so deep that it screams - “I want to win at any cost.”
Mourinho is as controversial as he is simple. Eleven months since he last coached, there is no telling which version of the Portuguese coach Spurs is going to get. Will it get the “Special One”, “the One” or the “Crazy One”? This is the aura that follows him around. That air of unpredictability and his showmanship are all part of the package Spurs will have now.
Shortly after signing the deal, Mourinho expressed excitement about the level of quality in the Spurs squad.
He did say the same about Manchester United, then he ended up making Fellaini and Matic his favorite players whiles encouraging Lukaku to play with his back towards goal. The rest is history.
So, no one should be surprised when players like Ali, Winks and Lamela are frozen out for more muscular players like Sissoko, Ndombele and his own manufactured Lamela.
Tactical mismatch
The blueprint of every Mourinho team is characterized by defensive rigidity. Even the most brilliant players are expected to constantly track back and cover the defense. This is a complete contrast from Spurs’ high pressing and fluid attacking game.
Rest in Peace fancy, because Mourinho doesn’t believe in beautiful. His football can be cold and ruthless. But this cold and ruthlessness is what has won him over 20 trophies as a manager.
For years this Spurs team has played and reached very close to the peak, often brushing their cheeks with glory, but only to get stage fright and fall off the trail.
Pampered in their beauty and comfort, this is a team that needs kicking from the butt and Mourinho can do just that. Hell, he will even kick them in the teeth if he must.
But he will need to do so without the usual fluid counterattacking style of Spurs. The alternative style will be tricky, but if you are a Spurs fan; God! You should be worried that by the end of his tenure Spurs doesn’t look like a combination of Newcastle and Sheffield United.
After losing 3-0 to Spurs last year, Mourinho told a journalist who questioned the confidence of his defense, how he sees football.
“I need to know what the important thing is. If it is to play well? Or if it is to win matches? Is it to play offensively, or is it to play for a certain result,” he asked.
What happens now?
The Portuguese is a big spender, Levy is not big on spending. You will understand considering the heavy investment into this new stadium. Mourinho has already been told that he will have to do with what he has. No money for January, he has been told.
But Mourinho is not a small budget manager. His wages at Spurs will cost Spurs £15 million a year, two times more than his predecessor’s.
With Mourinho, you need to give him the keys to the bank or he will whine like a baby who misses his candy. Ed Woodward knows all about that. For now Levy is keeping the keys to the bank.
Until then, the first order of business will be to convince players like Rose, Ericksen, Lloris, Aldeweireld and Vertonghen to play for him. They all were strong allies of the departed manager. They also have contract issues surrounding them, this can affect their focus if left to fester.
Mourinho will also need to keep Kane sweet. Give him a raise, pamper him and give him a fresh purpose to stay at the club. Because with Pochettino gone, the sharks will circle, in fact they have been circling for a while now. Real Madrid, Barcelona, Juventus, and Bayern Munich will happily get a piece of the carcass of this vulnerable Spurs team.
How long will this last?
Mourinho has signed with the club till 2022/2023. But why is it the case that most of us who know him suspect that this union might not last that long? Whether he is an upgrade to Pochettino or not depends on how you defend upgrade in footballing terms.
Mourinho is a polarizing figure. He will be loved and loathed in equal measure. Whatever you say about him, he can even end the decade long trophy drought in this club.
But be sure to know that Mourinho and Spurs fans and even players might not hold hands and sing Kumbaya at the end of his contract in 2023, assuming he lasts that long. Mourinho is not a long-time guy. He gets bored and burns the house down.
But for now, Spurs fans must keep their eyes shut and continue to read their slogan: “To Dare is to do”.
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