Probably a big sum, similar to what Poch was paid. A sum good enough to strengthen our squad again

Mourinho’s gratest ability as a manager is to get big pay outs. He’s a genius.

Ah. Unlucky.

A lot of people still eulogise Mourinho because of his past achievements. Even in the last 5 years, he won the league with Chelsea and won 2 trophies with United in 2017.

But it is patently obvious that his methods don't seem to be working as effectively as they used too. He will never grant you long-term success over a sustained period. Is he outdated? Probably in some ways, I just don't think his man-management and ability to galvanise players is what it used to be.

Football has moved on a lot in the last three years let alone last 10

That’s essentially it. He’s lost his sparkle. I think he’s lost a bit of belief in himself as well, especially given how things ended with Madrid and Chelsea. I don’t buy the narrative that his tactics are outdated, that’s ballacks as they can still get results. Hard to inspire confidence in your players if you’re not confident in yourself.

When I say outdated, I don't mean in terms of tactics, but in terms of how he deals with players, how he handles criticism, his techniques in improving players on an individual level.

If you can't get the players on your side, or to believe in what you're trying to do, it makes the tactical side of things that much harder.

I actually think Spurs have players that would suit Mourinho's football quite well, but I don't think he was the right man to rebuild them, which is essentially what they need IMO.

Oh yeah I agree with that. I was just making the point as it’s something that is continually parroted by fans that don’t like Mourinho’s tactics, but it’s not actually the case. They’re shiiiiit tactics, but that was true when he was winning trophies galore as well.

His tactics are a bit outdated though in terms of the league. Teams don’t concede as much space behind their defence anymore which makes counter attacking more moot. Teams are also way more wise to park the bus football.

He also plays more negatively now than ever before it seems

I think Levy was hoping Mourinho could squeeze out that last bit of the remnants of Poch’s team. He evidently doesn’t want a full scale rebuild as it’s very expensive. Problem is that this squad is lacking the midfield qualities that a Mourinho team needs. There’s no good long and mid range passers in the middle of the pitch. I’m not convinced by Lo Celso, I think he’s the most overrated player in the squad, he doesn’t really influence games despite looking good on the ball.

Mourinho has outdated tactics with a slow possession style.

Compare that with Bielsa who let his team play a dynamic fast possession style which is coached by him with a lot of hours on the training ground.
The majority of the Leeds team yesterday played against relegation under Heckingbottom the previous manager.

I wouldn't be surprised if Leeds finishes in the top 6.

The reports that he had learned a new style of play when he was out of a job were the best though.

I don’t agree with that, Edin. Plenty of teams leave space. Mourinho’s tactics are adaptive as well, he’s negative but he hasn’t used the same tactics with all his teams as they’re player dependent. They can, and will, get results, though. The issue with Mourinho is more the man than his tactics being outdated. He’s just not the manager he was. And that clearly feeds to the players when he starts acting like a priiiick.

I'm surprised you think that, Edin. If anything, more teams are leaving space in behind than before because there's more emphasis on playing progressive football, transitions, counter-pressing etc. More teams playing with inverted wingers/fullbacks too.

Even today against Everton in the first half, Doherty was playing very high and wide, with Davies playing slight deeper on the other flank. But there was plenty of space to exploit in behind the defence if Everton worked the ball up to attack that area.

comment by Edinspur (U1109)
posted 1 hour, 39 minutes ago
I actually want Kane to leave us this window
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I do wonder what kind of mentality Kane has. Is he just one of those that is happy as long as he's loved by fans? Surely he wants to win a league by now.

I think he’s desperate to win something with Spurs. He’s in a difficult situation as he’s tied into a long contract, Levy will want a king’s ransom for him and there are probably only five clubs that could afford him.

James looked good but Allan basically carried the midfield

When I meant teams leave space in behind I mean that teams are more effectively regarding a low block than before. Unless we counter we don’t get any benefit of the hoof ball football that we did before

comment by Donny The King van de Beek (U10026)
posted 44 minutes ago
I think he’s desperate to win something with Spurs. He’s in a difficult situation as he’s tied into a long contract, Levy will want a king’s ransom for him and there are probably only five clubs that could afford him.
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I do wonder if there's some sort of clause that means he can leave earlier to another club if Spurs aren't competing at the level he should be at.

He's said publicly before that he wants to win trophies and that if it's looking unlikely at Spurs, he will look to move on.

If he's still not won anything, I reckon, at best, he'll be at Spurs for 2 more years before he actively looks to leave.

But also depends on how he fares with injuries, too. Other clubs may not be willing to take a punt if his prime years are injury plagued.

Mourinho’s teams have always had problems breaking down a low block, as he doesn’t allow his teams to commit enough men forward. But they can still be effective with the right personnel, as seen when Fabregas was brought in.

Issue for Spurs is they have nobody of that quality in the squad. Dele is a shadow of the player he was a few years ago, and Ndonkele and Lo Celso have failed to provide the creativity that Eriksen did. Many of the issues Spurs have in the team were there under Poch as well.

Samir, I doubt Levy would be stupid enough to put any sort of clause like that on Kane’s contract. We’ll have to wait and see what happens. I think the financials will hinder any move for Kane, it’ll be a hell of a lot of money and he may not want to leave England either.

He should push for Man City and break Shearers record and win trophies. Easy.

I like Ndombele a lot, think he’s class. Had he started instead of Dele Alli then it would maybe have been a different game.

Something a lot of people don’t talk enough about is Son. He’s a actually really inconsistent and a hinderance on his off days - I’m really not a big fan of his like other Spurs fans are. Just takes a lot of touches and is a poor passer - as demonstrated by the counter when he had a million chances to pass to Kane. Our best ever football was when Dele played on the left - I genuinely wonder if he provides more than Son.

Mourinho doesn't coach movement off the ball, making diagonal runs or numerical overloads on the flanks.

He always relied on individual quality in attack with the exception of Porto and a good defensive organisation.

He looks a talent, but he’s clearly struggled to make a big impact in the team. Seems he doesn’t fit in with Mourinho’s 4231 and it doesn’t appear that he’ll be changing the set up to a 433 all to often.

I really like Son, but he does seem inconsistent. But he’s a much better player than Alli. He’s so bad nowadays.