Jose Mourinho’s arrival is great news for Tottenham
Jose Mourinho has arrived at Tottenham in controversial circumstances, but his arrival could be great for the club.
Shockwaves went through the soccer world this week as Mauricio Pochettino was fired by Tottenham and duly replaced with the man you either love to hate or hate to love, Jose Mourinho.
The immediate reaction from Spurs fans has been one of dismay: Mourinho’s system is antithetical to Pochettino’s, his tactics and results have left a lot to be desired in the past few years, and he is a manager who has required a huge transfer budget to succeed.
And a lack of spending is presumed to be a major reason behind Pochettino departure.
But now is the time for Tottenham to be optimistic: there are plenty of reasons why Mourinho’s arrival is great news for the club!
Firstly, it’s clear that it hasn’t been working well with Pochettino in the last 12 months and something had to be done. The results have been poor and his players weren’t delivering his high intensity pressing game.
Mourinho is the very best choice as a replacement: no other options have as much Premier League experience or silverware on their resume. He has won three Premier Leagues, two Champions Leagues and eight league titles in total.
If Spurs want that long-awaited major silverware to come, Mourinho is potentially the man to deliver. He gets instant results, and while his brand of soccer may not be thrilling, it is actually very well suited to Tottenham’s current squad.
Crucially, he can organize a defense—and that is vitally important for a team that have given away a lead so many times in recent months.
Mourinho has also made a point of emphasizing the importance of Spurs’ academy. The Portuguese is not known for putting faith in youth, but he knows that Spurs youth products have underdelivered lately and he knows he must put that right.
Mourinho is a very smart coach who is saying all the right things right now, and his time away from the game, and work with public relations, suggests his rougher edges have been smoothed.
He is extremely intelligent and well versed in the league, and to claim that he is past it due to his poor spell at Manchester United is a pretty naive take.
Pochettino helped Tottenham punch well above their weight for years and he must be appreciated for what he achieved. But now Tottenham are in a different weight class, and they have a heavyweight manager who only accepts top jobs.
This is a sign of the club’s ambition, and it is a good thing.
