For years, Jose Mourinho was considered the ultimate winner and one of the best managers and characters around. He took Porto to unimaginable glory and named himself the ‘Special One’ at Chelsea before winning trophies to make it a permanent tag. He even took a break in between to take Real Madrid and Inter Milan to further memorable moments.
Fast forward seven years, however, and that same glory has turned into failure. First came the Chelsea sacking after a woeful title defence, then came the much anticipated yet, in the end, unsuccessful stint at Manchester United. And, now, in perhaps one of his lowest career moments, Mourinho has just led a Tottenham Hotspur side full of attacking talent to a 0-0 draw against Bournemouth.
What Has Gone Wrong for Jose Mourinho?
Spurs Out of Ideas Going Forward Under Mourinho
With all of Son Heung-Min, Harry Kane, Steven Berwijn, Lucas Moura and Giovanni Lo Celso at Mourinho’s disposal, Spurs failed to register a single shot on target against Bournemouth. In the space of 12 months, they have gone from exciting, ruthless, free-flowing football to the boredom of ‘Mourinho-ball’. To make matters worse, too, Spurs have looked just as woeful in defence as they do in attack, going against the norm of ‘Mourinho-ball’.
Usually, despite the lack of a free-flowing attack, Mourinho sides get the job done via tireless and astute defensive work. It may be a boring tactic, but, in truth, it has worked incredibly on several occasions for the former Chelsea man. This time around, however, the tactic has proved to be of little use, with Spurs keeping fewer clean sheets than relegation-threatened Watford this season.
From Champions League Excitement to Premier League Staleness
It is certainly a worrying situation for Daniel Levy and co with Spurs on their way to their lowest finish since 2008, just 12 months after reaching a Champions League final. What was meant to be a monumental day in the club’s history has turned out to be one of the most damaging.
The Champions League final was supposedly a turn of the page in the Spurs history books, the beginning of North London dominance; finally, they would get the better of Arsenal. Instead, that one loss created a domino effect. Now, despite enduring their worse season in Premier League history, Arsenal are back above Spurs after one season below.
An Appointment of Panic From Levy?
This Sunday’s meeting between the two will certainly be an interesting one. Arsenal, with a young manager armed with modern tactics in Mikel Arteta, and Spurs, with an experienced winner who is seemingly struggling to adapt to the modern game in Mourinho.
Arsenal already look improved. They didn’t go for the experienced big name, but, instead, took a risk that may pay off. Spurs, on the other hand, look on the decline and, now, the Mourinho appointment seems one of panic and pressure to find a big name instead of a suitable one; a decision that is proving fatal.
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