Jose Mourinho Sack Watch | Sacked per 19-04

[tayside red]

I find it incredible just how bad his English gets the worse his team perform.
The way our team fell to bits was frightening under his leadership.

Spurs are in free fall. Hopefully they'll lose the Cup Final, 3 or 4 nil would do nicely.
Finishing mid table is a distinct possibility without Kane.

I see there's an ad in the Spurs for sale / rental section of the Fighting Cock:
Bench warmer ready to go, very little use, only £600k a week.

 

[Stormrage101MUFC]

Well, at least his behaviour is entertaining. Because his football sure isn’t.

 

[MrMarcello]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

 

[tayside red]

he had a good set of experienced players, who wanted to Win.

 

[TrustInJanuzaj]

I agree that he's not going to get a parade winning the League Cup, but if he does, it's against City who have dominated the competition for years now. Slightly harder than beating Leicester back in the 90s. In any case, winning it will certainly make his stint look better.

This is surely the nadir of his reign there, so far. I doubt there is even one ally in the media left, to them all he's a dinosaur which is why I root for him, in a sort of Don Quixote kind of way.

Won't somebody please think of poor little Jose!

 

[RooneyLegend]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

I'll take a stab at this.

It was successful because the Pep effect in football wasn't completely in effect at that point. Post Pep coaches all believe in pressing, counter pressing, building from the back. The biggest change in football is what has happened off the ball. If you watch City play Pool you'll realise their philosophy without the ball is the same, the differences are what they do with it.

Teams in the past used to be more high risk than today with the ball. Players would often try ambitious, low % balls that give the opposition the ball. Also almost all teams started kick offs with a direct hoof upfield. This gave even a pragmatic side, coached by Jose enough ball to work with.

His coaching compared to other coached of the time was centered around not sending a lot if men forward. His team were great at maintaining their shape even when in attack which made them almost impossible to score against.

Italy remains the land of the Jose like coaches. Hence the football their is drab, slow and lacking offensive ambition. A team coached with modern principles there is Atalanta and most weeks their opposition look exactly like Spurs looked last night.

When Pep came in you could still be successful coaching the old way as not everyone had moved on. Now every season theres a new guy with similar principles off the ball. The more these guys get the more guys like Mou suffer and eventually will be extinct unless they adapt.

 

[Dancfc]

Poor Jose, I saw his post match interview and he looked haggered. What a stark contrast to the suave and sophisticated manager we saw when he first arrived.

I genuinely think the game has moved on and he has no idea how to adapt, much like Arsene Wenger. It's no shame, happens to most managers and he'll still go down as one of the greats. This makes me realise just how special SAF was, top of his game for 20+ years! God I miss that man!

Anyway, back to Jose, I think he should take a stab at the Portugal job then for his own sake, then retire and enjoy time with his family with all the money he's made from being sacked multiple times. I remember when he was a sky pundit he said he's happier when he's on the pitch but Jose old pal you don't look happy anymore out there! Time to rest.

He should even do that,

 

[Hugh Jass]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

I think psychologically he works better at an underdog. So Porto, Chelsea (When he first came because they had won nothing for years.), Inter Milan.

I dont think his style can work on the established teams like Utd and Madrid, who have high standards.

I thought Everton would have suited him better.

The problem is though fans now days are schooled on pressing, so like one poster said, teams that defend such a Mourinho teams, dont have much of a fan base. Every fan wants their team to play Guardiola like football.

 

[city-puma]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

I am not expert definitely. From my understanding, he wants to have a balanced play. It is a mixture of neutralizing the opponents and hitting them hard when the right scenarios appear. It’s the “control” which he often mentions. It’s a kind of calm play style. In football, like any other two-side games, you have two thing to do, neutralize the opponent and attacking to earn the reward points for win. It is the ratio of these two strategies and how it can be implemented in a game.
The problem is that these two strategies are not independent with each other. If you don’t do well enough offensive, you are inviting the opponents playing too long on your half. It makes the neutralizing strategy more difficult because any small mistake close to your box is more likely fatal (thinking this the probability way, large number law). Thus, they need to raise the intensity higher of their bottom third. But they don’t have enough fitness. They probably have to wait until the second half or the last phase to do that? I don’t know but I remember he said his manutd squad doesn’t have enough mad dog personal. I think he feels high-intensity, high-press are not a sustainable strategy for a moderated size of squad which he normally like to work with. And, he might also think that strategy is not calm at all for the actual “control”. It’s all about philosophy I think. Nothing wrong. Just not right nowadays as it seems.

 

[Bastian]

Won't somebody please think of poor little Jose!

Haha. It's always a little bit enjoyable to be a contrarian.

 

[monosierra]

I am not expert definitely. From my understanding, he wants to have a balanced play. It is a mixture of neutralizing the opponents and hitting them hard when the right scenarios appear. It’s the “control” which he often mentions. It’s a kind of calm play style. In football, like any other two-side games, you have two thing to do, neutralize the opponent and attacking to earn the reward points for win. It is the ratio of these two strategies and how it can be implemented in a game.
The problem is that these two strategies are not independent with each other. If you don’t do well enough offensive, you are inviting the opponents playing too long on your half. It makes the neutralizing strategy more difficult because any small mistake close to your box is more likely fatal (thinking this the probability way, large number law). Thus, they need to raise the intensity higher of their bottom third. But they don’t have enough fitness. They probably have to wait until the second half or the last phase to do that? I don’t know but I remember he said his manutd squad doesn’t have enough mad dog personal. I think he feels high-intensity, high-press are not a sustainable strategy for a moderated size of squad which he normally like to work with. And, he might also think that strategy is not calm at all for the actual “control”. It’s all about philosophy I think. Nothing wrong. Just not right nowadays as it seems.

I wonder how is his staff's coaching and training regime compared to the more "modern" managers - does it focus on the wrong skills for instance?

 

[city-puma]

I wonder how is his staff's coaching and training regime compared to the more "modern" managers - does it focus on the wrong skills for instance?

No idea. But Jose is the one in charge of vision and any major decision. The others are assistants to do what Jose asks them to do.

 

[Raees]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

He went from being a pragmatist to a dogmatist. Became so obsessed with being anti Pep in terms of his philosophy that he became a caricature of himself.

At Porto and Chelsea version 1 he was capable of playing front foot football as well as being defensive and would change his game plan according to the opponent. At Porto he liked to play keep ball and ‘rest in possession’ and his teams pressed well and played out from the back via Carvalho. They could mix it up.

After that Inter win, he became obsessed with over defensive football as a means to defeat the Post Pep footballing evolution and wanted to promote his own distinct brand of football which was in conflict with what made him great in the first place which was the versatility to adapt to different opponents by using different strategies depending on the game situation.

This season was typical blend of old Jose being fecked over by new Jose. At times plays some excellent football but instead of playing the situation for what it is, wants to win in a ‘trademark’ way of closing up shop to prove an ideological point and keeps blowing leads. The older Jose also does not seem to be able to learn from mistakes - classic sign of a dogmatist rather than a pragmatist.

 

[balaks]

If we lose at the weekend then Jose will get sacked. That is my prediction.

 

[g11]

Probably one of the best Xmas presents that I ever got in my adult life was when we sacked Jose - it was a happy happy day. Van Gaal killed the excitement of watching United games and Jose completely destroyed what I had left at that point. So glad he is Spurs' problem at this point

 

[Shiva87]

He went from being a pragmatist to a dogmatist. Became so obsessed with being anti Pep in terms of his philosophy that he became a caricature of himself.

At Porto and Chelsea version 1 he was capable of playing front foot football as well as being defensive and would change his game plan according to the opponent. At Porto he liked to play keep ball and ‘rest in possession’ and his teams pressed well and played out from the back via Carvalho. They could mix it up.

After that Inter win, he became obsessed with over defensive football as a means to defeat the Post Pep footballing evolution and wanted to promote his own distinct brand of football which was in conflict with what made him great in the first place which was the versatility to adapt to different opponents by using different strategies depending on the game situation.

This season was typical blend of old Jose being fecked over by new Jose. At times plays some excellent football but instead of playing the situation for what it is, wants to win in a ‘trademark’ way of closing up shop to prove an ideological point and keeps blowing leads. The older Jose also does not seem to be able to learn from mistakes - classic sign of a dogmatist rather than a pragmatist.

Clearly you've thought about this a lot.

It's like his Inter CL win changed his attitude. He started believing in his own supremacy that he lost the ability to evolve. He was a sharp, astute manager who would regular out think his opponent. The Jose masterclass wasn't a bore 1-0 with a shut shop. He knew how to hurt teams on their weaknesses.

Now he is obsessed with 'capitalising on opponents mistakes'.

Just look at his response to the journalist who asked him about his thoughts about Spurs not having lost 3 games in a row since 2012. Total lack of class. As bad a 'football heritage'.

However the Spurs fans will lap it up because of their deep desire for a trophy.

 

[mu4c_20le]

Probably one of the best Xmas presents that I ever got in my adult life was when we sacked Jose - it was a happy happy day. Van Gaal killed the excitement of watching United games and Jose completely destroyed what I had left at that point. So glad he is Spurs' problem at this point

Yep, I was surprised because I didn't think Ed had the bollocks to a.) sack him midseason and b.) pay the compensation. And boy did he look smug for awhile as a pundit. Man was practically glowing.

Back to original form.

Spoiler

 

[giorno]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

Because back then he was younger, hungrier and inspitational, his players would run through a wall for him. He was also pragmatic, his ability to read games was exceptional and he was fearless. This kind of park the bus and try to nick a goal on one or 2 counters was something he did very rarely. His teams were significantly more proactive about trying to score, much more aggressive when they needed to be and generally the way they played against bottom of the league vs big away games was very different. His chelsea went to camp nou in 2007 and forced barcelona to play on the counter

with inter, the way they played in the league vs CL was like two different teams. Even in madrid he was still pragmatic enough to mix it up, even at camp nou

Now he's old, hunger has been replaced by fear and he struggles to connect with his players. He's no longer pragmatic either - it's no longer about winning, but winning his way. He's no different than a guardiola, only his own philosophy is based on fear

To all that, add in the way football evolved, players are fitter and faster than ever, and his playing style is just old. Much is made of Atletico Madrid and Simeone, but just one look at their teams is enough to see the difference: atletico madrid fly all over the pitch. They may play the same way, but they do so with significantly more energy and high intensity, which is why it works(that, plus simeone is very much the kind of inspirational leader Mou used to be). More than anything, it's his training methods that appear to be obsolete

 

[cyberman]

He went to shit when teams became better at playing out from the back. Back then his sides could press further up because Allardyce and Pardew didnt know any better and not leave space behind. Now teams are passing around his sides for fun which forces his defensive block backwards because a coordinated, forward press disrupts his give the opposition the ball and theyll make mistakes mantra.
Well they arent making that many mistakes these days.

 

[TheGame]

The team yesterday was devoid of any creativity in midfield, with Ndombele, Sissoko and Hobjberg. He would have been better playing 2 of them in a 4-4-2 and have Bergwin and Moura/Lamela on wings with 2 strikers. Offensively they were awful.

 

[tomaldinho1]

Can one of you tactical experts explain why Jose's football is so dire? Does he not believe in attacking football in any form or fashion? How was it successful at Chelsea and Inter?

Time moves on.

 

[MoskvaRed]

Spurs last night played the first half like they were down to 10 men late in a cup game and hanging on for penalties. And this at home against a team low on confidence itself and with a non-scoring striker. It’s defensive football taken to absurd lengths by a man who used to be extremely effective at such tactics. The only comparable example I can think of is the end of career version of Van Gaal’s possession-based philosophy we saw at United.

 

[city-puma]

Spurs last night played the first half like they were down to 10 men late in a cup game and hanging on for penalties. And this at home against a team low on confidence itself and with a non-scoring striker. It’s defensive football taken to absurd lengths by a man who used to be extremely effective at such tactics. The only comparable example I can think of is the end of career version of Van Gaal’s possession-based philosophy we saw at United.

Their setup yesterday has dual pivot, 4-2-3-1. They have enough personals to combat at the midfield against 3-4-2-1. Chelsea play compact shape while for whatever reason, Spurs didn’t. Spurs quite often leave the space too large between the lines, either between 4-2 or 2-3. Chelsea run behind several times by exploit the space between 4-2. The penalty was conceded due to one of those run. But, it was Dier’s stupid act really.

 

[Born2Lose]

The look on Luiz's face before he realises it's a joke tells you so much about the real Mourinho. Hazard also looks relieved and he's not even the one in the firing line

 

[sugar_kane]

Because back then he was younger, hungrier and inspitational, his players would run through a wall for him. He was also pragmatic, his ability to read games was exceptional and he was fearless. This kind of park the bus and try to nick a goal on one or 2 counters was something he did very rarely. His teams were significantly more proactive about trying to score, much more aggressive when they needed to be and generally the way they played against bottom of the league vs big away games was very different. His chelsea went to camp nou in 2007 and forced barcelona to play on the counter

with inter, the way they played in the league vs CL was like two different teams. Even in madrid he was still pragmatic enough to mix it up, even at camp nou

Now he's old, hunger has been replaced by fear and he struggles to connect with his players. He's no longer pragmatic either - it's no longer about winning, but winning his way. He's no different than a guardiola, only his own philosophy is based on fear

To all that, add in the way football evolved, players are fitter and faster than ever, and his playing style is just old. Much is made of Atletico Madrid and Simeone, but just one look at their teams is enough to see the difference: atletico madrid fly all over the pitch. They may play the same way, but they do so with significantly more energy and high intensity, which is why it works(that, plus simeone is very much the kind of inspirational leader Mou used to be). More than anything, it's his training methods that appear to be obsolete

Added to all the above, with every meltdown and failure the prospect of players believing in him and wanting to run through walls diminishes massively.

That’s why Real was a turning point - it’s the first time he really went to war with his own players, and the Jose aura began to diminish.

It then looked like maybe Madrid was a blip when he won the league with Chelsea but his eventual meltdown there was the worst of the lot.

The United experience ended in turmoil, and we’re getting there with Spurs.

What player with half a brain is going to believe in him at his next club?

 

[PepG]

Because back then he was younger, hungrier and inspitational, his players would run through a wall for him. He was also pragmatic, his ability to read games was exceptional and he was fearless. This kind of park the bus and try to nick a goal on one or 2 counters was something he did very rarely. His teams were significantly more proactive about trying to score, much more aggressive when they needed to be and generally the way they played against bottom of the league vs big away games was very different. His chelsea went to camp nou in 2007 and forced barcelona to play on the counter

with inter, the way they played in the league vs CL was like two different teams. Even in madrid he was still pragmatic enough to mix it up, even at camp nou

Now he's old, hunger has been replaced by fear and he struggles to connect with his players. He's no longer pragmatic either - it's no longer about winning, but winning his way. He's no different than a guardiola, only his own philosophy is based on fear

To all that, add in the way football evolved, players are fitter and faster than ever, and his playing style is just old. Much is made of Atletico Madrid and Simeone, but just one look at their teams is enough to see the difference: atletico madrid fly all over the pitch. They may play the same way, but they do so with significantly more energy and high intensity, which is why it works(that, plus simeone is very much the kind of inspirational leader Mou used to be). More than anything, it's his training methods that appear to be obsolete

Bingo! Fear is good but only in normal proportions. Guardiola's biggest weakness is exactly the FEAR that he can be outsmarted and outplayed by the opposition.. Thats why he often overthinks these CL ties. Mourinho on the other hand thrived in the past on fear. The fear of the opponents. Nowdays the fear thrives on him...

 

[FrankDrebin]

Oh yeah, you also had the Eva Carneiro situation.

 

[Red & White]

Anyone else breath a huge sigh of relief when you see the headlines and results surrounding him at the moment and remember he’s not our manager anymore. I actually quite liked Jose, not the football, of course. It does appear his usual management job ending is upon us again. I don’t think he has the players or certainly the player mentality to get out of this one.

 

[Buster15]

Because back then he was younger, hungrier and inspitational, his players would run through a wall for him. He was also pragmatic, his ability to read games was exceptional and he was fearless. This kind of park the bus and try to nick a goal on one or 2 counters was something he did very rarely. His teams were significantly more proactive about trying to score, much more aggressive when they needed to be and generally the way they played against bottom of the league vs big away games was very different. His chelsea went to camp nou in 2007 and forced barcelona to play on the counter

with inter, the way they played in the league vs CL was like two different teams. Even in madrid he was still pragmatic enough to mix it up, even at camp nou

Now he's old, hunger has been replaced by fear and he struggles to connect with his players. He's no longer pragmatic either - it's no longer about winning, but winning his way. He's no different than a guardiola, only his own philosophy is based on fear

To all that, add in the way football evolved, players are fitter and faster than ever, and his playing style is just old. Much is made of Atletico Madrid and Simeone, but just one look at their teams is enough to see the difference: atletico madrid fly all over the pitch. They may play the same way, but they do so with significantly more energy and high intensity, which is why it works(that, plus simeone is very much the kind of inspirational leader Mou used to be). More than anything, it's his training methods that appear to be obsolete

Well done. That is pretty much what I was thinking.
When he went to Chelsea, his achievements at Porto, coupled with his undoubted charisma was as you say highly inspirational. The players loved him and performed brilliantly. And scored loads of goals. He was indeed the special one.

But it is obvious that he now has many self doubts. And he is finding it increasingly difficult to bond with the players. His teams no longer totally believe in him either. And his tactics of singling out specific players and destroying their self confidence is a complete failure affecting team morale.
I find it rather sad to see what is happening.
He has a massive job to regain control at Tottenham and turn the problems around.
I would like to see him succeeded but am far from optimistic. It could end badly.

 

[city-puma]

Well done. That is pretty much what I was thinking.
When he went to Chelsea, his achievements at Porto, coupled with his undoubted charisma was as you say highly inspirational. The players loved him and performed brilliantly. And scored loads of goals. He was indeed the special one.

But it is obvious that he now has many self doubts. And he is finding it increasingly difficult to bond with the players. His teams no longer totally believe in him either. And his tactics of singling out specific players and destroying their self confidence is a complete failure affecting team morale.
I find it rather sad to see what is happening.
He has a massive job to regain control at Tottenham and turn the problems around.
I would like to see him succeeded but am far from optimistic. It could end badly.

Exactly!
I remember that’s our longest rebuild project during his first spell in Chelsea. Every time we played them, I got the helpless feeling. They dominated everything. They had every player driving forward at every possible scenario, like flood, you were pushed back consistently. I hoped we had signed Essien and Roben.
watching their game against the other opponents and hoped they drop points, but it never happened. That’s a very offensive and aggressive team.

 

[Sandikan]

I think psychologically he works better at an underdog. So Porto, Chelsea (When he first came because they had won nothing for years.), Inter Milan.

I dont think his style can work on the established teams like Utd and Madrid, who have high standards.

I thought Everton would have suited him better.

The problem is though fans now days are schooled on pressing, so like one poster said, teams that defend such a Mourinho teams, dont have much of a fan base. Every fan wants their team to play Guardiola like football.

You don't get much more underdog than Tottenham though.
They've won about 1 league cup in 20 years.

 

[Hugh Jass]

You don't get much more underdog than Tottenham though.
They've won about 1 league cup in 20 years.

I think if he had joined ten years ago, he would do better.

But Poch has revolutionized the club, to the point where Mourinhos style just doesnt cut it in comparison to what Poch did.

 

[Sandikan]

I think if he had joined ten years ago, he would do better.

But Poch has revolutionized the club, to the point where Mourinhos style just doesnt cut it in comparison to what Poch did.

He's one game away from out trophying Poch though.
And you know Jose will milk it if it happens

 

[Bastian]

Because back then he was younger, hungrier and inspitational, his players would run through a wall for him. He was also pragmatic, his ability to read games was exceptional and he was fearless. This kind of park the bus and try to nick a goal on one or 2 counters was something he did very rarely. His teams were significantly more proactive about trying to score, much more aggressive when they needed to be and generally the way they played against bottom of the league vs big away games was very different. His chelsea went to camp nou in 2007 and forced barcelona to play on the counter

with inter, the way they played in the league vs CL was like two different teams. Even in madrid he was still pragmatic enough to mix it up, even at camp nou

Now he's old, hunger has been replaced by fear and he struggles to connect with his players. He's no longer pragmatic either - it's no longer about winning, but winning his way. He's no different than a guardiola, only his own philosophy is based on fear

To all that, add in the way football evolved, players are fitter and faster than ever, and his playing style is just old. Much is made of Atletico Madrid and Simeone, but just one look at their teams is enough to see the difference: atletico madrid fly all over the pitch. They may play the same way, but they do so with significantly more energy and high intensity, which is why it works(that, plus simeone is very much the kind of inspirational leader Mou used to be). More than anything, it's his training methods that appear to be obsolete

That's an interesting analysis. Would you honestly say his philosophy is based on fear as opposed to nullification? I also wonder about the training methods, and how much of an impact Faria going to do his thing has cost him.

My guess (and I view him a lot more favourably than most on here) is that his biggest weakness today is his man management and if he doesn't have a team that's fully on board it goes to shit. He's probably not had a team fully on board for a while, though Zlatan was enormously important for him (and us) a few years back.

 

[Galeano]

When we talk about Mourinho we always have to take into account that Madrid killed him.

What he did with Porto, winning two European trophies in 2 years, with a small budget team, and practicing high-quality football will go down in football history.
Then he returned the English title to Chelsea after 50 years.
And the title of European Champion at Inter Milan 45 years later.
Among many other titles.

Then he bit the apple of sin, deluding himself when he agreed to face the best team in history, which was Guardiola's Barcelona in the circus involving Spanish football.

He left Madrid completely burned and lost his passion for the game, which was completely notorious.

Since then, he only accumulates millionaire dismissals, in more or less depressing projects and with negative football, from someone who no longer wants to know much about the game and pay the pact of the devil that he did since the beginning with Mendes.

It is time for him to dedicate time to his personal life, he can be distracted by training a national team that only requires a few days of work every 3 months.

He will always be one of the greatest in the history of football.

 

[Gandalf]

I think psychologically he works better at an underdog. So Porto, Chelsea (When he first came because they had won nothing for years.), Inter Milan.

If he works better as an underdog then maybe he can beat West Brom on Sunday after all

 

[giorno]

That's an interesting analysis. Would you honestly say his philosophy is based on fear as opposed to nullification? I also wonder about the training methods, and how much of an impact Faria going to do his thing has cost him.

My guess (and I view him a lot more favourably than most on here) is that his biggest weakness today is his man management and if he doesn't have a team that's fully on board it goes to shit. He's probably not had a team fully on board for a while, though Zlatan was enormously important for him (and us) a few years back.

He believes(not wrongly) that the team that makes fewest mistakes wins. So his focus is on limiting mistakes. That's why he's so conservative and negative - it's all aimed at reducing big mistakes(for that matter, Klopp and the modern german school also follow the same principle, but take it in a completely different direction. Instead of limiting their team's mistakes, they focus on forcing the opponent to make them). And the truth is players and teams are better than ever. Modern teams rarely make mistakes unless you force them to. So Mourinho's approach, it actually has a much smaller margin for error than Klopp's or Guardiola's. But again, he's just too old to change now

As for training methods, mourinho's teams don't look like teams coached with the ball. And it is well known that Mourinho did comparatively little training with the ball, even 10 years ago. Only these days, with the modern players and their fitness, and better coaching across the board at every level, if you don't know what to do with the ball the result will be, spurs. A team that struggles to mount more than 4-5 attacks per game against any opposition that isn't hilariously overwhelmed by the talent disparity. Winning in 2021 with 4 attacks is really, really, really, really hard to pull off.

as for man management, well, yeah. Again, he's old. Used to work with a different generation of players that were less curious, less professionals(in the most literal sense), more conditioned to just do what they're told and not ask questions, with access to significantly less information, etc. Mourinho has *always* found a player to throw under the bus, for example. It's one of the staples of his man management, find someone he doesn't need and then paint him as a bad influence, an enemy, in an effort to further strengthen his bond to *his* players, and between them. That worked with the older generations. With the currents one though, they see through the bs and it becomes counter-productive instead

 

[Dancfc]

When we talk about Mourinho we always have to take into account that Madrid killed him.

What he did with Porto, winning two European trophies in 2 years, with a small budget team, and practicing high-quality football will go down in football history.
Then he returned the English title to Chelsea after 50 years.
And the title of European Champion at Inter Milan 45 years later.
Among many other titles.

Then he bit the apple of sin, deluding himself when he agreed to face the best team in history, which was Guardiola's Barcelona in the circus involving Spanish football.

He left Madrid completely burned and lost his passion for the game, which was completely notorious.

Since then, he only accumulates millionaire dismissals, in more or less depressing projects and with negative football, from someone who no longer wants to know much about the game and pay the pact of the devil that he did since the beginning with Mendes.

It is time for him to dedicate time to his personal life, he can be distracted by training a national team that only requires a few days of work every 3 months.

He will always be one of the greatest in the history of football.

I don't think it was just Madrid it's just been a slow burn decline since then.

Every job he takes you see the prime version that shook the world slowly eroding, from Real to Chelsea to United to Spurs we've seen his strengths desert him bit by bit. For example with us Mou 2.0 was a downgrade on Mou 1.0 but he still had the home fortress, could manage big games all be it they were dull for the most part and was still capable of fighting for titles. This current version i genuinely cannot identify one single aspect of what made him great in his current management. I was frightened for us to play his Inter, by contrast i wish we could play his Tottenham every week.

Him managing in 2021 is the equivalent of Lampard putting his boots on and getting back out there, he just isn't cutting it and for his own sake he needs to make peace with that and call it a day. He'll always be a historic great but as an active manager in 2021 he's beyond poor, i was asked the other day which of the other current PL manager's i'd have before present day Mourinho and honestly, i think i would actually take all of them before him.

 

[Nick.]

Spurs really do look identical to how we did under Mourinho at our worst.

 

[giorno]

He's old, people. Simple as that