Graham Ruthven: “In just one season, Spurs have seen the best and the worst of what Mourinho offers”

NOT so long ago it appeared this season might be set up for a Jose Mourinho renaissance. The frenetic nature of the 2020/21 campaign, and the sheer number of fixtures needed to be played in a shorter period of time than usual, led many to suggest this season’s Premier League title race would be a war of attrition. Attrition, of course, is a currency Mourinho has dealt in for years.

At first, such suggestions seemed to hold weight. Tottenham Hotspur topped the table, going 11 league games without suffering defeat after the opening day loss to Everton. Now, though, the attrition only appears to be grinding down Mourinho’s Spurs side who have lost back-to-back games. 11 points separate Tottenham from top spot.

In just one season, Spurs have seen the best and the worst of what Mourinho offers. The best saw the Portuguese turn the North London side into one of the most devastating counter-attacking outfits in the Premier League. Like so many of Mourinho’s great teams, Tottenham looked to be built on a solid defensive basis. The worst, however, has seen Mourinho bring a collapse in form and spirit around the club upon himself. 

Gone is the organisation and resolution at the back, with Spurs failing to keep a clean sheet in any of their last four league games. So too is the attacking verve that put the likes of Manchester United, Manchester City and Arsenal to the sword earlier in the season. Tottenham are a shadow of the team they were as recently as early December.

The injury recently sustained by Harry Kane has only added to Spurs’ woes, but rather than using Gareth Bale and Carlos Vinicius as rotation options earlier in the campaign to pre-empt any blow to his top scorer Mourinho ran his first choice front two into the ground. While not injured, Son Heung-min has also faded of late.

So Dele is staying and we need someone to spark the team back to life. Who better than the guy who won the Young Player of the Year back-to-back and scored 18 Premier League goals in a season at 21. It’s time to step back up @dele_official #COYS #THFC pic.twitter.com/f4huyx4j6w

— The Spurs Express (@TheSpursExpress) February 1, 2021

Mourinho has picked fights where he didn’t need to, exiling Dele Alli from the first team despite the 24-year-old possessing qualities that could help Tottenham escape their current slump. It was only through a reported intervention by Daniel Levy that Mourinho’s feud with Tanguy Ndombele didn’t result in the French midfielder leaving North London last summer. Ndombele has since flourished.

Serge Aurier was missing for the 1-0 defeat to Brighton on Sunday after a reported dressing room bust-up at half time of the loss to Liverpool just three days previously. The Ivorian right back was just incensed by how Mourinho treated him that he left the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium before the end of the match. This forced the Spurs boss to use Moussa Sissoko at right back against Brighton.

“Every team in the Premier League has these ups and these downs,” Mourinho attempted to reason after Sunday’s dismal defeat on the south coast. “Of course now, we're in a difficult moment with results, injuries and self-esteem. A team with confidence is much better than a team with sadness. At this time, we have all these problems which sooner or later will blow over.”

There are three phases to the typical Mourinho coaching tenure. The second phase tends to be where the Portuguese achieves the most success and it appeared Tottenham had moved into this phase this season. Very quickly, though, Spurs are entering the third phase, when Mourinho tends to lose a grip of things.

Thursday’s clash with Chelsea has the potential to accelerate the spiral Tottenham currently find themselves in. While notions of a title challenge had many fans dreaming, a top four finish would have represented success for the 2020/21 season, yet Mourinho is falling further away, not getting closer, to achieving this objective. And he has nobody else to blame but himself.

Tottenham (13/5) vs Chelsea (11/10)