Jose Mourinho: Wrong man at the right time for Spurs?

Blink and you'll have missed it. Spurs moved swiftly to appoint Jose Mourinho as their new head coach, marking the Portuguese manager's third job in English football.

In the space of just 12 short hours, Tottenham Hotspur sacked one of the most popular, even if not in hindsight one of the most successful, managers in their club's history in Mauricio Pochettino, and replaced him with the infamous, outspoken official “Portuguese manager of the century”.

There was barely enough time to digest the unpopular dismissal of Pochettino before Mourinho entered the building. Five years of impressive work by the Argentine coach, culminating in that Champions League runner-up medal last season, brought to an abrupt, unceremonious end, the head coach swept out of the club, with no warning for Spurs fans to prepare themselves for the breathtaking news.

With their North London rivals Arsenal perceived to be the club most likely to take action and fire their increasingly unpopular manager Unai Emery, the move comes as even more of a surprise, with the Gunners fans widely perceived to be far more upset with their managerial situation than their London counterparts.

But football is a high stakes, high paced and therefore ultimately ruthless business; any sign that things are deteriorating beyond repair and an owner or chairman is going to take action. Whether this is the correct or popular decision, some credit can be given to Daniel Levy for having the courage, almost the audacity, to take what he surely knew would be the almost unanimously unpopular decision to sack the media-friendly Pochettino.

But he's in the past now, even if some Spurs fans may understandably be in denial. Now attention turns to Jose Mourinho, who manages his third English Premier League club.

Right man for the job?

It's going to take a great deal of getting used to seeing Mourinho sporting a Spurs tracksuit on the touchline and in training sessions. It's a sight the brain struggles to compute, the Chelsea legend well and truly disowning the club he called home for so many successful years by joining a London rival. It feels more like a computer game than the sincere reality of the beautiful game, and it's likely tough for Spurs fans to coherently describe the sheer blend of emotions they are feeling right now after a hectic 24 hours.

However, the common ground that all Spurs fans will surely be able to agree on is the fact that, in Mourinho, they have a man that is a genuine proven winner. Everywhere he's gone, whilst almost always ending on a sour note, he's always delivered titles – more often than not big ones too.

Even at Manchester United, which was widely deemed as a disappointing stint in charge, Mourinho saw his side win the Europa League and League Cup, and finish as runners up in the Premier League. A simple glance at the standing now will show that things have regressed considerably since Mourinho got the sack.

Winning silverware and tasting tangible success is something that Pochettino, for all the adulation and praise he has been treated with, failed to ever actually achieve. And it's something that Mourinho has become accustomed to, even when his reign at a club is overall deemed a disappointment. That's an indication of a serial winner.

Of course, with Mourinho, things are rarely plain sailing, and his well-documented third season syndrome makes his long-term contract until 2023 somewhat risky. Is anyone expecting this to end any differently to how it did so at Madrid, Chelsea and United?

The fact is, though, this seems like a very different Jose Mourinho to the one that preceded him. In his opening interview upon joining the club, his joy at being at Spurs was clear for all to see, his enthusiasm for the squad at his disposal – hinting that it is the best squad he's ever walked into – his love for the stadium and training facilities… If his first interview is any indication at all of how good his reign at Spurs is going to be, further success for the Portuguese manager can be expected.

It helps that he's able to stay in London – and that he surely knows that he has something to prove. Some harsh observers have suggested that Mourinho’s time at the top of the game has come to an end, that the former Porto coach is past his best.

Mourinho is therefore motivated, and although his dynamic with Daniel Levy and some of Spurs' want-away players will be highly intriguing to watch unfold, their potentially dysfunctional relationship could and should still render some quality results.

Intriguingly, news has come to light that Spurs have been targeting the signing of Mourinho for 3 weeks now. So while Pochettino's dismissal seemingly came out of nowhere, that is far from the case.

It explains the unusual timing of Poch's dismissal – towards the end of the international break rather than at the start of it – and why his replacement was announced just half a day later. Though you wouldn't be sacking one of the best managers in the world if you didn't have a suitable replacement lined up.

This is therefore a far more carefully considered decision than may have first appeared to be the case. Not only was he the club's first choice, but he has been targeted for weeks.

And you can understand it. This Spurs team have for too long been told that they are overachieving, when in reality their team is more than good enough to be aiming to win silverware on a regular basis. While his reign at Tottenham was very good indeed, this pretence that Pochettino worked miracles to get Tottenham competitive domestically and in Europe shouldn't have survived for as long as it has considering the strength of their squad.

The predominantly English media's constant suggestion that Spurs were punching above their weight was always likely to lead to complacency and settling, so appointing a manager with a winning mentality could go a long way in changing the mindset of the players and observers alike.

Chequebook manager?

There’s this constant message being banded about that Mourinho won’t be successful at Spurs because he’s a manager that demands large levels of spending, something Tottenham won’t be willing to do.

While it is undeniable that Mourinho has spent a lot of money at each of his last 3 jobs, the fact is the heroics he achieved at FC Porto, lifting the Champions League with the Portuguese outfit, was done on a very small budget and a degree of reliance on young Portuguese players.

The fact that he has ultimately spent a lot of money since is a consequence, rather than a cause, of his success. He has already proven that he can operate very successfully on smaller budgets - that’s what allowed him to break into management at the biggest of clubs.

As a result, he has ended up at clubs that also have a lot of money, and when clubs have a lot of money, managers spend it. That’s the reality of the game today. Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp are revered for their managerial prowess, but there’s absolutely no doubt their repsective clubs wouldn’t be dominating so extensively in the league had they not spent such a vast amount of money during their tenure.

Tottenham operate on a different budget compared to Mourinho’s last few clubs, that is certainly true, but unlike the highly-regarded Guardiola, he’s proven himself an accomplished manager where the cheque book is rarely opened.

Jose Mourinho. Photo Author: Дмитрий Голубович. License link.