With Mourinho gamble backfiring, Levy has call to make on Spurs future
Htalk of toxic dressing room has shades of United turmoil about it, as club appear to be sliding backwards on the pitch
It is an uncomfortable truth for Tottenham Hotspur that the greatest entertainment Jose Mourinho has provided since he took over as head coach remains his performance in Amazon’s All or
Nothing documentary.
That series also gave the impression that chairman Daniel Levy was somewhat star-struck by Mourinho’s arrival – rather in the way that Ed Woodward gazed at the manager when he was hired by Manchester United in 2016. We all know how that ended.
Only this week Ole Gunnar Solskjaer revealed he had been tasked with making the players “smile” again when he arrived, such was the toxic atmosphere at the end of Mourinho’s time at Old Trafford.
The alarm bells must be ringing now for Levy. Not just after last weekend’s north London derby defeat by Arsenal, or the horrific Europa League exit to Dinamo Zagreb. No, the most damaging moment was the revealing postmatch interview by Spurs captain Hugo Lloris that, without using the words, seemed to describe the definition of a toxic atmosphere. A disconsolate Lloris did not hold back.
The goalkeeper spoke of “a lack of basics and lack of fundamentals”, and the telling phrase, “If you follow the team only when you are in the starting XI, that causes a big problem for the team,” was followed by, “We had great moments in the past because we could trust the togetherness that was in the team. Today, I don’t know, I am not sure about that.”
Wow. Although it points to a deeper malaise that predates Mourinho, the Portuguese will become the focus, unfortunately for him, even if Lloris was also very clear in blaming disgruntled players and the club as a whole.
But Mourinho is in charge and he has to get those “fundamentals” right. It looked like Levy bet the house by bringing him in, especially on a salary of up to £13million a year, only for that house to be in danger of going up in flames.
Maybe that is overly dramatic, but this is not what Mourinho was hired for. Even if Tottenham manage to beat Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final – securing a first trophy for 13 years – it would be scant consolation if they are out of the top four or out of Europe altogether. This, by any measure, does not represent progress.
Mourinho was targeted because of his track record of delivering short-term success in what was, undoubtedly, a marriage of convenience. Which brings us to the fundamental question: what does Levy now do? Or, more specifically, what does he do at the end of the season if Spurs continue to underperform?
The effects of the pandemic have fogged decision-making to some extent, but one will have to be made. Does Mourinho stay or go?
It is said that Levy cannot afford to sack Mourinho, whose contract runs to 2023 and apparently has no break clause. But conversely, will a situation arise whereby he cannot afford not to sack him?
Following Mauricio Pochettino’s dismissal, Spurs were left paying two managers, until the Argentine went to Paris St-germain.
It is likely that they will use the same method should Mourinho go and maybe Levy might get lucky, because it is well known Mourinho does not like extended periods out of work and may try to get another job as quickly as possible.
The problem with that, though, is how high would his stock be if Spurs were to sack him?
Whichever way you cut it, the last decade has been one of slow decline for Mourinho, from the extraordinary heights he hit in the first half of his managerial career.
Even so, bringing in Mourinho – following the opening of the splendid new stadium and after going so close, under Pochettino, to winning the Champions League – was supposed to be a significant, bold step for Spurs. But although they have reached a global stage with their financial potential, they have gone backwards on the pitch.
Maybe Mourinho can turn it around again – after all, his second season at clubs tends to be his best – but his opportunities are rapidly dwindling.
The Carabao Cup does not represent much solace for a club with Spurs’ ambition. What Mourinho has to do is fight for that top-four place and with it Champions League qualification. Winning the Carabao Cup and finishing mid-table is no guarantee that he will hold on to his job and, as The Daily Telegraph has previously reported, RB Leipzig coach Julian Nagelsmann would be Spurs’s top target if a change were to be made.
Whether he would want to join them remains to be seen but, either way, Levy may have a big decision to make on Mourinho.
Spurs wanted it all. They may be left with nothing.