Former Nottingham Forest man Stan Collymore has launched a scathing attack on Tottenham Hotspur for hiring Jose Mourinho as their new manager.
Collymore, who had played for Forest for two years from 1993 to 1995, had posted a message on Twitter about Spurs’ decision to sack Mauricio Pochettino and hire former United and Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho.
The former Liverpool man tweeted: “Amazing how some have bought into “Mourinho the winner” without any regard for how he leaves clubs. Unbalanced, fractured, overspending, soulless.
“Everything Spurs tried to avoid. Good luck, I like Spurs a lot, but it’s not how this man comes in, it’s how he’ll leave you.”
A radical shift in philosophy
Pochettino was sacked as the Tottenham manager last night after speculation had stated that his relationship with club CEO Daniel Levy had been fractured. The axing came ahead of Tottenham’s Premier League clash against London rivals West Ham United on Saturday.
Spurs are currently as low as 14th in the Premier League table, months after reaching the final of the UEFA Champions League last season. They did go onto lose the final 2-0 to Liverpool, but Pochettino managed to help Spurs finish fourth in the Premier League and earned them a spot in this season’s European competition.
But the Lilywhites have not won a single away game since January of 2019 when they had picked up a 2-1 win over Fulham. Harry Winks had come up with a stoppage-time winner to hand Spurs a win at Craven Cottage.
Pochettino’s Spurs became known for a style of play that focused on playing attractive football, high pressing and the Argentine played a key role in the development of players like Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, Harry Winks and Eric Dier.
The hiring of Mourinho would see a radical change at the club. The Portuguese likes to play a pragmatic brand of football which sees his teams play defensive football and hit the opposition on the break.
TIF Tactics
Mourinho’s stint at United had seen him win the UEFA Europa League and the League Cup in his first season. In the 2017-18 campaign, he had finished second in the Premier League behind Manchester City. But despite his best attempts, he could not convince club CEO Ed Woodward to give him the funds to improve the side – the defence, specifically.
Keeping that in mind, it is worth pointing out that Mourinho’s sacking at Old Trafford wasn’t directly his own doing. A lot of it was down to how he wasn’t trusted enough, despite having signed a new contract at Old Trafford in the beginning of 2018. In that sense, Woodward let Mourinho down.
And Mourinho did win trophies at United too. It is unfair to say that he isn’t a winner. Even in his last stint as the Chelsea manager, the Portuguese helped the Blues to a Premier League title in the 2014-15 campaign.
He had left Stamford Bridge after having fallen out with many of the players– a problem that he is yet to rectify in his managerial abilities.
Having Pochettino at the helm represents a radical change at Spurs. But the most crucial thing is how he will get players back on his side- a stark contrast to how Pochettino had reportedly lost the support of his dressing room. If Mourinho’s CV can get players on his side, Tottenham will be good to go.
Perhaps, Collymore’s comments have some justification to them, however, time will tell just what the successful manager will bring to Spurs.