In comments made while speaking on the Football Writers Podcast, Adrian Clarke claimed that Tottenham Hotspur chairman Daniel Levy ‘buried his head in the sand’ when appointing Jose Mourinho as Spurs boss.
Since taking over from long-serving Spurs boss Mauricio Pochettino back in November, Jose Mourinho has not exactly enjoyed a successful spell at the club thus far.
Currently, his side currently occupy eighth place in the Premier League table, having played 21 fixtures in the competition since his arrival at the club – winning 10, drawing four and losing seven of those fixtures.
In addition to this concerning league form, Mourinho has also reportedly fallen out with last summer’s record signing Tanguy Ndombele, who has apparently told the Portuguese manager that he no longer wants to play under him at Spurs.
And, when discussing Mourinho on the most recent episode of the Football Writers Podcast, Adrian Clarke stated that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy ‘buried his head in the sand’ when appointing the 57-year-old as the club’s new manager.
He said: “I think he [Pochettino] was right to go. I think his energy levels had vanished, Pochettino, and I do think a change was necessary.
“But to rip it up and basically go for Mourinho was a sign of panic, in my opinion – ‘we just want to win, it doesn’t really matter how we win anymore, we just need to get a trophy – now. Because that’s what Jose Mourinho does’ – or at least that’s what Daniel Levy thought when he appointed him.
“I think he buried his head in the sand in regards to what he [Mourinho] brings to the table – the animosity, the friction, the bad [reputation] for the club – because he will always cause problems in the media, alienating players.
“Looking at it from a purely football perspective, who has he improved? Which players have got better under Jose Mourinho? I don’t think I’ve got enough fingers on both hands to list the players that have gone backwards. I don’t know who has improved, and that is [down to] coaching.
“So yeah, it was a truly awful appointment. It was made, in my view, simply [because Levy thought] ‘we have to win a trophy, and that will fix everything’.”
TIF Thoughts…
Considering the way Tottenham’s season has gone so far under Mourinho, it is difficult to disagree with any of the points that Clarke makes in his comments.
During his time as Spurs' manager so far, would you say Jose Mourinho has been a success or a failure?
Success, we've done well
Failure, not good enough
And, should the club fail to make the top-four this season, as well as Mourinho’s quite frankly strange treatment of players such as Ndombele continuing, Levy may well be forced to consider Mourinho’s position as manager of Tottenham Hotspur come the summer.