Jose Mourinho's impossible task at Tottenham could make or break his managerial legacy

Jose Mourinho's impossible task at Tottenham could make or break his managerial legacy

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Jose Mourinho at a pre-match press conference ahead of Tottenham's game against Manchester United

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Less than a month ago, reports started to emerge just days after whispers about Tottenham’s money problems emerged. The North Londoners are in serious problems and their £175 million loan from the Bank of England to help re-pay stadium debt proves that brilliantly. But there is a bigger problem.

Tottenham are in a pickle. They sacked possibly the best manager they’ve ever had in modern history and one of the club’s best in their iconic history. However, it wasn’t done instinctively because that would have seen Mauricio Pochettino lose his job about two months before he actually lost it but nevertheless, the move took place. The transition, however, was far smoother than anyone expected even smoother than their fellow North London rivals managed a month later.

In walked a new and improved Jose Mourinho who, after the links and rumours, finally had Harry Kane under his management. The former Manchester United boss was heavily linked with a move for nearly half of Tottenham’s team eventually signing nobody from North London barring Alexis Sanchez before he lost his job at Old Trafford. But in the time between losing his job and being appointed at Tottenham, Mourinho underwent a transformation. Not just that, he’d taken charge of a club and a team, with a few additions, that not even six months ago had been in the Champions League final.

Mourinho walked into the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium with the hope that he’d finally gotten a team he wanted and a challenge that could see him prove his managerial bones and for all intents and purposes he still has that team. The pickle and the situation that the coronavirus has placed the club in, however, is the biggest problem and for Mourinho it will shine what could be a damming microscope on his managerial skills. Simply because the £175 million loan combined with reports that Premier League clubs could face an impossible loss of nearly £500 million in revenue for the 2019/20 season, will demolish any side.

For smaller clubs, it is a death sentence but for a club like Tottenham, they should be fine. But they won’t because of the emptiness that their multi-purpose stadium will have. This was supposed to be the plan to beat or rather overcome Manchester United’s marketing reach or Manchester City’s super spending owner. A multi-purpose stadium that would help generate revenue beyond their wildest dreams, a stage in North London with concerts, NFL games and even a title fight between Anthony Joshua and Kubrat Pulev all being hosted there.

It would have generated the club money beyond their wildest dreams with the hope that a decent chunk would re-invested into the team. But the coronavirus has had other plans, so when Mourinho trudges up to Daniel Levy to ask for reinforcements, he’ll be shown nothing more than the door. That is where creative solutions have to walk into the fray because beyond using any money that the club themselves generate from selling players, Spurs have nothing or close to nothing. That effectively means that as Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United and a few others free spend, Mourinho and Spurs will have to watch on and spend well within their means to keep them going.

And there is where the problem arises, because make no mistake this Tottenham team needs reinforcements. Michel Vorm and Jan Vertonghen’s current deals expire at the end of this season, Eric Dier, Oliver Skip contracts and Gedson Fernandes’ loan spell expire at the end of next season. Hugo Lloris, Eric Lamela, Serge Aurier, Juan Foyth and a few others expire at the end of 2022 but more importantly, barring four players listed here, the rest are all squad or rotational players. So effectively, Tottenham need a new center-back, a reliable full-back, a holding midfielder that is not Eric Dier and maybe, if they have some money left over, a back-up for Harry Kane.

Tottenham in trouble? Or do they have the right man to lead them through? © Twitter

This is why Tottenham are in a pickle but for Jose Mourinho, it is the perfect situation. He came back to London to prove his managerial bones and now, before his side resumes play, he will be one of the few managers to know what his future looks like. This is his team, barring a few loan deals and swaps that Levy will sternly negotiate, and this will be his team for the foreseeable future, which means that the question lies in how he manages them. There can be no tantrums, banishing players to the youth teams or calling them out in public, no matter what their standing is within the team.

Because this is not a dead Tottenham team that needs complete culling before they move onto the next side. This is a Champions League runner-up but neglect and a lack of investment has seen them lose faith in themselves. Bringing them back to normal will be a massive challenge but possibly Mourinho’s greatest challenge will be keeping Harry Kane at the team. This will be his biggest problem and barrier but if by some hook or crook Mourinho manages to keep Kane at the club, then half his job is done. Cause for all intents and purposes, Harry Kane is their man.

He is their corner-stone, their true blue superstar but he is also the same man who said “I love Spurs, I'll always love Spurs but I've always said if I don't feel we're progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I'm not someone to stay there for the sake of it. I'm an ambitious player, I want to improve, get better and become one of the top, top players. It all depends on what happens as a team and how we progress as a team. So it's not a definite I'm going to stay there forever but it's not a no either."

It does pose a conundrum for Mourinho because selling a player like Kane could net the North Londoners north of a 100 million. That’s more than enough to transform this side into their next regeneration but where will they get their next Kane from? It is why convincing the England captain to stay will effectively transform Tottenham and send out a statement of intent to the world. That Spurs as a feeder side are dead and gone but instead, this is now a team ready and willing to do what it takes to challenge the best. However, the problem with that is the best will be spending obscene amounts of money, coronavirus be dammed, and Spurs will have to rely on what they have.

Within the ashes of that, is where the new Mourinho must rise up and show these young managers how it is done. It’s the third act of a managerial career that many wondered had any juice left especially after his last three gigs across Europe. The early signs, however, at Tottenham is that the old Mourinho is back and that cannot happen not if he ever wants his legacy to mean more than it currently does. This is his chance and for someone who has lived and died at the hands of spending money, only Pep Guardiola has spent more according to Transfermarkt, this could be a legacy maker.

It’s the situation that not a lot of managers would ask for but it’s the situation that history almost always remembers how someone reacted to it. Donald Trump calling the coronavirus the Chinese virus is never going to be forgotten, the same way the impact that footballers have had on social matters. The question that Mourinho needs to answer, is he more than just an occasionally charming man whose teams can beat the best when at their best but lose to the worst when at their worst.

Is he more than just another has-been in an age where the legacy manager has lost its soul but the journeymen find theirs? Either way, whether he likes it or not, whether he adapts to it or not, the next few months will tell us just how much Jose Mourinho can do as a manager.

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