“We will try our best to make you proud of this football club.”
“I think you as a father always have to feed your children. It does not matter what they do. If you have to steal to feed your children, you steal. “
As a Tottenham fan, one of these quotes fills you with genuine pride, reminding you of a time when the sun seemed to shine a little brighter, where everything your club did was focused on trying to realize a successful future.
The other is colored with a little more embarrassment. Literally it is quite correct – yes, you should feed your children. But when placed in its proper context, it spells the end of modern greatness for a manager who more than deserves his status as one of the most amazing managers in the history of football.
But just as players reach the end of their careers when their bodies begin to fail, when big bosses take more Ls when their tactics on the field and the attitude from it become obviously outdated.
It’s a sad situation, but that’s the scenario for Jose Mourinho. Appointed Mauricio Pochettino’s successor in November 2019, the former Chelsea boss was given the task of turning Tottenham’s almost men into winners. While the wheels of an inflated and old group had fallen off dramatically under Pochettino, the landscape never looked as gloomy as it does right now.
Summarizes how most Spurs fans feel right now. Total apathy. pic.twitter.com/1evTArW2X3
– Hunter Godson (@HunterGodson) April 11, 2021
In the latest defeat against Manchester United on Sunday, we saw a careful lack of structure on Mourinho’s part. They actually took the lead as the visitors got a goal to crawl before Son Heung-min stopped into the opening – a surprisingly wonderful goal as well.
But United have a tendency to start badly and all they needed was an increased intensity increase. They used the perceived shortcomings in VAR as fuel for a much improved second half as Fred, Edinson Cavani and Mason Greenwood scored to secure a deserved victory.
Tactically, Spurs was messy.
Cavani leads United ahead of Marc Atkins / Getty Images
It has been touched on before, but the home team’s pressure was embarrassing. The traps did not exist for United to fall into – they instead moved the ball into the areas that were left vacant when Tottenham’s players moved towards the ball and went through gears and areas on the pitch with alarming ease. They even found striker Cavani on the edge of the box with short passes with almost no resistance.
The quotes off the field have been embarrassing, but so has the approach. Spurs became a force under Pochettino by pressing high on the pitch, so the fans know the difference between a successful press that puts its side on the front foot and one that fails spectacularly and gives the opponents the initiative.
There was not even a desire to oust United in the slightest. The chance to get a player to attack Scott McTominay or Fred, who both went in a line after being booked early, was ignored.
Man Utd proved that there is a happier life after Jose Mourinho. Even if the next boss comes from Molde.
(@ 90min_Football) https://t.co/IISQJkz3NZ
– Sean Walsh (@SeanDZWalsh) April 11, 2021
Instead, Giovani Lo Celso was brought out for Moussa Sissoko, Tottenham struggled to keep the ball in midfield, United took the initiative and the familiar story of Tottenham letting in and failing to return to the game was played out again.
Performances have been terrible at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium and the off-field situation is deteriorating rapidly. There have been raves about whether to feed your children if they are naughty, Harry Kane’s future and happiness – one of the club’s very best – is more uncertain than ever, and Son Heung-min was obviously broken into his post-match interview.
They broke Sonny. He almost cries. Nice.
Sonny has his say on today’s match. # THFC ⚪️ # COYS pic.twitter.com/koVOKGQZ8P
– Tottenham Hotspur (@SpursOfficial) 11 April 2021
Most Spurs fans can handle the fact that the club is a bit of rubbish. It’s in the DNA. The 1990s were not a particularly rewarding time if you were looking for decent league games. But the club has recently touched the forefront of tangible success and let the opportunity to continue and progress slide through the fingers.
It’s not just rubbish that has damaged the connection between the club and the fans. It is the sequence of events, choices and results that has led to a point where the Tottenham boss talks about how parents should feed their children in the wake of a defeat and where a generation of home-grown talent is said to have grown tired of the team’s regression. and could ask to leave.
If you’re a Britpop fan, you know that Damon Albarn once sang ‘I will not kill myself and try to stay in your life’. It was obviously not about football. But with each bland and inappropriate performance and sour press conference after the match, the relationship between fan and club deteriorates.
Right now, Spurs supporters are more independent than ever. The excitement around match day is simply not there.
The site is completely empty of gas, but a complete rework is not necessarily necessary. There are undoubtedly excellent players in Tottenham’s team, but a deviation in both style and staff is absolutely necessary to get back those who matter most.
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