“Leipzig appeared hungrier”.
Those words above form part of the BBC match report for Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-0 defeat at the hands of RB Leipzig. The result, of course, meant that Spurs crashed out of the Champions League. But more worrying perhaps was the limp performance. Jose Mourinho teams of the past, containing players like John Terry, Didier Drogba, Sergio Ramos, Claude Makelele, Javier Zanetti and Diego Milito, rarely had an issue with “appearing hungry”. These were fighters, capable of getting results when their backs were against the wall.
Exit from the Champions League is doubly-problematic for Mourinho’s men, as they surely will not qualify through the usual routes. You do not need to read sports tips on betting blogs to appreciate that Tottenham will not be finishing in the Top 4 this season. Spurs trail Chelsea by seven points with just a handful of games remaining, and the 20/1 offered by bookmakers 888sport for them to clinch a Champions League spot underlines the difficult task at hand.
Squad has regressed since Pochettino departure
But more worrying for Spurs is this simple fact: For years under Mauricio Pochettino, Tottenham always seemed to be a player or two away from being the complete package – bonafide title challengers. Can the same be said for this current crop of players? The first team needs a complete overhaul, and Mourinho does not yet seem to recognise that fact. Moreover, even if Mourinho did wish to spend, it’s always difficult to attract players without the allure of Champions League football.
It’s worth remembering that this is a team that was in the Champions League Final last year and that finished in the top three for the three previous seasons before that. Tottenham seem miles away from the optimism that surrounded the team and its future.
Mourinho, of course, will point to the injuries the side has endured, most notably to the talismanic Harry Kane. But the great sides always have squads that can cope with such setbacks. Would Harry Kane be enough to make Spurs a force again? Well, many of the team’s problems are coming from the other end of the pitch – just three clean sheets since Mourinho took charge of the club (26 games).
Mourinho has lost his touch?
Spurs look to be heading for one of the worst-case scenarios of a top footballing side; namely, there aren’t clear solutions to the problems. Manchester United have had a similar issue over the last few years, and one could argue the same for Real Madrid, albeit both sides will claim to be making some progress of late.
Again, it goes back to the point that Spurs do not seem like a side who will be okay once a star player returns from injury, or once a signing or two arrives. Much of that lies at the feet of Jose Mourinho. Is he the still the manager that can get the most out of players? We mentioned earlier his ‘fighters’ of the past. The best example was Inter Milan, a team that really had no business winning a Champions League. That Mourinho – the manager of 10 years ago – would not have gone down with a whimper at Leipzig, regardless of injuries.
In sports, you can always look foolish when making judgements on proven winners like Jose Mourinho and teams with good players like Spurs. But the road back to the Champions League and the upper echelons of English football seems like a hard one. It’s time for the Special One and Spurs to prove people wrong.
