Can Jose Mourinho win any silverware this season with Tottenham Hotspur?
The rise of Tottenham Hotspur has been an odd one, to say the least. Unlike Manchester City, whose success can be pinpointed to an immense cash injection over the years, Tottenham has slowly but surely risen to the upper echelons of the Premier League out of sheer determiination and perseverance.
Where before they were the butt of all jokes made by their fierce rivals, Arsenal, over the last few years Tottenham have undoubtedly transcended their North London rivals in every aspect. Nevertheless, despite this rise, none of it has translated into any silverware.
Yes, they have been close, almost winning the league in the 2015/16 campaign, and narrowly losing to Liverpool in last season's UEFA Champions League final but close is not good enough.
Sooner, rather than later, their best players will start looking elsewhere if the trophy drought continues and there are no shortage of clubs who will pounce at the opportunity. Already, we can rule out their chances of a league title this year, with 4th place even looking unlikely at this point.
To make matters worse, they were eliminated from the Carabao cup earlier this season by Colchester United Therefore, there only hope of any silverware this season will either be in the, Premier League, UEFA Champions League or the FA Cup.
Their newly appointed manager is, of course, Jose Mourinho, who is a born winner and has been appointed for no other task than to give them the extra gear to go from being close losers to winners.
His resume speaks for itself, and Mourinho is perhaps the most dextrous manager in the world, who seems to be able to adapt to a variety of teams better than anyone. Whether it is the hyper attacking Real Madrid squad of the early 2010s or the more defensively minded treble-winning Inter Milan side of the late 2000s, Mourinho turned them into champions.
He may not always win pretty, but boy does he win and it seems that his appointment is exactly what Tottenham need. His last managerial stint was at Manchester United, where he won the UEFA Europa League, Community Shield and League Cup, before being sacked the season later.
As we now know, Manchester United has deep issues, so when one puts Mourinho's triumphs into context it almost seems miraculous that he was able to lead them to that trio of trophies.
That is Mourinho in a nutshell and with that in mind, maybe, just maybe he will be able to do the same with Tottenham before their best players leave and the club risks losing all that it has gained.
As mentioned earlier, Tottenham's only chances for silverware this season is in the, Premier League, UEFA Champions League and the FA Cup. Though they are yet to qualify for the knockout stages, one more win from their remaining two games will do exactly that.
But that's when the real games begin, though Tottenham was able to reach the final last season, it was by the skin of their teeth and it seems unlikely that they will be able to repeat this feat in that manner this year.
However, Tottenham's issues this season have been largely defensive ones, their attacking play has been good in the UEFA Champions League and they have scored the second-most goals this season in the competition so far, with 13 goals scored.
Mourinho can solve these issues as he is known for his ability to make defences virtually impenetrable, which bodes well for Tottenham. Nevertheless, it seems perhaps a stretch to imagine they can win the UEFA Champions League, given how far off the mark they are when compared to the other heavyweights of European football.
So maybe the UEFA Champions League will have to wait for another year. The FA Cup, however, seems like Tottenham's best hope of a title this year and to be honest it would be a great building block for them to grow from.
Their League cup catastrophe will no doubt make them more focussed against the lower league sides and the appointment of Mourinho brings a manager who not only knows how to win titles but also knows how to defeat the best English clubs.
Their main issues are, as aforementioned, defensive ones, should Mourinho drastically change this, then Tottenham will once again become a real force in football. Though it is too late to win the league title and fairly unlikely that they will win the UEFA Champions League, it is possible that Mourinho could lead them to a triumph in the FA Cup.
Nevertheless, they have a long way to go and the players should not take Mourinho's arrival lightly.
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