Is Jose Mourinho still the special one?
Tottenham Hotspur have now gone 5 consecutive games without a victory and the mood in North London isn't that great. Spurs were on a 4-match losing streak before facing Burnley at Turf Moor and the streak may have extended as Burnley took the lead at home through a Chris Wood goal but Mourinho's men were able to salvage a draw via a Dele Alli penalty in the second half. It has been a tricky period for the club but even the sternest of Spurs fans will agree to the fact that the club should've done better.
Tottenham crashed out of the FA Cup recently, following a defeat at the hands of Norwich City in the 5th Round. The Canaries prevailed over the North London outfit in a nail-biting penalty shootout which now means that Spurs are most likely to end the season without any silverware. Norwich’s victory assures that there would be no Jose Mourinho-Manchester United reunion in the last 8 of the competition; instead it will be Norwich city who shall be facing The Red Devils for a place in the semi-finals. It would've been a mouth-watering prospect to witness Mourinho take on the man who replaced him at Old Trafford, Ole Gunnar Solksjær. The Norwegian, on the other hand, must be ecstatic as the Red Devils breezed past Derby County to reach the last 8 of the famous cup competition before securing a double over arch-rivals, Manchester City in the Premier League.
Tottenham have endured a disappointing season and there are a lot of people to blame. Spurs were truly magnificent under Mauricio Pochettino who guided them to their first-ever Champions League final last term where they lost out Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool. The Argentine's deeds in the previous season raised the bar high and his failure to do justice to the expectations led to his sacking in November and that's when Mourinho took the reins.
Mourinho came in with a point to prove but as things stand, the 'Special One' has not really enhanced Tottenham’s performance this season. The side is not in the top 4 right now and not many people have been impressed by his tactics at Spurs. They’ve been decent at times but nowhere near the dynamic side they were when Pochettino was at the helm. To add to Mourinho's misery, the side is on the verge Champions League exit having lost the home leg against RB Leipzig in their Round of 16 clash.
Chelsea, Manchester United and now Spurs. Mourinho has coached 3 of the most famous English clubs in a span of 4 years. Time and again the Portuguese has looked out of ideas and it won't be wrong to say that he has often looked like a pale shadow of his former self. The man who once masterminded Porto’s sensational UEFA Champions League triumph is now struggling to cope with the intensity of the Premier league. He did win trophies at United but he never really made them look like a force to be reckoned with. Ardent followers of the game will certainly agree to the fact that the Red Devils have played better football under Solksjær and the decision to part ways with Mourinho wasn't that wrong after all.
The former Porto manager has now been in charge of 25 games at Tottenham Hotspur, out of which he has guided them to victory on just 11 occasions. To complete the tally, 6 games have ended in a draw while 8 defeats have been met on the course. These numbers don't really set the stage on fire and it does raise one simple question- Is Jose Mourinho still the special one? Maybe, next season will give a definitive answer.
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