So Nov 19, Jose waltzed into our club and took his first interview. It was 40 mins. Some quotes from the first 15.
"The potential of the cub is huge, the potential of the players is great"
"The reason why I came was because the vision Daniel Levy put in front of me and the quality of the players and the quality of the squad"
"It's not about myself, it's about the players"
Q: "Do you think you're a new improved Jose?" A" I think so."
"I realized during my career I made mistakes and I'm not going make the same mistakes. I'm going to make new mistakes."
"I'm ready to support the players. This is not about me........I'm in a period where it's not about me. It's about my club, my players, my fans....it's not about me"
Q"What do you intend to do different this time" A "I am humble....."When I put the mgt team together it was about knowing there was nobody else to blame"
"Sometimes you have to work with people you don't love.....and work well"
"The people that work with you and for you need to share your principles...and I cannot change them.....one of these principles is I don't like to lose"
Intriguing stuff !!!
Intriguing yes, but we can't build a strategy on a chameleon.
I'm still scratching my head after all this time trying to decide if Jose was a strategic appointment i.e. a change in footballing philosophy from the Poch era, a change in transfer decision making and an uplift on spending or whether he was purely tactical based on his 'new man' not the old character approach that he sold the media and us on..so was he supposed to be the catalyst that influenced decision making both off and on the field?
If it was, why is the recruitment/player acquisition team unchanged? If he wasn't, why is he here and are our expectations of him unrealistic?
What did the Tottenham board expect him to do; deconstruct the squad whilst maintaining a top 4 finish whilst building a team/squad capable of winning silverware with the sort of funding that we should have been enjoying by now?
Was that realistic, if it was, is it really now that he's reverted to type and the key performance targets are looking unlikely to be achieved, still worth persevering with him?
If it was a strategic one i.e. he's here no matter what until the DNA of our club has been transformed into a winning one e.g. money+new playing style+better/easier to attract top players. Does a new playing style mean weaning fans off of our historically more attractive attempt at football as well?
So will Levy hold his nerve - is this what Jose says he cannot change within the club?
If it was a tactical one, i.e. win something/anything without a fundamental restructuring (and bring in a Bale at £20 mill costs for a season or two) in our decisions making in all departments and/or change in our recruitment policies and wage structure, then it screams - expect conflict within the club and don't be surprised if the fan base gives up believing in the club and the manager.
I've never known a period where so many fans are exclaiming their intention to give up on the club, and even when able to, say they won't return if Jose is still in charge.
To me, we are now not one thing or the other, yes Coovid has had a huge impact on our ability to spend and plans to spend, so can we really still want to hold onto a man who only thrives when it's all about him and all about conflict - a man not known since his early days of Porto for building a winning team, but well known for being able to buy one, and expects and expected to be able to compete to buy the best?
Circumstances have changed, we are now financially straightened.
When that happens unless you can quickly get your finances back on track, you have to adjust your strategy and do it clinically and quickly. we're now looking rudderless and clueless - Jose continues to exclaim dismay at our defensive errors, but seemingly has no ability to end them.
With this strategic view and framework methodology, where does Jose fit?
He's a big spend manager and now cannot fulfill the role envisaged, logically he has to go, if that is the case, the end of the season is the right time for us to part, even if he does by some miracle overcome Manc in the final. The value of a sentimental fillip because of an isolated piece of poor value silverware cannot hide the demise of the strategic way forward which was seemingly envisaged when he was appointed.
We may be forced into trying to find another unicorn like Poch for the next 3-4 years until we can once again plan to spend with the big boys...but it's got to be better than the damage and division that is being caused amongst the fans and even the players surely?
