There was great shock amongst Spurs fans when Jose Mourinho took over from Mauricio Pochettino last year. Much of the concern which so many fans had was that Pochettino had made so many fans fall in love with the club again, and there was a genuine concern that Jose Mourinho would leave the club in worse shape that what he found it. This was certainly the thoughts which me and fellow Spurs fan Cashier Myricks, my podcast partner, had. Over the last 12 months however, it is fair to say that a great number of fans have changed their view on Jose Mourinho, so what exactly was it about the Portuguese manager that forced this change? Let’s take a look.
Transfer Policy
Everyone knew, including Jose that when he took over he would not be given the kind of funds which he had at the likes of Real Madrid and Manchester United. With this being said, nobody would have anticipated that Mourinho would have been able to make the moves in the transfer window which he was able to. Mourinho brought in 6 players including Gareth Bale which were all of high quality and who all have been able to add something to what Spurs are looking to do here. This alone has won over a greta number of fans.
Behavior
We have seen a great deal of Mourinho-ism since he has come to the club but the toxic and negative manager which so many anticipated has yet been unseen. And so this behavior is something else which makes a lot of Spurs fans genuinely think that he may have changed his ways somewhat. The worst of Mourinho was the man we saw at Real Madrid, that man seems to have been left very much in the past.
Amazon Documentary
The Amazon documentary didn’t exactly show Spurs at their best but something which we can certainly say about it is that Jose Mourinho came off looking very good indeed. Whether it was telling Alli that he was lazy or telling Serge Aurier that he was dangerous in the box, fans could see that Mourinho was feeling the same thing as them, and actively trying to fix it.
Bringing Bale Back
There is no doubt that bringing Gareth Bale back was an absolute masterstroke and this again is something which so many have praised Mourinho for. The point is that although this deal was probably brokered by Daniel Levy, rather than Jose, the pull of having Jose Mourinho as the manager was strong enough to bring the Welshman back for a shock move. This is certainly something which made sure that Mourinho was in the good graces of the fans.
Ultimately this has been a very different Mourinho yet one who still brings that belief about him that great things can happen with Spurs. This has once again made Spurs fans believe, in a different way than last time but still have that true sense that this could be the man to eventually see the Lilywhites lift a trophy.
