The Lilywhites endured a true transfer disaster with one “useless” Jose Mourinho signing.
Tottenham Hotspur have been beaten on more than one occasion despite their best efforts to shake off their silverware deadlock.
In fact, Daniel Levy even recently made some questionable decisions, clearly motivated by a desire to get rid of the trophy-dodging monkey, saying in a recent fan forum: “I went through a period where we were almost together with Mauricio. We. lived through really good times. We didn’t get there , but we came very close and we had a change of strategy, the strategy was: “Let’s bring the trophy driver”. “We did it twice and it seems you have to learn from your mistakes. They are great managers but maybe not for this club.”
This kind of acknowledgment of past failures is admirable, but it’s a lot easier when Ange Postecoglou has already restored the feel-good factor in North London. Based on the positivity of Australia’s tenure, it has always been well received.
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Therefore, the 62-year-old businessman cannot be definitively judged for his past failures, which condemned the fan base to years of ridicule.
One such example is his appointment and subsequent handling of Jose Mourinho. He hired the legendary Portuguese tactician, who has a record winning trophy at every club he has overseen. Despite the rocky nature with which they reached the EFL Cup final in 2021, the decision to sack the current AS Roma man before playing was laughable.
In truth, his tenure in N17 did not scream dynasty building…
Who did Jose Mourinho sign for Spurs? The 60-year-old’s signings were enough to suggest the former Chelsea boss had few plans to stay long-term as he wanted to acquire proven talent to act immediately.
Stars like Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Giovani Lo Celso and Sergio Reguilon were all right, but the latter two struggled to make an impact in their early years. Even Gareth Bale’s loan deal, which brought him back to north London seven years after the world record, screamed of the “win it now” mentality mentioned by Levy.
However, probably the biggest disappointment of all these names was the signing of Matt Doherty, who marked a smart first strike for Wolverhampton Wanderers.
The Ireland international has shone at Molineux for years but was able to take advantage of a dwindling contract and was brought in for just £15m. Ireland leader Stephen Kenny welcomed the move, apparently unaware of the impending disaster. He remarked: “It’s certainly an interesting move for Matt, who has been a terrific servant for Wolves. He is one of the best quarterbacks, he really likes the game.
“His number of passes and he scores goals at full-back, when your full-back scores goals and scores goals, that’s a real asset. I think that’s a big asset and a lot for Tottenham.”
However, he did not play offensively as first team opportunities were limited, although he scored eight goals in the Old Gold League last year.
Just two Premier League assists all season scratched the surface of his mediocrity in his debut season, and the 31-year-old’s lack of defensive awareness didn’t mesh nearly as well with Mourinho’s solid and determined system. Reporter Gareth Davies describes his amazement at how poorly the rout has gone under such a protective boss: “It’s almost impressive at this point that whatever the opposition and the situation, Matt Doherty is completely useless.”
It was therefore a surprise that the defender almost outlasted the tenure of two other permanent managers before meeting his north London counterpart. Why did Matt Doherty leave Spurs? The manner in which Doherty left was extraordinary and only highlighted the harsh unpredictability of the club.
Antonio Conte complained at the start of the season that the system did not have a defender “the right way to start the game”, so he prepared to go out on loan for the rest of the 2022/23 campaign. with Atletico Madrid.
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After signing all the papers for the former Bury loanee’s trip to Spain, Spurs realized they had used up eight outgoing loan places with the temporary departure of Djed Spence to Rennes.
So they had to settle for canceling his contract and he was unveiled as a new player for the red and whites shortly after a free transfer. How did Matt Doherty fare after he left Spurs? It’s fair to say that since leaving England, Doherty has barely recaptured the form that saw the Lilywhites sign him in the first place.
After all, he only made two La Liga appearances for Madrid, neither of which was a start, before he was on the move again.
Having spent ten years of his career with Wolves, it made sense for him to return to the Midlands when they needed him. Julen Lopetegui has been frustrated by a lack of transparency over his finances and the 37-man ace marked a smart free transfer for them to bolster a tight-knit squad that has been somewhat eroded by a difficult summer window. Matt Doherty and Rayan Ait-Nouri
However, it’s fair to say that his performances in the league have been nothing short of amazing, with an average rating of 6.40 on Sofascore suggesting it’s far from the romantic return he probably envisioned.
Even reporter Dean Jones expressed his surprise that Doherty could cope with a lack of playing minutes in a relegation-threatened team. Speaking to GIVEMESPORT, he said: “At that point you felt he had to have a specific plan in this team. If he was going to come back, he knew where he fit in, but he didn’t have that many minutes. . . I think it is quite surprising, frankly.
Although Mourinho’s tenure seems long forgotten, with most of his signings far from the first team, it marked a particularly frustrating signing given the manner in which he left. You can get away with nothing for lack of guidance, lack of hope, lack of faith from the manager, the hope will be that under Postecoglou they can remove such foolish moves from their repertoire and seek to build towards a brighter, more incisive future with the former Celtic boss spearheading such a charge.
