Mourinho on Sky

[Danners9]

Here's a brief synopsis from the gg forums.

Mourinho was interviewed by Sky and the presenter Georgie Thompson said that the now more talks have taken place.

But that was the confusing point because Mourinho himself said in the interview that a third party had contacted him but it's very different to approach a coach than to approach a player.

He said it must have been a concrete offer from the men in charge (Levy and his yes men).

Thats it buts it's left me confused. The sky news presenter defo said that more talks had taken place but Mourinho didn't say that himself?

Seems to me that Mourinho might have been hinting he's the new manager.


Anyone with Sky Sports News check it out later.

[Danners9]

From Sky Sports...

Porto coach Jose Mourinho has reiterated his claim that he has been approached by a third party to become Tottenham's new manager.
Mourinho revealed earlier this year that he had discussed the possibility of taking over at White Hart Lane but he did not wish to leave Porto midway through the season.

Spurs are searching for a permanent successor to Glenn Hoddle with director of football David Pleat currently steering the ship.

The Premiership side are understood to have settled on the identity of their new boss, with Mourinho claiming he is on the short-list.

The highly-regarded tactician admits he would prefer more serious contact with a Spurs official before he would contemplate any possible offer.

Mourinho also insists he is happy with Porto but did not discount the option of coming to Spurs' rescue in the summer.

"It was a person saying that he was representing them but I believe also that in this situation with coaches and clubs it's not the same thing as a player and a club," Mourinho told Sky Sports News.

"It is different and it must be something very concrete and very real with a top person who is interested and involved in this situation."

When asked if he would consider the Spurs role, Mourinho replied: "I cannot answer that.

"What I must keep saying is I'm at a top club in Europe, I still have a contract and I'm happy.

"It's not easy to move.

"If somebody is really interested I'm always happy to speak about it.

"I have such important things to play for - the quarter finals of the Champions League, we're almost champions in Portugal and there is the Portuguese Cup final. There are so many different things."

The former assistant to Sir Bobby Robson at Barcelona admits he would be tempted by the prospect of coaching in The Premiership.

"I am working to make my club win and get opportunities to coach a great foreign club," added Mourinho to France Football.

"In one year or ten years, I don't care.

"That is not important but I can't imagine terminating my career without having tried that experience, maybe in England."

[The Double]

So, what do you guys think of all this? He is my first choice, because I think he could attract alot of talent to Spurs. I remember reading yesterday that we are after Lemerre. True?

[sendorange]

The Trapp thing seems to be dead, so Lemerre has probably been lined up as the next best available alternative. Someone who'll be happy just coaching the team and will accept not having a major role in transfers. I can't say I'd be happy with that, Lemerre didn't have a great club coaching career at all and his time as France manager was disastrous in the end. Better than Antic, but not worth writing off a whole season and then putting in charge. The club needs someone with fresh ideas and a more consistent track record.

I definitely think Mourinho must be a name in the frame and I think he should be the first choice, the worst he can do is say no, which he rather tellingly hasn't done so. If he gets the job he'll want control over transfers, and there's always the chance that come the summer someone else will move in for him. Those are probably the two stumbling blocks.

[Joe E]

Let me first say that i don't believe for a second the reports from some sections that the trapp thing has fallen through because he refused to allow pleat to handle the signings. if trap was actually interested and now isn't coming, it's not about that. levy would let trap handle the signings if it meant he's come! it's only the media who've decided levy is all into this "continenal set up" deal, and it's increasingly obvious that the media don't have a ********ing clue what's going on. like with this lemerre thing, are clearly not going to rest until they have linked us with every living manager on the planet. in fact, scrap the living part, the next story will probably be that levy has pioneered a revolutionary re-animation technique and is planning on bringing bill shankly back to life and installing him at the WHL helm. the worrying thing is, if we really did have anyone lined up, the media are clever and experienced enough to sniff it out. the fact that they clearly have no idea who our new manager is going to be leads me to suspect that levy doesn't either. my feeling is that it was going to be trap, that that fell through, though not because of the pleat thing, and that we are now totally lost. there seems to be very little concrete evidence for any of the other links. i'm afraid levy may have screwed this one up, big time. did anyone notice that in the press release the club gave about misleading media reports, they said the specualtion "will probably continue in the summer". now that means either we're not waiting for a club manger's contract to run out, because we could announce that at the start of the summer and there would be no more specualtion,or that we need to wait for trapp to be done with euro 2004, but the trapp thing now seems dodgy. so just to confirm, i have absolutely no idea, not even an inkling, who we'll get. my advice is that we stop thinking about it and bury our heads ostrich style until we see someone at a press conference.

The Trapp thing seems to be dead, so Lemerre has probably been lined up as the next best available alternative. Someone who'll be happy just coaching the team and will accept not having a major role in transfers. I can't say I'd be happy with that, Lemerre didn't have a great club coaching career at all and his time as France manager was disastrous in the end. Better than Antic, but not worth writing off a whole season and then putting in charge. The club needs someone with fresh ideas and a more consistent track record.

I definitely think Mourinho must be a name in the frame and I think he should be the first choice, the worst he can do is say no, which he rather tellingly hasn't done so. If he gets the job he'll want control over transfers, and there's always the chance that come the summer someone else will move in for him. Those are probably the two stumbling blocks.

[Danners9]

Just a quick snippet, or quickett perhaps.

Pleat was working for ITV2 in Monaco last night, and tonight Porto play in Lyon. Just up the coast.

Coincidence? Hopefully not. That's all i know though.

[jumhed]

Still, it'd be nice to have Mourinho. He said recently that he knew Postiga wouldn't succeed at Spurs because of the way we play, not along the wings but long balls up front. He's right.

As for Pleat, I've never disliked someone associated with Spurs so much in my life. I wish he'd just piss off.

[Danners9]

jumhed, put ITV text 518 on and read the C0ck-A-Doodle-Do piece on the last 2 pages.

It's all about how Pleat is a bad influence and a bad ambassador, and if it's true that managers have been "baulking at having to work with Pleat" then Pleat should just go! Quick!

(How can we have a certain bird representing us, yet i can't write it's name on the boards?!)

[DigitalTron]

Well hell, if we had gotten Convey like we rightfully should have, and then added Konchesky to play left back, we'd have hand plenty of flank service from the left. Then perhaps we could have taken some of the attention away from Carr and have solid flank play.

For the life of me, I still can't understand why we never made a move for a left back. Cole is doing very well for Arsenal, Wayne Bridge just freaking inshrined himself into the Chelsea hall of fame with his stellar Champions League performance and solid league play, then we get Konchesky, play him out of position as a midfielder, and without even trying him as a left back, let him leave. I just don't understand it. We need a Dmid, a central defender (preferably right), a left back, and a left wing mid. Surely the club sees this.

-Digital

[Danners9]

I hope they do!

The secracy is killing me, i want to know and i want to know now!

The manager thing has been ongoing since October, 6 months now. Surely something is close?!?!

Same with players, we must have been in discussions with more than just PSV and Santos. Pleaaaase!

It's all a bit too quiet for my liking, however if they all come through then it'll be ok. The club got massive stick for the failed deals in the past.

[jumhed]

jumhed, put ITV text 518 on and read the C0ck-A-Doodle-Do piece on the last 2 pages.

It's all about how Pleat is a bad influence and a bad ambassador, and if it's true that managers have been "baulking at having to work with Pleat" then Pleat should just go! Quick!

(How can we have a certain bird representing us, yet i can't write it's name on the boards?!)

I read teletext every day. Pages 518 (Spurs), 401 (onwards), 546 (Letters), and 548 (The Ref) on Tuesdays. Spurs is page 338 on C5.

And Ceefax is 302 (onwards), and 359 and 390.

Interesting that today Levy announced that no prospective manager is bothered about working with Pleat at all. They haven't even mentioned him in the discussions. Also, Levy said we're talking to two or three managers 'in case one falls through.' Makes sense I guess.

Only 5 more games 'til this shower of a season finishes and we finally find out what the tits is going on. Its been very frustrating for us fans this summer, what with the board being silent, but after the Rivaldo and Morientes hilarity, can we blame them? We got the piss taken out of us big time by everyone.

[Danners9]

I agree about the media blackout, it's quite good thinking they are squirming to find something to write about.

Levy also said he's very confident about getting the right man. So hopefully it will be the right man, in our eyes.

[DigitalTron]

According to this post: http://www.bigsoccer.com/forum/showpost.php?p=2405242&postcount=28Porto has made a protest to UEFA about Chelsea illegally approaching Mourinho. Given his phenomenal success in the UEFA Cup last year and the Champions League this year, I wouldn't be surprised to see him at Stamford Bridge. But that would rule him out for consideration at WHL. I'm sticking with my darkhorse O'Neill.


-Digital

[sendorange]

There are going to be a lot of good coaches available in the summer. Even if we can't get someone like Mourinho, him moving on opens up someone like Ranieri. It's a domino effect.

I'm still confident that we will get someone class in the summer.

[Winston Smith]

I don't know... Maybe it was Mourinho who had agreed to come to spurs all along, judging by recent comments in the media. On the spurs link posted a few days ago, Levy seemed more vague about getting their man, which would coincide with Chelsea now going after him.

I would rather have Mourinho than Ranieri, although I think this has more to do with the fact that Chelsea want him rather than any particular preference. Please god, just get someone in who can sort things out.

[RobB]

I don`t want to disappoint you but Mourinho won`t be joining Spurs. The rumour of him joining is meaningless. Coaches and players rarely reject approaches or interest in them outright, since it gives them some help when negotiating new contracts. A sort of `they`ve offered me £5m to join them, match it and I`ll stay`.

I doubt whether he was the coach Spurs had in mind a few months ago aswell. He was unknown and wouldn`t have been considered the coup Pleat suggested the new appointment would be.

Spurs could have looked an attractive option 6 months ago. Hoddle had been there a few years and they`d signed some decent players. A prospective coach may have thought they were a club waiting to take off, they could parachute in a take the credit. It`s now clear that a huge amount of work needs to be done there, beginning with at least two seasons out of the top 6 and probably trophy-less, until the groundwork starts to pay-off. Why would Mourinho swap the current UEFA cup holders and Champions league SF for that. If he`s that stupid you wouldn`t want him.

You should appoint a moderately experienced British manager like Curbishly, Strachan, Adams or Bruce.

The club though have set themselves up for an oversees coach, a may feel they`ve got to go through with it, whichever one will take the job.

[sendorange]

Appoint a Curbs or Strachan??? They're decent managers at small almost family clubs, but this club is bigger than what they've dealt with before and has too much transfer money, Spurs needs someone better coped to deal with the pressure. The club has been down the Curbs/Strachan/Bruce route many times before over the years and it has never worked out. Now the club needs someone charismatic, a proven winner and who has dealt with pressure and expectations - or alternatively a master coach and tactician. The only person like that right now is someone from overseas, that's the reality.

The club has the money to get someone class off the continent, especially at the end of the season with the domino turnover of coaches. I severely doubt it will be Mourinho now after this champions league season, although for your information the club already tapped him up several months ago and he was keen to discuss it at the end of the season, by his own public admission.

There are plenty of other fish in the sea beside Mourinho.

[Winston Smith]

Newcastle have just taken the lead... Great. Arsenal could title in three hours...

[RobB]

Now the club needs someone charismatic, a proven winner and who has dealt with pressure and expectations - or alternatively a master coach and tactician. The only person like that right now is someone from overseas, that's the reality.


I thought George Graham was the charismatic tactician and proven winner you wanted. Hoddle was supposed to be the English version of a continental coach, all tactics and flash formations. Ossie Ardilles anyone!

There isn`t alot of pressure or expectation at WHL. That shouldn`t be a consideration when appointing a new boss.

Curbs is the man for Spurs and it should be easy to see.

[sendorange]

I thought George Graham was the charismatic tactician and proven winner you wanted. Hoddle was supposed to be the English version of a continental coach, all tactics and flash formations. Ossie Ardilles anyone!

There isn`t alot of pressure or expectation at WHL. That shouldn`t be a consideration when appointing a new boss.

Curbs is the man for Spurs and it should be easy to see.
Graham charismatic and a tactician??? don't make me laugh. Hoddle had tactical knowledge but lacked the charisma.

Curbs is better off at a club like Villa or staying at Charlton. Spurs need someone better than that, expectations here are high at Spurs and given the money and location of the club, rightly so.