The six stages of a Jose Mourinho managerial meltdown

[ASFN Admin]

Is history beginning to repeat itself for Jose Mourinho? At each of his clubs, the Portuguese manager’s tenure has infamously followed a similar trajectory — and there are signs that he is now going through a similar process at Tottenham Hotspur. Tottenham have lost five of their last six league games, with Sunday’s defeat at West Ham United leaving them ninth in the Premier League table. They have lost eight matches this season, which is the most games Mourinho has lost in a season since 2015/16, when he was sacked by Chelsea after nine league defeats. Historically, Mourinho has tended to instantly improve a team before gradually losing control of the dressing room and falling out with key players or executives (or both) and ultimately leaving under a cloud. There can be no doubt that Tottenham improved last season, after Mourinho replaced Mauricio Pochettino, and it was not so long ago that they were considered genuine title contenders. But the speed of their decline in recent weeks has been alarming, as has Mourinho’s treatment of some of his key attacking players. It is not beyond Mourinho’s managerial powers to rescue this campaign. They are in the final of the League Cup, meaning that Mourinho could soon provide them with the silverware they have been craving, and they are going strong in the Europa League. But the signs are not good, and their league performances have been far from entertaining. A long-running problem for Mourinho is that, without results, there is little for him to fall back on. So how does this season at Tottenham compare to the final stages of his previous jobs?

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