Where we at then?
Where we at?
Cup final. The 4th and hopefully 5th round of the FA Cup. Currently 4th (at the time of writing) in the Premier League. And then, there's our European travels to add to the potential congestion of fixtures. Success ain't easy and grafting is the number one requirement. Well that and a bit of decent football. You know, something fancy and easy on the eye. Perhaps even a bit sexy at times.
Okay, look. I don't want to dance to the same tune again. I feel like I'm caught up in a Groundhog Day here, perpetually defending the art of progression because I have to because it's not that entertaining. No doubt, I know I'm one of the original preachers of 'the Spurs way' and playing football with a bit of pomp and that our identity is the be all and end all of everything. But I want us to consolidate and validate our efforts so I sold a piece of my soul to the devil and now have to be honourable to the deal. I have to retain a sense of loyalty to Jose Mourinho. But more importantly, I have to give myself up to our players. Why? Because they have given themselves to the gaffer.
It's that simple. I'm a foot solider. One that sits on the sofa watching Sky Sports or illegally streaming games on the laptop. I'm still a solider. I'm still committed and loyal and for the most part, I'm commando (it's best to let your bits hang loose). I'm not part of a cult, I'm not drinking Kool Aid. I am just grown up about it all. I just want us to win a bloody trophy but also do so not just because of the trophy itself but because Spurs have to move on from their pretender tag and shift their mentality to the next level. Because this is modern football.
Winning an FA Cup or League Cup back in the day was enough. It isn't now. Because it's about the brand and the money and the Champions League and Zzzzzzz....you get it. It's the bane of our lives, the other deal with the television rights devil we've all been complicit in. The one where we all pretend we haven't handed over bits of our soul; wanting elite players and elite signings whilst also wanting to take domestic cups seriously whilst also begging for CL football qualification.
I think it's very easy this. Very easy. The deal I made with Mourinho and his short-term principles. He wants to win things, he wants to manage a team of winners, make them winners. It won't be pretty to watch. But it's results that matter to him and at this point it's the results that matter to the players too. They want to be winners. More so than our demand for free flowing football. And maybe another coach could have us playing like Brazil 1970 but the risk would be we'd end up with nothing - and then fans would bemoan it all once more because 'we can't win ugly'.
With Jose, the risk isn't as high because the football doesn't allow it to be. The football contains that risk and keeps it protected. It's like chess, it's boring but it's high level problem solving with very little dire physical consequences. For the players. For us, it's a bit too passive and the consequence is a touch of boredom. Here and there, it's not exclusive to every game (even if Twitter tells you it is). But Jose is a winner and you can't get both things with him. It's irrelevant what you might want or get with a theoretical appointment of some hipster manager.
Now the reason why fans are losing their metaphorical sh*t is because, well, it's because of the bit where I look like a hypocrite. You know, the whole 'journey' thing. Remember when some miserable fans would attack Pochettino Era football and claim 'we won nothing so the rest of it doesn't matter'. And then fans like me would say 'mate, you what? It's about the football and the journey and believing in what might be; that's where the magic exists'.
I would like to refer you back to my soul-sale to Mourinho.
The journey, the moments, the football, the limbs (on the sofa) is the bread and butter of our experience, for sure. But I sold a part of my soul because I want a little bit more. I need a master of the dark arts to do dark magic and get us across that fabled finishing line. And by doing so, I have to be accepting.
Also, the state of our football is greatly exaggerated. Plenty of isolationisms. A quote I've enjoyed recently is that people try to make permanent conclusions from temporary situations. This is apt for right now.
Mourinho will never change us. At a basic fundamental level, it's impossible to do so. We're not a blank canvas of a football club like some of our neighbouring rivals. See this entire appointment as an experiment of sorts. Not a long term project that curates our heritage and traditions. But one that can exorcise our demons by using a demon of our own; a passing entity that has possessed us, that won't stay for long but might galvanise a part of our psyche that has been long forgotten and lost. That part that knows how to win.
Where are we at?
We're in the midst of doing dirty things that will ironically cleanse us from the inability to do good things and win, that always end up being truly ugly in conclusion. And if Mourinho fails and there is no journey to look back on then we can go back to losing with beautiful majesty and be the Tottenham we have always known. The one with the echo of glory in failure that will have you shouting down Levy to appoint a manager that knows how to win.
COYS