Levy, Mourinho, the Super-league, greed and elitism (all wrapped up in a billion-pound note)

 

Levy, Mourinho, the Super-league, greed and elitism (all wrapped up in a billion-pound note)

Who would have Adam & Eve'd it… he's gone… no, not Levy, Jose.

By Don Scully

Before we go into my piece, I've got some breaking news first for you:

Breaking news: Arsenal have decided not to participate in the new European Superleague of Rich-Playboy-Types. However, they will be starting their own breakaway league with just themselves (far easier to manage, they believe).

The books currently have them as second-favourites to win their league. 

Now to something completely different:

Shock horror, the Levy chosen one has gone, like all the other 14 managers before him… left with no trophies to their name (at least at Spurs). Well, apart from Juande Ramos, who was then quickly sacked for his troubles.  Yes, the year was 2008 when the heavens opened up and delivered a trinket for us poor sods to worship. Since then, Levy has been able to dine out on that success. Thirteen years later, he looks back to those days with a fond memory. Ahhhhh! Those were the days! I am sure he remembers those times when he used to polish the League Cup's silver. Now all he has is his own balls to polish… and some say, much bigger than the trophy he used to personally polish… but I don't believe it!

Levy's decision to tickle his ivories and sack Jose Mourinho is a shock when measured by its timing - but hardly a surprise if you judge the path of travel he took with the team and where we stand at the moment.

Clever-Levy proclaimed in a loud-whisper that Mourinho was given the golden boot while hiding under a landslide of shit of criticism for the club's move to join a new billionaires-special-elite-clubs called a European Super League for the privilege.  All this comes five days (and counting downwards) before our team face the City slickers in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley on Sunday.

Fearless Levy's bold strategy – the brains behind our one trophy in 20 years – to sack his Chosen one, who guided the team to within one game of our first major trophy since he last polished the silverware back in 2008.

When Levy sacked the hugely popular Mauricio Pochettino in November 2019, only six months after he took us to a Champions League final where we sadly lost 2-0 to a poor Liverpool side, Mourinho was seen as the logician with a track record of success who would succeed in one area where his predecessor had failed; trophies.

Would Mourinho have brought a trophy to our new stadium, the first time in 13 years? We'll never know as Levy did what Levy always does best…  shoot and sack before engaging the brains pathways of money.

As we Spurs fans know, our motto is "To Dare Is To Do", and Levy has taken that to heart by behaving like a jackass and doing and daring out of madness… the power is in the sacking… not giving decent monies to his manages to compete with the best. As for Mourinho, well, he leaves having done very little Daring or Doing in his 17 months at the club. As for Levy, if nothing else, he is predictable.

 

Daniel Levy was trusting in Mourinho discovering his old super-powers and our supporters being gullible enough to accept a slightly less exciting brand of football than we had witnessed under Pochettino in exchange for real success. When he went, Levy could only offer "things have not worked out as we both envisaged," and then probably thought…  sod it! Who's the Daddy here?

What next, now the chosen one has gone (Jose, not Daniel)

The double-quick nature of Mourinho's sacking suggests Levy has had a hallucination of his successor; how speedily the appointment is made is still under question as Ryan Mason took training on Monday and for the rest of the season (which is nearly over).

So, who are the obvious candidates?

Well, there is RB Leipzig's Julian Nagelsmann (aged 33), who is regarded as one of the brightest young coaches around, however, Bayern Munich might be interested in him as well. As their coach, Hansi Flick announced his intention to leave. Bayern Munich may be a far more attractive proposition than Levy's unpredictability. Then there is Brendan Rodgers and my favourite Nuno Espirito Santo, who has also been touted. I thought he had done a reasonable job, considering Wolves low status.

Atletico Madrid's Diego Simeone continues to do a superb job but would his style of football be any more acceptable than Mourinho's? Rafael Benitez is out of work and could be on Levy's mind (amongst all the billions of pounds floating around in there).

Whoever we pick it will be of enormous importance for Levy and us fans. Levy got it wrong with Mourinho, as he has done with all his other 14 managers - at a time of such disorder in the game and risks being so high, he cannot afford to get it wrong again (but then again, he is Levy!).

I had said in a previous article that sacking Mourinho isn't the issue, but Levy. He may regard himself as a great businessman/ creator, but he is no shepherd over his flock of football sheep.

But like everything else – this Superleague is a good example – we, the fans, are just susceptible to Levy's (and billionaire owners) tantrums. He/ they know we are just fodder or plaster for the wealthy owners to mould to their bizarre pleasures.

By Don Scully