One football revolution has failed, but only new ideas can save Jose Mourinho

Good riddance, European Super League. We thankfully barely knew you in your brief existence, and yet you have managed to leave an indelible stain on the beautiful game.

So many prominent people spoke and wrote so passionately about this diabolical scheme which, coupled with the unquantifiable levels of disgust from fans, helped to put the ESL to bed before it could get going.

This coup was always going to result in casualties. Ed Woodward is the first of those as he prepares to step down as Manchester United executive vice-chairman, the announcement of his departure coming in those glorious few hours on Tuesday evening when the whole concept fell apart. It was a sporting drama the likes of which we have never seen before.

More casualties are anticipated to follow on from Woodward and the apologies issued look unlikely to derail football from the path it is being set on, one which could shift the balance of power back towards the supporters.

This is an opportunity for the sport to change, and that goes for everyone on the inside and outside of football. One man who could do with getting a good sniff of the hint of revolution that is in the air is one Jose Mourinho.

Lost in the cacophony of noise that was Monday’s media storm surrounding the European Super League was the news that Mourinho and Tottenham’s relationship had come to an end after just 17 months.

The Special One has the honour of being the only manager in European Super League history to be sacked, and departs with Spurs still very much in the race for fourth and with the EFL Cup final just a matter of days away.

The timing of his exit was strange, to say the least, but it is clear the club could no longer stomach Mourinho’s now well-worn antics.

The Portuguese’s tenure at Tottenham was his shortest in terms of games managed since he was Leiria coach nearly 20 years ago, while his 1.64 points-per-game average was the worst of his managerial career. If that wasn’t bad enough, Mourinho’s points-per-game average ranks him below the likes of Tim Sherwood and Andre Villas-Boas when it comes to recent Spurs managers.

Exasperated by the extra pressures put on life by Covid, the Tottenham squad quickly tired of Mourinho’s negative approach and public criticism, leaving them longing for the once-hated double training session days of Mauricio Pochettino’s time in charge.

It was clearly a mistake for Spurs to move so far away from the Pochettino model when appointing Mourinho and it would be a surprise if they don’t try to rectify that by going for a more forward-thinking head coach at the end of the season. Warm favourite Julian Nagelsmann is the obvious choice but other options in the same mould are available if they can’t get the sought-after German.

While Spurs’ path to their new manager is clear, Mourinho’s next move is not so obvious. For the first time since his early days as a coach, the 58-year-old has left a club without having delivered silverware, a blemish that will take some hard work to scrub off. By the time he takes his next job, he will be well into his longest spell without a trophy since his maiden success at Porto in 2003.

Following his worst managerial stint in the Premier League, Mourinho’s methods are again under scrutiny and right now it appears unlikely he’ll get another job at a top English club. Football has moved on from his glory days at Porto, Chelsea and Inter but he’s reluctant to move with it and that will need to change if the four-time coach of the year is to get another shot at the big time.

With football potentially on the verge of a major shake-up, now is the perfect opportunity for Mourinho to re-invent himself.

Norwich's top-flight return is a timely lesson

In a week when club mismanagement at the highest level has been exposed on an epic scale, it would be remiss not to praise the excellent work Norwich City have done in bouncing back to the Premier League at the first time of asking.

Henry Ford once said that “the only real mistake is the one from which we learn nothing” and it is clear Norwich learnt plenty from a disastrous 2019-20 season in which they went down with the sixth-lowest points total in Premier League history.

The usual response to being the basement dwellers of the Premier League is to sack your head coach. Instead, Daniel Farke kept his job, breaking a 14-year hiring-and-firing cycle by those sides who finished bottom in the process.

Sporting director Stuart Webber then went about giving Farke the tools to succeed, overhauling the squad by bringing in 11 new players at the same time as making an estimated £39m profit in the summer transfer window via the sales of Ben Godfrey and Jamal Lewis.

The end result speaks for itself as Norwich wrapped up promotion with five games to spare, while a second Championship title in three years looks set to follow.

Having got themselves into financial turmoil in the past, Norwich have realised sustainability has to be the number one priority as a club. Will it mean they are battling against relegation again next season? More than likely, but if the alternative is getting yourself into more and more debt until you have to sell your soul to an investment bank that is financing a breakaway league to pay the bills, so be it.

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