The Wayward One: Spurs’ Deepening Off-Field Crisis Will Surely Have A Lasting Impact

Upon his presentation as Tottenham manager in the now seemingly distant, other-worldly speck on the space-time continuum that was November 2019, José Mourinho came up with one of those idiosyncratic, wonderfully quotable José-isms that never cease to mesmerize the media gaggle that follows his every move.

“Every club I go to,” he said with that knowing smirk on his face and twinkle in his eye, “I arrive, I wear the pyjamas of the club and I even sleep with the pyjamas. I work and I sleep in the tracksuit and pyjamas.”  

That smile and glint in the eye may have faded in recent months, but as it turns out he really meant what he said; he does do everything in club colours.

On Tuesday afternoon, José stepped out fully-tracksuited onto Hadley Common, a pleasant bit of green land on the salubrious fringes of north London. With Tottenham’s, Watford’s and Arsenal’s training grounds nearby and ostentatious mansions (think faux-Greek pillars and gratuitous water features) lining the winding roads, Hadley is a prime location for those seeking sightings of the lesser-spotted Premier League footballer and/or manager.

Yet José, on Tuesday, should very much not have been spotted there. Or at the very least, he should not have been spotted there doing what he was doing.

Photos and videos that sprang up on social media later that afternoon showed Mourinho sidling up to Tanguy Ndombelé and two other players in his purple, Nike-ticked, cockerel-emblazoned leggings, clearly and obviously flouting the government’s regulations on social distancing.

The club quickly moved to reprimand him. A spokesperson was quoted by the Guardian as saying; “All of our players have been reminded to respect social distancing when exercising outdoors. We shall continue to reinforce this message.”

Mourinho has now admitted he was wrong to lead a group training session in the midst of a global pandemic (which begs the question: didn’t you think about that before, José?) and apologised. “It is vital we all play our part and follow government advice in order to support our heroes in the NHS and save lives”, he said. Well, quite.

The problem is, no apology now will undo the damage. For Spurs, it is another unfortunate episode to add to a growing list.

When football was put on hold a little over three weeks ago, it seemed as if the pause may have come at a good time for Tottenham. They were deep in an on-pitch crisis, having been dumped out of Europe by RB Leipzig, beaten on penalties by Norwich in the FA Cup and limped to a dire draw with Burnley. Mourinho was calling out his players – Ndombele, most notably – and was himself being castigated in the media.

A break, perhaps, would give them time to gather their thoughts and regroup, as well as giving Harry Kane and Heung-min Son time to recover from injury.

Yet over the last ten days, even without a ball being kicked in anger, that image of an institution in turmoil has only intensified. Everyone, it seems, is pulling in a different direction. It does not bode well for when things do get back to a state vaguely resembling the normality to which we were once accustomed.

First came their captain Harry Kane admitting that his love for Spurs is not unconditional. In a live chat on social media, he put the fear of god into fans by saying, “If I don’t feel we’re progressing as a team or going in the right direction, I’m not someone to stay there for the sake of it.”

Next was Daniel Levy’s decision to cut the wages of all of Tottenham’s 550 non-playing staff by 20% and place some of them on the British government’s furlough scheme, saying that it was necessary to preserve the club’s finances in light of the playing squad’s delay in agreeing a wage reduction. Levy’s action and accompanying statement were widely criticised in the British press, and rightly so.

Finally, Mourinho’s blunder; a mistake so blindingly obvious that you really have to question whether he wanted to get caught doing something stupid. If that is the case, then why?

Did he want to make a point to fans and the club hierarchy that he and the players are still hard at work? The fact that he chose the overweight, out-of-form Tanguy Ndombele to break quarantine rules with would back up that theory. Or is it one of those Mourinho ploys we saw at the back end of his reign as Manchester United manager; a loud and not particularly subtle public appeal for the club to fire him?

Whatever the case may be, the atmosphere around Hotspur Way will not be the homeliest when Spurs reconvene after the coronavirus crisis has abated. The support staff, coming back after a spell on reduced wages, will resent the directors, who will blame the supposedly greedy players, who are being criticised by the wayward manager, who has displeased Daniel Levy and may even be looking for the sack.

From the promise of a spell to rest, regroup and reset, this postponement period has now become a damage-limitation exercise for the Tottenham top brass. But surely that damage has already been too great not to have a lasting impact.