Tottenham Hotspur have managed to recapture iconic Lilywhites hero Gareth Bale on a loan deal from Real Madrid (Source SkySports.com).

It is a move that could really define Jose Mourinho’s tenure as Tottenham’s manager.

When Bale originally left Spurs in a whopping £86m deal in 2013, he left a fan favourite having scored 55 goals in 203 appearances and getting them back into the Champions League.

The forward then went on to win thirteen trophies with the mighty Madrid, scoring 105 times during his seven years in Spain. In the big games, like Champions League finals, Bale would prove to be a difference maker.

Yet he was never universally liked at the La Liga giants. Gareth seemed to enjoy a somewhat lukewarm relationship with star-man Cristiano Ronaldo, the fans turned on him and coach Zinedine Zidane never really trusted Bale either.

Spurs went on to establish themselves as a top European side under then coach Mauricio Pochettino and even got a Champions League final themselves in 2019, which they’d lose to fellow Premier League side Liverpool.

The wheels came off last season though, with Pochettino binned after a poor start to the season and his replacement Jose Mourinho couldn’t guide Spurs higher than sixth spot.

Mourinho was brought to North London because he has been a serial winner as a coach. The Portuguese self proclaimed ‘Special One’ has won a trophy at every job he’s held since his successful FC Porto days in the early 2000s.

Tottenham are seen as the nearly men of English football at the moment. They haven’t won any silverware since their League Cup triumph in 2008.

It is no secret that Spurs have brought Jose to the Tottenham Hotspur stadium with the view of bringing trophies back to their newly built home.

The squad clearly has potential. They aren’t over the hill and they have a very strong spine. A big question is do they have the right mentality to kill games off and win trophies?

Jose himself has posed that question that to his players, as seen on their Amazon documentary.

Mourinho has always admired Gareth Bale.

In 2017, Jose publicly stated he wanted the Welshman to sign for him at Manchester United:

“If he is not in the club’s plans, that with the arrival of another player would mean he was on his way out, I will try to be waiting for him on the other side and fight with other coaches that would want him.”

Mourinho Via The Guardian

We all know that Mourinho loves players that are experienced in winning trophies. He thinks that will rub off on the others, hence his determination to get Zlatan Ibrahimovic to Old Trafford.

It also makes a big statement to bring a fans favourite back to Tottenham as the supporters aren’t sure when it comes to Jose. The North London side still seem disjointed under their new manager and he isn’t getting the best out of promising players like Dele Alli and Tanguay Ndombele.

Mourinho usually likes his teams to show passion and play with a solid backline, yet Spurs have been missing that since his arrival.

Maybe he had an excuse last term as he came into the hot-seat during the middle of a campaign. But last week in his team’s opening league game of this season they were often out played and out fought against Everton. The players simply looked disinterested.

It had the Spurs faithful once again questioning the club’s decision to bring in Jose Mourinho.

But then the Gareth Bale transfer was announced and that has come with jubilation from the support. It has also looks to have rejuvenated the Spurs players, who went to Southampton today and beat their hosts in a 5-2 victory (Match report Tottenhamhotspur.com).

Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son were in particularly fine form and they must be looking forward to having Bale join them in the front-line.

The interesting thing is what happens now with Tottenham Hotspur and whether Gareth Bale can come in and keep the momentum going?

Bale’s impact on his return to English football could prove to be the making or breaking of Jose Mourinho.

If the superstar forward can rediscover his midas touch and help the manager deliver results and trophies, then Mourinho will become a legend in north as well as south London.

If Bale struggles to keep fit and be a difference maker in the key games and Spurs suffer, then I think the Lilywhite fans could demand Jose’s removal and a return to a more entertaining style of football.

Posted on September 20th, 2020 by scott
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