A Mourinho Masterclass: Can Tottenham Hotspur Really win the Title?

Tottenham Hotspur are the surprise leaders of the Premier League after matchday 9, following their convincing win against a toothless looking Manchester City side after goals by Son Heung-min and Giovani Lo Celso.

Spurs have looked like a real force under Jose Mourinho this season and despite having lost on the opening day against Everton, the club have looked near faultless since and put themselves into serious contention for the title early on.

Results such as when the squandered 3-0 to West Ham United's incredible 3-3 comeback have shown the Lilywhites are still far from the finished product, however, given the nature of 2020, we know truly anything can happen.

In truth, Spurs have answered most of the questions that have been posed to them so far. Many have questioned whether Mourinho's men have what it takes against the 'Big Six', but, in the two games they’ve played against those sides, they hammered Manchester United 6-1 at Old Trafford, and brushed aside City last weekend, showing varied styles of play, which bodes well if they’re to have any chance of taking the title for the first time since 1961, which is priced at 5/1.

The question of whether or not the north London side can win the title needs to be split into two parts, it seems: the Mourinho effect and the Spurs effect. We know Mourinho can win the title, as he did so three times at Chelsea in just five years with the club, with the third triumph coming 10 years after his first, proving he is a match for any league in any generation.

However, the Spurs effect is one that casts a shadow. The club have been in title races in recent times but fell at the last few hurdles on each one, with phrasing like 'bottling it' being plastered across the club's modern day history.

But this time, everything seems to be aligning just right - can Spurs genuinely win the Premier League?

Without fans in the stadiums, freak results have been so regular it's now become the norm for a title contender to lose to somebody outside the top 10, as without the atmosphere, some teams look to be freezing upon the prospects of not having the added momentum. The likes of Sheffield United and Burnley - clubs which thrive on their home turf - can barely buy a win right now, with the Blades, in particular, looking a distant memory from their 2019/20 form, where Bramhall Lane helped carry the club into the top 10.

On the other hand, the likes of Spurs are thriving with a manager who is known for having an immaculate defensive structure, which simply just needs the air to breathe to feel success, and no fans has stopped that suffocation. The Portuguese manager has the freedom to play in whichever style he wants, as there aren’t any fans to show dismay or lose patience at his team for not having the ball, as his side had just four shots to City’s 22 last time out, with just 34% possession.

As well as this, the stern defensive display Mourinho’s men showed last weekend which further demonstrated why they have the best defensive record in the league, conceding just 9 times, they also have the second-best attack, only one goal shy of Chelsea’s 22 goal tally.

With no fans to heckle the team and nobody to chant against Mourinho, it seems the ex-Chelsea manager is able to perfect his blueprint to success once again. Perhaps no fans and little pressure is just what he needed to get back to winning ways, something he was unable to thrive on at Manchester United, with expectation through the roof and 75,000+ fans demanding three points week in, week out.

Mourinho's defensive tactics are thriving in this new normal of football, but what about the forwards? Well it's simple, Son and Harry Kane are as good as we've seen in the league so far and they still have a one Gareth Bale sat on the bench, who is still yet to establish himself as a regular.

Both Son and Kane have been nothing short of lethal this season. The South Korean has scored nine goals thus far, which is only bettered by Dominic Calvert-Lewin, whilst Kane has a staggering nine assists, with eight of them coming for Son.

At the same time, Kane has scored seven goals in nine games which has meant he has had the most goal involvements of any Premier League player in history after the first nine games - Kane to finish as top goal scorer in the Premier League and Spurs to win it is 14/1, whilst his Golden Boot odds are now leading the way down at 3/1.

It's simple right now, if these two can stay fit and work in Bale to some extent, records could be shattered, nets will bulge and points will get racked up. A factor that will also significantly help Spurs this season, is the large amount of depth they have in the forward areas too, as Steven Bergwijn, Lucas Moura and Carlos Vinicius are all high profile options who can take the strain off Kane and Son.

It will certainly be fascinating viewing to see how far this Tottenham side can really go this season under Mourinho, as they are starting to show the traits of a classic Mourinho side in terms of both tactics and attitude, which currently sees them deservedly sit top of the Premier League table.

And whilst we all want fans back in the stadiums across the world, for Mourinho, it seems to have eased everything and turned the club into genuine title contenders once more. Now, if Kane can stay fit, who knows what could happen and what records could be broken?