Mourinho Premier League return would break the Golden Rule

One finger for Chelsea, the other for Barca!

As Jose Mourinho outfoxes Pep Guardiola, Carlo Ancelotti and Louis van Gaal to record a stunning Champions League victory, rumours of a Premier League return intensify. Luckily for the Portugeezer, the clamour from Real Madrid is louder. But Soccermongery warns against him coming back to England. 

We still hear a lot about The Special One over here. Our obsession never cooled despite a raft of new heroes and headlines created since.

Despite leaving England two-and-a-half years ago, Mourinho's life at Inter is well chronicled by our media.

His rows with Italian officialdom and managerial peers, his dissatisfaction with Serie A and his rumoured desire to return here one day. His raffish Portuguese style galvanised Chelsea to previously unchartered waters of success. But now the Inter project is complete with a stunning treble, it's widely rumoured he'll be managing at the Bernabeu, the scene of arguably his greatest triumph as a coach so far. 

Kenneth Williams

But English clubs big enough to support both The Special One's salary and his ego would probably shuffle their incumbent manager out the door just to secure him.

You could well imagine United, City - or even Liverpool with new ownership encouraging Jose back "home".

But what a mistake that would be! "Never Go Back", screams the old adage.

Mourinho's remembering his time at Chelsea through rose-tinted spectacles. He arrived at Stamford Bridge, all posturing and bravado crowned as European Champion with Porto.

The hottest property in the world game, he gave Roman Abramovich's billion pound project real focus. Six trophies in three astounding seasons followed.

But that was then. This is now.

English football, built on huge debt or the billions of a benefactor totally dominated the European game. But the tide is turning. Not only is UEFA kicking the English game when it's down - but Britain's desperate Labour government were killing the goose that laid the golden egg.

English clubs pay more tax than their Spanish counterparts - the players too are feeling the tax pinch. Already the trickle of foreign stars coming to England is diminishing. Spain and Germany are more favoured destinations. It costs more for an English club to sign and pay for an international star.

Cristiano Ronaldo's defection from Manchester United to Real Madrid may prove symbolic - unless the Premier League can really focus on exploiting emerging new markets such as the Far East and India.

Mourinho would return to a less mighty English game. That's why talk of taking over at Real would be a better port of call for him. But could the sheer force of his personality or Manchester City's millions buck the trend?

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Burnley's Fair Play League hopes dashed

As quickly as hopes were raised for Burnley, they were dashed! UEFA's decided to award Fair Play places in Europe to Sweden, Denmark and Finland next term, so ending the relegated Clarets hopes of joining the Euro elite from August. But Soccermongery says the Fair Play League is distinctly unfair - to deserving clubs:

Why should Burnley manager Brian Laws have been incentivised by Europe's governing body to send out his team urging careful challenges in their last game of the Premier League season? Because that's what Laws would've been mindful of as he prepared his Clarets for their last (ever) game in the top flight, at home to Tottenham. A place in Europe via this contorted route was still up for grabs at the time.

It’s not as if they were a particularly clean team anyway. Burnley were just the highest up the Fair Play table who'd not qualified for Europe.

In fact, they finished as low as seventh. Incredibly, the six teams above them didn’t need a back door to Europe like this; they'd already qualified. Arsenal, Spurs, Chelsea and Villa among them.

What the Fair Play League shows year after year is that successful teams are usually disciplined enough to play the game the right way, leaving struggling hoofers like Burnley to earn this ridiculous route into the Europa League.

I suppose it might've stopped an exodus of players from Turf Moor following their relegation to the Championship. That and the parachute money, of course. But it’s still a European-style fudge and nonsense.

If UEFA awarded a Europa place to the most improved side in the Premier League, it might help that club to develop further. Stoke or Birmingham would drink to that suggestion.

Redknapp proves Premier League discriminates against English managerial talent

Harry Redknapp's achievement in securing Tottenham's first-ever appearance in the Champions League is every bit as significant as his FA Cup win with Portsmouth two years ago.

It shouldn't be forgotten just how much disarray Spurs were in when Redknapp replaced Juande Ramos literally overnight. They've gone from ‘two points in eight games’ to 70 from 37 inside two seasons. The oddball Wembley defeat to Pompey is the only black mark this campaign.

Spurs’ resurgence under the stewardship of their cockney manager's been astronomical. In a matter of 555 days, the former West Ham winger's turned the club’s fortunes totally on their head, steering them from the clutches of relegation to what will be their highest league finish in 10 years.

Sam Allardyce often complained that he'd have got more of a sniff of the top jobs in the Premier League, if he were called Samuele Allardice (it's in Italics for a reason, folks!) Now, Harry's made Spurs one of the more coveted jobs in English football through force of will - and with an all-British coaching staff.

And 2010 marks the resurgence of the English manager in the world game. Joining Redknapp in raising eyebrows are Fulham's Europa League hero Roy Hodgson and the former wally with the brolly, Steve McClaren, who's just won the Eredivisie with Twente Enschede.

The one-nil win over Manchester City at Eastlands, Tottenham's last rival for that coveted place, shows they have the application and big-match mentality to give the Champions League "a good old go" as Harry might say.

Even by last January's transfer window, Redknapp had assembled a decent squad with a strong-looking bench. Much stronger than their competition in Aston Villa, who picked from their inexperienced but talented youth team, Manchester City, who were still garnering a new team spirit and Liverpool, who under the leadership of Steven Gerrard and Rafa Benitez, fell away under pressure to perform.

Redknapp's flexible and pro-active enough to realise his current squad's not good enough to reach the business end of Europe's elite competition. His wheeler-dealing in the market is well documented - and now he'll be able to attract top players to the club.

But perhaps rather than wholesale changes, Redknapp may only need to tweak the squad, such is the talent and spirit within it. From Crouch to King, from Gomes to Danny Rose, Tottenham have the basis to build on their phenomenal season.

They might be about to embark on their first adventure in Europe at this level, but don't expect Tottenham Hotspur to roll over against the big sides.

Click here: Why Mourinho should think twice before a Premier League return.

Harry Hotspur's Houdini act shows wannabe clubs: Buy British

Sir John Harvey-Jones meets Harry Houdini! Harry Redknapp's overnight arrival and resurrection of Tottenham stands alongside Hull City as the story of the season so far.

After jumping ship at Fratton, steering Spurs to their first league win, earning a miraculous point at Arsenal, coming-from-behind to topple leaders Liverpool to treble their points tally - then mashing it up in Europe, there's a lesson to be learned for other wannabe clubs.

The clue to Tottenham's amazing turnaround lies in Harry being English.

Because if Tottenham aspire to being a Big Four club, they'll be wise to remember they're not there yet - neither do they compete at that level in any way.

Chelsea, Liverpool and Arsenal qualify annually for the Champions League; that's their ambition, platform and community. The players they compete for and the teams they must beat are of a different gravy altogether. A foreign coach and setup is how they must operate.

And while Mark Hughes and Roy Keane are Fergie's heir-apparents, I'm sure Manchester United will be thinking long and hard about employing a foreign coach before crowning a former United playing hero.

But for Spurs and that matter Villa and Man City, it's a different play in the English arena. If they're lucky, those clubs'll grab a UEFA Cup place as they improve. A British coach is frankly what's required with their opponents and the players they go for in the transfer market.

Furthermore, as their football outlook is more provincial, employing a British coach helps embody the spirit of the terraces. Birmingham's football public is an English, Welsh and Irish mix, so who better than Martin O'Neill to personify that spirit? If Spurs fans relate to Harry, it helps unite them behind the team. Harry is an eastender made good.

Juande Ramos and a Director of Football was an appointment for when they made the Champions League - not as they aspired to it.

Being a perennial Champions League club is very different from an also-ran and the decision to go continental is as clear as whether you eat from that top table or whether you're looking in at it.

The day Spurs appointed Redknapp was the day that Spurs understood who they were. That's why Harry's unlocking this group of talented players so instantly.

What is it with Tottenham Hotspur?

Even Google's robot knows it.

For all the millions lavished upon them and the grand gesture in appointing a double UEFA Cup winning coach, it seems there's one inalienable truth which applies to football as much as to wider life:

You Can't Polish A Turd.

It seems the Carling Cup victory in Juande Ramos' first months as Spurs boss now looks like a false dawn.

You see, Tottenham aren't built to win Championships, neither are they equipped to compete in the Champions League. At best, they win domestic cups - and that at a rate of one every three managerial changes.

A couple of season's back, their transfer policy was to sign Englishmen. But Jermaine Jenas' quote on his arrival at White Hart Lane gives an insight into why Spurs constantly fail to make the breakthrough.

Jenas described his relief at escaping Newcastle's goldfish bowl, but what he really meant by that was he wanted a piece of party-time London without detection.

Spurs seldom attract the professional - the person who's there to play football first. The honourable exceptions to that rule end up at Liverpool and Manchester United.

Arsenal might be in London too, but no-one can accuse Arsene Wenger of scoffing from Swinging London's chocolate box; and his players are made of the same fabric. I mean, can you conjure up an image of Pascal Cygan stumbling out of Tramp arm-in-arm with a WAG? He saved all his best stumblings for gametime.

Tottenham, and for that matter Manchester City and Newcastle attract a certain kind of Charlie that Arsenal and indeed clubs like Everton and Aston Villa don't.

However much you lavish on some clubs, they always seem to fail. There seems to be a default position of relative success and failure at which teams find their level, whatever resource is thrown at them.

When predicting future success, the strongest marker lies in pointing to a glorious past. If a club's done it before, there's every chance they'll do it again.

For all of Liverpool's struggles in reclaiming the title during the imperious reign of Sir Alex Ferguson at Manchester United, the Reds have still won the FA Cup and League Cups (more than once) and BOTH European trophies. They're a winning machine even if a triumvirate of big guns perenially stall their Premier League dream.

I mentioned Aston Villa and Everton. Football League Originals both of them and a quiet dignity which means they stay out of the headlines and more than occasionally go on and achieve "unexpectedly".

For all of Newcastle's noise and north-easternness? nothing.

The Shearers, the Keegans and the Sir Bobbys, all orbiting stars of the St James' solar system, but their twinkle is always eclipsed by the bad moon risings of the Bartons, Bellamys and Dyers.

Manchester City's new owners be warned - your trillions are at risk so enjoy the buffet in hospitality while you're there!

And that's Tottenham's lot too, unless they can ignite a winning catalyst. A good coach will eventually craft a good team.

Spurs need only look a couple of miles down the road to see how Arsenal have built a dynasty in a decade: a commitment to their manager, superb transfer dealings and a stunning new stadium which'll keep the Gunners at football's top table long-after Wenger's moved on.

However low on confidence Spurs might be playing, their board must stick with Ramos, a man who took a provincial Spanish club to a summit of the European game.

And while they're doing that, why don't they ask him what else the board at Sevilla were doing while he brought home the jamon?