Why Spurs Fans Miss the Real Problem — And Why Managers Like Mourinho and Conte Couldn’t Fix It
Morning folks, I told you Spurs would want to pay £50-55m for Mohammed Kudus and a deal for £55m has been agreed with West Ham United, as have personal terms.
He has his medical today and signs a 6-year deal.
At Tottenham Hotspur we’ve had some good squads.
So why didn’t we win?
Ask most fans and they’ll say bad luck. Injuries. Referees. Daniel Levy. The usual.
But here’s the uncomfortable truth:
Trying hard isn’t a winning mentality.
It’s the minimum.
Most Fans Don’t Understand What a Winning Mentality Actually Is
They confuse effort with expectation.
They think if a player runs a lot, screams in the tunnel, or cries after a final — they’ve got the right mentality.
But true winners don’t just try.
They expect to win. They refuse to lose. They drag others over the line.
That’s not something you switch on in May.
It’s who you are every week, every training session, every half-time team talk.
And here’s the problem:
The club never taught them how to cross the finish line.
Because the club didn’t know it needed to.
Because the “teachers” — managers, coaches, even board members — hadn’t lived that mentality themselves.
So they built squads with talent… but no belief system.
And fans, watching talented players trying hard, never saw the deeper issue.
I have been revealing the problem for over 10 years.
The same problem.
Mourinho and Conte Proved It
You might say: “We brought in proven winners.”
True. But they weren’t mentality builders.
They were chequebook managers.
“Give me the best players and I’ll win things.”
Sure. So will most managers.
But at Tottenham Hotspur, Mourinho and Conte didn’t inherit a ready-made squad of proven winners.
They didn’t teach the players how to win — because they couldn’t.
They’d always bought it. Not built it.
And when the players couldn’t match the standards they barked at them — they collapsed.
That’s not a winning culture.
It’s a shortcut. And shortcuts fail at Spurs.
Postecoglou vs. Frank: One Had It. One Theorises About It.
Ange Postecoglou won the Europa League in 2025.
He adapted. He motivated. He created belief.
Players like Cristian Romero — who has won every final he’s played in — responded to Ange’s mentality.
Because they recognised it.
Winners know winners. They feel it. Like heat.
And that brings us to the biggest truth of all:
You can’t teach what you haven’t lived.
Thomas Frank is a brilliant developer of players. But he’s never lifted a trophy at this level.
So everything he’s selling — belief, ambition, mentality — is theory.
Players can smell that.
It is a genuine concern.
Most People Don’t Have It — And That’s Why They Dismiss It
This is the bit fans hate.
They think “mentality” is some motivational slogan.
They don’t realise it’s the difference between getting over the line and folding in the final.
And when you try to explain it to them?
“It’s like trying to describe the colour red to someone born blind.”
Go ahead.
Try it.
You’ll say: “It’s the colour of fire… of anger… of danger.”
They’ll say: “What does that mean?”
That’s what it’s like explaining winning mentality to people who’ve never felt it.
They say it’s poppycock because they can’t picture it.
But that doesn’t mean it’s not real.
Spurs Had the Skill to Win. They Just Didn’t Know How.
This is the tragedy.
We had enough talent to win multiple trophies over the last 15 years.
But talent doesn’t teach you how to cope with 1–0 down in a final.
Or how to demand more from teammates who aren’t at it.
Or how to keep your head when 60,000 fans panic.
That’s not technique.
That’s mentality.
And until the club learns how to build that — not just buy it — Spurs will stay nearly men.
No matter how hard we try.
COYS
The Tottenham Hotspur Trophy Series
