Paul Parker: Tottenham didn’t build this stadium to host Jose Mourinho’s negative football

When you look at Spurs, and what Jose Mourinho did at Manchester United, it’s weird… strange… madness that these clubs are taking on someone whose reputation on and off the pitch isn’t good. These clubs are held in high regard for the way they play the game but Mourinho goes against all of that.

Why did Daniel Levy bring someone in who he knew could be so toxic? We’ve seen the usual issues with personnel, which are never kept in-house.

Everyone used to say Mourinho was a great tactician. But I always think it’s easier to destroy a painting than create one. And he’s a destroyer. If there are 10 outfield players, there are nine destroyers and maybe one who can create.

Spurs have an abundance of attacking players. They were a team you used to love watching go forward. But now I’m looking at Harry Kane and I only know if he’s on the pitch if he scores. People will keep saying he’s not fit, but he’s not right because Spurs are not playing in a way that gives him the opportunity to score goals. If he’s not being fuelled properly, how are Spurs going to win games?

When you talk about creating, you talk about Pep Guardiola, Arsene Wenger, Jurgen Klopp. Mourinho’s never been creative. He’s won games by destroying – and Spurs are even overcomplicating that.

Tottenham have two centre-halves – Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen – who were once considered the best pairing in the Premier League. Now they barely start. Eric Dier’s not a good centre-half, he was struggling in midfield, so why is he playing? It’s strange and not right.

Spurs are not content at the moment and if the hierarchy allow this to go on too long, it will affect everything around the club. The only thing that’s missing for them is a decent football team.

They might have a shiny, spanking new stadium, but they didn’t build it to have negative football and no Champions League. No way. Having American football and concerts is great, but it’s not going to be an Albert Hall with no roof – it has to be established as a successful football stadium first.

It’s not just about giving someone a chance. It’s about giving them a run in the team. Tanguy Ndombele needs that to get belief in himself and he’s never going to get that if he’s just getting five-minute cameos or nothing at all. He’s probably feeling like a spare leg at the moment.

The last thing Ndombele needed was his manager embarrassing him publicly [as he did in March]. It’s not what you do to people.

Just look at Mauricio Pochettino and the Moussa Sissoko situation. Sissoko was being ridiculed by his own fans, his performances were not good, and he was trying so hard to express himself. But when Pochettino was asked about him in the press, he took all the attention away from him – talking about the team and the club, but never about his performances.

If you speak to Spurs fans now, Sissoko is one of the first players they want on the team sheet – his energy, work-rate, his forays forward with the ball, his recoveries to help out the centre-halves and full-backs.

So Mourinho has to learn about understanding other people. He can’t carry on managing in his old ways.