Glenn Hoddle insists the decision to sack Jose Mourinho is Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy's biggest error.
The Special One was hired as Mauricio Pochettino's replacement in late 2019 and had just shy of 18 months at the helm in north London. Mourinho arrived in the hope he could end the club's trophy drought having won silverware at all of his previous clubs.
He was 90 minutes away from doing so having led Tottenham to the Carabao Cup final in 2021, only to be sacked in the days leading up to it. The team's Premier League form had dropped off and Levy opted to make an abrupt change in the dugout.
Mourinho had won just over half of his games as Tottenham boss and Hoddle, who played and managed at the north London side, concedes that Levy's biggest blunder was letting go of the Portuguese boss, insisting the Special One's tactics and record against Pep Guardiola could've seen them win a trophy.
He said on the Stick to Football podcast: “I think there is a massive mistake that Daniel Levy made. José [Mourinho] gets him to the [Carabao] cup final and he [Daniel Levy] sacks him on the Monday. That doesn’t make sense to me, and it never will.
"I don’t understand that at all. You bring somebody in to win a trophy, and he [José Mourinho] has a good record against Pep [Guardiola] as well. Then, no disrespect, but putting a young coach instead who has had no experience – is just woah. It would’ve been a stepping stone.
"Who knows if he stayed there might have been another trophy. I don’t think the attitude has been ‘football comes first.’ Daniel has done a brilliant job with the stadium and the running of the business, which is unbelievable. But can we go and get the best players? Everyone wants to play in that stadium.”
Tottenham ultimately lost the final at Wembley as Manchester City edged the contest 1-0. Levy has still not seen the team win a trophy as he continues to cop criticism for some of his on pitch decisions - despite the club excelling of the pitch and from a financial standpoint.
Since Mourinho's exit Levy has hired three permanent managers with Ange Postecoglou now at the helm. The club are still yet to win a trophy and haven't qualified for the Champions League since 2021/22.
Mourinho meanwhile has continued to fire digs at Tottenham following his departure, citing them as a forgettable period in his managerial career.