If second-season syndrome afflicted some, Jose Mourinho’s variant of it only enhanced his reputation.
He won the league title in his second season at Porto, Chelsea, Inter Milan, Real Madrid and Chelsea again, twice adding the Champions League for good measure.
His second season at Tottenham began with a 90-minute illustration of how to kill any summer optimism.
Lest any was lingering after defeat to Everton, Mourinho branded his players “lazy” and said they had the wrong state of mind. Perhaps, he could say, this does not qualify as his second season in charge.
The only comparable situation in his career came at Porto when, after a January appointment, he won the league and the Uefa Cup in his second campaign, but first full season.
The theme of his career has been that, once his players improve from his methods and he uses a famously analytical brain to diagnose what his side needs and strengthens accordingly, glory follows.
Yet there is a second, less flattering theme: that as Mourinho strays further from his prime, the highs are not as high and things unravel quicker.
His second season at Manchester United did not yield the title. His mood soured part way through it, spiralling towards a sacking the following December.
Tottenham finished last season with 14 points from a possible 18 so one game, however wretched they were against Everton, represents too small a sample size to definitely say ambitions will go unrealised this season. But it was nevertheless an awful start.
A recurring feature of Mourinho’s rhetoric is his capacity to blame others: the fault always lies with them for failing to implement his perfect plans.
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Player ratings from Spurs 0 Everton 1
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TOTTENHAM RATINGS: Hugo Lloris - 5: Didn't have much to do, and had no chance with Everton's winner. Reuters -
Matt Doherty - 5: One attacking foray almost led to a goal but was otherwise put in the shade by his opposite right-back Seamus Coleman. Reuters -
Eric Dier - 6: A couple of timely blocks to deny Richarlison from getting on the scoresheet. AFP -
Toby Alderweireld - 5: Beaten by Dominic Calvert-Lewin in the air for the winner and looked on shaky ground throughout. Reuters -
Ben Davies - 5: Spurs left-back never asked any questions defensively of Everton new-boy James Rodriguez. Reuters -
Harry Winks - 5: Him and Hojbjerg looked too similar in a dysfunctional centre midfield pairing. AFP -
Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg - 5: Dane was happy to get stuck in but failed to make an impression on his Spurs debut. EPA -
Dele Alli - 6: Stung the hands of Pickford with a lightning quick counter and then was inexcusably hooked at half time by his manager. EPA -
Lucas Moura - 6: Flashes of good play from the Brazilian attacker but none of them in areas that hurt Everton. EPA -
Son Heung-min - 5: The South Korean may still be in Seamus Coleman's pocket. Reuters -
Harry Kane - 4: Hard to remember the Tottenham striker touching the ball in the second half and hardly littered the first 45 with memories either. AFP -
SUBS: Moussa Sissoko (on for Alli) - 5: Frenchman tried to offer drive from midfield but to no avail. AFP -
Steven Bergwijn (on for Winks) - 5: Instructed to hog the touchline by his manger when the dangerous Dutchman might have been better deployed supporting Kane. Reuters -
Tanguy Ndombele (on for Doherty) - 4: Frenchman's impact was negligible. EPA -
EVERTON RATINGS: Jordan Pickford - 7: Pulled off quality saves to deny Alli and Doherty in the first half. Reuters -
Seamus Coleman - 9: The Everton captain was exceptional defensively and never gave Son a sniff. AFP -
Michael Keane - 6: A comfortable afternoon for the Everton centre-back. AFP -
Yerry Mina - 6: The commanding Colombian marshaled the defensive line well to keep Spurs' attackers quiet. Reuters -
Lucas Digne - 7: Delivered a tantilising ball for Calvert-Lewin to attack and constantly kept Moura pinned back. EPA -
Allan - 8: The least venerated of Everton's midfield signings but the Brazilian was a colossus protecting the back four. AFP -
Abdoulaye Doucoure - 6: Solid if unspectacular debut for the Frenchman. Snuffed out one dangerous Spurs attack in particular in the first half. AFP -
James Rodriguez - 8: Caressed the ball as if running his fingers through a lover's hair. Never looked in danger of beating Davies for pace, but then he never looked like he had to. EPA -
Andre Gomes - 8: Much was made of the three midfield debutants, but the Portuguese was pure silk before being replaced on 68 minutes. Reuters -
Richarlison - 7: It's no exaggeration to say the Everton forward should have bagged a hat-trick. The Brazilian was plenty wasteful, but it speaks to his character that he never went missing. AFP -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin - 7: Hardly involved in the first half but grew in stature in the second. The way he got between the two Spurs centre-backs to score his header was reminiscent of his coach, Duncan Ferguson, in his pomp. Reuters -
SUBS: Gylfi Sigurdsson (on for Gomes) - 5: The Iceland international may find game time limited after today. Reuters -
Tom Davies (on for James) - NA: Brought on to eat up the clock. AFP -
Moise Kean (on for Calvert-Lewin) - NA: No time for the striker to impose himself on the match. EPA
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A regular tactical issue is Mourinho's struggle to adapt to the times. Pressing is the prevailing theory and Mourinho's awareness of his need to adapt is apparent in his frequent mentions of it in the All Or Nothing documentary. Knowing its importance and knowing how to implement it are separate issues, however.
The “lazy pressure” Mourinho criticised is supported by the statistics: of the 12 teams who played over the weekend, Spurs ranked 12th for successful pressures, tackles, blocks and interceptions. But if Tottenham felt slow and uninspired, it was not the first time. The same could also be said of his United, especially in his last year.
The half-time withdrawal of Dele Alli, which Mourinho admitted was tactical, felt symbolic and not merely because a No 10 is often supposed to be his side’s most creative player.
Instead, he was removed because, the Portuguese said, “we need more creation.” Alli was a flagship success of Mourinho’s first few weeks; with one league goal and assist since January, that effect has worn off.
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Gallery from Spurs v Everton
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Everton's Dominic Calvert-Lewin, centre, celebrates his winning goal for Everton against Tottenham on Sunday, September 13. Reuters -
Everton's Richarlison, left, under pressure from Lucas Moura of Spurs. PA -
Everton midfielder Abdoulaye Doucoure. AP -
Spurs midfielder Dele Alli of Tottenham shoots on goal. EPA -
Spurs manager Jose Mourinho. Reuters -
Everton's Colombian midfielder James Rodriguez under pressure from Dele Alli of Spurs. AFP -
Tottenham's Lucas Moura. Reuters -
Everton's Richarlison misses a glorious chance to score. EPA -
Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti hugs his Spurs counterpart Jose Mourinho after the match. Reuters -
Dominic Calvert-Lewin heads home for Everton. EPA -
Everton's Richarlison shoots on goal. Getty -
Everton striker Dominic Calvert-Lewin, centre, celebrates with teammates after scoring. AFP -
Spurs striker Harry Kane misses a chance to score. EPA -
Harry Kane after his miss. AP -
Frustrated Spurs player Ben Davies after the match. Reuters
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Mourinho liked to cite the table from his time in charge, showing Spurs fourth in two-thirds of last season, as an endorsement.
Yet the fact they only ranked eighth expected goals showed that fine finishing compensated for a lack of creativity. Harry Kane and Heung-Min Son’s prowess in front of goal are assets, but Mourinho is yet to resolve the question of their supply line.
He was unfortunate to be missing his best technician, Giovani Lo Celso, on Sunday but the fact Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg had three central-midfield sidekicks – in first Harry Winks, then Moussa Sissoko and finally Tanguy Ndombele – shows Mourinho, a manager famed for his decisiveness, is still experimenting with options.
Ndombele, the club record buy, is the one he trusts least but his Tottenham have played in straight lines too often. That predictability does not promise to offer a route into the top four.
For a decade, though, a second-season Mourinho offered a different kind of certainty: a guarantee of success.
