Sometimes relationships are as much a matter of timing as romantic destiny. And maybe that is how it is for Jose Mourinho and Tottenham.
You can imagine the lonely hearts ad: Super-talented but ultimately brittle football squad seeks experienced and serious man to help them achieve life ambition.
Mourinho does not seem a natural candidate for the aesthetic ambitions of the club forged by the push-and-run philosophy of Bill Nicholson.
And the team whose name has become an adjective to indicate footballing fragility — ‘Spursy’ — look an unlikely fit for a serial winner who despises vulnerability and cherishes solidity.