Jose Mourinho

[kannanmothalali]

The problem with this team is not talent. Player for player, this is certainly the most talented Tottenham team of the last 25 years. The fact that we can field the team we did today with Son, Sissoko, Winks, and Davies unavailable and then still be able to bring on Lucas, Sanchez, and Lamela shows how much quality we have. Of the players who play regularly, really only Aurier isn’t talented enough.

The other popular argument is that we don’t have players with enough character or mental strength, I don’t buy that for a second. The core of this team has had 4 straight top 4 league finishes, made a UCL final with and extremely banged up squad, and won games at the Ethiad, Emirates, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Bernebau, Westfelanstadion, Cruyff Arena, and we dug our crucial draws at the San Siro, Juventus, and Camp Nou. Further, we have the World Cup winning captain, England Captain, our CBs are number 1 and 6 for caps in the history of Belgium, the 5x Asian footballer of the year, we had the most players in the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup, and overall our squad has over 1000 international caps for the likes of France, Belgium, England, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, etc. Our players have undisputedly had significant team and individual success for both Tottenham and country.

What’s wrong with this team is that it has been assembled in a haphazard fashion and is so damn imbalanced and our “transfer committee” has totally fucked it in terms of squad building. Ndombele, Winks, Sissoko, Skipp, and maybe even Lo Celso are all number #8s who should have a holding player next to them, it was clear last year and remains clear today. Our only two natural holding players are Dier and Wanyama who are absolutely crocked.

Fullback is equally shocking in terms of squad building and strategy. We sell Trippier (our first choice RB, regardless of his performances last year) and then decide Aurier, KWP, Foyth, and sometimes Sanchez should play RB? Genuinely vexed by this one, Aurier has been a nightmare and who at the club even rates KWP, it certainly hasn’t been any of our managers. Then LB, we’re apparently trying to sell Rose all summer to the point where he’s left out of the squad in preseason and then at the Watford training ground on deadline day and then we just expect him to come back and play like nothing happened? Then you’re relying on perpetually injured Davies, aging Vertonghen, and Sessengnon who it is unclear if the club even thinks is a fullback. Shocking transfer/teambuilding strategy.

You look at our two most successful teams in recent history:

2011/2012: (4-2-3-1) Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, King, BAE; Parker, Modric; Lennon, VDV, Bale; Adebayor
2016/2017: (3-5-2) Lloris; Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Eriksen, Rose; Kane, Alli

These teams picked themselves, all players had a clear role, and everyone was playing in their best position. We didn’t have the depth we do now, but the first team was cogent and excellent. So different from how we are now.

You compare that to today’s lineup. Vertonghen at this point in his career isn’t a LB, Ndombele isn’t a DM, Eriksen isn’t a deeper lying midfielder, Lo Celso shouldn’t play on that wing, and Aurier just isn’t good. It’s the same in other games, Winks and Sissoko can’t play together, and Dier isn’t good enough.

I felt bad for Pochettino earlier this season and I feel bad for Mourinho now, the blame for our underperformance is on those who have assembled this team (impossible to decipher at this club). This summer we totally failed to bring in the right players to balance the midfield (no CDM, too many 8s), totally botched the fullback situation, and retained way too much deadwood and players with contract issues (Rose, Eriksen, Wanyama, Toby, Vertonghen).

If we want to make top 4 this season I’d keep playing Sessegnon at LB, bring Matic in as a short term solution at DM before addressing it long term in the summer, and then try to pay over the top for a RB like Aarons, Ferguson, or anyone really. None of this fits our transfer strategy of only buying the perfect player but we need to face the fact that we’ve fucked ourselves and try to put out some fires.

Matic is well past it mate.

 

[Bobby TwoShots]

Matic is well past it mate.

True, but the rest of his points were spot on

 

[JKendall13]

Matic is well past it mate.

I don’t disagree, but I’ve been watching him play today and he’s so much better than Dier or anything else we have at DM. It’s 100% a short term solution but if we don’t find some semblance of balance in the midfield we can consider the rest of this season a write off. If there’s a better January option than Matic I’m all ears.

 

[spursfan77]

I don’t disagree, but I’ve been watching him play today and he’s so much better than Dier or anything else we have at DM. It’s 100% a short term solution but if we don’t find some semblance of balance in the midfield we can consider the rest of this season a write off. If there’s a better January option than Matic I’m all ears.

If they want something like £5 million for him and his wages are respectable then it’s not a bad deal for 18 months. Him in, wanyama out in January would be a good window.

 

[stevenurse]

Loved Jose's post match press conference. Asked about if he's unsure about his first choice defence and cites Kane and Alli as examples of if he has doubts in the 9 and 10 positions.

The one thing I trust Mourinho to do is to rebuild this back 4.

As it stands, Toby is the only one that doesn't fill me with dread. Sanchez is very hot and cold and can't pass wind.

 

[newbie]

I’ve always felt this but never wanted to say it because I wanted to give him a proper chance but Mourinho has become a yes man. Poch was onto Levy all the time, telling him we need to rebuild this team but the board did fuck all
Mourinho was desperate to get a second chance that he didn’t care that Levy told him he won’t get a big transfer budget in January, that’s why Jose said he was so happy with his squad and don’t need new players
I’ve said this so long before, no matter who the manager is we need new players. Some of the fans, the board and players acted disgracefully towards Poch when it wasn’t his fault, he worked miracles with us

I’m not blaming Mourinho for our bad performances but he won’t succeed with us without spending money on a DM, midfielder and fullbacks, no way will he achieve anything with us without these signings and it’s not his fault
Without a true DM Alli and Eriksen has to play a lot deeper last season that’s why they weren’t as good as before. Even today look how deep Ndombele and Eriksen was

I think the board and levy also watch our games, and will be able to see with there own eyes!

Jose is never going to be a yes man!

 

[Hercules]

We will find out if JM is a ‘yes man’ when it comes to transfers.

 

[JKendall13]

I think the board and levy also watch our games, and will be able to see with there own eyes!

Jose is never going to be a yes man!

Levy may watch the games with his eyes but he makes decisions with his checkbook.

 

[Seafordian Spurs]

I’ve always felt this but never wanted to say it because I wanted to give him a proper chance but Mourinho has become a yes man. Poch was onto Levy all the time, telling him we need to rebuild this team but the board did fuck all
Mourinho was desperate to get a second chance that he didn’t care that Levy told him he won’t get a big transfer budget in January, that’s why Jose said he was so happy with his squad and don’t need new players
I’ve said this so long before, no matter who the manager is we need new players. Some of the fans, the board and players acted disgracefully towards Poch when it wasn’t his fault, he worked miracles with us

I’m not blaming Mourinho for our bad performances but he won’t succeed with us without spending money on a DM, midfielder and fullbacks, no way will he achieve anything with us without these signings and it’s not his fault
Without a true DM Alli and Eriksen has to play a lot deeper last season that’s why they weren’t as good as before. Even today look how deep Ndombele and Eriksen was

Mate.... You're sounding like a conspiracy theory nut job.

 

[newbie]

Levy may watch the games with his eyes but he makes decisions with his checkbook.

We have fallen and look like we are 40/60 on making champs league, we need to address the problems ASAP, levy has little choice!

 

[Shadydan]

Mate.... You're sounding like a conspiracy theory nut job.

He'd fit right on here then.

 

[popstar7]

“Do you want me to assess the performance with defensive mistakes or without?” the Tottenham manager said. “Performance with defensive mistakes, we have to accept the result. Performance without defensive mistakes, not at all. Because we played so, so well when we had the ball. We create from minute one until minute 90.

“We start the game playing well, then we had our 28th of December gift and then the team till the end of the first half felt it a little bit. Second half, we played even better than in the first half, really offensive, taking lots of risks, dominating the game, scoring the equaliser, and then with 30 minutes to win the game, gift number two.

“A normal team with a normal soul would lose the game, but no. The team kept playing, the boys played even better, more intense more aggressive, pressing recovering the ball, lots of quality going forward. We scored the second goal and I thought we could even have scored the third but then it was time for Norwich to fight for that point and to defend hard, which they did.”

On half-time changes: “Because I was losing. Because I want one more attacking player than we had, because I knew winning 1-0 they would just try to defend and keep [Teemu] Pukki up. And then I thought Davinson Sánchez because he’s our fastest defender would be the one to cope with the possible long balls to the space for Pukki. I knew that in that moment we were going to have all the creative players on the pitch with Kane and Dele. We were going to have [Giovani] Lo Celso and Lucas and the two midfielders and for me they were phenomenal.”

On whether he knows his ideal back line: “It’s normal, no. Do I have doubts that Harry Kane is my No 9? Do I have doubts that Dele Alli is my No 10, for example? Performances create doubts or performances kill your doubts. That’s just the way it is.”

 

[popstar7]

 

[rossdapep]

“Do you want me to assess the performance with defensive mistakes or without?” the Tottenham manager said. “Performance with defensive mistakes, we have to accept the result. Performance without defensive mistakes, not at all. Because we played so, so well when we had the ball. We create from minute one until minute 90.

“We start the game playing well, then we had our 28th of December gift and then the team till the end of the first half felt it a little bit. Second half, we played even better than in the first half, really offensive, taking lots of risks, dominating the game, scoring the equaliser, and then with 30 minutes to win the game, gift number two.

“A normal team with a normal soul would lose the game, but no. The team kept playing, the boys played even better, more intense more aggressive, pressing recovering the ball, lots of quality going forward. We scored the second goal and I thought we could even have scored the third but then it was time for Norwich to fight for that point and to defend hard, which they did.”

On half-time changes: “Because I was losing. Because I want one more attacking player than we had, because I knew winning 1-0 they would just try to defend and keep [Teemu] Pukki up. And then I thought Davinson Sánchez because he’s our fastest defender would be the one to cope with the possible long balls to the space for Pukki. I knew that in that moment we were going to have all the creative players on the pitch with Kane and Dele. We were going to have [Giovani] Lo Celso and Lucas and the two midfielders and for me they were phenomenal.”

On whether he knows his ideal back line: “It’s normal, no. Do I have doubts that Harry Kane is my No 9? Do I have doubts that Dele Alli is my No 10, for example? Performances create doubts or performances kill your doubts. That’s just the way it is.”

It's good to know he sees what we see. Also, he really justifies his changes whereas Poch could not really justify not making changes.

He needs to start to get the right team out from the start though. Although, I think he's still figuring some out.

 

[dagraham]

“Do you want me to assess the performance with defensive mistakes or without?” the Tottenham manager said. “Performance with defensive mistakes, we have to accept the result. Performance without defensive mistakes, not at all. Because we played so, so well when we had the ball. We create from minute one until minute 90.

“We start the game playing well, then we had our 28th of December gift and then the team till the end of the first half felt it a little bit. Second half, we played even better than in the first half, really offensive, taking lots of risks, dominating the game, scoring the equaliser, and then with 30 minutes to win the game, gift number two.

“A normal team with a normal soul would lose the game, but no. The team kept playing, the boys played even better, more intense more aggressive, pressing recovering the ball, lots of quality going forward. We scored the second goal and I thought we could even have scored the third but then it was time for Norwich to fight for that point and to defend hard, which they did.”

On half-time changes: “Because I was losing. Because I want one more attacking player than we had, because I knew winning 1-0 they would just try to defend and keep [Teemu] Pukki up. And then I thought Davinson Sánchez because he’s our fastest defender would be the one to cope with the possible long balls to the space for Pukki. I knew that in that moment we were going to have all the creative players on the pitch with Kane and Dele. We were going to have [Giovani] Lo Celso and Lucas and the two midfielders and for me they were phenomenal.”

On whether he knows his ideal back line: “It’s normal, no. Do I have doubts that Harry Kane is my No 9? Do I have doubts that Dele Alli is my No 10, for example? Performances create doubts or performances kill your doubts. That’s just the way it is.”

I do like the fact he’s honest and straight forward in interviews without the usual riddles and double speak we often got from Poch.

I think he’s overplaying our performance with the ball though. We did dominate the ball and got in some promising positions, but I didn’t think we created that much by way of clear cut opportunities. Krul wasn’t called into action much at all.

 

[ohtottenham!]

I do like the fact he’s honest and straight forward in interviews without the usual riddles and double speak we often got from Poch.

I think he’s overplaying our performance with the ball though. We did dominate the ball and got in some promising positions, but I didn’t think we created that much by way of clear cut opportunities. Krul wasn’t called into action much at all.

Agree. First half, I think we just played into their hands with an Alli/Kane spearhead. Lack of movement, and it asked too much of our MF to compensate, and nothing for their defence to worry about. Second half, different story. Shame we didn't take full advantage.

 

[dagraham]

Agree. First half, I think we just played into their hands with an Alli/Kane spearhead. Lack of movement, and it asked too much of our MF to compensate, and nothing for their defence to worry about. Second half, different story. Shame we didn't take full advantage.

We missed Son, but the silly sod got himself suspended. Could prove quite costly.

 

[srups34]

I thought the two subs he brought on at half time where spot on, the only thing I disagreed with at the time was taking off Foyth and keeping Aurier on.

 

[Spurus]

 

[Primativ]

The problem with this team is not talent. Player for player, this is certainly the most talented Tottenham team of the last 25 years. The fact that we can field the team we did today with Son, Sissoko, Winks, and Davies unavailable and then still be able to bring on Lucas, Sanchez, and Lamela shows how much quality we have. Of the players who play regularly, really only Aurier isn’t talented enough.

The other popular argument is that we don’t have players with enough character or mental strength, I don’t buy that for a second. The core of this team has had 4 straight top 4 league finishes, made a UCL final with and extremely banged up squad, and won games at the Ethiad, Emirates, Old Trafford, Stamford Bridge, Bernebau, Westfelanstadion, Cruyff Arena, and we dug our crucial draws at the San Siro, Juventus, and Camp Nou. Further, we have the World Cup winning captain, England Captain, our CBs are number 1 and 6 for caps in the history of Belgium, the 5x Asian footballer of the year, we had the most players in the semi-finals at the 2018 World Cup, and overall our squad has over 1000 international caps for the likes of France, Belgium, England, Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, etc. Our players have undisputedly had significant team and individual success for both Tottenham and country.

What’s wrong with this team is that it has been assembled in a haphazard fashion and is so damn imbalanced and our “transfer committee” has totally fucked it in terms of squad building. Ndombele, Winks, Sissoko, Skipp, and maybe even Lo Celso are all number #8s who should have a holding player next to them, it was clear last year and remains clear today. Our only two natural holding players are Dier and Wanyama who are absolutely crocked.

Fullback is equally shocking in terms of squad building and strategy. We sell Trippier (our first choice RB, regardless of his performances last year) and then decide Aurier, KWP, Foyth, and sometimes Sanchez should play RB? Genuinely vexed by this one, Aurier has been a nightmare and who at the club even rates KWP, it certainly hasn’t been any of our managers. Then LB, we’re apparently trying to sell Rose all summer to the point where he’s left out of the squad in preseason and then at the Watford training ground on deadline day and then we just expect him to come back and play like nothing happened? Then you’re relying on perpetually injured Davies, aging Vertonghen, and Sessengnon who it is unclear if the club even thinks is a fullback. Shocking transfer/teambuilding strategy.

You look at our two most successful teams in recent history:

2011/2012: (4-2-3-1) Friedel; Walker, Kaboul, King, BAE; Parker, Modric; Lennon, VDV, Bale; Adebayor
2016/2017: (3-5-2) Lloris; Dier, Alderweireld, Vertonghen; Walker, Wanyama, Dembele, Eriksen, Rose; Kane, Alli

These teams picked themselves, all players had a clear role, and everyone was playing in their best position. We didn’t have the depth we do now, but the first team was cogent and excellent. So different from how we are now.

You compare that to today’s lineup. Vertonghen at this point in his career isn’t a LB, Ndombele isn’t a DM, Eriksen isn’t a deeper lying midfielder, Lo Celso shouldn’t play on that wing, and Aurier just isn’t good. It’s the same in other games, Winks and Sissoko can’t play together, and Dier isn’t good enough.

I felt bad for Pochettino earlier this season and I feel bad for Mourinho now, the blame for our underperformance is on those who have assembled this team (impossible to decipher at this club). This summer we totally failed to bring in the right players to balance the midfield (no CDM, too many 8s), totally botched the fullback situation, and retained way too much deadwood and players with contract issues (Rose, Eriksen, Wanyama, Toby, Vertonghen).

If we want to make top 4 this season I’d keep playing Sessegnon at LB, bring Matic in as a short term solution at DM before addressing it long term in the summer, and then try to pay over the top for a RB like Aarons, Ferguson, or anyone really. None of this fits our transfer strategy of only buying the perfect player but we need to face the fact that we’ve fucked ourselves and try to put out some fires.

Winks a number 8?

I agree about the squad building being all over the place but come on man...Winks isn't a number 8.