Jose Mourinho

[SpartanSpur]

I think we have to wait it out until we find out whether Mourinho is playing this dreadful style of football out of preference or necessity. It does however seem strange to me that we continue to lump the ball up to our front line (even though they're ill equipped to deal with it), when we now have the option of some very good passers in midfield who should be able to wrestle control of that area from many of our opponents. At the moment, my hunch is that this is how Mourinho wants to play which begs the question; What has happened to his new, revolutionary style of football we were told about when he joined?

Probably due to the fact we don't currently have the fitness to play a high intensity game for 60 mins let alone an hour, Jose has hinted this a few times. Partly due to the non-injured players being overplayed out of necessity, partly due to whatever the hell went wrong fitness wise at the start of this season.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Thanos would be a good midfield enforcer.

Sometimes I think Thanos is using the Infinity Gauntlet in the VAR lab...

 

[Oscar22]

Fuck me.

We've lost 3 games from our last 13 ffs.

Of those 13 games:

- Our best player and only striker has been injured for the last 11 of them
- Our second best player and second best goalscorer was suspended for the first 3, and injured for the last 1
- Son and Kane have played a total of zero minutes together
- Our captain and goalkeeper was injured for the first 7 of them
- Our (arguably) most consistent player from last season (Sissoko) has been injured for the last 10
- Our record signing has only started 3 times, being substituted at 25 mins and 61 mins in 2 of those games
- Our squad had the undoubtedly toxic presence of two players who openly wanted to leave for 9 of them

In spite of all of that, we've lost 3 games from our last 13. One of which, you could argue we really didn't deserve to lose.

If Pochettino had achieved that set of results in that set of circumstances, folk on here would be hailing him as a miracle worker. But because Jose's done it, he's apparently tactically inept and devoid of ideas.

The transparent desire a minority on here have for Mourinho to fail would be funny if it weren't so pitifully tragic.

This pretty much sums up what I was intent on posting before reading it.

Jose is currently juggling all our round pegs amongst the available square holes and no I agree it’s not pretty - but as mentioned above, No Kane, No Son, NDombele not being able to be relied upon for 90mins, Lo Celso is now getting a run at least. Dele and Moura aren’t in great form in front of goal but for the most part aren’t playing in their favoured positions (well, at least Moura isn’t a CF for me).

I just think he’s making the most of what he’s got and can’t be fairly judged until he has a full squad to pick from and a transfer window or two behind him.

 

[SpartanSpur]

Eventually yes but the first 20 mins villa could of been 3-0 like the other night we start with no drive whatsoever

Our starts have been largely awful for over 18 months unfortunately, neither Jose or Poch seem to have worked that one out. I suspect it is mental as well as physical.

 

[shelfboy68]

Our starts have been largely awful for over 18 months unfortunately, neither Jose or Poch seem to have worked that one out. I suspect it is mental as well as physical.

I suspect so mate but unless they get it together they will be no success

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

I think we have to wait it out until we find out whether Mourinho is playing this dreadful style of football out of preference or necessity. It does however seem strange to me that we continue to lump the ball up to our front line (even though they're ill equipped to deal with it), when we now have the option of some very good passers in midfield who should be able to wrestle control of that area from many of our opponents. At the moment, my hunch is that this is how Mourinho wants to play which begs the question; What has happened to his new, revolutionary style of football we were told about when he joined?

He'll probably be given a wee bit of leeway this season, but if this turgid, hoofing it long and sitting deep football continues into next season, I suspect the majority of fans will be very vocal in voicing their dissatisfaction.... Over to you Mr Levy

 

[Wheeler Dealer]

Fuck me.

We've lost 3 games from our last 13 ffs.

Of those 13 games:

- Our best player and only striker has been injured for the last 11 of them
- Our second best player and second best goalscorer was suspended for the first 3, and injured for the last 1
- Son and Kane have played a total of zero minutes together
- Our captain and goalkeeper was injured for the first 7 of them
- Our (arguably) most consistent player from last season (Sissoko) has been injured for the last 10
- Our record signing has only started 3 times, being substituted at 25 mins and 61 mins in 2 of those games
- Our squad had the undoubtedly toxic presence of two players who openly wanted to leave for 9 of them

In spite of all of that, we've lost 3 games from our last 13. One of which, you could argue we really didn't deserve to lose.

If Pochettino had achieved that set of results in that set of circumstances, folk on here would be hailing him as a miracle worker. But because Jose's done it, he's apparently tactically inept and devoid of ideas.

The transparent desire a minority on here have for Mourinho to fail would be funny if it weren't so pitifully tragic.

It's the manner and style of play that is in question, not the results.. We have ridden our luck somewhat since he came in and luck alone will not bring success.

 

[freeeki]

It's the manner and style of play that is in question, not the results.. We have ridden our luck somewhat since he came in and luck alone will not bring success.

Based on the circumstances I listed... what more do people want, seriously, other than grinding out results?

Again I reiterate, if we'd ground out *these results* in *these circumstances* with Pochettino at the helm, those sneering at Jose would be falling over themselves to praise the manager.

 

[Oscar22]

I actually think in the summer we will see some players with leadership and winning mentality arrive, I think that’s the only way of changing the mentality that has surrounded the club for years.

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

It’s possible to be supportive of Mourinho but also critical at times. He definitely needs a full preseason and at least two more windows to bring in the players he’d like for his system. Bergwijn is an excellent example of buying the right kind of player for Mourinho’s system- someone who isn’t afraid to track back and defend, has pace to cover ground quickly and technical nous to capitalise on counterattacks. This is why I’m not convinced over the future of Dele in a Mourinho team. He’s too wasteful in possession for a team set up to absorb pressure and counter with efficiency and pace.

Anyway, back to my original point. Mourinho has done a decent job since he arrived- we’re only one point behind fourth position with plenty of points on the table- given our terrible luck with injuries this season, that’s an impressive outcome so far. But, his tactics against Leipzig were completely wrong. Anyone not able to see that we should have been spanked by a few more goals isn’t seeing the full picture. Setting up in a 442 completely unsettled us against their 3 at the back. The 352/3412 or variants of it was popularised in the 1980s as a reaction to the 442 formation- given extra cover at the back with the spare CB snuffing out threats. Now against two very good attackers, the spare defender doesn’t always work, but we didn’t have this. Also, our RM/LM positions were so deep that Leipzig’s Wingbacks could roam forward and create overlaps for themselves or others- which happened multiple times on their left flank. We were pegged in until the final 20 minutes of the game but it was too little, too late by then.

I wish Mourinho had opted for a 433, with Lucas and Bergwijn operating anywhere between the CB and WB or even wider at times. This would have stretched their defence, forcing their wing backs deeper into their own half, allowing Aurier to play his natural attacking game more often

 

[Japhet]

He'll probably be given a wee bit of leeway this season, but if this turgid, hoofing it long and sitting deep football continues into next season, I suspect the majority of fans will be very vocal in voicing their dissatisfaction.... Over to you Mr Levy

I think this season is a free hit. Next season we should be getting a clearer picture of what Mourinho has planned for us, but my concern at the moment is that that will be much the same as what we're getting now. I see no evidence whatsoever of any 'new style' football that he's supposed to have come up with during his time out. Meet the new Boss, Same as the old Boss (from The Who song Won't Get Fooled Again).

 

[chelmyid]

It's the manner and style of play that is in question, not the results.. We have ridden our luck somewhat since he came in and luck alone will not bring success.

Things like that take time
Everyone talks about a stale squad - that means all of the players will be stuck in a rut and will need time to Come out of it

just give the performances time!!!

 

[dagraham]

Based on the circumstances I listed... what more do people want, seriously, other than grinding out results?

Again I reiterate, if we'd ground out *these results* in *these circumstances* with Pochettino at the helm, those sneering at Jose would be falling over themselves to praise the manager.

Last season we were winning a lot of games being outplayed. Yes, we may have been playing in a more pleasing on the eye style, but we were still shit a lot of the time. And that was with a manager who’d been here for years.

 

[shelfboy68]

Based on the circumstances I listed... what more do people want, seriously, other than grinding out results?

Again I reiterate, if we'd ground out *these results* in *these circumstances* with Pochettino at the helm, those sneering at Jose would be falling over themselves to praise the manager.

No one is sneering at Jose me personally was happy having a manager with a winning mentality which we haven't had for a long time, but people are allowed to question what they are seeing and also point out concerns on a forum that offers up the chance and choice of free speech.

 

[Ionman34]

Biggest trick Pep ever pulled was convincing the world there was only one way to play football.

Since that moment fans all over the world have fawned over tiki taka and considered succes only achievable through some variation of possession based football. It being the only way to win or dominate or even play attractive. But actually we've seen first hand so many more examples of teams "winning the possession stats" but being utterly toothless. Both teams under AVB and Poch at times would focus on possession and wait for the opposition to fall asleep before taking a shot at goal but actually we'd get hit with a simple counter and concede.In fact one of our most attractive teams of recent years was Redknapps counter attacking side.

When are people going to learn... football is not only playing one way, if it was it would be boring as hell. There are a lot of different ways to playamd JM wants to play counter attacking football. He wants to sit deep and play fast and score. So when we play that way, and the media and pundits misinform us by saying we've played poorly or we've been dominated just remember - whoever ruled that only possession football was the appropriate way. The players are doing what JM wants and we're winning games. Look at the stats, we're commonly having more shots on target than opposition too so all this crap about us being dominated is irrelevant unless we're being beaten soundly. Domination doesn't win games, goals do.

Good post. However, I'd expand on that to say that he's currently having us play that way through expediency and it's not the only way he will have us playing.
I fully expect him to have variation so we don't necessarily play in one style, but tailor the way we play according to the opposition we are facing.

 

[jimbo]

I think this season is a free hit. Next season we should be getting a clearer picture of what Mourinho has planned for us, but my concern at the moment is that that will be much the same as what we're getting now. I see no evidence whatsoever of any 'new style' football that he's supposed to have come up with during his time out. Meet the new Boss, Same as the old Boss (from The Who song Won't Get Fooled Again).

To me I think he clearly wants us to defend centrally with a low block and attack with pace and fast transitions. We've seen two different ways of making the pitch bigger in possession - first by adding the RB to the attacking four high up the pitch to create extra width in the final third and secondly through the pace of Son, Bergwijn, Moura in wide channels to make the pitch bigger vertically.

In the Leipzig game they came out of the blocks hard and fast and caught us out, but once we settled it was clear enough that the aim was to defend centrally, deny them in the middle at the expense of affording space out wide. What we lacked was movement once we had recovered possession and we looked slow and ponderous as a result. To get the quick transition one of the midfielders needs to either carry the ball out and beat the press or play an early killer pass. Lo Celso, NDombele and Winks are all capable of that, and pulled it off a few times but the movement ahead of them wasn't there to really capitalise. There were a number of times when the switch was on but rather than moving the ball quickly we passed it slowly and allowed their defence to cover across.

Changing the style of play mid-season was always going to be difficult but we have the players to play this way, we just need to be patient and see what a proper pre-season and a bit of time does. Losing our two most effective goal scorers obviously doesn't help us now and neither does having new players who aren't yet fully used to their teammates. I'm confident it will be better next season and we will dominate teams, especially at home. We just need patience, but that's always in short supply around here.

 

[wrd]

Grow up.

I'm starting to see those people weren't in peoples heads. I guess where we had a few decent results I hadn't seen those people coming out the woodwork but here we are.

 

[Deleted member 27995]

Fuck me.

We've lost 3 games from our last 13 ffs.

Of those 13 games:

- Our best player and only striker has been injured for the last 11 of them
- Our second best player and second best goalscorer was suspended for the first 3, and injured for the last 1
- Son and Kane have played a total of zero minutes together
- Our captain and goalkeeper was injured for the first 7 of them
- Our (arguably) most consistent player from last season (Sissoko) has been injured for the last 10
- Our record signing has only started 3 times, being substituted at 25 mins and 61 mins in 2 of those games
- Our squad had the undoubtedly toxic presence of two players who openly wanted to leave for 9 of them

In spite of all of that, we've lost 3 games from our last 13. One of which, you could argue we really didn't deserve to lose.

If Pochettino had achieved that set of results in that set of circumstances, folk on here would be hailing him as a miracle worker. But because Jose's done it, he's apparently tactically inept and devoid of ideas.

The transparent desire a minority on here have for Mourinho to fail would be funny if it weren't so pitifully tragic.

Cold hard facts don't wash with some around here though.

When you lay it out like that, I find it surprising the squad under the guidance of Jose have managed to do what they have done. Long may that continue because like every month, we have yet another key set of fixtures on the horizon.

We have been poxed this year with key injuries at key times. Mind blowing.

 

[wrd]

Based on the circumstances I listed... what more do people want, seriously, other than grinding out results?

Again I reiterate, if we'd ground out *these results* in *these circumstances* with Pochettino at the helm, those sneering at Jose would be falling over themselves to praise the manager.

We disagreed the other night after the Villa game but seeing the response of some to the midweek result despite the circumstances I can understand where you were coming from now.

Performances shouldn't be judged given the fact he took over to steer the ship until the summer, let alone all the obstacles which have been thrown Jose's way and he's done excellent to get us where we are in all the competitions. I do wish we were braver midweek and didn't set up the way we did but for one individual error it probably would have worked. I reckon that final half hour will have given Jose a good idea of what he needs to come 2nd leg because we have the quality to beat them.

 

[Cheltenham Spur]

It’s possible to be supportive of Mourinho but also critical at times. He definitely needs a full preseason and at least two more windows to bring in the players he’d like for his system. Bergwijn is an excellent example of buying the right kind of player for Mourinho’s system- someone who isn’t afraid to track back and defend, has pace to cover ground quickly and technical nous to capitalise on counterattacks. This is why I’m not convinced over the future of Dele in a Mourinho team. He’s too wasteful in possession for a team set up to absorb pressure and counter with efficiency and pace.

Anyway, back to my original point. Mourinho has done a decent job since he arrived- we’re only one point behind fourth position with plenty of points on the table- given our terrible luck with injuries this season, that’s an impressive outcome so far. But, his tactics against Leipzig were completely wrong. Anyone not able to see that we should have been spanked by a few more goals isn’t seeing the full picture. Setting up in a 442 completely unsettled us against their 3 at the back. The 352/3412 or variants of it was popularised in the 1980s as a reaction to the 442 formation- given extra cover at the back with the spare CB snuffing out threats. Now against two very good attackers, the spare defender doesn’t always work, but we didn’t have this. Also, our RM/LM positions were so deep that Leipzig’s Wingbacks could roam forward and create overlaps for themselves or others- which happened multiple times on their left flank. We were pegged in until the final 20 minutes of the game but it was too little, too late by then.

I wish Mourinho had opted for a 433, with Lucas and Bergwijn operating anywhere between the CB and WB or even wider at times. This would have stretched their defence, forcing their wing backs deeper into their own half, allowing Aurier to play his natural attacking game more often

I've winnered this post, but not because I necessarily agree with all of it.

The reason I've given it a winner is because this is the first post I've seen to offer a thought through alternative tactical approach rather than just crying "Wah. Jose is boring".

Good post.