If we work on the basis that this tactical analysis was on point and that the Portuguese set up against Manchester United based upon the capacity of the players at his disposal. Harry Kane was understandably nowhere near match fitness, after a six-month-long absence, which left Spurs (not for the first time) without a designated striker.
What grated with a good few fans was the business of Spurs sitting so deep. Which is a fair enough gripe, but perhaps not on this occasion given that Kane was functioning at perhaps 30%, and that we were also lacking any assertiveness in midfield.
Had Mourinho embarked upon a more attacking strategy, then Manchester United would have had free rein when they regained possession. Don’t believe me or are just confused? Then let’s pull out the influence graphs again.
What midfield? Winks, Sissoko only contained United because they obeyed their instructions. As frustrating as it may have been to watch, you have to remember that football is war, not a chick flick. You may not be guaranteed a pretty plot and a happy ending.
You build a team from the back, but without a solid midfield, you are horribly exposed.
Here’s Manchester United’s influence graphic. Looking at that, does it make sense for Spurs to have spent much time out of their own half? Or is your desire to be entertained more important? Please…
In light of this information, Tottenham’s pursuit of Pierre-Emile Højbjerg makes a HUGE amount of sense for José Mourinho in his pursuit of stabilizing the current Spurs squad.
“Southampton see him as a player they have to sell in this market,” Castles said on the Transfer Window podcast. “They, I’m told, have three offers so far for the player, none of them are satisfactory, one extremely low at a financial level, and they have an offer of cash plus players in exchange, which I understand has come from Tottenham Hotspur.
This is not a deal Levy can allow to just fizzle out, or we will be watching many more games that don’t entertain you.
Agreed. All about personnel. Who bullied Dembele? Even Thanos would have backed off. Then Winks came along. Deary me.
And a quality left back too i think.. Thats four players most needed.. And quality rarely comes cheap… Then theres the need to improve and strengthen our bench after the striker.
Ndombele is a bum mate he can go home, levy has been robbed there. 200k a week same wage as kane 🤔. Club record signing struggles to run and still winks and sissoko are first choice… And you’re right we desperately need another decent striker. For years now its beyond a joke and no wonder kane gets burnt out and injured… Because multiple positions haven’t been adressed then we are found out… Davies, aurier, winks are targets against top players. The best we have are weak links.
Yes mate i was expecting maureens infamous ‘siege’ mentality.. I just think we lack the personal now, better centre mids and full backs needed.. And thats before strengthening the bench. Obviously a striker desperately needed… I hate to say this because they seem like good guys, but we are not winning anything with the likes of davies and winks first choice.
I read Fenerbahce are crowdfunding to get Ozil, maybe we could do that to get rid of Serge.
Strikers cost the most i can only assume in levys view why have an expensive asset sat on the bench when you can get players like moura son and bergwijn to cover thw position. Of course this never works because they arent as efficient and not strikers but mer
😄😂😁😅😀😍We’ll chip in for the fare.
I can’t argue with any of that. It will be interesting to see how Klopp is treated as the Yanks are taking money out of the club like most of the EPL owners. I will always be bitter that Levy didn’t take a risk on Poch, but as you said, he’s a bean counter, and their MO is not to take risks. As benches go, if Dele and Moura had been playing v Utd, we’d have had Lamela, Lo Celso, Alderweireld, Bergwijn and Ndombele. That’s not too bad……if Ndombele could perform. We all know we need quality defensive options in the first XI. Whether we get them is another matter. Aurier should be sold or taken to Huddersfield and simply left there. If he finds his way back he is then taken to Carlisle, until he gets the message.
I would have expected, even with the players we had, that Mourinho would have made us more solid already. That is what he is known for after all. The least amount of clean sheets in the EPL is hard to take, but that’s because the defensive unit is forever changing. We need a number of key replacements, but I would sell Aurier and buy 2 right backs. We can’t risk an injury occurring, just to put Aurier back in.
Fair comment, we desperately need another striker. Holding mid, striker and a right back are the positions we should strengthen first.
And who plays up front exactly? Kane and nobody else? Even the few weeks a year when he’s not injured we need another option or we become totally predictable. No good having a world class midfield if you haven’t got a functioning striker.
Well at the moment we don’t need some midfield positions because we’re bursting at the seams with them, including our transfer record player who can’t even get on the pitch! It’s a decent striker we need because Kane has regressed even when he’s not injured. That’s priority no.1 now.
There was a Saints fan on here saying we can have him cos he’s over-rated and gives the ball away too much. Mind you Levy will buy anyone if they’re cheap enough.
I’m not even convinced he’ll do it then. The man seems to lack any commonsense and the more the fans demand it the more he resists. I think he’s some sort of an attention freak.
I’m not sure this Hojbjerg is good enough anyway tbh. But he’s just the sort of bang average player Levy likes buying. If we buy enough bang average players then hey presto we become a bang average team with a nice stadium. Not good enough Levy considering what you charge us.
Out of everything, in every blog, on any discussion, this is the one thing that i agree with 100% the most. How on earth did we end up with just one striker. I remember we always had at least 3, and then when it was Keane/Berba/Bent/Pav etc etc
Keep saying it Hojbjerg has Everton written all over him, and they have money to spend, and they probably want shot of Siggurdson and Schneiderlin. I foresee a Grealish scenario.
There is no other team in the world with just one striker. That’s not me saying it. Those are Mourinho’s words. He’ll buy a striker when Harry is injured again.
They also revamped their fitness and medical system. Liverpool have very few injuries for a team that uses a small number of players and presses every game. Contrast our injury list and we don’t even have the excuse of playing a high tempo pressing game.
I can already see this lad bossing the midfield but if Levy thinks he can get him cheap we will lose him to a bigger team than “mid table Spurs” (are we still 8th?)
And, i watched him chase a ball down, and he can move too !!!!!!!!
Correct Marbella, the man is a complete moron who only cares about saving money. He shouldn’t be allowed a 100 miles near a serious football club. Football Manager on pc is about his level.
I don’t understand why Levy has not addressed this striker problem that’s been going on for years now, no excuses it’s just inexcusable. Even with Harry fit we needed a back up target man to cover for his many injuries. There is no doubt in my mind that this lack of attention has likely cost us trophies. There is no other team in the PL that only has one dedicated striker on their books. Come on Levy get your finger out. If you want regular CL football then ruddy well pay for it!
I think we can be exciting in bursts at the moment. The main difference is we sit back a lot more. I think when Mourinho is happy with the defensive unit, we can afford to attack and dominate a little more than we do now. Personally I don’t mind this change too much and I can appreciate defensive solidity if we ever reach it.
Towards the end of the Poch era, I’d be having a mild heart attack whenever we lost the ball, such was the defensive shambles. The pinnacle of which the 2-7 drubbing at the hands of Bayern.
Is there a way to rid us all of the scourge of Darren Bent? Anymore of his observations online and I may need a straight jacket to hold me back. His insights make me want to pluck my eyeballs
Klopp was backed by the board in the transfer market. They revamped their recruitment team and bought the players that the manager wanted. Maureen is already moaning about his threadbare bench. Levy is the problem. He is a bean counter who neither likes or understands football.
I agree this position is crucial. It doesn’t matter that he’s not the very best in the world – he’s decent and we need the strength in numbers. Eric Dier could be a good option in CB now. I also agree full backs are a priority too.
sad but true!
Spurs could’nt sign Alfie Noakes from Crewe without an Act Of Parliament scenario .
Football is not a chick flick, but when performances consistently become 2 banks of 4 we become just another Burnley. We have to approach the West Ham game differently. I see the point of what Jose did, just like Everton did against Liverpool but this cannot become the norm. I’ll take it v City and Liverpool in the short term, but wouldn’t it be nice if we could have a manager more like Klopp who built a team that took the game to teams instead of hiding in the shadows and nicking a goal on a counter.
The fans can see where the problems lie. Maureen’s tactics might be necessary, given the players at his disposal .but this style of play will grate with the supporters if it hasn’t already. Billy Nic and Danny Blanchflower must be turning in their graves. The problem lies solely with Levy. Going two transfer windows without buying a player was football suicide and left us behind our competitors. Once this happens, it takes a long time to catch up with them. I doubt we will achieve CL qualification with the knock on effect of loss of income , making it more difficult to attract quality players and ensuring the existing better players will want to leave.
His United team never evolved into one that entertained, even after 400 million had been spent, and he was let go. Perhaps it will be different if he’s allowed next to nothing to spend. Time will tell.
Had a good look at Hojbjerg against Norwich the other night. Hes a more mobile version of Matic – Hard working, strong, calm, good on the ball and very good positional sense. He’s young enough to get better even better.
It’ll be a saga that will last the length of the transfer window
Centre midfield is the most important position. Bang in the middle you have the chance to influence the game more than any other position. Strikers are important but can get isolated. A centre mid can influence defence and attack and have the most say. Games are usually won in the middle of the park. Winks and sissoko just doesnt work they’ve been tried and tested repeatedly.. We need a striker too desperately. And full backs surely.
We’ve got bigger problems with the back 4 imo. If you build from the back you start there. The overall lack of investment in general is why we are were we are.
ENIC OUT !
Maureen was never here to entertain, he was here to win stuff, but that’s not gonna happen either!