Home » Mourinho defends decison to drop Vertonghen and Alderweireld from Spurs XI vs Wolves

Mourinho defends decison to drop Vertonghen and Alderweireld from Spurs XI vs Wolves

By Rob S -

Jan Vertonghen and Toby Alderweireld were dropped from Tottenham’s starting XI for Sunday’s home clash with Wolves.

Three goals were then conceded as a 3-2 loss left our top-four hopes hanging by a thread.

Many supporters were left perplexed by Jose Mourinho’s decision to leave the Belgians on the bench, especially Alderweireld who is still among the best centre-backs in the Premier League.

But Mourinho offered an explanation in his post-match interview.

The rationale was simple; Wolves have pace to burn up front and the former Ajax duo do not.

Fair enough, but then why deploy Eric Dier in a back three when he is just as slow, if not slower, than Alderweireld?

A defiant Mourinho was full of praise for Dier after the game though, praising his versatility and ability read the game and pass the ball.

Responding to a question about the absence of Vertonghen and Alderweireld, Mourinho was quoted by football.London as saying: “Eric played very well. I think Eric played very well. So I think if Eric’s performance was not as good I would understand the question but I think it was very good.”

“The thinking was simple, the thinking was Davinson [Sanchez] and [Japhet] Tanganga are the two fastest central defenders that we have.

“Eric is the one who by nature is a midfield player so playing in the middle between those centre backs is the one who is normally more comfortable to step up, he’s more comfortable with reading the game and passing.

“So it was a mixture of giving security but at the same time keeping fast people at the back. I think they played well, especially Eric was very, very good and sometimes you concede goals and you blame goalkeepers and defenders.

“Other times you concede goals and it is a global situation and I think it was when it comes from a transition. Sometimes when it comes from behind midfield I think it’s not about them.”

Tags Jan Vertonghen Jose Mourinho NewsNow toby alderweireld
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GSB
GSB
4 years ago

Agreed, we need 2016-17 Kane goals when he could play an entire season. All my kits have Harry’s number on the back and I shook his hand in Denver. Huge fan of his.

Steve KillerCushion Williams
Steve KillerCushion Williams
4 years ago

Also kanes ability to drop deep and set others up. So much more to his game. Sons amazing on his day, but still inconsistent at times, especially his decision making.

Steve KillerCushion Williams
Steve KillerCushion Williams
4 years ago
Reply to  GSB

Son has massive dry spells… Nothing hurts us more than kanes absence. We miss his goals most.

Andy
Andy
4 years ago
Reply to  Spursnut d

What is the solution? Nothing good until July?

Charles Crosby
4 years ago
Reply to  Spursnut d

I would have played Toby, but not Jan.

Spursnut d
Spursnut d
4 years ago
Reply to  Charles Crosby

So Toby and Jan this year have not been ripped new arses by players with pace. Even a player as good as Toby was has been found out this year and I think today would have been no different. The thing that was missing more than anything was a top quality holding player to protect the defence. Had we had that oh and a quality big guy up front to knock down to dele or moura on the edge of the box bit like ajax game well then Toby could have played. Toby does not have the speed any more to cope with fast attackers this has been born out many times this year. Experience only lasts so long.

Charles Crosby
4 years ago
Reply to  GSB

Agree with all of that, especially about Sonny.

Charles Crosby
4 years ago

Had there been the CL tie mid-week I could have understood resting Toby and Jan, but not playing them today was a classic blunder – big time.

GSB
GSB
4 years ago

The club is a mess and honestly I am not sure Jose is the right man for us. If he can persuade Levy to open up the budget for some upgrades great but what we have now isn’t working. Sonny is the MVP of this club and his absence hurts more than Kane’s.

GSB
GSB
4 years ago

The club is a mess and honestly I am not sure Jose is the right man for us. If he can persuade Levy to open up the budget for some upgrades great but what we have now isn’t working. Sonny is the MVP of this club and his absence hurts more than Kane’s.

daytripper
daytripper
4 years ago

Jose is so full of crap. HH, you properly called him out by questioning moving Dier to the back line. Jan and Toby have shut down pacey opponents for years, it is all about proper positioning and defenders that do not ball watch and are able to cover each other when the pacey forward beats their partner. It is also about providing good cover in front of them, so you don’t have runners running straight at your centre-backs (Jose taught me that ages ago). Jose got it ALL wrong today.

Sanchez’s pace gets him in trouble far too often, he ran himself out of the play on the second goal. Tanganga also made the same mistake several times and his pace does us no good when he is standing around ball watching.

Spursnut d
Spursnut d
4 years ago

I think if either Toby or Jan were playing well you could question jose on this but both have been poor this year against teams with quick forwards and both have been slammed by fans. Truth is we missed Sissoko for tracking back or had Levy replaced wanyamma and brought in a quality striker we would not be discussing this.

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