Tottenham Hotspur suffered their first defeat under Jose Mourinho’s management last night as we went down 2-1 to Manchester United.
We were outplayed on much of Mourinho’s return to Old Trafford, with Marcus Rashford’s double cancelling out Dele Alli’s sublime equaliser.
While Rashford was the architecht of United’s victory, the match was lost in midfield where Mourinho, having experimented with several options already, restored the Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko double pivot, the birth of which coincided with Mauricio Pochettino’s downfall.
Each of them have some likeable individual qualities, but they simply do not work as a partnership, giving us no method of passing the ball through midfield. A front four that had been so potent in Mourinho’s previous matches barely got on the ball; Harry Kane in particular was anonymous.
MORE: First Dele Alli, Now Eric Dier For Mourinho Redemption
Both Winks and Sissoko’s best asset is arguably their energy and yet they were even outdone in this regard by United’s Scott McTominay and Fred.
The results have proven that this pairing is flawed and these frustrated Spurs fans on Twitter have begged Mourinho to shelve it for good.
We have won…*checks stats*… 1 Premier League game this season in which Sissoko and Winks started in the pivot together
— Jake. (@YedIin) December 4, 2019
Do not, and I can not stress this enough, play Harry Winks and Moussa Sissoko together in midfield.
— Unfitforpurpose (@unfitforpurpose) December 4, 2019
Dunno about Mou but things that tonight reinforced for me:
— Chris Miller (@WindyCOYS) December 4, 2019
– Winks/Sissoko midfield can never be run out again (shock);
– Lucas should be used sparingly.
– There are question marks over whether Vertonghen can play this LB/LCB role.
– Dele is everything & we gotta ride this form.
Ndombele, Lo Celso have to play more often. Sissoko and Winks should never play together as a pair again. Its one or none. No creative for Kane/Dele
— Trevor Lloyd (@Trevorlloyd92) December 4, 2019
Ndombele came on at Anfield and we started to play. Came on tonight and we started to play a little bit better. Not rocket science
N’Dombele – £53.8m
— ᴴᵒᵗˢᵖᵘʳ ᴴᵃᵛᵒᶜ (@HotspurHavoc) December 5, 2019
Lo Celso – £55m
Both of them being benched in favour of a Sissoko, Winks partnership all season long is one of the most sickening sights you could ever witness in football
I cant describe to you how much it infuriates me
I was hopi g the Winks/Sissoko partnership had died out after Potchettino left. It simply doesn’t work going forward or as a base for the defence. Showed again tonight
— Tottenham Hotspur (@1882_Tottenham) December 4, 2019
If there is a God in heaven that is the last time we ever see Winks and Sissoko on the pitch at the same time
— Matthew (@MathTHFC) December 4, 2019
Suttun and shearer. 😊
Sorry mate i got mixed up between sheringham and shearers autobiographies.. The old SAS. I have both their books and just fished them out… It was actually shearer who grew up playing in centre midfield. At Gosford school he was captain and midfield lynchpin and his local clubs. One game he scored 13 goals from centre mid 👍
Yeah his pro career he was always a striker. I meant as a kid, growing up, all before his millwall days. He often chose to play centre mid so he could ‘get/see more of the ball’. Have more influence on the game. Im talking schoolboy football when he was learning the trade. His own words mate i read it in his autobiography a while back.. It partly explains why he was so intelligent, his understanding and reading of the game playing centre mid you have to do be able to do everything.. Good read teddys autobiography..
Agreed HH, the Winks/ Sissoko axis did not work and interestingly the stats of the two of them playing together for us, in terms of win percentage, shots made/shots conceded, etc, are all inferior to the times when only one or neither of them have played.
Each time Ndombele plays, our passing looks more penetrative, as he seeks to pass the ball forward more than Winks, is better at beating a man and more likely to score also. Sissoko is physically dominant, but cannot pass and has limited close control. He also cannot play DM, as he has no defensive instincts and is too clumsy.
The balance last night looked wrong from the outset, with Utd playing 4-5-1, leaving us out-manned in midfield, even if Son and Lucas dropped back defensively, which was not always evident either. Starting Ndombele, possibly with Dier as DM and Winks or Sissoko, would have given us better balance and more control.
Teddy Sheringham??? Was never a central midfielder! He played his whole career as a striker, from his early career at Millwall, then at Notts Forest, for us at Spurs, then at Man U, etc. He usually played as a second striker/#10, both for us, with Klinsmann, for example or England with Shearer.
Both are good squad players, but to really compete, to win, with maureens main formation we need real quality in the middle. The main part of the spine, games are won and lost in the middle its where you can influence the game most… Teddy sheringham grew up playing in centre midfield so he could influence more, would see far more of the ball, be more involved… A true midfield general needed