Harry Redknapp defends Tottenham boss over criticism of north London derby tactics

[mawspurs]

Former Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has defended under-fire Jose Mourinho, telling talkSPORT ‘no one can criticise’ the boss for his tactics in Sunday’s north London derby.

Source: TalkSPORT

 

[CrazyHeart]

"No one can criticise..." - Redknapp obviously hasn't been to these forums... Jose could save a drowning child and there'd be shouts for the 'way he went about it'...

 

[Springerding]

fk Jose, cant wait see the back of him, its like watching poison take over the club, nothing changes, against the bigger teams its defend n try nick a goal, a blind man could see how we set up yesterday from kick off till we went to 10 men, pathetic.

We have attack minded players being asked to defend and we look shit when its that way. When it goes wrong he digs players out or blames refs, pathetic.
I'd like to know what goes on in training, we head the ball to nobody time after time, we can't win a second ball and our passing is atrocious at best, sometimes we press sometimes we don't, we can't pass & move, we cant control it in tight situations, Sissoko looks terrified when ever he gets the ball & he isn't the only one. we have to take 3 or 4 touches before passing. Its time for a fresh face with an attacking style & winning mentality.

I look at the freedom teams like Leicester play with and the gap is huge. We have some good players and some world class players who are being made to look average.

 

[Metalhead]

fk Jose, cant wait see the back of him, its like watching poison take over the club, nothing changes, against the bigger teams its defend n try nick a goal, a blind man could see how we set up yesterday from kick off till we went to 10 men, pathetic.

We have attack minded players being asked to defend and we look shit when its that way. When it goes wrong he digs players out or blames refs, pathetic.
I'd like to know what goes on in training, we head the ball to nobody time after time, we can't win a second ball and our passing is atrocious at best, sometimes we press sometimes we don't, we can't pass & move, we cant control it in tight situations, Sissoko looks terrified when ever he gets the ball & he isn't the only one. we have to take 3 or 4 touches before passing. Its time for a fresh face with an attacking style & winning mentality.

I look at the freedom teams like Leicester play with and the gap is huge. We have some good players and some world class players who are being made to look average.

Quite an interesting article on the match yesterday, don't know if you had a chance to read it:

Lamela's reason for yelling at Spurs' bench and the two players Mourinho needs

Here are our six talking points from Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday

www.football.london

 

[Springerding]

Quite an interesting article on the match yesterday, don't know if you had a chance to read it:

Lamela's reason for yelling at Spurs' bench and the two players Mourinho needs

Here are our six talking points from Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday

www.football.london

Yes I read that, I think AllyGold writes decent articles but i don't really agree that it all lies at the players feet. Watching them yesterday was like watching a team that's confused about what it has to do.

We sat deep from the off, didn't press with any intent, didn't try to stamp any authority on the game, when we won the ball we either headed it or passed it back to them (what goes on in training?) which kept us pinned back, we had five mins when we got higher up the pitch when we won a second ball but the rest of the time it was so easy for them. They we proactive and we were reactive and that's Jose all over.

 

[Metalhead]

Yes I read that, I think AllyGold writes decent articles but i don't really agree that it all lies at the players feet. Watching them yesterday was like watching a team that's confused about what it has to do.

We sat deep from the off, didn't press with any intent, didn't try to stamp any authority on the game, when we won the ball we either headed it or passed it back to them (what goes on in training?) which kept us pinned back, we had five mins when we got higher up the pitch when we won a second ball but the rest of the time it was so easy for them. They we proactive and we were reactive and that's Jose all over.

I mean ultimately it's on Jose - I feel like that with any manager, it's up to them to get the best out of their team. I just don't understand why there is a breakdown in communication. He keeps saying that he doesn't ask players to sit back, there have been numerous examples of him and João shouting at the players to press but something is not coming across.

 

[Spurrific]

"No one can criticise..." - Redknapp obviously hasn't been to these forums... Jose could save a drowning child and there'd be shouts for the 'way he went about it'...

Conversely - he could hold a child’s head underwater and some of you brainwashed devotees would still claim he can do no wrong.

 

[Springerding]

I mean ultimately it's on Jose - I feel like that with any manager, it's up to them to get the best out of their team. I just don't understand why there is a breakdown in communication. He keeps saying that he doesn't ask players to sit back, there have been numerous examples of him and João shouting at the players to press but something is not coming across.

I agree, maybe its just the mind set that is about the place. Its all a bit strange, you would think after the recent good run, albeit against teams we should be beating, the least it would do is inspire confidence and keep doing what you're doing but we seem to just go flat.

 

[CrazyHeart]

I mean ultimately it's on Jose - I feel like that with any manager, it's up to them to get the best out of their team. I just don't understand why there is a breakdown in communication. He keeps saying that he doesn't ask players to sit back, there have been numerous examples of him and João shouting at the players to press but something is not coming across.

All it takes in a game like this for ONE key player to have an off-day to lose this one. However it was clear that Tanguy, PEH and Doc were completely off it while the rest of them except Lucas and Lamela didn't put forth the necessary effort. I too question some of Jose's decisions on this one, but him doing otherwise wouldn't have made a huge difference given the above... just my 2c...

 

[rossdapep]

Quite an interesting article on the match yesterday, don't know if you had a chance to read it:

Lamela's reason for yelling at Spurs' bench and the two players Mourinho needs

Here are our six talking points from Tottenham Hotspur's 2-1 defeat at Arsenal in the north London derby at the Emirates Stadium on Sunday

www.football.london

It's one thing actually instructing players to push high up and it's another actually giving them a structure/strategy that they can rely on to push high up the pitch. I mean, it's a bloody obvious thing to tell a player to "push up" or "press" but have you given him the muscle memory in training on how to do it and how to do it as a team? For example, whenever Ndombele or Hojbjerg received the ball in attacking transition they looked hurried, they looked lost, they rarely had players surrounding them and they ended up giving the ball away repeatedly. Players can give the ball away and have bad games but it doesn't seem to matter who it is, when we face a team with quality and a good strategy we struggle to find our way out. That is not all down to mentality, it simply isn't.

If you watch countless teams across Europe, they will be able to find a way out of a press at some point and have a sustained spell of possession, unless they are playing City. You want to give teams a strategy that requires them to think less and just do. Our players look lost most of the time and don't know where to turn to or move the ball to. That's because they don't have a system that they can rely on and they don't know where their team-mates are going to move to, it all seems to be based on instinct, and then players get marked out of situations due to it.

Can you honestly say we'd have played the same yesterday under Parker, Gerrard, Potter, Nagelsmann, Rose, Ten Hag? No, the players would have understood what to do more and wouldn't have looked as lost.

Why is Jose not pulling players aside and saying 'when he gets the ball, move here' etc etc? Because it all feels a little reactionary.

Also, Poch became frustrated with players pressing because they'd spent the best part of 3 years tirelessly doing it and couldn't give 110% anymore.

 

[Metalhead]

It's one thing actually instructing players to push high up and it's another actually giving them a structure/strategy that they can rely on to push high up the pitch. I mean, it's a bloody obvious thing to tell a player to "push up" or "press" but have you given him the muscle memory in training on how to do it and how to do it as a team? For example, whenever Ndombele or Hojbjerg received the ball in attacking transition they looked hurried, they looked lost, they rarely had players surrounding them and they ended up giving the ball away repeatedly. Players can give the ball away and have bad games but it doesn't seem to matter who it is, when we face a team with quality and a good strategy we struggle to find our way out. That is not all down to mentality, it simply isn't.

If you watch countless teams across Europe, they will be able to find a way out of a press at some point and have a sustained spell of possession, unless they are playing City. You want to give teams a strategy that requires them to think less and just do. Our players look lost most of the time and don't know where to turn to or move the ball to. That's because they don't have a system that they can rely on and they don't know where their team-mates are going to move to, it all seems to be based on instinct, and then players get marked out of situations due to it.

Can you honestly say we'd have played the same yesterday under Parker, Gerrard, Potter, Nagelsmann, Rose, Ten Hag? No, the players would have understood what to do more and wouldn't have looked as lost.

Why is Jose not pulling players aside and saying 'when he gets the ball, move here' etc etc? Because it all feels a little reactionary.

Also, Poch became frustrated with players pressing because they'd spent the best part of 3 years tirelessly doing it and couldn't give 110% anymore.

Certainly the high press that Poch employed for the first few seasons wasn't sustainable. I did find it interesting that it was mentioned that he had shouted at the players to press because obviously that seems to have happened quite a number of times along with the protestation by Jose that he doesn't tell the players to hold a one goal lead. Clearly something isn't happening and yes, the coaching has to play a major part. Certainly it's hard to see that he would have deliberately sent what was an attacking side on paper out there to sit back.

 

[Metalhead]

All it takes in a game like this for ONE key player to have an off-day to lose this one. However it was clear that Tanguy, PEH and Doc were completely off it while the rest of them except Lucas and Lamela didn't put forth the necessary effort. I too question some of Jose's decisions on this one, but him doing otherwise wouldn't have made a huge difference given the above... just my 2c...

Again, it's not necessarily one issue at play here although whatever it is, it's going to fall on Jose to sort it out.

 

[Springerding]

It's one thing actually instructing players to push high up and it's another actually giving them a structure/strategy that they can rely on to push high up the pitch. I mean, it's a bloody obvious thing to tell a player to "push up" or "press" but have you given him the muscle memory in training on how to do it and how to do it as a team? For example, whenever Ndombele or Hojbjerg received the ball in attacking transition they looked hurried, they looked lost, they rarely had players surrounding them and they ended up giving the ball away repeatedly. Players can give the ball away and have bad games but it doesn't seem to matter who it is, when we face a team with quality and a good strategy we struggle to find our way out. That is not all down to mentality, it simply isn't.

If you watch countless teams across Europe, they will be able to find a way out of a press at some point and have a sustained spell of possession, unless they are playing City. You want to give teams a strategy that requires them to think less and just do. Our players look lost most of the time and don't know where to turn to or move the ball to. That's because they don't have a system that they can rely on and they don't know where their team-mates are going to move to, it all seems to be based on instinct, and then players get marked out of situations due to it.

Can you honestly say we'd have played the same yesterday under Parker, Gerrard, Potter, Nagelsmann, Rose, Ten Hag? No, the players would have understood what to do more and wouldn't have looked as lost.

Why is Jose not pulling players aside and saying 'when he gets the ball, move here' etc etc? Because it all feels a little reactionary.

Also, Poch became frustrated with players pressing because they'd spent the best part of 3 years tirelessly doing it and couldn't give 110% anymore.

Some basic training would help, pass & move, quick feet & minds, make triangles so you can one touch pass.

We pass & walk while pointing, i don't want it back give it to him over there. Its sloppy & lazy.

 

[mumfordspur]

Conversely - he could hold a child’s head underwater and some of you brainwashed devotees would still claim he can do no wrong.

lol.apart from the child bit obvs. but as a neutral I am coming to the conclusion that he isn't that special after all.

 

[rossdapep]

Certainly the high press that Poch employed for the first few seasons wasn't sustainable. I did find it interesting that it was mentioned that he had shouted at the players to press because obviously that seems to have happened quite a number of times along with the protestation by Jose that he doesn't tell the players to hold a one goal lead. Clearly something isn't happening and yes, the coaching has to play a major part. Certainly it's hard to see that he would have deliberately sent what was an attacking side on paper out there to sit back.

Yeah, I just don't think Jose is giving them the blueprint on how to play out under pressure. You can coach it so that players don't have to think too much about it, as they rely on familiar movements that have been worked on in training. At the moment our players look like they don't have a blueprint to work from. It's too sporadic.

I'm not saying Jose isn't working on it, that would be ridiculous to think he just has players doing what they want but maybe his methods aren't allowing the players to trust in it.

 

[Metalhead]

Yeah, I just don't think Jose is giving them the blueprint on how to play out under pressure. You can coach it so that players don't have to think too much about it, as they rely on familiar movements that have been worked on in training. At the moment our players look like they don't have a blueprint to work from. It's too sporadic.

I'm not saying Jose isn't working on it, that would be ridiculous to think he just has players doing what they want but maybe his methods aren't allowing the players to trust in it.

There has to be something that's not coming across, that's for sure. Ultimately, it will be on Jose - that's just reality.

 

[Jamturk]

Anyone who selects Bale and Doherty to defend a wing in a NLD will receive my criticism.

 

[yiddopaul]

lol.apart from the child bit obvs. but as a neutral I am coming to the conclusion that he isn't that special after all.

I've always said that the test to see if these so called top draw managers really are uniquely good is to manage a club like Spurs. Big club, big fan base, enough money to buy decent players but without the backing of a country. Infrastructure first class. But then again... there's something inherently wrong at our club (mentality wise), and there has been since the end of the 80's. We've had numerous managers, players - many of which are/were world class, we still have the same weaknesses in our club. The only thing that stays the same is the fans, and we can't be blamed for the above except on the odd occasion.

 

[blankom]

In all fairness I think that the starting XI was ok.
Doherty has been improving lately, which is probably why he was picked over Serge.

tbh I was surprised that Doherty wasn’t able to defend against Smith-Rowe.

we clearly have a tendency for being overly defensive, and that is costing us loaaads of points this season.

 

[Japhet]

Conversely - he could hold a child’s head underwater and some of you brainwashed devotees would still claim he can do no wrong.

...or was trying to show it how to drink.