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Jose Mourinho

How do you feel about Mourinho appointment

  • Excited - silverware here we come baby

    Votes: 666 46.7%
  • Meh - will give him a chance and hope he is successful

    Votes: 468 32.8%
  • Horrified - praying for the day he'll fuck off

    Votes: 292 20.5%

  • Total voters
    1,426

knowlespurs

Well-Known Member
May 31, 2012
2,741
8,514
tactically he was superb yesterday, thought we were the better side, had a fair few clear chances but looked strong defensively as well
 

Albertbarich

Well-Known Member
Jul 4, 2020
5,082
19,484
Very interesting - not just about Ndombele but also how Sacramento is influencing an update to Mourinho’s favoured playing style.
Interesting but the last bit worried me.

A throw away line about how opponents got wind of the tactics and made them play to which they had no answer.

This feeds into the Sheffield United comparisons. The reasons they get praised and we get criticised is because they are a newly promoted team on a tiny budget. Were going to face teams who want to sit back for more than Sheffield united and you would have to hope that sacramento has learned.

I personally hate the football. Yesterday was more enjoyable only because we looked thst bit more coherent going forward. It suited lucas better and we weren't relying on auriers erratic crossing.
 

Metalhead

But that's a debate for another thread.....
Nov 24, 2013
25,351
38,294
Interesting but the last bit worried me.

A throw away line about how opponents got wind of the tactics and made them play to which they had no answer.

This feeds into the Sheffield United comparisons. The reasons they get praised and we get criticised is because they are a newly promoted team on a tiny budget. Were going to face teams who want to sit back for more than Sheffield united and you would have to hope that sacramento has learned.

I personally hate the football. Yesterday was more enjoyable only because we looked thst bit more coherent going forward. It suited lucas better and we weren't relying on auriers erratic crossing.
Sacramento is very young though and I’m sure that he’s still adapting. I understand if people aren’t happy with the football (although I’m quite sure that this is far from the final version) - that is a point that can’t be debated really as it’s subjective. I think that more people will get on board (begrudgingly admittedly) if it delivers results but I realise that some will never accept it or him.
 

buckley

Well-Known Member
Sep 15, 2012
2,595
6,073
I am going to say something that will upset more than a few " I am exited for next season and can see us with three or four additions been a force " There I have said it and I await abuse .
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
It worked against arsenal as it allowed us to match them up in midfield and gave us two strikers against their three defenders. It won't work against other formations though as we'll be outnumbered in central midfield.

Yep. It was a one off tactic for them. Doubt we will play like that again
 

McFlash

In the corner, eating crayons.
Oct 19, 2005
12,740
45,363
I'm just catching up on this thread, so forgive me if this has been covered but...

I'll openly admit that I was all for Mourinho's appointment but I'll also admit that I'm a little concerned about our recent playing style.

It seems like years ago but I'm pretty sure that when he first arrived, we were actually playing some nice, attacking football but couldn't stop conceding.
I feel that he's now decided that he needs to go back to the basics and solidify our defensive shape and once that's in place, concentrate on the attacking side of the game.
I can understand that and although it doesn't make for the prettiest style of football, it's currently a necessary evil.

There is no point considering a managerial change until we've given (undoubtedly) one of the best managers a fair crack of the whip. This season has been a shitshow, from injuries to a global pandemic.
Lets give him a fresh canvas and a new set of crayons, then see what he can do.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
Don't worry mate these lot will soon wake up and see how rapidly we are regressing under this dinosaur and his "hoof ball" tactics. All the excuses were out for him prior to lock down regarding injuries/fatigue/no time spent together/etc, yet after a mini pre season, rested players, fully fit squad and time to think of tactics we still stink the place out.

Launching the ball to Kane's head, sitting back and trying to defend a fortuitous lead and players treating the ball like a hot potato is the Jose way. His whole ideology is "if you don't have the ball then you can't make a mistake' neagtive BS. Levy has royally fucked up appointing this mug thinking a change of voice would get the best out of this squad hence qualification for the CL. Well 7 months on we're a total shambles under this mug with fans now openly saying we need wholesale change in the squad... exactly what MP was bleating on about since the MUFC FA Cup semi defeat 2 years back. The difference being we now got a manager with no history of team building to do so with little money.

Those twats who were salivating at the thought of this c**t managing us, I hope you're enjoying what you're seeing right now. Suck it up as it's not going to get any better, in fact it'll get toxic!!!

FUCK OFF Mourinho!!!

Thoughts now? Glad we won yesterday or not?
 

Colonel Dax

Well-Known Member
Jul 24, 2008
2,946
12,289
I am going to say something that will upset more than a few " I am exited for next season and can see us with three or four additions been a force " There I have said it and I await abuse .

Not a controversial opinion, but it does depend on getting those additions. RB, LB, DM, backup striker/forward - and they need to be decent quality too.
 
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Trix

Well-Known Member
Jul 29, 2004
19,337
329,025
4-4-2 seems to bring the best out of our attacking play
Kane was having a off day today most days he would have buried a few of those chances
Nothing to do with the formation. It was because arsenal were far more open than a lot of teams we've played of late.

When an organised team parks the bus it matters very little what formation we play if there is little movement from the forward players.

Anyone thinking this tactical change of formation is going to be a turning point for us is going to be very disappointed.
 

southlondonyiddo

My eyes have seen some of the glory..
Nov 8, 2004
12,599
15,012
Nothing to do with the formation. It was because arsenal were far more open than a lot of teams we've played of late.

When an organised team parks the bus it matters very little what formation we play if there is little movement from the forward players.

Anyone thinking this tactical change of formation is going to be a turning point for us is going to be very disappointed.

Was the formation change that had a massive impact on the game plus the fact that they ran around a hell of a lot more than the previous 2.5 games

Agree with the last part as I think Jose will revert to type and go back to the previous way we’ve been set up. Hope not though!
 

rossdapep

Well-Known Member
Aug 25, 2011
21,905
78,641
Good to hear that he sees what fans see about attacking play. But it was reasonable to focus on defense first. We'll see what he does next season as probably not much will change in this.
It wasn't just reasonable. It was utterly necessary.

Here are some stats regarding shots faced from the beginning of this season to Poch's end of reign;


Aston Villa - Total = 7; On Target = 4
Man City - 24; 7
Newcastle - 6; 3
Arsenal - 23; 8
Crystal Palace - 9; 8
Olympiakos - 15; 5
Leicester - 16; 7
Southampton - 16; 8
Bayern - 22; 11
Brighton - 17; 6
Watford - 7; 2
Red Star - 13; 6
Liverpool - 22; 14
Everton - 8; 3
Red Star (away) - 3; 2
Sheff Utd - 15; 4

As you can see we were facing an alarming amount if shots at goal on average as we pretty much stopped pressing teams until they arrived at our goal.

We only outnumbered teams with shots on target against Villa, Watford and both Red Star games.

Even Palace out scored us in that respect and we beat them 4-0. So we could easily have conceded a couple and that was supposedly our best performance. Newcastle and Sheff Utd did a number on us by keeping our shots on target low and were able to make the most of our brittle defence to do it.

So, let's look at Jose's period up until the COVID break because this is important to give a clearer picture;

West Ham - 7; 5
Olympiakos - 6; 3
Bournemouth - 17; 6
Man Utd - 12; 6
Burnley - 6; 2
Bayern - 17; 8
Wolves - 16; 7
Chelsea - 11; 4
Brighton - 11; 5
Norwich - 5; 2
Southampton - 12; 5
Liverpool - 13; 6
Watford - 13; 2
Norwich - 10; 2
Man City - 15; 3
Villa - 14, 4
RB Leipzig - 16;7
Chelsea - 16; 6
Wolves - 11; 3
Burnley - 18; 7
RB Leipzig - 13; 5

Bournemouth, Man Utd, Bayern, Chelsea x 2, Brighton, Liverpool, RB Leipzig x2 & Burnley were the teams to outdo us on shots on target in that period and even some of them were a little more balanced.

So some steady improvement and we'd stopped facing over 15 shots per game which had become almost a normality. Jose focused on letting the players do the business at first but as that wore off, we started to regress again. Once injuries tolled up we started to really struggle in those last games.

From the first Leipzig tie we started to face more shots. Normal as we had less attacking players to keep the opposition honest.

Finally, let's look at Jose's record since the restart;

United - 13; 6
West Ham - 8; 1
Sheff Utd - 7; 4
Everton - 10; 3
Bournemouth - 4; 2
Arsenal - 12; 4

So only United, who have been scoring for fun, registered more than 4 shots on target. West Ham and Everton hardly had a sniff, Bournemouth pushed us back but still didn't create too much and Arsenal only really had a couple of half chances.

We had more shots than any team, other than the United game but its true we struggled to breakdown Sheff Utd and Bournemouth.

But the signs are there. Previously we were conceding an embarrassing amount of shots at goal, so much so that we had to focus on it. I don't think we could have focused on the attack first until we stopped with the silly mistakes, the lack of aggression, the organisation and the desire to defend. All fundamentals of a succesful side.

Now we are getting them back, the key will be improving the ability to play through midfield, making better decisions and being creative against teams who sit back.

But it was absolutely necessary to focus on our defending first because it was one of the worst im the division.
 

kremlyn

Well-Known Member
Jul 30, 2004
1,823
2,803
To borrow from Churchill, is this the beginning of the end or just the end of the beginning?

I had to force myself to watch the NLD, before and during the game. All I'm doing is trying to look for signs of something to suggest that we are laying foundations. How has this happened?

We were on the brink of something last year. Looking back we knew we needed a new cm, striker, and 2 new wing backs. We got 2 cms and a winger who might be converted to a lb and we suffered for exactly those reasons. In the winter we bought another winger.

To top that we swapped the architect of this team, one of the best front-foot managers in the world for his philosophical opposite.

The word 'imbalanced' doesn't come close to describing our situation.

The question is whether Jose can turn this around. Actually it isn't. What happens if he can't? To turn this team into a Jose team is going to require massive investment. We need all the same things to do it and more. This disciplined approach needs powerful and pacy midfielders, at least one more big striker and disciplined, athletic full backs. A total overhaul of staff but also philosophy. We needs to drop 5 years of high press, possession based football for a counter attacking mentality when the former is the dna of the club and the reason for its greatest successes, the latter is George Graham. If it doesn't work, the next manager inherits a basket case of a club that only juande Ramos would accept.

I like and respect Jose but I sincerely hope Real Madrid take him this summer and we look for an attacking, innovative coach like nagelsmann, potter etc who will look at the squad and think, 'I can do something with this' rather than demand a root and branch transformation that goes against the grain.
 

King of Otters

Well-Known Member
Jun 11, 2012
10,751
36,093
If he wants us to be this deadly counter-attacking team he’s gonna have to get inside Kane and Son’s heads because their selfishness when they could easily square a ball to a team-mate is so costly and has been at times under Poch.

Son had Kane completely free and chose not to pass and Kane could have squared to Bergwijn to kill the game, but shot instead.

If you want to play this way, you’ve got to be killers.

I don't think the ball onto to Kane from Son was that clearcut tbh, the angle was pretty tight.
 

spursfan77

Well-Known Member
Aug 13, 2005
46,680
104,956
To borrow from Churchill, is this the beginning of the end or just the end of the beginning?

I had to force myself to watch the NLD, before and during the game. All I'm doing is trying to look for signs of something to suggest that we are laying foundations. How has this happened?

We were on the brink of something last year. Looking back we knew we needed a new cm, striker, and 2 new wing backs. We got 2 cms and a winger who might be converted to a lb and we suffered for exactly those reasons. In the winter we bought another winger.

To top that we swapped the architect of this team, one of the best front-foot managers in the world for his philosophical opposite.

The word 'imbalanced' doesn't come close to describing our situation.

The question is whether Jose can turn this around. Actually it isn't. What happens if he can't? To turn this team into a Jose team is going to require massive investment. We need all the same things to do it and more. This disciplined approach needs powerful and pacy midfielders, at least one more big striker and disciplined, athletic full backs. A total overhaul of staff but also philosophy. We needs to drop 5 years of high press, possession based football for a counter attacking mentality when the former is the dna of the club and the reason for its greatest successes, the latter is George Graham. If it doesn't work, the next manager inherits a basket case of a club that only juande Ramos would accept.

I like and respect Jose but I sincerely hope Real Madrid take him this summer and we look for an attacking, innovative coach like nagelsmann, potter etc who will look at the squad and think, 'I can do something with this' rather than demand a root and branch transformation that goes against the grain.

Mourinho being replaced by Graeme Potter. Heard it all now.
 
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