Jose Mourinho

[ItsBoris]

But at what cost?
I thought that when we brought him in but to me watching us play like we did against Bournemouth etc for the majority of our games is just not enjoyable, sitting through 40 or so of those performances for one League Cup, I'm not bothered tbh the joy of winning a small trophy compared to the boredom of watching us play like this week in week out isn't worth it in my opinion.

If we can play more like today more regularly then fine but we all know Jose's DNA is to use a low-mid block etc.
Under Redknapp and Poch at times we played some simply breathtaking electric football, sure we missed that pragmatism at times but there were so many matches which were so enjoyable, we've now gone to the completely opposite approach, its not Spurs and its boring.

Poch lost more than he won against every "big" club, whereas Mourinho's record has more wins than losses against every single club except for Barcelona, Bayern Munich, and Chelsea...

Mauricio Pochettino - Record against …

This statistics show the results of the manager Mauricio Pochettino against other clubs in all competitions.

www.transfermarkt.us

José Mourinho - Record against …

This statistics show the results of the manager José Mourinho against other clubs in all competitions.

www.transfermarkt.us

So maybe pragmatism is something that will serve us well

 

[hellava_tough]

He's getting us organised and instilling a determination into us. That's basically 80% of team sport.

Hopefully he'll be backed to some degree in the transfer window and get us back into the CL at least.

It's painful, but I'm starting to believe.

 

[C0YS]

Pha good one...
Last 5 games shots on target count:
0,2,2,4,3

Don't get me wrong, that's bad. But, the average per match in the league is 4.

 

[Ionman34]

@Hercules @beats1 @jay2040 you might disagree but wtf doesn't make sense here. If you're happy with us in our home games and most of our other games just sitting back with a low block, having very little possession just trying to hit teams on the break then fine, like today showed it can work but its extremely boring and not something I and may others enjoy sitting through week in week out, we could've just as easily have lost that match, credit where its due Jose's tactics were spot on today but come on how much enjoyable sustained possession and attacking play was there?

More green shoots today. For the last few games we've looked extremely solid defensively, but abject going forwards. Not so long ago you shared the opinion that solidifying the defence was the priority, well, aside from some blips, which every side suffers, we've got that solidity. The last 6 games are, I think, a good enough sample size to see that his work with the defensive unit is definitely taking. The worry about our forward transition was valid though, with Bournemouth being the absolute Nadir, we were awful.

But today has really alleviated my concerns, though obviously not 100% as, same as 1 match wasn't sufficient to judge the defensive capabilities on, we can't assume all is peachy after this 1 good offensive performance.

Yes, offensively it was a good performance,, as we created multiple chances that, had our finishing been a little better, would have seen us run out comfortable winners, and deservedly so. They had more possession, but we were comfortably better than them, Hugo had a quiet one compared to Martinez.

I said previously, in the manager watch thread, that we need to see some evidence, up to the end of the season, that there has been some work done on our offensive transition. Today showed me that it has at least started.

Think on that for a bit, it's just starting and we really should have gone out winning by at least 2, against a resurgent goon side that most of us, me included, thought would have us on toast.

Have a look at some of the dynamism shown today going forward. Some progressive pass and move, definitely better movement up top and some lovely diagonal passing into dangerous areas. The winning goal resulted from one such pass to Kane, forcing a save from Martinez which gave us the corner.

Still lots of work to do, but for me, a fairly big step in the right direction. Unlike a few on here, I can't stand tikka taka Football. As pretty as it may look, I'd much rather see fast, powerful transition where you suck the opposition into making a mistake then tear their throat out, so to speak. Might have something to do with me being a poker player, as I love setting traps and putting an opponent to the sword when they think they're in front.

Amazing how a good result, particularly a deserved one, can lift your spirits and your outlook.

 

[bbunc]

They've been few and far between so far, but that was a big win for Jose today.

I was convinced based on the form of both sides going into this and the 48 hour disadvantage that we'd take a hiding today but it was far from it.

The team lineup worried me but he changed things up significantly. It was a real 4-4-2 and I felt right from the start that it was comparing favourably to Arsenal's formation (which they've been doing well in). Lucas and Sissoko did a fantastic team role out wide, which had the added bonus of them not clogging up the middle. Winks and Lo Celso meant a CM2 more comfortable on the ball and also Kane and Son seemed to have more space to work in. Whilst the game could have gone either way I think Mourinho won the tactical battle today just to have us competitive.

Big shout out to all of the lads for coming in with excellent effort and application today. It's too late for CL but hopefully they can take confidence with this and put on a better show for us in the last 3 games. Finish strong and hopefully there can be a little bit of hope over the summer.

We're still at the stage where there's more questions than answers about Jose being the right man to take us forward, but he did us proud today.

Generally agree. Set up well today with that 442 and had the guys playing their hardest.

I still think he was 10 mins late with subs as you could see our guys dragging out there. It worked out, but it could have so easily been the other way with one tired mistake.

 

[C0YS]

No they aren’t, or weren’t, that we can agree on. Mind you, Leicester were built on stifling attacks then the long ball up to Mahrez and Vardy, not to mention they had prime Kante.

The difference though is that we are comparing our team, at the start of a defensive rebuild, to teams that had established defences and had won titles. The important comparison is what happened to them after their defences regressed, just proving the importance of the solidity.

At the moment it looks to me as though JM has identified the defence as the primary issue, so he’s devoting the majority of his time into getting that right. What troubles me is that it appears that that is ALL he’s focused on atm, which I don’t necessarily agree with. Simple pass and move triangles, giving the player on the ball at least 2 options to pass to, is something that is easily coached, especially to top level professionals. I did this with U9’s and had them turning older teams over with ease. Not really comparable I know, but the principle is sound. Against Bournemouth we couldn’t manage that at all, but then if that is coached into kids from a young age, why can’t our team manage that regardless? They’ve been playing together, in the main, for years.

In the prematch press conference, he mentioned the exact need to do this. He was saying we take too many touches andd he is happy with his attacking players but not the way we attack. I think he is working on this. But as you say, he has identified safety first defensive approach as the first step in getting the team working.

 

[Albertbarich]

Massive massive result.

I still think he's totally the wrong man for the job but credit where its due he ground a result out today. As I said before the game jf he goes negative which second half he most certainly did you have to get a result and it was beautiful to see.

I think for the rest of the season we should stay 442. Much better going forward. If make a slight change and bring tanganga in and tell both full backs to stay back which would let us drop sissoko and play a proper forward thinking player there.

 

[C0YS]

This is not the way. You can't always play defensively, there are great talents like Gio, Steve,Tanguy who serve to play nice.

To say Gio 'plays nice' is a little of an over statement. He is a tenacious all rounder, and I suspect Jose would happily build around him.

 

[fortworthspur]

some of you seem surprised that Mourinho plays boring football.

 

[Ionman34]

For telling the truth? I also said he did the right thing to play a 4-4-2 but everyone wants to focus on the negative

Oh the irony...

 

[tiger666]

The man has no understanding of football just lucked out in his career. He is only about team shape and organisation. He does not care about the game. It is all about his own ego. The talk about not being born a Spurs fan just creeped me out.

No wonder you've only made 37 posts in 16 years.

 

[slartibartfast]

some of you seem surprised that Mourinho plays boring football.

That wasnt boring.today.


But yeah, he does lol.

 

[spursfan77]

This has to be one of the most ridiculous posts i've ever seen on here. I hope you're joking.
Look I'm not a fan of his style of play at all but it can work and I'd never say he has no understanding of football or just lucked out haha are you actually serious? He's one of the most decorated football managers of all time, trust me he certainly knows a thing or two.

No understanding of football yet sets us up perfectly today. I like that he treats the players like pros. Making them do different things each game.


Could you talk us through your tactics today with Sissoko and Lucas out wide?
How much did you pay for the class? (Laughs) Amazon are the lucky guys because they know everything. Look to be honest Arsenal are playing well, in my opinion.
Since Mikel changed and since they started playing with three plus the wing-backs, two midfield players plus the three attacking players who are all very good. I think they're playing very well.
I thought I needed to give the team a different shape and to control that we would be in a better position to try to win the game.
They play with Bellerin and Tierney really wide and high, then they bring Aubameyang and Pepe or Saka to the inside. I wanted my back four to be focused on closing the central areas and jumping only to the wing-backs in special occasions. For that I needed a sacrifice from Sissoko and Lucas.
Even then we had two targets in attacking transitions and to go on to change the direction of the play. With Sonny close to Harry I felt that we could have both, one coming more for the ball and being more a target man and the other making the runs and attacking the space.
So it was our strategy for the game but more important than that was the players. The mentality and the way they embraced the game and the rivalry with Arsenal.

 

[Gb160]

Countering your argument would be like trying to counter a toddler - no matter how technically correct I was, I'd still look like a fucking bell end for engaging

He used the 'term', and I quote, 'Looool' a few posts back.
When you see that it's time to just walk away.

 

[Ionman34]

For me I didn't learn anything new, and can only repeat what I have said so far re. Jose.

Today/big matches suit him best. He can comfortably play his preferred style and play to what his coaching strengths are - sit deeper, more rigid shape, give up the ball, defend stoutly, counter fast and exploit the space.

The question is those 'smaller' games. Where those teams nowadays just sit very deep and you're forced to have the ball, be the protagonist, have to play at a slower tempo, in a more precise and intricate nature and with more fludity. This is where in my opinion he has struggled to adapt to the modern game and so far we've seen a complete lack of idea and tactical nous/framework as to how we're going about our work and playing coherent football. He/his teams just aren't comfortable playing in this fashion, and it will be finding the solutions to this that are the biggest factor in how his tenure plays out.

Couldn't disagree more.

Teams sitting deep and forcing you to be the protagonist is not something that's "suddenly" appeared over the last few years, "lesser" teams have always adopted that approach as far back as I can remember. JM teams never had an issue blowing them away in the past.

Like I've said previously, his previous winning teams have set records for goalscoring over a season, the majority of those goals will have come against the very teams, with the very setups, that you claim he struggles against.

Seriously?

Football may have changed somewhat in recent years, but it hasn't changed that much.

 

[wrd]

I love being a 'tweener' on this site, as our form is so patchy its like I get two sets of users who come out and play depending on what way it goes each matchweek.

 

[doctor stefan Freud]

Big shout out to all of the lads for coming in with excellent effort and application today. It's too late for CL but hopefully they can take confidence with this and put on a better show for us in the last 3 games. Finish strong and hopefully there can be a little bit of hope over the summer.

We're still at the stage where there's more questions than answers about Jose being the right man to take us forward, but he did us proud today.

Mate, I didn’t stop posting for 90 minutes and was blowing out my arse by the end of it, but fuck me it was worth it. Cheers for the shout out

 

[slartibartfast]

I actually really enjoyed the first half and last 15 mins.

You're right, we have to accept this but if he gets the right players I think we can be quite devastating on the counter. And that'll be enjoyable.

Imagine going into every game confident that you only need one or two chances to win.

Agree that today was enjoyable to watch. If we have that many chances most matches and go at teams like that then I have no problem with them having more possesion.
Its doing absolutely fuck all when we have possesion that does my nut in.

 

[mpickard2087]

Couldn't disagree more.

Teams sitting deep and forcing you to be the protagonist is not something that's "suddenly" appeared over the last few years, "lesser" teams have always adopted that approach as far back as I can remember. JM teams never had an issue blowing them away in the past.

Like I've said previously, his previous winning teams have set records for goalscoring over a season, the majority of those goals will have come against the very teams, with the very setups, that you claim he struggles against.

Seriously?

Football may have changed somewhat in recent years, but it hasn't changed that much.

Not having that at all. Until the last few years/decade games were far more open and the lesser teams would have a go rather than just determinedly sit back in a very low block and defend their goal. That is a big change, it was never common back in the 90's and 00's for teams to routinely have 70, 75, or more, percent of the ball.

Mourinho was ahead of the pack when it came to fast transitions and specifically making use of them - his 1st Chelsea and especially Madrid teams you and others might deem attacking but I saw score majority of goals using this exact mantra of dropping to a mid block, drawing teams out, and then spring on them and being experts at countering into the space. The game now though has caught up a lot, with the focus on them and how to attack and defend with them.

It is also easier when he's with strong teams, with outstanding individual players, to work it out themselves and make the difference. In his last two or three jobs the quality of player and strength of team available to him has decreased, and I feel his lack of comfort and tactical ethos for 'front foot' football has become more apparent.

 

[emiley heskey]

There's a few things which I enjoyed about the 4-4-2 and some possibilities;

Kane had less off a work load with his pressing and dragging defenders and was also able to get more space which was great. I wonder if there's a possibility of Dele playing up there now and then also who Kane has a significantly better synergy with in terms of link up play.

Moura was much better on the wing, he wasn't getting in the way of Kane and taking up the same spaces and he helped defensively and played some great passes. He also benefited from cutting inside. Also opens up the possibility of introducing Sessegnon down the line which is great.

Sissoko was in a position where he was able to tuck in without being core to our central solidity and I think the CB's were grateful for that, was really played to his strengths today. Which is useful in certain situations; Against lesser teams maybe we can introduce an additional attacking player as part of a 4.

Aurier wasn't our main creative outlet which was great news and you can see how he can easily be replaced by the likes of Tanganga in a set up like this.

I still think 4-3-3 long term is the way to go when we're able to sign a defensive midfielder and a competent right back but it was great to see another option and one which might benefit a few players.

442 can certainly benefits players like Dele also ... We can play Dele/Son, Dele/kane, Kane/Son in the front two with Sissoko, Moura, Lamela, Bergwjin on either side of the wings .... Also I want Son to be played near Kane as when Son is played on the wings, his goalscoring instinct gets hampered ... Also in December, Jose said he sees Sissoko as a right sided midfielder and he wants to play him there rather than in Central Midfield .... It's just that our Central Midfield becomes lightweight as both Winks and Lo celso are not physically imposing. If we can bring one or two proper CM in the squad, may be old school 442 is the way to go as it brings the best out of Son, Dele, even players like Sess will get benefitted from the formation ....

PS: I want us to play a system where Son can play like cr7 role... I think son has the potential ability to score 30+ league goals if we can utilize him like how madrid and juventus used CR7 ...