It has been a chastening couple of weeks for Jose Mourinho and Tottenham Hotspur. The extent of the stagnation in the final 12 months of Mauricio Pochettino’s tenure means there was never going to be a quick fix at Spurs and yet already we are seeing signs of why hiring a man instinctively unpopular among supporters could be a huge mistake.
Where patience is required, some fans are already turning on Jose. Where unquestioning loyalty is called for at the beginning of a new regime, some are already interpreting every minor slip as a sign of Mourinho’s worst traits coming to the fore. Confirmation bias should come towards the end of a tenure, not the beginning.
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And yet they do have a point. Petulance in spikey post-match interviews, a needless dig at Tanguy Ndombele, and rumours of Harry Winks being made surplus to requirements certainly ring alarm bells. However, from a tactical perspective Spurs’ poor performances against Chelsea, Norwich, and Middlesbrough are more in line with the Pochettino endgame than anything specific Mourinho is coaching.
The visit of Liverpool this weekend comes at a dismal time. Jurgen Klopp’s side have never looked better or more clinical, and increasingly look like the perfect team – capable of winning in pretty much every conceivable style. Spurs, then, will probably sit a little deeper than they did against Chelsea while Liverpool will dominate for long periods. But the wider shape of this match, and its territorial battle, is a secondary concern given the defensive issues engulfing Tottenham at the moment.
Mourinho certainly doesn’t have a problem with how Spurs’ high pressing dropped off over the course of 2019, but the problem is - having had so little time on the training field in December – the new manager is yet to impart wisdom on how to successfully defend in your own half. If you aren’t compressing space by pushing up, then you need to know how to keep a solid shape in a deeper block.
Until Mourinho gets his tactical message across Tottenham will continue to drift halfway between the two styles. This is why Spurs are so weak in the transition and so oddly disconnected, neither covering space in their own third nor applying pressure to the ball. It is the sort of problem that any energetic and purposeful opponent will take advantage of, as a swarming Chelsea attack did in their recent 2-0 win.