What exactly is Jose Mourinho’s plan at Tottenham Hotspur?
It is a question that is likely to puzzle both fans and journalists alike for the coming months, and even the players don’t look sure at the moment.
As Spurs began 2020 against Southampton, they looked an awful lot like the 2019 side, losing 1-0 at St Mary’s to leave a six-point gap to Chelsea, who had also dropped points earlier in the day.
And yet it was the manner of the defeat that will truly rankle for supporters.
Spurs didn’t create a proper chance. The stats show that they had 58.9% possession and 11 shots on goal, of which five were on target, per WhoScored. Three of the attempts came from inside the box and two were from set-pieces. The other two were hopeful swings from Harry Kane from the edge of the box.
There was no precision to the build-up play, no rhythm or clear direction to the attacks. Spurs lost the ball 30 times throughout the game and while they played over 150 more passes than Southampton, they registered just six key passes. The Saints, by comparison, had 10.
This was a disappointingly retrograde performance that showed none of the flair that Spurs have in their ranks. While the football may not have been excellent for some time, they have some terrific technical players, the likes of Christian Eriksen, Dele Alli, and Giovani Lo Celso, who can all pick the lock on their own.
Yet they are not being given the licence to do that. Instead, they are being forced into cul-de-sacs and are routinely finding it hard to play a pass.
And it relates to Mourinho lacking a coherent tactic, a game plan on which he is building the way that his Spurs team play.
Under Mauricio Pochettino, one expected Spurs to press high, to move the ball quickly and to attempt to overwhelm the opposition with their pace in the final third. There hasn’t been any of that under Mourinho, merely confusion and long balls sent forward.
In fact, the only clear tactical trends of Mourinho’s time in charge so far are utilising 4-2-3-1, a formation Pochettino used throughout much of his Spurs career anyway, and a more direct approach that requires Kane to bring others into the game.
Aside from that, there’s nothing truly distinctive about Mourinho’s Spurs, and that lack of identity became painfully apparent on New Year’s Day.
The England captain was actually injured during this game and left the stadium on crutches, per The London Evening Standard’s Dan Kilpatrick.
If he is out for any length of time, one has to wonder how Mourinho will adapt.
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With the striker in the team, he has made him the focal point, almost playing him as a target man with other players instructed to boot the ball into his general vicinity.
Without him, Spurs might actually have to start working the ball into the box.
On Wednesday’s evidence, that is a scary thought indeed.
Meanwhile, Spurs fans have reacted to a hugely impressive stat from the last decade.
