BEYOND his early days in Portugal, this is the first job Jose Mourinho has taken mid-season.
So you could forgive Tottenham for being lost in transition.
Mourinho was angered by his defence’s sloppiness versus NorwichCredit: EPA
Saturday saw Mourinho’s side concede two more goals — this time at relegation-threatened Norwich.
The issue with Spurs right now is the manager’s insistence on playing his centre-backs deep.
Mourinho is doing this so it allows them to draw the opposition attackers in and for the defenders to ping long balls forward.
But because his Tottenham side’s attacking unit are playing high, it creates a chasm in the middle of the park.
This was illustrated by the ease in which Mario Vrancic burst through to score Norwich’s opener at Carrow Road.
It may be a coincidence, but a large number of goals conceded by Spurs under Mourinho have been from opposition midfielders.
If you defend deep, you need your midfield sitting deep, too. If you defend high, you can afford to have your midfield pushing further up.
Mourinho subbed off two of his three starting centre-backs — Jan Vertonghen and Juan Foyth — at half-time against the Canaries.
That meant Toby Alderweireld and sub Davison Sanchez became the centre-back pairing for the second half, with Ryan Sessegnon and Serge Aurier as traditional full-backs.
It allowed Tottenham to pull themselves together — bar Aurier’s own goal — to seal a comeback for the 2-2 draw.
Mourinho has always cherished a steel defence, but it is a myth that he just likes to park the bus.
His goal record from down the years tells you that — and his side have scored 18 goals in eight Prem matches, compared with Mauricio Pochettino’s 18 in 12 league games before his sacking.
But with just one clean sheet so far at Tottenham, Mourinho clearly has work to do on the defence.
José Mourinho accuses Tottenham defenders of giving away goals like ‘gifts’ after two defensive howlers allow Norwich a point
Source: Soccer - thesun.co.uk
