Tottenham Hotspur: Spurs journalist slams Jose Mourinho’s tactics

On the latest episode of the Extra Inch podcast, Chris Miller, Nathan Clark and Bardi have been reacting to Tottenham Hotspur’s 3-1 defeat against Sheffield United. 

One topic of conversation on the recent episode, which was titled: ‘Ragecast‘, was Jose Mourinho’s choice of tactics for the game at Bramall Lane, where defeat has looked to all but end the Lilywhites’ chances of securing a Champions League spot for next season.

The Portuguese manager opted for an attacking line-up against the Blades, with Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Lucas Moura, and Steven Bergwijn all starting, but they struggled to break through a strong Sheffield United defence until Kane’s consolation in the 90th minute (per BBC).

Here’s what ‘Bardi’ had to say about Mourinho’s tactics:

“It’s Mourinho’s lack of putting together a plan – he’s had a week to think about this match and that’s what scares me the most here is, he’s not rushing through games, finding a way to win one game and win the next, we’ve actually had a lot of time on the training pitch.

“We’ve pretty much got a full squad available. And for the players to have a lack of a plan, a lack of cohesiveness, and just for Mourinho to fail to grasp the fact that Lucas and Bergwijn in those half-spaces against a really compact Sheffield United team is never going to work.

“The chance to hit them over the top wasn’t there. They got their goal and they sat back and defended deep and our lack of reaction to Sheffield United’s tactics is what worries me the most.”

TIF Thoughts…

Mourinho clearly didn’t get things tactically right against Sheffield United, as whilst Spurs enjoyed 68% of possession and more shots, it was the Blades who triumphed in terms of shots on target and perhaps the only stat that really matters, goals (per BBC).

Of course, you can argue that Spurs were unfortunate not to draw level when Kane’s goal was disallowed in the first-half after a handball decision given against Moura, but simply put, the Lilywhites didn’t do enough to win this game, with just two shots on target to their name (per BBC).

Therefore, we can see why Bardi is concerned, and it will be interesting to see if Mourinho does make any tactical changes ahead of their game against Everton on Monday evening.