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In today’s fickle Premier League climate, pragmatism will only get you so far.
José Mourinho is learning it the hard way.
On Sunday, his Tottenham side suffered another setback in their penchant for the title when the Wolves denied them all three points on the dying embers.
Mourinho’s men had taken the lead in the opening minute through Tanguy Ndombele, but were unable to take advantage of his auspicious start, instead opting to sit up front.
And it ended up costing them the same as that defensive approach had done a few weeks earlier at Crystal Palace.
Mourinho blamed his players for this latest disappointment, accusing them of a lack of ambition.
“I am frustrated with the result, we were in control of the game, we had 89 minutes to score more goals and we didn’t do it,” Mourinho said. “It’s not just about not scoring, but about not being dangerous and ambitious and for me that is the problem.
‘I know how I prepare the team, I know what I ask of the players. I know what I told them at halftime and I don’t say more than that. I give credit to the Wolves, but we didn’t have that ambition or desire to go for more. ”
Mourinho hit the spot there, why does Tottenham keep closing the store?
You just have to look at the state of the country to understand how uneconomic that approach is.
When they could be adventurous and daring, too often Tottenham have taken the cautious and careful route.
In too many games this season that Tottenham have been dominating, they have rested on their laurels instead of turning the screw. They have become a team that seeks to conserve rather than improve.
Only three Premier League teams have lost more points than Tottenham in winning positions (eight) so far this season, while in their last seven games they have only managed 22 shots in the second half.
That tells you the story of how Tottenham have tried to manage games in recent weeks – negatively.
Tottenham continues to move into promising positions before taking their foot off the gas and collapsing. It has been a recurring theme throughout his season.
At the end of last month, Spurs topped the Premier League table, but are now fifth, winless at four and six points from leader Liverpool.
Mourinho can point the finger at his players for that, but he should at least share the responsibility.
As a coach, he has never been one to take risks and is still seen as an anti-football defender due to his tough-looking style.
Others will even stretch to say at another time that he must have been a bus driver because he has proven so good at parking them.
Invariably, it is now in Tottenham’s structure to play in the same way as the teams historically led by Mourinho.
When he took over at Spurs, Mourinho swore he was a changed man, but you can’t teach an old dog new tricks and, as a tactician, he still seems to be reverting to the old formulas.
Mourinho has enjoyed tremendous success in looking at things pragmatically in his career, but this season’s Premier League is wild and unpredictable.
If the recent results told you anything, it’s that you must be bolder and more aggressive in your methods if you have genuine ambitions to compete for the title.
Daniel Levy brought Mourinho on board to take Tottenham to the next level and compete for cutlery, but right now it’s their relentless safety mentality that is preventing them from doing just that.
Source: m.allfootballapp.com
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