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Tottenham host Arsenal in the North London derby on Sunday, live Sky sports, and after scoring four points in his last two Premier League games, Gary Neville believes José Mourinho has found success by innovating an old tactic …
I’ve watched Spurs the last two games, against Manchester City and against Chelsea, and I think they had a very good week. When José Mourinho was at Manchester United, something didn’t feel right. Maybe it was the adjustment and also the way José was.
We always used to refer to the ‘Mourinho masterclasses’ when he won matches and that he was wiser, smarter and cuter than rival coaches. There has been an element of disrespect in recent years whereby his style of play has been criticized to the point that it is outdated and the game has now passed him by.
We have seen managers like Mauricio Pochettino, Pep Guardiola and Jurgen Klopp come into the league and be absolutely fantastic.
I remember a game where I was coach of Manchester United against Liverpool and I came out thinking that I could not see United play this way.
Zlatan Ibrahimovic was isolated because Manchester United had 35 percent of possession
Mourinho did indeed go with a six behind and was desperate to see. I left thinking ‘United needs more than that’.
I know Liverpool were the best team and United were down, but they had to contribute more than that. It didn’t feel very innovative or modern. The problem with that is that United couldn’t get their counterattacks going when the two wide open players were so deep. José played a non-dominant style of soccer.
How the system is now more palatable
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FREE TO SEE: Highlights of Chelsea’s draw with Tottenham
He still wants defensive stability. He still wants a clean sheet, and I don’t think he totally relies on his four defenders at Tottenham, but you look at this Spurs team now, with Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, and you still have six defenders. [as he had for United against Liverpool] but there are big differences.
First of all, Harry Kane’s position is much deeper for Zlatan Ibrahimovic in a place that is difficult to regain. Second, and most importantly, is that Son [Heung-Min] Y [Steven] Bergwijn is close to him.
Instead of the two players closest to Zlatan being [Ander] Herrera and [Paul] Pogba, the two central midfielders, now José has the right players still in advanced positions to quickly counterattack.
Moussa Sissoko and Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg have sometimes recovered six
It is a subtle change but it is the same system as before in a different way. It is much more pleasant and more pleasant to look at, since you still have the attacking players in attacking positions. José has adapted and has the balance of being good defensively with the threat on the counter.
I feel like he has to play this way to have a chance to win the title because I don’t think his four defenses are strong enough without two players strengthening him. They will be a huge threat to most teams and Jose has a plan on how to win the league this season.
Sunday, December 6 4:15 pm
Start 4:30 pm
Challenges can come up against teams that fall against them, where they have to be a little more creative, but that’s when players like Kane and Gareth Bale will come into play.
I don’t think I can win it by being proactive against Liverpool, Manchester City and other teams, but if Tottenham accepts it, the players accept it, it feels like something innovative. He’s still defensively minded, but he’s a real threat and he’s scoring goals too.
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