Trying to work out Mourinho’s next move

Tottenham drop out of the FA Cup once more after a mad 5-4 defeat in a game that probably would have gone down as a classic had the fans been in attendance. Instead, it will go down as a showcase on how NOT to defend. Spurs were guilty of five mistakes, all punished with simplicity by Everton that could barely believe their luck. Not that Spurs didn’t do a bit of punishing themselves.

The game was a ding-dong affair and a throwback to when Spurs lose 5-4 at home to them lot down the road, back in 2004. A game Mourinho called a ‘hockey score’. Fate and karma takes its time to take its revenge.

So what next for Spurs in this mid-season experiment?

It’s a head scratch for sure, wondering what comes next and how to best predict it, perfectly assisted by this bookmaker offer as I seek to work it all out.

Spurs have momentarily changed their ways. Their football was decent against Everton and prior to that, in the 2-0 win against WBA. Mourinho has his men attack and with a purpose, a flow. There is urgency and quick movement. There is tempo. It’s easy on the eye and potentially will produce the goals.

Here’s the crux of it.

Jose pretty much knows that as a four man defensive unit, it won’t work relying solely on them to take responsibility. Hence why Spurs adapted the passive but successful low block. It assisted in controlling and containing not only the opposing side but also his own players and the mistakes they made. Defend in numbers, defend as a unit and protect each other.

Mourinho was, in a perverse way, sacrificing expansiveness to eliminate consistent mistakes. It worked until it got stale. Then it hit confidence. Now Spurs have changed seek to push forward, on the front foot. Which is grand – but this more than ever highlights just how clumsy individuals can be. The lack of elite focus and concentration means that Spurs, their problem, is once more self made.

They are causing their own grief. They are inviting the opposing team in. Sure, this is only going on the Everton game. City is next. Do Spurs persist with the adventure and the inability to defend strong? Or do they – for the occasion – refer back to a masterclass of containment and counter attacking football?

All eyes on Saturday.

City have won 15 on the trot. It’s a hiding to nothing. Spurs might as well look to frustrate them and steal the points (even one will do). Anything more open, and judging by the lack of accountability in the 5-4, Spurs will be in mighty big trouble against the pulsating City team.

Join me in a prayer.