Tottenham HQ letter to Mauricio: Where was Vincent Janssen in our time of need?

Mauricio, why did you introduce Moussa Sissoko instead of Vincent Janssen with 10 minutes to go when Spurs were in desperate search of an equalizer?

It’s the question on many Spurs supporters’ minds today after having time to absorb the loss and conduct the autopsy.

This is not an indictment on Mauricio Pochettino’s management of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. You’d be mad, deranged or ill-informed to find fault in how the Argentinian has transformed Spurs since his arrival in 2016.

I did, however, find troubling his decision to bring Sissoko on in the 80th minute against Chelsea while trailing the match 1-0. The decision would have made more sense had Tottenham been leading. Sissoko is, after all, a work horse who can help his team secure a lead in the dying minutes.

But is Sissoko a viable threat going forward when Spurs are desperate for an equalizer against the defending Premier League champions?

Not from what I’ve seen since the Frenchman arrived on a that extremely swollen transfer fee.

Surely, it was the opportune time to bring on another attacking threat, a player paid to score goals. If not with 10 minutes to go and down by a goal, then when?

Spurs did go on to level the match two minutes after Sissoko’s introduction. But that was more due to happenstance than the Frenchman’s contribution.

I fully understand that Janssen hasn’t exactly been prolific in a Spurs shirt. Quite the opposite, in fact. Janssen scored just two goals in 28 Premier League matches in 2016-17, only one of which from open play.

The 23-year-old is by no means a super-sub. And he most likely doesn’t make opposing defenders tremble in their boots – not yet anyway. But this kind of opportunity to test the Dutchman’s mettle won’t come around often. Very rarely are Spurs trailing a game with 10 minutes to go.

Imagine what a goal in that kind of situation would do for young striker desperately in need of confidence. It realistically could change the outlook of his Spurs’ career. And I don’t think that is overblowing it either.

I’m not privy to what goest on at Tottenham’s training sessions so I can’t vouch for Janssen’s practice form. And maybe Pochettino is a bit annoyed that Janssen was perusing Chelsea shirts on his off day last week.

Either way, I’m merely asking the gaffer for some clarity, some further insight on this perplexing topic. Because if Janssen isn’t the first attacking option off the bench when Tottenham are trailing in the dying minutes, what good is he?

Next: Tottenham player ratings in 2-1 loss to Chelsea

And when is a more opportune time to bring the struggling Dutchman on? I won’t be pacing back and forth with bated breath waiting for Pochettino’s response as I know he’s extremely busy working in the aftermath of a bitterly disappointing loss.

But introducing Janssen in injury time is like devouring all but one bite of a towering three-scoop ice cream cone, then offering the last lick to your five-year-old kid.

All I ask is that you give Janssen a few more licks before tossing him aside.

One day soon Spurs supporters will yearn for for an answer to this confounding and puzzling question.