Mourinho making a habit of setting Tottenham up to fail

When is Jose Mourinho going to trust that Tottenham’s top-performing players have the capacity to take care of their own business?

Erik Lamela and Giovani Lo Celso played brilliantly after their introduction against Middlesbrough in the FA Cup. Sure, it was against a Championship side but that shouldn’t take anything away from the impact they made on the match. Surely at least one of them did enough to secure a starting place against Liverpool yesterday. Instead Jose decided to go with Christian Eriksen and Danny Rose, two players whose contributions are worth that of a cubic zirconia.

Rose and Eriksen had the same impact on the game as dropping a pea does on the Richter Scale. They were absent, ghost-like and, quite frustratingly, useless. If only Jose still had the intuition to go with what was working rather than erring on the side of caution, a typical Mourinho tactic when faced with the challenge of playing an elite competitor.

Jose Mourinho after the Liverpool match said that Lamela isn’t fit enough to play from the start, a comment I find hard to believe. And even if Lamela is struggling with fitness, there is no excuse in not starting Lo Celso, who, other than Davinson Sanchez and Paulo Gazzaniga, was Spurs best player.

Why Mourinho is investing so much stake in a player with one foot out the door I’lll never know. Most likely, considering his extreme hubris, Mourinho believes he can convince Eriksen to stay. I’ve got news for you, Jose; that shipped has sailed.

While I’m not begrudging the gaffer’s decision to start three at the back, I’m certainly dismayed at his decision to leave both of our creative playmakers on the sideline, watching idly by as Eriksen and Rose inadvertently (at least I hope) sabotage Tottenham’s efforts.

The second half reflected more accurately what Spurs are capable of, but once again, after yet another poor start, it was too little too late.

I wonder if Jose will ever learn his lesson and play to his side’s strengths. Or is he stuck in the past, perpetually parking the bus against élite teams to Spurs’ irrefutable detriment.