Tottenham: Signs of change at Spurs under Mourinho since the restart

Jose Mourinho is serious about changing Tottenham for the better

Often when a new coach takes over, it takes time for that coach’s tactics to take hold, this is particularly true with a coaching change in the middle of the season, like what happened at Spurs this season. Yes, I know management changes have often been the catalyst to avoid relegation, but the situation at Spurs was not one of avoiding relegation so much as trying to change approach while maintaining a presence in Europe. With the assistance of the Covid-19 break, Mourinho has had time to fast forward that change and some of the changes are obvious on the field at Tottenham Hotspur.

Spurs and More than 1 Striker

One common theme among all six games since the Spurs have returned is that Harry Kane has not been alone upfront. In four of the six games, Tottenham have played with a clear second striker with Erik Lamela, Dele Alli, Steven Bergwijn, and Heung-Min Son each having a chance to play off and with Kane upfront. In the other two matches, Spurs rolled out a three-man front line.

Regardless of formation what is clear is that Mourinho’s plan is to try and get Harry Kane more involved in matches by having more company for him to play with and even interchange. Bergwijn and Son add some extra when paired with Kane up-top given their speed, whereas Lamela and Dele are more playmakers – although we all know Dele can make a great run from deep.

I know Kane has not exactly been getting a ton of touches in these matches, but he is picking the ball up in some dangerous places. During these six games Kane has taken 17 shots – nearly 3 per match – and that does not include several efforts where he was deemed offside. Sure we would all like to see more goals, but Kane has 2, and likely would be on five for the re-start if not for two called-back at Sheffield and the admittedly wrong decision NOT to award Spurs a PK against Bournemouth.

Despite the fact Spurs are not free-wheeling and scoring at will, there are signs the attack is coming together, and providing Harry Kane some support is one of those signs.

Dimensions in Defending

Live Feed

MLS Multiplex

One of the biggest problems Tottenham has had this year has been the defense, and sure Spurs gave up three goals to Sheffield, but WITH those three goals included Spurs have only shipped 5 goals in six games including two shut outs.

Clearly progress is being made and that comes from two small changes in the defense that are not about the person starting.

First, is the acknowledgment that the Tottenham defense is a lot of things, fast is certainly NOT one of them. While some may call it parking the bus – and if you think it is you have not seen the bus yet – but I see it more as sensible coaching.

Three seasons ago Tottenham had both Danny Rose and Kyle Walker as their starting full backs where speed was something of a calling card. Not to mention both Vertonghen and Alderweireld, while never fleet of foot, were both still in their 20s and had top-end stuff.

Now Walker and Rose are gone, replaced with Serge Aurier and Ben Davies. And while neither is slow, and Aurier is kind of fast, neither has the kind of pace of a Kyle Walker – which makes up for a LOT of defensive misgivings and errors.  Given this problem with pace, Spurs have played a slightly lower line on defense.

This lower line has led to two things, first, less space to play the ball over the top, leaving Spurs less susceptible to a long ball over the top, and second puts them all more in the feet of midfielders than center-halves. Under Pochettino it was very normal for the two center-halves to have the most touches and passes on the team. Slowly under Mourinho that distribution is moving forward, where we have started to see Giovani Lo Celso demand more of the ball. So, we are not parking the bus, just playing a bit more conservatively with our positioning and putting the ball more at the feet of the ones we want it at, our midfield.

Besides the change in formation positioning, there has been more of a concerted effort in the back to NOT take a lot of risks bringing the ball down. In other words, the defense is starting to adopt the mantra, when in doubt, kick it out. This is an approach that has served Gary Cahill and Chelsea well for years and brought several titles with it. I know Serge had a bad touch and that led to Lacazette’s goal, but that was on an interception attempt gone wrong and was an incredible individual effort from Lacazette with the shot.

Outside of that poor touch, I have seen a lot less diving in defensively, a lot less sliding in defensively, and a lot more clearly the ball out of danger so the team can organize and take its chances. Sure, the defense has not been great, but these changes are starting to pay dividends and over the long run will make for a more effective defensive approach.

Lloris No-Longer Lollygagging

Interestingly while Tottenham was known for a fast-paced, quick attack offense under Mauricio Pochettino it was rarely a result of quick action from Hugo Lloris. Apart from late game pushes, traditionally, Hugo would catch the ball and often – even when it was not necessary – hit the ground and slowly come back to his feet and then roll the ball out.

While sometimes Lloris does still roll the ball out and our goal kicks are still aiming for possession, there has been a noticeable change in Lloris’ approach after the initial catch of the ball. Instead of going to ground and slowing the game down. Lloris is picking up his head and looking upfield and punting to the attack much quicker and more frequently.

This increase in recycling the ball from Lloris’ hands hasn’t led to any goals yet, but when the team is active and energetic like they were against Arsenal, it creates pressure and can lead to mistakes. Just like I hated how long it used to take for Tottenham to throw the ball back in, I have never understood why Lloris would slow the game down with the ball in his hands, so personally, I like and welcome the new approach.

Summing Up Spurs Changes

Since the re-start we are starting to see some changes at Spurs, with Mourinho making some minor tweaks to our defensive position and approach, providing some more support and Harry Kane, and speeding up Lloris’ re-distribution. Those are just some of the changes I have seen thus far – which I think are impacting Spurs’ performance for the better. What changes have you seen and are they positive?