Hotspur HQ
Fansided

Tottenham: Should Mourinho Invert the Wingers or Not?

By Aaron Coe

MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur talks to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manager of Manchester United following the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on October 04, 2020 in Manchester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
MANCHESTER, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Jose Mourinho, Manager of Tottenham Hotspur talks to Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, Manager of Manchester United following the Premier League match between Manchester United and Tottenham Hotspur at Old Trafford on October 04, 2020 in Manchester, England. Sporting stadiums around the UK remain under strict restrictions due to the Coronavirus Pandemic as Government social distancing laws prohibit fans inside venues resulting in games being played behind closed doors. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /
facebooktwitterreddit
Prev
3 of 3
Next
Tottenham Winger Gareth Bale
Tottenham Hotspurs Welsh midfielder Gareth Bale (L) arrives to watch the second half during the English Premier League football match between Tottenham Hotspur and Newcastle United at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in London, on September 27, 2020. (Photo by Clive Rose / POOL / AFP) / RESTRICTED TO EDITORIAL USE. No use with unauthorized audio, video, data, fixture lists, club/league logos or ‘live’ services. Online in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No video emulation. Social media in-match use limited to 120 images. An additional 40 images may be used in extra time. No use in betting publications, games or single club/league/player publications. / (Photo by CLIVE ROSE/POOL/AFP via Getty Images) /

Spurs and Regular Wingers

Honestly, I am not sure how much I have ever seen Heung-Min Son play on the right. However, Gareth Bale I have seen play on the left. Just as Bale moved to the right for Ronaldo, maybe Son moves to the left for Gareth Bale. Think back to all your fondest memories of Gareth Bale in a Spurs uniform and where was he. Blazing down the left-hand side of the pitch.

Beyond the nostalgia of seeing Bale tormenting foes from the left, there are other tactical advantages too. Currently Tottenham get most of their service in terms of crosses from their wing backs. With Bale on the left and Son on the right, we may start to see more service into the box as crosses would be coming from their more natural sides.

In working toward the outside and sending in a cross, rather than cutting in for the shot, the opportunities for Harry Kane in the middle of the pitch increase. Further, squaring up the net on the far post has not been a strength for Tottenham in recent history and maybe having people working from the outside, rather than a more central position will help alleviate that. So, Harry Kane gets more space and more service, while the crosser also has reliable back-post options if Kane is covered, sounds good to me.

So, if Jose Mourinho wants to push the fullbacks up and use them on the overlap to produce most of the crosses, he can do that. If he wants to use our wingers in a more traditional fashion and get some forward to forward service, he can do that too. Ultimately, what all this means is that Jose Mourinho now has options. After the encouraging start to the season, knowing Mourinho and Company now have more options is an exciting thought.