of Spurs.
The second ugly defeat in a week for Spurs, Jose is in full Jose mode, is it all turning a bit Man United at Spurs, earlier than expected.
Jose is missing players and his squad are tired.
Yes, all teams would miss Kane and Son, with Jose dropping Dele it must be the first time none of the DESK – Dele, Eriksen, Son, Kane – have featured in the starting XI for a league game for ages.
Tired? Well, they’ve played about the same number of games as those teams around them. Why are they tired? I mean Wolves have played more games and managed Thursday and Sunday. Yes they played against teams bottom of their respective leagues but stuffed ’em, while Spurs struggle against Norwich.
The thing is Jose, we all kinda know you sent out the bus and put it in park. It looked bad and didn’t work. I saw a number of formations suggesting Spurs had matched up Chelsea with a 3-4-3 but no this was a back five. This was mass defence.
I don’t get playing Aurier in a back four, where his defensive liabilities can be exposed, when you leave him out of a back five, where those can be covered by the extra defender, while his good attributes – getting forward – can be better used.
At least someone would have got forward. I mean, you can’t rely on Winks to move you up the park, can you?
Yup, Spurs don’t have a striker a target man as Jose said. But does that make the rest of them unable to play. I mean one of their best chances in the game came from Tanganga’s bad touch in receiving a long ball from Toby.
A striker. Oh them. Well, the law of the ex has been joined by the law of the rejected. Spurs wanted Giroud, Chelsea wanted rid of Giroud. Spurs didn’t get Giroud. You knew from the moment you saw his name feature on the starting team sheet what was coming.
A player who has featured in a whole seven of Chelsea’s games in the league, so far, this season. Played 22 minutes in their last 12. Scoring zero goals, with no assists, in the process.
Everyone knew what was coming. The way Spurs have been playing they also knew that the defence would help him in opening the scoring. Hay, Jan, why not jump out of the way, while turning your back, to make sure you don’t block the shot. Three attempts on goal and for each attempt Spurs players stood there and watched ’em.
Just as that was inevitable so was their second. Alonso doesn’t play that often these days. This was his second outing in 17 league games, they other came in the last meeting between these clubs. And he seems to have a habit of scoring against us. Five defenders and he’s all on his lonesome to bang in his shot.
Remember when it wasn’t working for Jose and he’d make a change, or two, or three, before half time. Two down and with an hour gone, it was almost like a Poch substitution. Especially as it left the mass of defenders on the pitch. With Lamela replacing Ndombele.
Erik did inject some go forward and some life. He was probably enlivened by the thought that he could probably get away with anything, after seeing Lo Celso get away with murder. It was a red card challenge. Everyone saw that except for the referee and the VAR berk watching on the telly.
Jose is right though about the challenges on Spurs that have gone similarly unpunished and won’t have received as much airtime as this one.
Two more changes came with less than 15 minutes of normal time to go. Aurier making an appearance for Toby and Dele coming on. Dele’s got some stick of late, especially after his substitution and reaction midweek. The thing is he’s not a striker. Yes, he’s scored goals but he’s a player who thrives behind a Kane or a Son, not one to replace a Kane or Son.
But after getting our Dele back at the beginning of Jose’s reign, his brother has returned and is his brother getting the treatment from Jose that say Shaw did at United?
Lamela squeezed an own goal out of Rudiger in the dying minutes. It was flattering. Spurs struggled to be second best against a team which isn’t that good.
Jose can make the excuses but if there isn’t a trophy at the end of the season, I don’t know if this will continue. I don’t know if giving him a transfer window and a pre-season will alter anything, after all it’s Levy who’ll be doing the deals. What makes anyone think it’ll be any different…