In the penultimate episode of Amazon’s All or Nothing documentary series, there is a focus on Tottenham midfielder Giovani Lo Celso.
After a slow start to his Spurs career, Lo Celso gradually developed into one of Spurs’ top performers last season.
He was particularly impressive during a spell in which Tottenham were out of sorts. With Harry Kane and Son Heung-min sidelined with injuries, the team struggled for goals and results – but Lo Celso always gave 100% to try and turn things around.
His efforts didn’t go unnoticed by Mourinho. After a strong individual performance in a 1-1 draw with Burnley, the Spurs boss waxed lyrical about Lo Celso in a meeting with his coaching staff.
Mourinho admitted his first impression of Lo Celso wasn’t a good one, but the Argentine soon changed his manager’s mind.
“What I said when I arrived here about Lo Celso – ‘I don’t believe the kid can do it’. He looked like a shy kid,” Mourinho said.
“And then little by little the guy changed my mind and I started giving him opportunities. And the guy transformed himself into what he is today.”
Technically, Lo Celso’s performance dipped slightly after lockdown as he appeared to be playing through injury. But his work-rate off the ball did not drop.
His absence was clear in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Everton – hopefully he will be back as soon as possible.
Quite frankly I don’t really care about Mourinho’s thoughts on Lo Celso or respect them.
This is coming from a man who believes that Dier and Davies are top performing defenders.
Already he is finding excuses for yesterday’s horror show without admitting the obvious that he does not appear to know where he is going or what he is doing and that quite possibly the players don’t want to play for him.
The lack of financial support from Levy will only make him more upset and a parting of the ways is almost inevitable as predicted by many the day he was named as 1st team coach.
Mourinho has openly said how important the Europe League is to him and winning it was high up on the agenda.A defeat in Plovdiv as predicted by their president looks very much a possibility now and surely would be the continuation of the end.
Getting a second back up striker will be pointless unless we get some creativity from midfield. Priority must be a top class No 10 who can score and create chances for others. Mourinho looks like he is selecting favourites rather than based on capability. To keep selecting Dier and Moura is just wrong.
Agreed 100%Dier should be benched,bring back Poch and we will see attacking football,sad to manager like him
Bring back poch go boil ur heed
We have the slowest defence in the league. We are going to be mauled by any teams with ANY speed up front and even midfielders.
I agree with the omments made above. Spurs were tired looking, disjointed, were not creative, disappointing, ineffective,and totally out of the game, as well as being well beaten by a much better side. They and Mourinho don’t seem to realise that the new season is actually here now.
We’re still playing with Lucas Moura who gives the ball away all the time!! He is useless!!Bergwyn a much better all round player!
It fell apart after they scored. The players are looking unfit. Sissoko came on into the number 10 role….he’s not a 10. Why was Doherty replaced?? Sissoko then to right back….dont understand this! Worst of all was Ndombele coming on…currently he seems clueless!! We looked disjointed and out of sorts. Definitely more creativity needed.
Not a great start! very disappointed.
We have really missed players like Ericsson, modric etc.. Players that pull the strings in midfield and make things happen.
I find it totally unacceptable that once again we start a new season without a back up striker.Our scouts are ether incompetent or have been directed by Levy not to look at anybody over £15 million.We must not play Kane and Son in Europe this week as it is likely that both players will be targeted for rough treatment and our season could be over.I am not asking for loads of money being spent but surely Lewis is risking the future of THFC if he fails to guarantee it’s survival in the premier league,so Levy please invest now and buy a QUALITY striker.
Give Ndombele a start for 3 weeks on the trot as an attacking midfielder and you will see what damage he can do to the opposing team. If he doesn’t do it then let’s sell him.
I fully agree with the comments above. One obvious point yesterday, our mid-field work hard but have very little creative ideas….where is Lo Celso? I am sure we would of had a result if he played.
There are many obvious points but we must give the new signings time.
And the right system to play in. Remember how turgid Man U were under Mourinho? Awful joyless football. Must be pretty miserable going from playing the attacking football that got us to the CL final to having to play in this team. I don’t think Son and Lo Celso and Ndombele aren’t capable of being creative, I think Mourinho doesn’t know how to coach modern football.
when you play average players like, Dier, Winks, Davis, Sissoko what do you expect ? which top 10 team would have them anywhere near the squads they have, disgrace, then you have 2 of the most selfish players in the league in Son & Moura more intent of self glory than team ethics, thats over half the team that just dont fit together.
Winks, Davies and Sissoko got us second in the league and to a CL final. Just because we now have a coach who can’t improve players above their uncoached level….
Genuinely terrible game for us. Dier, Davies, and Winks are not good enough for where we need to be, and we desperately need another creative midfielder. Someone with real flair, Sabitzer would be great. In place of Winks, and Reguilon at left back in place of Davies, and restore Sanchez, or even Tanganga in place of Dier at the back. These areas are more important than getting another second rate striker to sit on the bench!
Pleased to see that I have set off a real polemic with the initial comment here.
Good to see fellow Spurs fans showing passion by taking time to comment.
Totally agree with Gazza’s Point of view.Bang on there.
Unfortunately Mourinho knows better and best and decides.
If he says the world is square, it is square.Better believe it.
I agree with your comments.
Mourhino thinking dier is a good CB and Davies is our first choice LB is already signs we have no ambition. Both those players would not be starting 11 for a top four challenging side. There’s too much sentimental value on certain players. It’s costing us and will cost us all season.
-Dier
-winks
-Davies
-lamela
-even sissoko although I like him as a versatile squad player
All of these are mid table team players and while they still get picked we won’t progress. We will stay at this level.
Winks has been dog shit for years but yet poch and Jose both like him cos he’s a spurs fan and an home grown player. He has so much potential but now he’s just another Tom Carrol who plays sideways . It’s a joke
And yet, Poch turned there mid table players (before he got exhausted by politics and broken promises) into a team that gave Barcelona, Dortmund and Real a run for their money. Actually good coach.
Also, Mourinho likes Davies because he’s defensive (zero assists last season). He was moaning last season that his game plan was wrecked by a Davies injury saying he wanted the let back always sitting back and the right back getting forwards. This in an era when the most dynamic, successful teams have assist machines for fullbacks on both sides.
Llorente not replaced. Eriksen not replaced. Vertonghen not replaced. You wouldn’t have a squad with only one goalkeeper so I don’t see how it is acceptable to anyone to only have one striker. It is another specialist position! Yet again, Levy has left us with a squad lacking in key areas going in to a new season. The man is clearly unfit to be running our great club.
Sanchez was bought in advance as Vertonghen’s replacement for 45 million. Los Celso was brought in to replace Erikssen for 50 million including loan fee. Ndombele was intended to replace Dembele at nearly sixty million. What is missing is a coach who can forge a team system and get players playing above their level. We had one. He got burn out.
Poch didn’t get burn out. He was hung out to dry by Levy. Despite warning that we needed to start acting like a big club. Despite warning that the squad needed a rebuild. What did he get from Levy?? 2 transfer windows where not one single penny was spent strengthening an aging squad. Pathetic!!
Big mistake taking Alli off at half time. He was one of our better players, and strove to create space for himself and others. The trouble is that both Alli and Kane need a creative player around them, in order to bring out their best. Son and Moura aren’t that type of player, and their performances yesterday (again mostly in the 2nd half) were akin to headless chickens. But then how can ANY of our forwards (I’ve never seen Kane looking so fed up) operate without one or two creative players behind them. It was all so aimless. Sissoko had his poorest 45 minutes for a year.
Look. I still believe in Dier, Davies and Winks, and particularly Alli (who is a unique no.10, and should be playing just off Harry Kane, but with an Eriksen type player alongside him), but Dier must be utilised as a holding midfielder as well as central defender, ideally covering for better players in those positions, while Davies needs a top left back to compete with, after Rose talked himself out of his position over the past few years. Winks too can always operate as good central midfielder, but again only if he has a creative player in front of him, and decent wing backs alongside. It’s too early to say if Doherty is the answer, but he did some good things and I guess anyone is better than Aurier. As for Hjolberg, he’s got to get up to speed, and quick, because yesterday he looked like a fish out of water. Three years ago we prided ourselves on being the fittest PL outfit of all. Yesterday we tired like pub players (is Ndombele’s fitness levels catching??) and we were completely shapeless. We expected vast improvement on an average 1st half performance yesterday, but all we got was shocking disintegration. Mourinho has to act quickly to find the best systems for this squad, and get them to learn quickly. Oh, and get them fit Jose’.
I disagree about Moura, he wasn’t great but usually puts in a decent shift despite his talents being limited. Same for Lamela – technically good enough to be better than he is but if everyone gave effort Like he does then that’s half the issue solved. Winks and Davies – not good enough. Dier an excellent utility player to have to fill in gaps but not be a first choice starter in any of the positions he’s played in. Need a LB that was as good as Rose was a few years back, a top class CB cos Dier and Alderweireld together lack pace and Sanchez despite pace has mistakes in him. Tanganga should start for now. Eriksen May have been largely poor over the last 3 seasons but his effort was massive, it’s this that we are missing the most, effort.
Sanchez was bought in advance as Vertonghen’s replacement for 45 million. Los Celso was brought in to replace Erikssen for 50 million including loan fee. Ndombele was intended to replace Dembele at nearly sixty million. What is missing is a coach who can forge a team system and get players playing above their level. We had one. He got burn out.
The centre backs did nothing yesterday and Winks is not fit after coming back from injury. There is dithering over a back up striker we will bring problems again if we do not have effective players. Jose you could lose your job if you install effort into the team
They all looked bored in the documentary and it must be really hard to believe motivated (literally, brain science) when playing a crap system with an unimaginative coach, who is also a git.
The centre backs did nothing yesterday and Winks is not fit after coming back from injury. There is dithering over a back up striker we will bring problems again if we do not have effective players. Jose you could lose your job if you dont install effort into the team
Can you imagine Mourinho going into Man City last season? “that David Silva, he is so shy, so I haven’t picked him until he can show me he can be nastier”. He can’t coach a coherent system – football has got way cleverer since he was a successful coach – and his mouth is too big so he boxes himself into corners. He raved about Dier and Moura when he joined (Dier because he tried to sign him at Man U, and Moura possibly to make a point about Poch, who didn’t play him regularly). The bit in the documentary where he is eying up Dier and saying to his assistant “he’s a great player isn’t he?) is cringeworthy as Dier hasn’t been any kind of player for two years. Pocb was right about them both. And his lame team talks! ” work hard and be nasty”. Are we accepting yet that Poch took many fairly average players and through tactics smarts and rigour and a bit of an inspirational personality, made them look way better than their underlying talent? Something Mourinho doesn’t have the nous for. (PS playing fluid football we averaged more goals a game without Kane than with him under Poch, so can we leave this archaic “get it up to the big number nine” football in the 90s where it belongs? “
Everyone seems to be of same opinion here so why can’t Mourinho or Levy see our deficiencies. Alderweireld and Dier are no longer good enough so we need a mobile, strong Defender capable of playing in back 3 or back 4 formation. If playing back 3, (my preference). Sanchez, Tanganga plus 1 other. Need 2 wing backs, Doherty and hopefully Reguilon. 2 defensive midfielders, Hojberg and Lo Celso. Would play Lo Celso here as hasn’t shown enough creativity up front but is a good tackler and mobile enough for this role. That leaves Kane and Bergwijn up front with a requirement for a creative attacking midfielder Which we do not seem to have. This position will be key to success so needs investment to get right player. Fernandes would have been ideal but we let him go to Untd. Any suggestions? Need an alternative to Kane for different scenarios, would like to see someone who could partner him up front who has pace and creativity (similar to Dybala) who we could also have got and didn’t.
That Juan Foyth looks pretty decent. Manager doesn’t have the patience, skill or player management ability to develop him in the first team, though. Sanchez is quick. But Mourinho has already humiliated him by saying in front of the rest of the squad and on camera “I targeted you in that Europa Cup final and we destroyed you hahahaha”.
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