Is inconsistency crumbling Jose Mourinho’s Tottenham empire?
The Premier League has had more teams occupying top spot than any other league in Europe this season, including Tottenham Hotspur, Liverpool, Southampton, Everton and Manchester United. All these teams have been at the top of the league table at some point in the current season.
However, Spurs’ run to the summit was one that was indicative of a side ready to challenge for the title, or so many people thought.
A month ago, Jose Mourinho’s side was chasing league leaders Liverpool and were widely considered to be in the title race. However, things have been difficult for Spurs since their showdown with Jurgen Klopp’s side on December 16th.
Before Tottenham faced Liverpool, they were on an impressive run, sitting at the top of the league table. They have since dropped to sixth place in the Premier League and are six points behind leaders Manchester United.
After more than a decade of failing to win silverware, Mourinho’s arrival renewed hopes that Spurs could finally end their trophy drought. The North London outfit may have qualified for the final of the Carabao Cup, but their slump in the Premier League has disappointed fans.
Since losing to Liverpool in mid-December, Tottenham have won just once in their last six Premier League games. Spurs once again dropped points when they were held to a 1-1 draw by Fulham on Wednesday.
Tottenham tends to take the lead and then invite pressure unto themselves in games by sitting back and allowing their opponents to launch attack upon attack. The result usually tends to be the opposition team snatching a late equaliser against Spurs.
Mourinho's men made this mistake against Wolverhampton Wanderers a fortnight ago and it was a similar situation when Spurs faced Fulham at home. This is a complete departure from the Tottenham side that was scoring goals for fun at the start of the season.
The deceptive stats behind Tottenham’s slump
Tottenham’s latest draw means they have fallen behind in the title race. With Manchester United set to face Liverpool in a top-of-the-table clash this weekend, a win over Fulham would have seen Spurs close the gap on the teams at the top.
As Tottenham prepares to face Sheffield United, Mourinho admitted that using statistics to analyse Tottenham's form is a flawed process. In his pre-match press conference, the Portuguese noted that Spurs have lost just twice in their last 18 games in all competitions.
“I have to be the first one to never be happy. I have to be the first one to always want more and more and more,” Mourinho said, as quoted by Tottenhamhotspur.com. "Yes, two defeats in 18, but that could be one instead of two, and it could have been more victories instead of so many draws."
"The difference between one draw and one victory is two points, and the difference between one point and three points in the majority of the cases is also a small, big detail. That small, big detail is the goal that kills the match or a defensive mistake that allows the opponent to take a point," added the Tottenham manager.
While the stats are factual, it is a flawed way of analyzing the club’s recent form. The most realistic stat at this point is that, four weeks ago, Tottenham were Premier League leaders, but they are now in sixth in the table.