Jamie O’Hara has suggested Jose Mourinho is sucking the life out of Tottenham players Gareth Bale and Dele Alli.
Mourinho hurting Alli and Bale
On Saturday, Tottenham were defeated 3-0 by Manchester City – that defeat leaves them six points off Chelsea and the top four, albeit with a game in hand (Sky Sports).
Talking on talkSPORT after the match, O’Hara slammed Mourinho’s treatment of Alli and Bale, as well as others. He said:
“I actually feel a little bit sorry for Jose Mourinho, because the players are performing so poorly.
“When I look at Hugo Lloris, Davinson Sanchez, Erik Lamela and Lucas Moura, they just look so average and so bad, they’re making mistakes.
“In a way, there’s only so much a manager can do; when the players go on the pitch it’s up to them to produce, and they’re just not doing that at all.
“But this is my issue with Mourinho, as a manager it’s also your job to get the best out of the players you’ve got, whether they’re your players or not, it’s your job to get the best out of them.
“And I just feel like he’s sucked the life out of too many of them already.
“You look at Gareth Bale and Dele Alli, he’s cast them aside and hardly played them. Dele Alli wasn’t even getting on the squad, and now all of a sudden he’s putting him on and expecting him to make a difference.”
Negative
Both Bale and Alli have been on the periphery of the Tottenham team so far this season, having made just 12 appearances in the Premier League between them (Transfermarkt). Bale arrived from Real Madrid with all his previous history in north London, but just hasn’t been able to refind his form at the club, while Alli’s stock has fallen dramatically after scoring nine and assisting six last season – reports even suggested PSG were looking to take him to France in the January transfer window.
Will Mourinho be at Tottenham next season?
Yes
No
It seems unlikely that either will play an important role for Mourinho between now and the end of the season. Valued at £52.2m between them, they are assets that should be better utilised as Tottenham look to qualify for the Champions League last term. As it is, it is hard to disagree with O’Hara’s opinion about the role the Spurs boss has played in the pair’s downturn.
In other news, Fabrizio Romano provides an update on this Tottenham target.
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