Twitter reacts to Jose Mourinho’s dig at Tanguy Ndombele
According to the BBC, Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho has singled out summer signing Tanguy Ndombele for criticism following his team’s 1-1 draw against Burnley at Turf Moor.
The 23-year-old is Tottenham’s record signing. He joined the club in the summer from Lyon for £53.8million and has failed to live up to his price tag or reputation so far. Ndombele has played 27 times for Spurs this season and has scored two goals and four assists. He has finished the full 90 minutes just four times, having played 1383 minutes overall.
The midfielder did his chances no favour as he struggled alongside Oliver Skipp as Burnley overran the Tottenham midfield.
Mourinho reacted by pulling both the players out at half-time. The change was immediately visible as Giovani Lo Celso and Lucas Moura instantly changed Tottenham’s performance, giving us more zeal and output from midfield.
The Portuguese manager bemoaned the lack of midfield in the first half and did not hold back on laying blame on his midfielder’s less than impressive performance. He clearly pointed out that he was not talking about Skipp before going on to mention the Frenchman by name.
“I’m not going to run away and I have to say he [Ndombele] has had enough time to come to a different level.”
He admitted that the Premier League is difficult and stated that Ndombele has been given enough time to be doing better. Mourinho was let down by the player’s first-half performance and compared the player’s fortunes with that of his teammate Giovani Lo Celso.
Another summer signing, Lo Celso too struggled initially before going on to establish himself as one of our best players. The contrast could not have been starker as the Argentine came on at half-time and within three minutes, helped Tottenham get back into the game.
“I was expecting more in the first half from him.”
The Portuguese hinted that Ndombele may find it hard to get back into the team if he continues failing to impress him.
“I cannot keep giving him opportunities to play because the team is much more important.”
A number of Spurs fans took to Twitter to give their views on the topic. We take a look at a few of them below.
Twitter reacts to Mourinho’s Ndombele criticism
Gomes did 81 mins for Everton today – foot fell off 3 months ago. Ndombele still can’t do more than 30 mins. Cut his salary by 66% and see how quickly he’ll get himself fit. What a waste of talent.
— Ongar Spurs (@OngarSpurs) March 1, 2020
Mourinho digging out Ndombele here. And deserves it. He has to be better. Been here since August
— Trevor Bissouma (@Trevorlloyd92) March 7, 2020
Mourinho obviously not happy with Ndombele's performance and rightly so. Without saying his name, says he cannot keep giving him opportunities unless he improves. This is the club's record signing remember. #thfc
— Lyall Thomas (@SkySportsLyall) March 7, 2020
Mourinho probably shouldn’t say that about Ndombele publicly but he definitely isn’t wrong
— Billie (@Billie_T) March 7, 2020
Tanguy Ndombele is one of the most talented midfielders in the world. The idea that we should give up on him, after a season in which we’ve played awful football, had countless injuries, and sacked a manager, is ridiculous.
— Jake. (@YedIin) March 7, 2020
Fully behind Mourinho on the Ndombele situation. It isn’t a boring old José not letting an enigmatic talent express himself situation, it’s a he can’t play the club record signing who had a full pre-season because Tanguy can’t last 45 minutes without needing a sit-down situation.
— Charlie Parrish (@charlieparrish) March 7, 2020
We can all debate on whether calling out a player publicly is right or wrong but the frustration for me is it’s so clear NDombele is an excellent footballer. The club are down to the bare bones and they need so much more than the odd cameo right now from the record signing. #THFC
— Michael Bridge (@MichaelBridge_) March 7, 2020
Is Tanguy Ndombele technically the best player in our squad? Yes.
Is it bad he’s been with us almost a year and still incredibly unfit? Yes.
Was Jose alright to call him out on it? Yes.
— Hotspur Edition (@HotspurEdition) March 7, 2020
More Tottenham Hotspur News
- Farouk recounts how Tottenham Hotspur showed him the right way
- Gary Mabbutt hopeful of strong finish to Tottenham’s season
- Tottenham Hotspur board should keep faith in Jose Mourinho
#Mourinho has been coughing up snide comments about #Ndombele since before he'd even played one minute for him….the player just might have noticed, and that might effect his performances?! #COYS
— Teb (@tebpixels) March 7, 2020
https://twitter.com/KGower83/status/1236426550922416130?s=20
