And that problem is two-fold - 1) our players are not as good as we think they are, and b) they have declined in quality as a consequence of Poch's high-intensity pressing, compounding the former problem.
The first is fairly easy to explain - our players thrived in a pressing system where closing the down the opposition was a way of life. When you close the opposition down and win the ball in a dangerous area with the aim of getting to goal as fast as possible, the obvious pass or dribble is usually simple to see, simple to execute - because it's closer to goal, and more instinctual, with no time to think.
Our players were great at that. But when we don't press as much? When we're in possession, stroking it around? Then creating a chance becomes an exercise of thought, figuring out the right things to do, playing the difficult pass, breaking down the opposition with controlled, intelligent play.
Our players *always* fell short of that, under Poch, and under Mourinho. The only thing now is that Mourinho doesn't bother to press, leaving them even more exposed. But they were never good at the sort of probing football that top teams can play - they were always instinctual, quick, basic. When it worked, it worked beautifully - when it didn't, we struggled, and relied on Eriksen and Kane (our only good passers) to create something out of thin air.
The second problem is that our players compensated for a certain lack of quality in their play by being energetic, strong, fast and superbly fit under Poch. However, all that took its toll - to be as superhumanly fit as Poch generally wanted, the players pushed themselves to levels they couldn't sustain - and now the regression is showing. There's no doubt in my mind that Kane is simply a *worse* player now than he was two years ago - mostly because, physically, he's declined. Likewise with Son, Dele, Lucas, Rose...the physical peaks they hit are simply impossible for them to meet now, since the damage of those times is now irreparable in my eyes. So we're dealing with worse players.
I think, if we were hoping for a systems manager to come in post-Poch, he would have had the same problems as Mourinho is now facing - maybe more, because the players simply can't execute a high-energy, high-intensity system anymore. It's why I think someone like Mourinho, who is laid back in his demands (at least, physically) is actually better at this point, to extract what we can from the players left over from the Poch era.
Poch saw this coming - he kept pleading for fresh legs and new players that never came. We all know what happened there. But I think it's unfair on Mourinho a little bit to blame him for either of the above. It's just where we are now - the consequences of the past half-decade of squad building, experiences and recruitment.
