Tottenham Hotspur fans have been left split over Jose Mourinho’s tactics during the club’s 1-1 FA Cup fourth round draw with Southampton.

A goal from Son Heung-Min gave Spurs a 1-0 lead but Sofiane Boufal netted late on to earn Ralph Hasenhuttl’s men a replay.

Spurs seemed to struggle as the second-half wore on, however, with Saints beginning to dominate proceedings before Boufal’s goal.

Indeed, per WhoScored, Saints had 10 shots to Spurs’ eight and had 59.1% possession, too.

Mourinho’s produced some incredible footballing stars – how much do you know about them?

And a number of supporters have criticised Mourinho’s tactical set-up.

Spurs were attempting to send Eric Dier on prior to Boufal’s goal, suggesting that Mourinho was ready to settle for a narrow victory on the south coast.

But some fans believe that the manager was just lacking one ingredient against Southampton: an out-and-out striker. He was forced to start Lucas Moura up top against Saints.

The two teams will go again at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as they attempt to qualify for the last-16.

This is, however, an improvement for Spurs after their defeat at St Mary’s in the Premier League.

Meanwhile, Spurs’ target would be an excellent striker addition.

Manchester United have failed with a late bid to sign Joshua King from AFC Bournemouth, per The Daily Telegraph.

What’s the word?

King previously rose through United’s academy ranks but played for the club just twice at senior level and was regularly sent out on loan, playing for the likes of Preston North End, Borussia Monchengladbach, and Blackburn Rovers.

He eventually joined the latter club permanently aged 22, and would go on to join Bournemouth two-and-a-half years later.

With the transfer deadline approaching, Ole Gunnar Solskjaer reportedly attempted to bring him back to Old Trafford but a move has failed to get off the ground with just over 24 hours of the window remaining.

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Indeed, the report states that Cherries boss Eddie Howe is keen to retain King’s services as he attempts to guide Bournemouth to safety this season; the Norway international has scored three goals in the top-flight in 16 games.

United had thought they could get a deal for King over the line, a source is quoted as saying, but the Cherries are standing firm.

A desperate move

United are running out of time.

With Marcus Rashford injured, one has to think that they need a forward and their desperation is beginning to show.

They have been linked with a number of strikers, including former West Bromwich Albion forward Salomon Rondon and ex-Watford man Odion Ighalo.

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A bid for King, a player with a mere trio of goals to his name this season, is just the latest sign that they are running out of options and that the clock is against them.

It remains to be seen if a striker is signed.

Meanwhile, one Man United man has been hailed as “absolutely wonderful”. 

Jurgen Klopp has confirmed that Sadio Mane is unavailable to play against West Ham on Wednesday.

The match against the Hammers is Liverpool’s game in hand – it has been ever since the match was postponed in December due to the Reds’ Club World Cup commitments – and the 52-year-old will have been hoping to have all of his star players fit as his team looks to go 19 points clear at the top of the Premier League.

Call yourself a Liverpool expert? How much did each of these big-money January signings cost?

Whilst the Senegal international will be missed, Klopp must now decide on who replaces him in the starting line-up. He has several options – both Divock Origi and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain have lined up there – but it seems that the Reds supporters want to see Curtis Jones selected.

The 18-year-old has played at central midfield in both of the Reds’ last two FA Cup matches – he scored on both occasions – but he has 12 goals in 14 matches on the left so far this term for the club’s youth teams.

Some supporters believe it will be the perfect opportunity to play him with the club’s first-choice options.

Whilst it is all well and good playing in the cup competitions with other fringe players, the Premier League provides a whole different test. It is a competition in which Jones remains unproven.

One fan, meanwhile, believes it is his superior form that should earn him a place.

Takumi Minamino is yet to score since joining from RB Salzburg, whilst Divock Origi last netted on December 4th. With two goals in his last two starts, perhaps Jones does deserve to be given the nod.

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Either way, Klopp has a big call to make.

Meanwhile, John Aldridge believes this Liverpool duo could be soon tempted away by Real Madrid or Barcelona.

Marcelo Bielsa isn’t one to chop and change his starting XI all that much.

Indeed, there are eight players in the squad that have started more than 27 league games, so that’s quite a clear indicator of how little he’s changed things up this term.

However, one player that has been in and out of the team due to injury is Liam Cooper.

The club captain has started just 21 of 30 league games for the Whites, and when he’s not been there it’s often been Gaetano Berardi filling in for him, with the Swiss defender starting nine times in the Championship.

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Cooper has been the clear first choice when he’s been fit, but perhaps he shouldn’t be starting over Berardi, as the team appear to play much better when his 31-year-old teammate is on the pitch.

As the above infographic shows, Leeds pick up 0.52 more points per game when Berardi is playing compared to when Cooper appears.

Berardi has played eight fewer games than the 28-year-old, but the team do pick up better results when he’s on the pitch, so perhaps that’s a trend that Bielsa needs to consider.

Ok, you could argue that a fair few of his appearances have been off the bench, but in the nine games he’s started, Leeds have conceded just seven goals.

Quite simply, the team let in fewer goals when Berardi is on the pitch, with his goal difference per 90 over twice as high as Cooper’s, and that is a stat that shouldn’t be ignored.

Bielsa may want to think about starting the 31-year-old over his captain more often in the near future.

In other news, one man proved that he should be dropped on Saturday.

In a Q&A with Italian media outlet Corriere della Sera, via Calciomercato, Everton manager Carlo Ancelotti has spoken about his relationship with rival Premier League managers, and admitted that he exchanges messages with Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho.

What did he say?

Well, the 60-year-old was actually asked by Corriere della Sera what his relationship with Jurgen Klopp, who is at the helm of the Toffees’ arch-rivals Liverpool, is like, and he replied saying it is “excellent” as they already knew each other before he was appointed at Goodison Park in December as Marco Silva’s successor.

However, the former Napoli chief went on to add that he has a similar friendship with Mourinho, saying “we send messages”.

Did he really play for us?! No Everton fan has managed to name all of these obscure Toffees players….

No harm in that

Ancelotti is an experienced manager and there is absolutely no harm in him exchanging messages with someone like the Portuguese, especially now he is living in England again.

The communication between the duo may have to relent a little in the coming weeks and months though given the good form Everton are currently showing, which has left them in seventh and just one place and one point adrift of Spurs in the Premier League standings – not bad considering they were in the relegation zone when Silva was sacked in December.

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Both sides are certainly in contention for even a top-four finish if they can continue their respective runs of form given Tottenham and the Toffees lie four and five points adrift of fourth-placed Chelsea respectively, and so they could be in direct competition for the foreseeable future.

It’s best to give nothing away to each other in that sense then, meaning any messages between the two from now on should perhaps be strictly professional.

In other Everton news, one “unbelievable” 27-year-old’s comments bode well if the Toffees want to seal a bargain summer move…

Leeds United have a man at the helm who has previously been hailed as one of the best coaches in the world.

Marcelo Bielsa is undoubtedly one of the best managers Leeds have had in recent history, and he’s already guided them to their best league finish since 2004.

You probably wouldn’t find many United fans who would swap Bielsa for anyone, but one man Leeds were looking at before appointing the Argentine was arguably the better option.

What’s been said then?

Phil Hay was talking on the latest edition of The Phil Hay Show after a fan asked him about an article he wrote for FourFourTwo last year.

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In his piece, Hay detailed how one coach made the wrong impression by failing to name a single player in the squad, and now we finally know who that man was.

“The coach I’m told was Claudio Ranieri,” he said (The Phil Hay Show 20/2/20 51:30).

“You shouldn’t mistake that answer by thinking that Ranieri was about to take charge at Leeds or was seriously considering it.

“He was on the list when Leeds were looking at replacing Heckingbottom, but it was one of those names that was highly unlikely, but you could have said the same about Bielsa really, and in the end Bielsa did and Ranieri was a no-go.”

Interesting prospect

It’s interesting to think of an alternative reality where Ranieri is the boss at Elland Road.

The Italian’s CV is arguably better than Bielsa’s, and while Pep Guardiola has claimed that the Argentine is the greatest coach, Ranieri was officially recognised as the best as he picked up the FIFA award for the Best Men’s Coach for 2016.

Ranieri masterminded one of the greatest seasons in Premier League history when winning the title with Leicester, and he also has experience managing some of the world’s biggest clubs in the shape of Chelsea, Juventus and Inter Milan.

While nobody can complain about the job Bielsa has done at Elland Road so far, you can’t help but wonder whether or not United would have already been in the Premier League had they appointed Ranieri.

In other news, Leeds’ January U-turn could prove decisive in the coming weeks.

West Ham United will be furious that they left Anfield without adding any vital points to their total.

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Very little will have been expected of the Hammers before the game kicked off, but having gone 2-1 up, there will have been hope that they could cling on to at least get a draw.

However, that was not to be and one man receiving blame for that is Sebastien Haller.

The Frenchman came off the bench to replace Felipe Anderson in the 65th minute, with his team 2-1 up thanks to goals from Issa Diop and Pablo Fornals.

Despite winning three aerial duels, Haller was largely ineffective during his time on the pitch, and looked very lacklustre in his play.

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This led to one fan claiming that “he’s just so lazy”, while another said that he was “knocked off the ball way too easily”.

There is one moment in particular that has got West Ham fans’ collective blood boiling: Haller’s involvement in the final goal of the game.

Declan Rice had cleared the ball from the edge of the box, setting up a 50/50 between the 25-year-old and Joe Gomez.

The Frenchman put up pretty much no fight at all though, allowing the Liverpool defender to have a free strike, which deflected into Trent Alexander-Arnold’s path for him to set up Sadio Mane.

One fan suggested he “needs a serious digging out” after that moment, while another said that his attempt at getting the ball was “pathetic”.

Meanwhile, Collison gave Moyes some advice before the game, which he seemingly took.

The Athletic’s West Ham United correspondent Roshane Thomas has questioned David Moyes’ decision to replace Felipe Anderson with Sebastien Haller against Liverpool, per U Irons Podcast (February 24, 11:53).

What’s he said?

The Hammers lost 3-2 at Anfield after a genuinely plucky display against the Premier League leaders.

Moyes brought Anderson off in the 65th minute, with the score at 2-1 at the time.

His replacement, Sebastien Haller had just 17 touches during his time on the pitch, having one shot on goal in total.

And Thomas has questioned that decision from the former Manchester United boss.

He said: “When Moyes took off Anderson do you reckon that also played a part in Liverpool coming back? Because he brought off Felipe Anderson and brought on Haller.”

He added: “I reckon [we’d have had] more possession, because after the match Haller was trending on Twitter for the wrong reasons. Fans have had enough of this guy and (said) we should sell him.

“In Moyes’ press conference I asked him ‘do you have any regrets taking off Anderson?’ He said no. A firm no.”

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A decent idea

One can see why Moyes decided to make the change.

Introducing Haller should have given the club more of an out ball and allowed the striker, who is 6 foot 3 inches tall, to be the man holding the ball up and keeping possession.

It didn’t work, however, and Liverpool managed to overwhelm the Hammers.

Perhaps that would have happened even if Anderson had stayed on the pitch but it is an easy stick with which to beat Moyes.

He is right to have no regrets; it is not his fault that the Frenchman could not properly impact the game.

Meanwhile, one West Ham man let down David Moyes against Liverpool!

After 205 days, the moment Illan Meslier has waited for finally arrived – a start for Leeds United in the Championship.

The French stopper arrived on loan from Lorient on transfer deadline day back in August but has had to wait for an absolute age before finally being granted a spot in the side.

Meslier has saved numerous penalties for Carlos Corberan’s U23 team this season but despite individual errors from Kiko Casilla, he’s been forced to sit on the bench.

The 19-year-old started Leeds’ FA Cup tie with Arsenal in January, earning praise from the home crowd, but this was his very first appearance in the league.

Unfortunately, the outing came about in rather unfortunate circumstances after Kiko Casilla was banned for eight games after being found guilty of racially abusing Jonathan Leko in a match versus Charlton last September.

However, this was Meslier’s big opportunity. He took to Instagram after the game to repost clips of him finally playing in England’s second tier.

It was a moment that was worth the wait as the giant 6 foot 6 stopper got his first minutes as Leeds’ undoubted number one.

He’ll now have a run of seven games where he gets to prove himself before the end of the season in a bid to potentially earn a permanent move to Elland Road.

The image below shows him warming up before the game, a picture that’s been a rarity considering he’s usually helping Casilla get loose before kick-off.

Whether Meslier does enough to earn a regular spot once Casilla returns remains to be seen, but with a transfer clause embedded within the terms of his loan, things may get a little complicated.

A report in the French media suggests that if he plays ten games for Leeds, they will be forced to buy him in the summer.

Meanwhile, Leeds fans think they FINALLY have the missing piece of the jigsaw…

Crystal Palace have confirmed that Roy Hodgson has signed a new contract to extend his deal at Selhurst Park until the end of the 2020/21 season.

The former England boss has steadied the ship well in South London and arguably overachieved given the resources he has been given in recent seasons, though not all Palace fans will share that view.

It is an interesting development give Hodgson spoke just a month ago about needing more assurances over the money he would get to spend if he did stay on, indicating that he was unhappy with how he was backed in January and possibly last summer too.

As a result, it may be possible that Steve Parish and the board have made certain promises regarding transfers, and that could allow Hodgson to install a more postive and expansive style.

Some supporters have grown frustrated with his negative tactics since taking over in 2017, and have expressed their displeasure at the fact the 72-year-old will be staying for another year.

The reactions shown above aren’t fully representative of fan sentiment, however, with many appreciating the good work Hodgson has done so far, and think more good things will come during his tenure.

Giving Hodgson greater muscle in the transfer market could make that possible, as he has already got the best out of cheap signings like Jordan Ayew and Gary Cahill, with the former scoring seven goals this term and Cahill contributing to a defence that has conceded only 23 goals in the 19 league games he has featured in.

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Here are some of the positive messages in response to the news, with Hodgson receiving multiple plaudits.

Calling all Eagles fans: Can you get 90% on this quickfire Palace quiz?

Meanwhile, there has been other good news that could help the team pick up their form over the forthcoming matches…