Defending leads used to be a forte of Jose Mourinho, soccer's arch-pragmatist. Not anymore, it seems. Tottenham caved in again Sunday, conceding an 85th-minute goal to draw 2-2 at Newcastle and stay outside the top four of the Premier League.
If Mourinho's team could see out victories, it could likely already start planning for life in next season's Champions League.
After all, Spurs have dropped 11 points because of goals conceded in the final 10 minutes of games this season, the most of any Premier League side.
As it is, Tottenham is in fifth place — two points behind fourth-place Chelsea — and engaged in a furious tussle with perhaps six rivals for the final qualification positions for Europe's elite competition. “Same coach, different