Pochettino on trial

Although the noises surrounding Levy and ENIC are getting louder and louder, Mauricio Pochettino still somehow stands accused for crimes against the cockerel.

The rumbles of ‘Poch out’ may be few and far between, but for me, they are our biggest concern.

Picture the scene- silently in the witness box the Argentine sits, as the bloggers and tweeters prosecuting attempt to ruffle his feathers.

‘Why didn’t you start Kane?’ they demand. ‘Where’s your plan B?!’ and the final nail in the coffin – ‘Why didn’t you smile when Lamela scored that rabona goal?!’

At first Poch had seemed calm and collected, but in a fury of fiery Argentinian anger he screams in reply – ‘YOU CAN’T HANDLE THE TRUTH!’ The courtroom is left stunned as the judge adjourns the trial till after tonight’s Capital One Cup match versus Brighton.

Although I myself am guilty of finding any excuse of linking Spursy topics to an iconic film quote, there is, without doubt, a certain ‘truth’ to Tottenham Hotspur – and a truth that, for many, is too hot to handle.

This truth is that we’re caught in a revolving cycle of high expectation and low perseverance. Many, who had said that our new manager needed time and patience this season to do his job in the long run, are suddenly questioning his capabilities of being head of this football club.

This Spurs cycle may not be as simplistic as I am about to detail below, but there has been a recurring pattern in recent times.

A manager comes in and buys his players ready enforce his philosophy, prompting excitement and promise amongst fans. Sooner or later the team ends up dropping points against lowly opposition, or are put to the sword by an elite team.

Us fans, meticulously analyse these defeats, concluding that ‘x’ player should’ve started or the substitution of ‘a’ player for ‘b’ was a ludicrous decision. We scrutinise the defeat with hindsight, concluding that the manager’s decisions personally cheat us out of victory.

All in all, we ultimately question a man’s capabilities of doing his job, and that little voice inside our head grows in confidence, convincing us that another man (e.g. Frank de Boer) could do, or could have done a better job.

But what if that other man does come in, and his impact is underwhelming – do we question his ability and later sack him as well? No you’ll say - perseverance is key! That is, until we lose 1-0 at home to FC Levadia Tallinn in the Europa League, and so the managerial merry-go-round continues.

With discontent amongst fans brewing, Pochettino is already facing questions regarding his job security.

Mauricio told journalists: “In football, there is always big expectation. In Tottenham, in Espanyol, in Southampton, in Real Madrid and Barcelona and after, it’s how you manage the pressure in your situation or like a manager.

“This is our challenge – to create something special in the changing room between 25 players. So that they can know each other and improve the togetherness and show that on the pitch.

“The mental process is always more slow than the physical or tactical. We are in a good way, I think our job does not reflect in the table. This is maybe a difficult period, but it is the process we have to go through.”

If noises are to be made amongst the Spurs supporters, I ask - let it be directed at Levy, Lewis and Enic who have been at our club for 13 years, compared to our Head Coach who has had merely three months of a season.

To take inspiration from yet another film, The Matrix suggests that by taking the red pill you are awoken to “how deep the rabbit hole goes” and are made aware of the true nature of the Matrix.

Maybe it’s time us Spurs fans took that red pill, so we too can break free from this monotony of scape-goating managers and realise the truth about our mindset.

Hopefully then, we will be able to practice the patience that we have so often preached.

 

An excellent post Josh. Ive been ra fan since 1968 so have seen the good times and the recent bad ones. I was ready to accept MP I'd given the time he needs to bring back the Spurs Glory! How ever, I like other fans are 'up in arms' having seen who is in the better position. Of course I'm talking of 'MoPo's' previous club Saints ! They sold several key players, bought cheap, got a Dutch manager and now sit comfortably in SECOND place in the EPL. The questions we ask I think are; if MP is that good why are we not up there, given all the 'talented' and expensive players he inherited at Tottenham. That is where the discontent lies. I believe deep down we all hoped MP would be a 'quick fix' and instant success - as R Koeman has proved to be at So't'on ! Early days I know but losing to lesser clubs is unacceptable to most die-hard fans. We are no longer a 'big ckub', but we're better than WBA and Newc. Whoever the coach, we should be spanking these teams with our 'quality' squad. Apart from Eriksen, Lloris and 2 homegrown players in Kane and Mason the rest don't give a damn. I believe MP could've managed the side far better on Sun than he did! It still baffles us all why he didn't start Harry instead of Adebayuseless ! There must be something in contracts about playtime or not leaving £160,000 nomad on the bench! This time last year under AVB we were 4th (where the Pikeys now sit) and he was sacked!! I'll take a mid table finish - but hell I want a cup (any cup) to go with it!
I hate to say Mr Levy but CL class - WE ARE NOTNOT, with this squad or the current coach. Sorry but MP is not CL quality. You need Mourinho, Wenger, Guardiola, Ancellotti, Klopp for that. We are years off CL football. Harry R was a oneoff with the best players at the time, but they saw which way we were going and jumped ship. Who could blame them now (Bale, Modric).
Our best option is to concentrate on the Europa League and try to win it or put everything into the 2 cup runs. Winning just one will make MP a success. Beating the 'top 4' will be a success for us. MP claims its a mental issue. Talk to Mourinho, he's a master of mind games. Learn his ways.

I hope MoPo is the right choice. Only time will tell, but we need something to show he is. Sunday decisions were not it. We will know in Jan if he is going the right way, but any thoughts and rumours about trading Harry Kane need to be quashed and forgotten NOW. He is Tottenham's future if we are tovbe successful'!! COYS as always Glory Glory Tottenham Hotspur!!

 

Hear Hear!!!! Very well said. The difficulty with the patient approach to anything these days however, is that fans are young and fickle. Outside of London and the UK, it is far more likely that the path to fandom is far more esoteric.

After nearly 30 years of supporting Spurs, I've watched as my social circle in the far reaches of the world have fallen for the hype of the victors. Liverpool through the 70s and 80s, Manchester United through the 90s, Arsenal, Chelsea etc. As they all pledged their allegiance to their respective champions, I watched on waiting for that glory to eventually come my way. It never did, of course.

As I remained steadfast (for no other reason than to remain true to my father's instruction of never supporting another team), I realised that as long as a team doesn't win, the economics of the fan becomes a real pressure on the management of the club. The faithful will always be there, but we are not the economic driver of growth. To finance that new stadium, we need revenue.

For revenue we need sales. And for sales, we need a growing market.

Yes there are many ways to keep fans faithful and enthusiastic, but none more so than victory.

Which brings me back to your point. The patience, us the faithful call for, is premised on the fact that we will still be fans in 10 years and are prepared to wait for long term strategy to bare fruit. But we are the minority.

The majority need results now. Or else they will just go and buy a Manchester City T-shirt and switch their allegiance to derive the catharsis they crave from the vicarious battles waged by their team on their behalf.

It's a new and different world.

 

Superb article Josh. Really well written and I agree with everything. Some are now starting to see through the smoke screen of levy, Lewis and co. and the manager does still need time, although he isn't going to help himself with ridiculous comments such as 'the pitch is too small for us at white hart lane' as reported in the press today.
Maybe he secretly wants us to play at MK Dons???

 

I was just about to write about this latest sound bite from Poch about the pitch being too small?? Wtf?? Get those excuses in early mate why don't u..absolute tosh..heard it all now

 

Sure it had nothing to do with Jol struggling near the bottom of the Prem, or Ramos being just rubbish or Harry putting his make up on for the England job or AVB spending 100mill on 7 new players thus breaking up a reasonably able team only to get whooped at home by Liverpool and the likes of W Ham.
Poch doesn't that much time - he needs ability, fast!

 

Foremost I blame the players attitude to each game. For some reason, win draw or lose,Spurs will 9 times out of 10 play their best games against the top teams in the league yet will play poorly against teams that are lower down. If spurs lost to only the top 4 teams and won the rest they would qualify for the champions league . Spurs need more players with ''attitude'' and the head and heart to play 100% every game for their team. Unfortunately there's too many lightweight characters in the squad who, I believe, play for the obscene amount of money the get paid .I would dispose of Chadli Erikson or Lamela Adebayour Paulinio Chiriches Dembele Vertongen and Townsend because he can't play football.

 

Great colum levy is the problem he or someone higher than the manager has allowed players like adylazygit Capoue Chadli and poor homegrown players rose Townsend and spent or should I say wasted millions on lamela Soldado and others too many to mention over the past 10 years. Get levy out get at least 10 players out let the manager buy his own and give him 3 years to build something because if we don't we will still be moaning in 5 years

 

Another Levy **** up !Sack a manager who's doing ok new the team ,the setup and the youngsters and I think would have done a lot better than this geezer we've got now.Our new coach is taking it out on the players,the pitch et al and hardly a squawk,Sherwood as is now obvious ,told the truth and was pillored.So to answer your question,no he's not.

 

I think there's a lot of valid points made by all contributing. The way I see it is that the team selection changes made are far too disruptive to give any sort of consistency in performance. I realise it's a squad game but 10 changes from cup to league and vice versa is taking the piss!!! Players perform well and don't start the next game. ie Harry Kane!! Football is played on grass but a lot of it's in the head and confidence breeds confidence. It's no wonder the players are taking time to adapt as from one game to the next they ain't got a clue who they 'll be playing with. Pochettino should know his strongest 11 by now and should stick to it for each game barring the odd change and it shouldn't matter which competition we're playing. Sacking him ain't the answer although I wouldn't be surprised if levy did act if things don't improve and then there should be a mass protest to get rid of enic as they 'll have made the same mistake again!! Yes yes I know that won't happen but that's my opinion. Onwards and backwards, sideways and diagonally. Tottenham till I die!!!!!

 

Of course he should be sacked if he's no good!
Isn't that how it works in any job? He's got a mountain he's not capable of climbing and we'll just whittle away more money while he's getting paid to make little or no difference to our team - in fact we are going to finish mid-table.
Just can't see how it's going to come good and please don't talk about giving him time - see Moyes, Solskar....
Lamela is also massively overrated and apart from the odd goal and pass that actually reaches its intended target, is often more of a liability. It shows how deluded some Spurs fans can be when they actually really think he will somehow become the 30mill we thought we bought and get upset that Poch wasn't more emotional about his trick kick agains the mighty powerhouse Asteros Tripoli. Let's see him do that to a proper big Prem club like Newcastle, West Brom(?)

 

The points made in the post could apply to any club, football fans in general tend to be quick to get over excited when a good run is put together, and quick to condemn when results are poor. I ignore such fickle musings, they mean nothing, it belies a lack of understanding of football and a simplistic short term mentality.

Are there really Tottenham fans who think Pochettino should be sacked? After three months? It is embarrassing to hear them witter on, I'm sure if the team goes on to put a five game unbeaten run together they'll be on the forums declaring that we can easily finish top three this season! Poch is not going to transform things overnight, but it is far too early to condemn him as a failure. He has said it may take two years to develop the team into one that can win silverware. Just for once it would be refreshing to see Tottenham give a manager a bit of time before pulling the trigger again.

 

Apart from Redknapp, there hasn't been a manager we got rid of that was anywhere near getting us sorted.
In fact, where are they now? They're not exactly showing us what we missed are they?
Why should they be given time that goes beyond any reasonable doubt in their ability to get to grips with the job?
We gave AVB 100mill to spend and look what he did. Should he have been given more time too?

More time is earnt not given,

 

I still believe the underlying problem is the lack of a prolific goal scorer. I don't mean someone like Suarez or Ronaldo. They are unique in what they do. We would not be in this position if we had a regular starting striker! I am NOT talking about Adebayuseless. He's a one off wastaspace! Players like Bony, Lukaku, Benteke and Pelle. ! Why can't our 'scouts' find cheap strikers like them FFS?? Pelle cheap as chips is banging them in! Soldado was gonna be our saviour, but Spurs doesn't suit his style of play. So why buy him? Anywhere else watch him score. None of us would be moaning wondering what went wrong if we'd have bought a 15-20 goal a season striker in the first place!!!

 

Levy is the biggest problem at Spurs poor Poch is just a puppet for enic to use.
Can imagine the meeting outlaying the years objectives, ok Mauricio youve got nothing to spend, we have a lot of deadwood that are on big contracts that we cant shift for at least 3years who you will need to play to get some value for or back, weve got really poor cbs and strikers but were not going to be buying any decent 1s not now or in january, we will however get you the 3rd choice midfielder of your choice to add to the bloated midfield as long as hes ending his contract and has resale value, now all you have to do is deliver top 4 and a european cup on a small pitch with a mish mash squad bursting with bad atitude inconsistancy half hearted head turned limited potential talent. Youve got til christmas to convince- Go get em tiger!

 

Some okay points being made in this article and agree that at this early stage the rumbles of " Poch out " are indeed few and far between and I think that overall fans are still happy to give Poch the time and patience needed. But I for one am not as pointed out in the article, suddenly questioning his capabilities of being head of a football club. He arrived at this club as a completely unproven, high risk young manager and as such, he is the one who has to prove himself as being a capable football as well as man manager. For me Poch has done absolutely nothing different to AVB and appears to be just as ridged in his approach to tactics and team selections and as we all know AVB got sacked. I still want Poch to succeed at this club so why shouldn't I or any Spurs fan ask questions or scrutinise his and the teams performances ? especially if he continues to do exactly the same things and that those things don't work. I still want to know why he wont start Kane, or if he has the courage or the flexibility to opt for a plan B. The " YOU CANT HANDLE THE TRUTH " is okay but the truth is that there are many truths and one of them is that if Poch cant lift this team then he will get sacked. Another truth is that behind the scenes the chairman pulls the strings and buys players that suit him and his own agendas, another truth is that in taking the job as manager he accepts the responsibilities as the frontline manager as well as the fall guy. There are no guarantees with any manager and I hope we stick with Poch for now, but those rumblings wont go away if he continues to emulate AVB otherwise its " HASTA LA VISTA BABY "

 

Its only been a few months but you can already see what POCH is trying to do He will unleash KANE in a few weeks when he is nice and hungry and it will be called a masterstroke Judge him after Christmas I think you will surprised the days of steam rolling teams is a thing of the past,

 

I'll be surprised when a manager comes in, has a preseason where he explains what he wants to get us winning, how to do it and the team show us this on the pitch without getting thrashed by teams no better than us or beaten often by teams who really shouldn't be beating us i.e. Show Us The Progress/Improvement/The Reason You Got The Job/What Makes You Different From The Last Manager

 

I'm afraid no manager would be able to get this group of players into the CL. There is undoubtedly talent but Poch Sherwood and even Harry have mentioned the mental strength and attitude of the squad. Remember Harrys story of a Tottenham player pleading for a fake injury so not to be released to play for England!

 

Its like this.. We are a POOR side. A few yrs ago we were a good side under redknapp with some world class performers. Before that we we were OK and before that we were awful. One day hopefully we will be a good side once again. Its all part of the cycle and as frustrating as it is that's all part of being a spurs fan. Did levy blow the chance to turn that good side into a great one. I think there is a resounding YES from most of us. Of course he will not admit to this and at present we seem to be going backwards and lacking quality ideas leadership direction and more importantly points in the EPL. If this continues Poch WILL be sacked of this there is no doubt. That is the business. Levy appoints the managers and many have failed so he will have to soon be made accountable in my opinion. If MP wants to save his job he will need to find his best 11 and pick players on form I'm in no doubt the team will pick up points and fans will back him. If he continues to chop n change and leave out inform players for out of form ones to the detriment of results they will not. Football is simple as that really. You can talk all u like about 433s or 4231 formations, Deep lying playmakers inverted wingers but good players in form in their preferred position alongside a partner there complimented by will always win points.