Article by Steve CarringtonClick here to follow e-Spurs on Twitter!
On the final day of last season Europa League participation was confirmed for 2014/15. This is usually something to celebrate. Though, like most fans I was just thankful that it was all over.
It wasn’t finishing outside the top four; I’m a realist and gelling a summer of crazy (if exciting) spending into a Champions League qualifying team was too much to ask. Especially after losing our second world-class player in two summers.
No, it was not the result, but the means of getting there: the crazy spending; multiple heavy capitulations, the manager merry-go-round, and worst of all the tired, uninspiring football we endured throughout.
So as the new season and yet another new era approaches, I get that familiar shudder of excitement. However, this time I won’t get carried away. I have made a commitment to myself that this year will be different; I will approach it with a sense of perspective, a touch of the circumspect. We have been here before, too many times.
So why can’t I stop thinking that this is the year it will finally ‘click’ into place. Just imagine……what if?
Enter Señor Pochettino. Another new head coach, another risky appointment. The facts speak for themselves, his win record as a manager is only 34% I convince myself.
He comes with a glowing reputation, with premier league experience of molding a cohesive, high tempo, easy-on-the-eye team. At Spurs, attractive football has been sadly missing for the last 2 seasons. More than winning trophies, this has been a source of pride and part of our identity. If possession and passing are good metrics, then Pochettino’s 5th ranked premier league Saints easily outshone 9th ranked Spurs in 2013/14. So what if he could replicate that at Spurs next season, with our better resources and playing staff?
Also, it is clear he got the best out of players at Southampton. Lambert, Lallana, Schneiderlin and Lovren made dramatic leaps forward under his guidance. This is the coach’s job I remind myself. Though, what if he were able to turn Saldado into the lethal force he was in Spain? Southampton’s cross completion was the 2nd best in the league last season, ours the worst. Effective delivery is what Saldado thrives on. What if we made a dramatic improvement in this area, what could that mean to Soldado’s and the team’s goal threat? What if he were able to spark Lamela into anything like his Roma form or Paulinho into the player that left Corinthians (watch the world club cup final vs. Chelsea to see what we are missing). How much would the attacking threat improve?
Even so, we have the players ‘on paper’. We just don’t have the winning mentality, I caution. Getting the most out of individuals is all well and good for cold nights at the Hawthorns or rainy days in Swansea, but when it comes to the top end of the table, we almost always come up short. So what if we could overcome this inferiority complex? Pochettino’s game preparation is notoriously focused on his team’s performance and little on the opposition giving the players greater belief. Contrast this with the paranoia created by AVBs meticulous approach to pre-game opposition analysis. Saints’ Nathianial Clyne said of the man’s methods, “He [Pochettino] planted it into our heads that even if we were up against bigger teams and bigger players, we could compete at the same level as them. He taught us never to fear them or be intimidated just because of their big names or their big reputations”.
Saints were no pushovers last season, winning at Anfield, taking a point off Man City at St Mary’s and apart from a 4-1 loss at the Etihad (I forget our result), there were no capitulations. What if some of that rubbed off at Spurs?
Finally, he comes with a reputation for developing youth into premier league mainstays: Shaw, Chambers, Ward-Prowse to name a few. Given the talent pouring from the fabled Saints Academy, how hard a job can that be I tell myself? Part of AVBs shortcomings was his reliance on established players, leaving no room for youth. Then there was the often over-zealous correction by Sherwood. So what if, Pochettino is able to strike the right balance? There is plenty of potential: Carroll, Kane, Bentaleb, Fryers are raw but have shown that they deserve a shot and represent exciting talent within.
As I say this time will be different, I won’t get carried away. I will keep some perspective, but what if…..
COYS
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Just about to start my fifty third season as a Spurs supporter. I've enjoyed FA cups, League cups, European trophies (including the first ever European trophy by a British club) and potential challenges for the title. I've also witnessed relegation,(a black day) and a few seasons when avoiding relegation was a triumph (of sorts).
ReplyDeleteI'll be happy this season if we can play like a TEAM and play the sort of football that us old-timers still dream about. (A trophy would be the icing on the cake!)
Ceballos looked class last night. What a player we have in prospect. Hopefully he will get a lot of games. He looks our best creative attacking threat. With him and Eriksen and Pritchard also in the near future, it is looking promising.
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