The Mauricio Pochettino thread

I'm bored typing that he should have been sacked straight after the Bayern game and that every day we allowed him to continue in his job after that would be a day we'd be wasting, and I'm bored of being proved right week after week.

No point in watching us play until he's gone now: we know exactly what brand of disappointment we'll be served up each match. As always, my sympathies go out to the poor bastards paying through the nose to watch a club that doesn't demand the same high standards of its staff than it does of its fans.

Lighty64 said:

we do need to buy in January. at the moment we are playing with a team that might look great on paper, but having 2 players at least every week not giving 100% puts you on the back foot. changing the manager won't change it now, those players are not playing for themselves or the club because they are getting ready to piss off to their next club.

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We do need to buy on Jan but do we honestly give Poch the money to do so?

I mean bringing in a couple of players when the others are not buying into the plan would be silly.

I hate what Poch is doing to our beloved team. Week in, week out, same old thing, playing players who don't want to be here, not only playing them, but they play for the whole game. Keeping players like GLC on the bench, giving him 10 or 15 mins at the most, what is the point in that? I've been a fan for nearly 30 years, so I've seen us through the 90's, but this now is as bad as anything I've seen. Simply because we had the team, and we had the players, to be at least top 3 every season, and I have no idea what has happened to us. I was really looking forward to this season, especially after buying a few big talents, but now I can't even watch us on the tv.

Sad to say it, but I'm really starting to hate Poch, and I have no idea why he is still here. If we miss out on top 4, which by every passing week is looking all the more likely, it would be a financial disaster.

I thought Poch used to be alot angrier in the past if we conceded, now less so.

Trix said:

I tend to agree. I can't see Levy pulling the trigger until the home fans turn on him. I still think this is a way off.

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I'd also worry that even then, it would still take a good few games/poor results for the axe to finally fall once the fans have turned.

Whilst i'd love for him to turn it around, i just dont think he has it in him. The selections are awful, the tactics questionable and the general play of the team absolutely lacklustre. There is literally no reason for Eriksen to be starting games, let alone seeing out entire 90s at an insultingly bad level of performance.

He seems as disinterested in turning it round as we seem in sacking him. Thats an absolute recipe for disaster.

Trix said:

I tend to agree. I can't see Levy pulling the trigger until the home fans turn on him. I still think this is a way off.

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But surely he knows the players aren’t happy...why wait until the fans are unhappy, does he really care what the fans think. I mean that if it’s the best for the club then surely decisions need to be made regardless of fans opinion as opposed to he couldn’t give a fuck about us!

stonebrow said:

I do think he should go but I’d hate it for the fans to boo him or shout for his sacking!

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Nor should we - otherwise we're no better than Troopz and those other muppets up the road

I suspect Poch’s contract has various clauses. Break for not finishing top 4 or top 6 or whatever. It’s going to be a long season if Poch doesn’t quit and Levy is set on waiting until one of these clauses comes in to effect.

Our league campaign is a shambles right now, league cup was an even bigger shambles.
Just see how far we can blag the champions league and have a go at the FA Cup if we get favourable draws and the rest knock each other out it’s a possibility I guess!

The injury and red card have glossed over another poor performance today. I don’t see any sign of turning it round unfortunately. It’s like we’re stuck in a bad relationship that used to be great and we thought would last forever!?

pffft said:

Aye, but those players were bought for Redknapp who played them from the off. Any players we might sign for Poch in January probably wouldn't get significant game time before March/April at the earliest based on his previous integration policy, so what would be the point in signing anyone if we're in trouble?

The only way I see (first team) players coming in in January is if Poch goes before the window opens and a new manager is allowed an instant clear-out/ rebuild.

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in his time here Poch has only made 1 signing in January which was Moura. At the time Moura in the 5 months had played 72 minutes so wasn't match fit in any way.

Trix said:

I tend to agree. I can't see Levy pulling the trigger until the home fans turn on him. I still think this is a way off.

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Not sure. Surely he must know there won't exactly be fan outrage if he goes now.

Trix said:

We do need to buy on Jan but do we honestly give Poch the money to do so?

I mean bringing in a couple of players when the others are not buying into the plan would be silly.

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Well if that’s the case something needs to be done, back him and bring players in or sack him and get a new manager and bring in his players

dondo said:

I would say it will go 1 of 3 ways, we will either win lose or draw

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I was making the suggestion that what we won't see is a good strong performance

Trix said:

We do need to buy on Jan but do we honestly give Poch the money to do so?

I mean bringing in a couple of players when the others are not buying into the plan would be silly.

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I still think there are some players that are not buying into the plan because there are other players playing that don't deserve to start.

scat1620 said:

I'm bored typing that he should have been sacked straight after the Bayern game and that every day we allowed him to continue in his job after that would be a day we'd be wasting, and I'm bored of being proved right week after week.

No point in watching us play until he's gone now: we know exactly what brand of disappointment we'll be served up each match. As always, my sympathies go out to the poor bastards paying through the nose to watch a club that doesn't demand the same high standards of its staff than it does of its fans.

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Even me?

But I wank off dogs. Ask @King of Otters.

In these days of internet content, articles presented as lists are so popular. So here goes, 5 things I've learned about Pochettino in 5 years.

1) Pochettino's achilles heal is tactics, smartness and in-game decisions, which leads him to nigh never being able to pull off a win based on out-smarting an opponent. That's probably a reason for why he has only ever lead the team to a defeat in a cup final. It's been quite acceptable in the past due to the overall results and league standings, but once in a very long, bad stretch of matches, this weakness screams out at you. Worst of all, over 5 years his development and evolvement on this has been minimal, and often his best matches still follows a 5 year old tactics template.

2) Pochettino was early on and for many seasons overly reliant on match fitness and out-running the opposition, pulling off many a late win. The strategy was to have the fittest team in the league, and the tactics was to go at each opponent until they eventually capitulated around 60-70 minutes in, and then start exploiting their errors. Five years later, the entire league consists of the fittest teams around, whereas Tottenham's team has first and foremost gotten older (not better, as was predicted). Now, there is neither a way to be out-running nor out-smarting the opposition.

3) Pochettino actually needs rather expensive signings to be successful with new recruits. All the signings under Pochettino who regularly play well or are fan favourites cost 30M +. All signings who cost less are effectively not playing, not really playing well or have already left the club as a worse version of themselves. So when we criticise other managers for needing expensive signings, what's happening in our own backyard is exactly that.

4) Pochettino's policy of bedding in new players over a long time has come at a cost. Deploying a new signing early in the season means several advantages: drawing from the pure motivation of being the new guy wanting to impress, having fresh legs in the team immediately at season start, and stimulating competition in the squad. Often we have endured slow starts during autumns, which might have been mitigated somewhat from including new faces on the pitch earlier.

5) Pochettino is actually not extremely good at bringing young players through the academy. Only one player has ever made it through the ranks and established himself as a regular in the match day squad, Harry Winks, and even his face actually started appearing on the bench before Pochettino arrived. Nobody is a magician, but this is in starch contrast to what was pointed to as a big reason for signing Pochettino in the first place.

How entitled are we as a fan base these days!!

SpursD22 said:

Listen today was a awful game from us, awful. Poch made questionable decisions. But we could see the team was just scared of making errors, we lack confidence. And we need some luck and we currently have no luck. We just need one win in the league and things can change

I’m sticking by his side, one win in the league and our confidence will grow. We’re in a very shitty situation but we need to stick it through

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I'm not having a pop at you my Tottenham brother, but this is the exact reason i'm sliding to the side of Poch out, thats HIS team and he has had his mitts on them for years now how can it be possible they are scared to make mistakes? How is their confidence low? They have been feeling the full force of the Poch Way for 5yrs+ now many of them, and almost all for 2yrs+.

The last glimmer of hope i have is that the players simply don't believe that with our financial constraints that we can possibly win the league with Man City and Liverpool in the shape they both are and have "given up" and accepted they will have to leave for the big titles.
(EDIT to add: In which case they can eff off not Poch)
That won't excuse our piss poor cup results though.

I'm fervently hoping that they haven't seen through Poch as i don't see real step up in any candidates we might be able to attract if it becomes clear Poch has the talk but not the walk.

Trix said:

I tend to agree. I can't see Levy pulling the trigger until the home fans turn on him. I still think this is a way off.

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Just wait till we are booed off when we lose to Sheffield United next Saturday then.

topper said:

How entitled are we as a fan base these day!!

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Depends where you put not wanting to get relegated after a CL final on the entitlement scale

Only way I see the home fans turning on Poch is if we get embarrassed by Sheff Utd, and even then I’d be surprised to hear anti-Poch sentiment. A lot of fans are blindly attached to Poch. This thread struggles to stay Poch out for longer than a day or two once the Poch In crowd log back in and call you every name under the sun for daring to question this questionable manager