- Aug 31, 2012
- 16,058
- 32,848
There's an element of truth to this but if you're going to mention players like Eriksen, Vertonghen, Rose, Dier etc. who have shown dips in performance, then you have to mention the likes of Kane, Son, Winks and Sissoko who have either maintained or improved their levels.It really shows how keeping nearly all of the the first team squad the same for so long under the same manager is not healthy. For example, yesterday's team and subs, nearly all of them have been here since Poch started.
Pochettino (in 6th season)
Lloris (in 8th season)
Rose (in 13th year with club, in 7th season in first team)
Alderweireld (in 5th season)
Vertonghen (in 8th season)
Aurier (in 3rd season)
Winks (in 6th year as a pro with club, in 3rd season in the first team)
Sissoko (in 4th season)
Ndombele (in 1st season)
Eriksen (in 7th season)
Son (in 5th season)
Kane (in 10th year as a pro with club, 6th season in the first team)
Dier (in 6th season)
Lamela (in 7th season)
Wanyama (in 4th season)
Sir Alex Ferguson used to refresh his teams every 3 or 4 years. Hughes, Ince, Staam, Keane, Van Nistelrooy, Beckham - mostly sold when they were at the end of their peak and no longer 100% behind the manager. Excluding Winks and Kane - home grown in a similar way to the United 'Fergie Fledglings' - Lloris, Rose, Eriksen and maybe Vertonghen are all due a change. They are all in their 6th season under Poch. Surely the message, the training, the tactics, the shock methods, etc. all become stale. We should have got rid of Eriksen last summer when he wasn't committing to a new contract. Lloris could have gone a year ago too, and he had a very inconsistent season last year.
I think the more likely cause is some sort of change in Poch. Maybe he's not lost the dressing room as such but maybe he's just not been the motivator he was, both publicly and privately.