The Mauricio Pochettino thread

[Oh Teddy Teddy]

And if Pochettino had their squads he’d have done alright too.

Against Colchester? I think his current squad should be good enough

 

[stevenurse]

He's been in self preservation mode for weeks now. 'we need to be calm' etc.

It's a real shame as every fan will have a massive fondness for him, and I'm so conflicted. I of course dont want him gone, but it's simply the best thing right now. Irrespective of who he wants/wanted etc, we have the 3rd best squad in the league. He isn't working with the tools he has. If it's got toxic then we aren't able to do this magical business that people seem to think we're doing in Jan. If the rot lasts another 3 months we're fucked.

Easiest fix is to freshen up the management. A new voice might change things up

 

[richard_gleeson]

From today he needs to go back to basics but stick up for his philosophy (press). Act like he's the manager and he makes the decisions, if players don't like it they can fuck off.

Davies left back, KWP right back (at least he's not a complete liability, only a liability), Dier back at base of midfield, wide players supporting full backs. Drop Eriksen, Rose, Aurier. Stop being a prick about Lucas, the bloke turns up and scores goals.

 

[Haddock]

This thought ran through my mind mind before I fell asleep last night:

Pochettino was the perfect coach for us five years ago. We had a pool of insanely talented young players that needed a nurturing hand. The whole club needed a likeable front figure for the club that brought togetherness and mentality.

I'm not so sure Pochettino is the perfect coach for where the club is now. Kane, Alli and the rest are not young and likely lads anymore, they are seasoned pros. We are not the same club anymore. The stadium changed everything. The CL final changed everything. Signings like Ndombele and Lo Celso changed everything. We're in dire need of a coach that brings that extra tactical nuance and killer instinct when it comes to winning important matches.

I do believe Pochettino could have been that coach but a myriad of different factors have contributed to our demise and we're all very aware of them. It's shame that this Pochettino Spurs team will go down to history as "What could have been...", it truly deserved another ending.

To be fair I'm still not sure wether I'm in the Poch out camp or not. A part of me still believes he can turn it around. However I do know this, it's been a very long time since I was embarrassed as a Spurs fan and last night was humiliating. Last time I felt like that was under AVB and we all know how that ended. Levy won't tolerate results like this - That's the one thing I'm certain of.

 

[$hoguN]

From today he needs to go back to basics but stick up for his philosophy (press). Act like he's the manager and he makes the decisions, if players don't like it they can fuck off.

Davies left back, KWP right back (at least he's not a complete liability, only a liability), Dier back at base of midfield, wide players supporting full backs. Drop Eriksen, Rose, Aurier. Stop being a prick about Lucas, the bloke turns up and scores goals.

There is no way back. He believes in his diamond and the way we are playing, if he didn’t we wouldn’t have been forced to watch it for over a year.

He needs to go

 

[Essex Spur]

I really hate to say this as I love the guy, but something needs to change and quick, if we hadn’t made the champions league final everyone would have been talking about the relegation form after Christmas last year

 

[Shadydan]

Levy generally makes an appointment with the longer term in mind. He's not the kind that generally goes for a quick fix. Even where the manager hasn't worked out, he would not have seen them as a short term fix (Redknapp possibly aside).

I don't think he will though. We can't afford a long term coach, times have changed now as we have moved on as a club from where we were.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

He has absolutely talked his way into a lot of his own problems with the provocative press conferences. They started off as understandable prods at Levy to spend money and somehow mutated into him openly considering leaving the club if we win a game. Completely bizarre and with that willingness to ditch the club at the drop of a hat, he can’t be surprised if he’s not given the courtesy of time when things go rotten.

I don’t think we will or should sack him at this stage, but his departure is now inevitable. He won’t be here next season.

 

[Coyboy]

This thought ran through my mind mind before I fell asleep last night:

Pochettino was the perfect coach for us five years ago. We had a pool of insanely talented young players that needed a nurturing hand. The whole club needed a likeable front figure for the club that brought togetherness and mentality.

I'm not so sure Pochettino is the perfect coach for where the club is now. Kane, Alli and the rest are not young and likely lads anymore, they are seasoned pros. We are not the same club anymore. The stadium changed everything. The CL final changed everything. Signings like Ndombele and Lo Celso changed everything. We're in dire need of a coach that brings that extra tactical nuance and killer instinct when it comes to winning important matches.

I do believe Pochettino could have been that coach but a myriad of different factors have contributed to our demise and we're all very aware of them. It's shame that this Pochettino Spurs team will go down to history as "What could have been...", it truly deserved another ending.

To be fair I'm still not sure wether I'm in the Poch out camp or not. A part of me still believes he can turn it around. However I do know this, it's been a very long time since I was embarrassed as a Spurs fan and last night was humiliating. Last time I felt like that was under AVB and we all know how that ended. Levy won't tolerate results like this - That's the one thing I'm certain of.

Neither do I for the precise reason that I don't know why we are playing and losing like this; without being flippant, I am not a football professional or expert and I don't know what goes on at training or in the dressing room. What I can see having been to three home games now (last night, Villa and Southampton) and watched most of the others on TV, is that when we play with intensity and speed we are still a very good side- at both ends.

Our play for Son's goal (which came from the too infrequent pressing) and his earlier chances were really well made moves as was the chance Ndombele had which started from a terrific Kane cross field pass. If you look at the goals we have scored which has been in every game (bar against the mighty Essex giants) they have involved good football or clinical finishing. I am not sure therefore that attacking is much of a problem.

For me, it's defensive decision making- it's pondering on the ball in dangerous situations (Ndombele, Lloris, both centre halves, both full backs, Sissoko); it's going to ground too much (Rose- it was down the other end from me but that looked like a certain penalty last night); it's not defending as a unit and leaving our full backs too exposed. I don't know why this is or how it can be solved . None of these players are technically or mentally weak; we have seen them perform as a team and individuals to high levels.

So I don't know if I think it's time for a change or who would be best for us at this point. I know that, as you say, it would be incredibly sad to see Poch go like this and not have seen him have the ultimate success with us.

But there is so much false certitude and arrogance amongst football fans here and elsewhere; "He's lost the dressing room" "He's gone" "He will be gone by [X date]" "Why doesn't he do this/that whatever". I understand that he has knocked back offers and overtures from other clubs over the last 5 years and shown loyalty to us so I am prepared to show loyalty to him and even if it means a few more painful defeats and poor performances.

To be fair, there is anargument for replacing some of the old guard (Toby, Vertonghen, Rose, Eriksen) but some of the players who would do that are injured (KWP [I think], Sanchez, Foyth, Sessengon, Lo Celso) hence for me the desire to give him time even if it may get worse before it gets better.

Only if there is a real schism in the squad and a breakdown in the relationship between players and manager that is irreconcilable would a change be a good idea (seeing Son give Poch a hug after he scored leads me to believe this may not be the case, but Son would probably hug Hitler) but that's not something I know or can comment on, much less state as fact.

 

[dimiSpur]

People in this thread will know I'm against pulling the trigger on Poch at the moment, however our tactics last night were poor. After the first 30 we looked knackered out. We needed to be 3-0 up after 30 mins, as we were against Palace. We weren't and what followed was terrible.

Winks is not a defensive midfielder, he goes chasing after the ball in areas where he shouldn't. That leaves our midfield wide open. Surely anyone can see this, never mind a professional manager, allegedly wanted by Real Madrid & Man Utd. If we didn't have Sissoko we'd lose by 7 every week with Winks there. If the whole team isn't pressing, Winks has no business chasing the ball out wide. It's not Winks' fault, he's got a dog-chasing-hiw-own-tail look about him all the time. It's Poch's fault for playing this stupid formation. We were so well served by our 4-2-3-1. I cannot for the life of me understand why he's changed it.

I'm prepared to give him a chance to turn things around, but only if he actually can change things. If he's prepared to change formations, personnel etc. Bring in Sessegnon when he's fit and sack off Rose, who's terrible. Give Foyth a chance at right back as he at least might defend as opposed to doing whatever it is Aurier does and play a solid midfield capable of shielding an ageing and tired looking centre back partnership.

 

[leray]

What's especially painful about this result is that we probably played the best football all season for the first 30 minutes. I was watching it and thought that Poch was spot on with the first XI: Son, Dele and Kane were doing great, good link up play, off the ball movement.

If we were playing Brighton, Bournemouth, Leicester even, we'd be cruising to victory. But that's Champions League and Bayern has a lot of smart players so after 30 minutes they knew how to bypass our press and take control of the game.

And then Kovac introduced Thiago.

I understood when Poch was outclassed tactically by Allegri. But Kovac? A guy who's always two losses from sacking?

So maybe it wasn't a tactical problem?

We were great for the first 30 minutes and when the first problems started, we just couldn't play at all. That's textbook over motivation. You start wanting to crush the opponent, sometimes you surprise him, but when they start to take control of the game, you lose ground and become so, so soft.

 

[alamo]

Fucking hell. I had to stop listening at 1-1 as I needed to put my baby boy to bed. I checked the result later on and - through bleary eyes - thought it read "2-1". It was only after I logged on here and couldn't align the vitriol with the result that I looked back and saw what I thought was a 1 was in actualy fact a 7. After such a positive start to the game as well......

So anyway, I can understand the curent mood and the last 20 pages will no doubt be full of posts reaffirming peoples sentiments that Poch should get the boot. We desperately need a decent run of results now or - despite all he has done for us - pressure and unrest will mount to the point of no return.

 

[coy-spurs1882]

After the CL final he spoke about changing the mentality at the club. Changing how things are done and how things happen.

Levy delivered his top 4 targets this summer, oddly enough none of them were in the problem areas of RB and DM. However that's besides the point.

Change the mentality of the fans, change the mentality of the players. Have an all encompassing mentality where everyone pulls in the same direction. Except he refuses to change himself in any way. He's so stubborn it's to the detriment of the team.

Continuing to play a diamond when it must have worked twice in about 33 games.

Yes, something needs to change. That's him. He needs to change. Swallow your pride. Your system doesn't work. Change it. Do something. This has been going on for about 9 months now.

The worst thing to happen, and it sounds strange, was getting to Madrid to the CL final. It masked everything that was wrong since January. Dont get me wrong it was absolutely amazing to get there and I still have no idea how we did it. But being knocked out by Ajax might have actually helped us more in the long run.

Something has to give. Whether he walks or changes his ideas, I dont know. But it needs to happen.

VAR, Son, Lucas and Llorente?

 

[Gb160]

Had this crazy dream last night lads, we were playing Bayern in the Cham....

 

[HW61]

So I was at the game tonight unfortunately and it will go down as the single worst defeat I have and hopefully ever will witness as a Spurs fan. Take away the first 15-20 minutes it was men against boys and we got a total lesson on how to play football from a far far superior team to ours, in pretty much every single position from back to front.

What’s worse than all that was watching our players completely give up once the 5th goal went in and just literally hand two more to Bayern. For me that is a sure sign that something just isn’t working between the management and the players.

This will go down as one of our most embarrassing results in the history of the club due to the size of the competition and with the amount of people watching. Us as fans will have to put up with weeks and weeks of pure ridicule from every other supporter and actually deservedly so.

How our manager, who is held in high regard, believes that after several failed attempts, that the diamond with two limited players in Winks and Sissoko is good enough to offer a defensive shield for our defence is beyond me. How our manager, who is held in high regard, believes that selling Trippier and not replacing him was the right decision is beyond me.

I think the time has come for both parties to go their separate ways, Poch has given us some amazing times but the moment a manager flirts with another job, becomes a cryptic character in press conferences and doesn’t fully back his players, then the writing is on the wall.

This result could damage our image as a club and it’s totally unacceptable from both the management and the players. They should be ashamed at that and if they are not then they can happily leave this club of ours. The only constant at any football club is the fans, we pay our hard earned money to watch these guys play football and if they can’t band together for us then it’s time for a change.

That time is now and surely now even the most loyal Poch fan can see it.

Feel like the last man standing in Poch’s court. Still in shock. Irrelevant of how far he has taken us Colchester and now this destroys the image and standing of the club.

Gutted that he simply can’t come back from this ?.

 

[shelfboy68]

Had this crazy dream last night lads, we were playing Bayern in the Cham....

I had that dream disappeared just after seven I believe...

 

[Deleted member 27995]

There was more noise around him leaving/being sacked pre the Arsenal game than there is right now ...

 

[mrlilywhite]

I have said this time and again, but it needs to be reiterated. First and foremost everything we, as Spurs fans exist for as football fans are the club. We are the true constant. Levy will go at some point, Kane and all the others will go and ultimately so will Poch! Take your Poch tinted shades off and ask yourself - "Am I a Spurs fan or a Poch fan?". If I thought long term that Poch was the man for this club and it benefitted this club, I would be totally on board for the sake of this club, our club! The thing is, I don't believe that Poch is the long term solution and haven't for a good while tbh. Even if he is a nice guy, he can go off and be a nice guy elsewhere. When it comes to this club, I have no room for manager or player sentiment.

I have always been of the belief that any good manager could get more or at least the same out of this squad. I have seen so many fans in this forum and elsewhere say how we have the 3rd best squad by some margin, and yet here we are looking bang average at the very best and far away right now to think that 3rd on paper equates to 3rd in the league. Is that the player's fault? The managers or Levy?

@Trix summed it up last night in one of his posts about Poch and all that has done has re-affirmed my belief that Poch needs to go!

 

[Gb160]

I had that dream disappeared just after seven I believe...

Still can't believe it, I'm gonna impose a media blackout I think...pretend it never happened.

 

[Primativ]

You can criticise him tonight, this season and the whole 2019 but to say he’s never been tactically good is just bs. Do you think he made us a consistent top 4 team with the squads he’s had only because he’s a motivator? Please think about what you’re saying before writing stupid stuff like this

He deserved/deserves to only approve the signings he wants and it’s the clubs fault we’re in this position. If they just backed him fully from day one we wouldn’t be in this position. Even this summer wasn’t good enough despite what people say

In January we need to buy a DM and a RB no matter the price, it’s time to stop being cheap fuckers

Deary me. Poch has brainwashed you. Deluded.