The Mauricio Pochettino thread

[Finchyid]

My word.

I've only just seen this as thankfully I didn't actually watch the game on Saturday and felt an evening of trying to suffocate in an electric oven would be a more productive use of time than catching up on the highlights.

It would be embarrassing enough letting Chelsea or Liverpool dance around us like this, but a team who have just been promoted and who, in fairness, didn't have to work particularly hard for that goal as we just let them play around us, verges on unforgivable.

What a sad state of affairs that it's come to this. Sadder state of affairs that some fans are happy for it to continue because they seemingly value the manager above the club.

This is just it......I have been saying this for over 6 months. We beat city 1-0 at home cos of the press, thats part of why we got to the CL final. We just dont have that any more and thats why we are conceding goals. I have no idea why its changed. The poch I and everyone loved that has put us where we are is not staying true to that for some reason

 

[teedee]

Maybe, we're just the mugs who follow the team, we know fuck all about anything really. Like reading what the press has to say. Listening to people on the radio or T.V that are paid to create debate with 'informed' opinions. He's probably learning loads and I am just making a noise on the internet because, well, words.

He's probably average anyway.

We'll know in 6 months to 2 years.

It is odd that we buy a player and loan him back to the selling club, which then fails to play him. Perhaps Clarke isn't good enough, which would not surprise me, or maybe Levy saved some cash by doing it this way - the most likely scenario

 

[Deleted member 27995]

It is odd that we buy a player and loan him back to the selling club, which then fails to play him. Perhaps Clarke isn't good enough, which would not surprise me, or maybe Levy saved some cash by doing it this way - the most likely scenario

Paid 10 mill for him at 18 years old, not good enough or saved some cash ... Not sure either compute.

Seems yet another waste of talent and he hasn't kicked a ball for us. Top shit.

 

[spurs mental]

Started reading that and realised that it was all about how much that person hates Levy and Enic. I'm no BSODL but anyone who agrees with that clown is deluded.

Levy might be tight with the finances, but we've only progressed with him at the helm. We were nothing before he took over. We might not have won much under him but we've become challengers for the big trophies, at last. We're a big club now. All that's left is to win something major.

If he was in charge of another club I'd hate it.

The amount of people disagreeing with this but not actually responding is comical. No fact based arguments or opinions. Hilarious.

 

[TOLBINY]

Out of love / respect / appreciation / hope there are many fans who want Poch to be given the chance to turn things round. I have been struggling to think of instances at other clubs where the manager has had such a bad run (25 games) but has eventually been able to turn it around mid-season. It just doesn't happen. If enough of the players stop playing for you or doubt your methods, you're toast.
Leicester players gave up on Ranieri the season after he helped them win the league, there was an immediate improvement in form when he left. Utd players gave up on Jose, there was an immediate improvement when he left.

If we had a truly appalling squad that was no better than many of the teams above us I'd say it's not Poch's fault and changing the manager would have little impact - but this squad should be beating Newcastle, Brighton, Watford, Colchester, Sheff Utd. I can accept the odd freak result (Norwich beat Clity remember) but we've had too many for it to be a freak.

I don't think it is any coincidence that most of our best results in 2019 have come in the ECL (I know about Bayern!) - because that's a showcase knock-out competition that the players thought they had a chance of winning, so they found ways to get through ties. I am wondering if in the Prem they are looking at how hard they worked / close they have come without success and now see Liverpool and City so dominant that they think 'what's the point in trying'.

 

[mattdefoe]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

 

[Deleted member 29446]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

Oh good god...

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

Am I right in thinking that you’ve deliberately only “rememberd” what could have happened in our favour, and “forgotten” what could have happened against us but didn’t?

 

[George94]

If Poch is telling the players, yet they are refusing to follow his tactical instructions, why is he still playing them?

I think it's partly due to the players losing faith in the manager, but also think Poch has radically changed his tactics and that's clear to see.

 

[freeeki]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

Oh come on.

We were lucky to come away from Sheffield United with a point. We were even luckier to come away with a point against Manchester City after letting them completely pummel us.

 

[Everlasting Seconds]

If Poch is telling the players, yet they are refusing to follow his tactical instructions, why is he still playing them?

I think it's partly due to the players losing faith in the manager, but also think Poch has radically changed his tactics and that's clear to see.

Has he? Please expand about these radical changes you are seeing.

 

[stonebrow]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

It could’ve been so different last season...if we won every game we would’ve won the league!!

 

[freeeki]

Has he? Please expand about these radical changes you are seeing.

Changes so radical that even bastard Colchester are wise to them before the game has begun

 

[mrlilywhite]

This is just it......I have been saying this for over 6 months. We beat city 1-0 at home cos of the press, thats part of why we got to the CL final. We just dont have that any more and thats why we are conceding goals. I have no idea why its changed. The poch I and everyone loved that has put us where we are is not staying true to that for some reason

View attachment 58200

The Poch counter-press is only as effective as the players at its disposal. When you press with the intensity that Poch's system demands, then you can be sure that at some point something has to give or something breaks. Bielsa's Leeds were a prime example of how brutal this system is, and let's remember for a minute that Poch has always drawn inspiration for his style from the man that taught him, Bielsa. Their respective systems are principally the same.

Leeds at the start of last season was blowing the opposition away until Bielsa's system caught up with them, then injuries and burnout took their toll and went from nailed on to get back in the prem to failing in the playoffs.

The system that both of them play demands a lot from a player, not just in training, but also in the match. Desire and determination are key - hence why players like Aurier, who has bags of potential fails miserably in this system as he isn't committed enough. There are quite a few essentials in this system that are needed from players, but the key ingredient is fitness. When a player's natural fitness starts to decline, then a system like this will expose them and it will make the system totally ineffective. Sure we can play it in spits and spurts, but we can no longer do what we could 3-4 years ago.

I have always believed that the system is the culprit for the injuries that we get so often, and those mount up to the point that a player who may still be relatively young in the squad has been overused to the point that they can never regain the form they might have once enjoyed.

The one reason that Poch's job is under threat is that he has become far too rigid and hasn't learned to move on from his press - he has tried, we can see that from his multiple formation changes, the ever-changing starting 11, etc but he has clearly spent so much time working with what works that he hasn't prepared for the inevitable.

 

[GMI]

Probably just fancied a night in front of Netflix with the mrs mate.

As long as it's not the mate's Mrs. That would explain some things.

 

[TOLBINY]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

City should have had a penalty for Lamela foul at a corner. Watford should have had a penalty for Jan foul on Deulofeu. Sheff Utd goal chalked off for a big toe with a dodgy VAR line (Dier was playing his big toe onside IMHO). Dele handball v Everton. VAR has not been too unkind to us. Letting leads slip on a regular basis is due to fragility not bad luck.

 

[Deleted member 29446]

It could have been so different

We turned it around nicely v Aston Villa and then

- no var pen v Newcastle or arsenal
-leads slipped v arsenal , Everton with a freak Gomes injury,Liverpool , sheff utd , var v leicster and lead slipped

Any other season we may have an extra 8-10 points

City should have had a penalty for Lamela foul at a corner. Watford should have had a penalty for Jan foul on Deulofeu. Sheff Utd goal chalked off for a big toe with a dodgy VAR line (Dier was playing his big toe onside IMHO). Dele handball v Everton. VAR has not been too unkind to us. Letting leads slip on a regular basis is due to fragility not bad luck.

Guys. It's not a about the results. The football was still piss poor, it has been since the start of the 18' season. It's about the performances not results. Such post is just nonsense.

Yes if we lost to Everton, SU & City etc Poch would probably already been gone. On the other hand if we won or drawed like you suggest Poch would not even be in the mess he's in right now, but he should if the football stayed the same, because it would bite him in the arse rather sooner than later.
I can't remember the last game we actually put in a good performance vs. a decent side, must been like when we smacked Chelsea when they were shit, does that even count.

 

[wrd]

3 of our players now have clearly been fucked by clubs in their ear or poor advisers.

Alderweireld - stuck on 50k for 3 years now after his advisers told him he's worth more than what was being offered, lost out on loads of earnings over those 3 years and now at the point where he probably won't be offered enough by a new club to make up for the loss.

Eriksen - Refused a new deal on the basis of Madrid being in his ear, was lead along the merry path only for them to not actually follow up on said interest which has broken him.

Rose - Clearly had a club in his ear when he was confidently saying he will get what he's worth and that he will move up north and get one last big contract and that the club wasn't paying him what he was worth. Well that big contract will never come now and he's now talking about sitting on a contract he considered beneath him.

And that's just the 3 where we've had info to be able to ascertain what has gone wrong, let-alone the likes of Aurier, Wanyama, Vertonghen.

 

[Shadydan]

Guys. It's not a about the results. The football was still piss poor, it has been since the start of the 18' season. It's about the performances not results. Such post is just nonsense.

Yes if we lost to Everton, SU & City etc Poch would probably already been gone. On the other hand if we won or drawed like you suggest Poch would not even be in the mess he's in right now, but he should if the football stayed the same, because it would bite him in the arse rather sooner than later.
I can't remember the last game we actually put in a good performance vs. a decent side, must been like when we smacked Chelsea when they were shit, does that even count.

Probably the 1-0 loss to United funnily enough, we created enough chances that day to beat them twice over just couldn't finish and De Gea was on something that day, also Chelsea weren't shit when we beat them, they were 3rd and unbeaten before they played us.

 

[Deleted member 29446]

Probably the 1-0 loss to United funnily enough, we created enough chances that day to beat them twice over just couldn't finish and De Gea was on something that day, also Chelsea weren't shit when we beat them, they were 3rd and unbeaten before they played us.

Everton yes. And I forgot about Chelsea, I thought it was when Hazard and co. made a mess, but I guess it was later. Both games though is about a year ago. Baffling!