Lawrenson questions Tottenham’s Pochettino appointment

[Sweetsman]

The difference between Liverpool's home support and ours is a chasm. Our away support brooks no argument, but at home we have a load of moaning gobshites.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

I can't believe you're all accusing levy of having no direction.

I don't agree with it, it's boring, but AVB and Pochettino both play exactly the same way. 4231. Two defensive midfielders. Inverted wingers cutting inside. High defensive line. Possession based low risk passing.

That to me is indicative of a man employing someone to continue what was started.

The odds of it succeeding imo are slim, but it proves he has an idea of where he wants to go.

 

[Japhet]

I can't believe you're all accusing levy of having no direction.

I don't agree with it, it's boring, but AVB and Pochettino both play exactly the same way. 4231. Two defensive midfielders. Inverted wingers cutting inside. High defensive line. Possession based low risk passing.

That to me is indicative of a man employing someone to continue what was started.

The odds of it succeeding imo are slim, but it proves he has an idea of where he wants to go.

That's like saying 'My car is exactly the same as an Aston Martin DB9 because it's got a bonnet, 2 doors and a tailgate'.

 

[TottenhamMattSpur]

That's like saying 'My car is exactly the same as an Aston Martin DB9 because it's got a bonnet, 2 doors and a tailgate'.

Of course it's not.



Astons have rear hatches.


The don't really. They have tailgates.

 

[neogenisis]

Very good player, winning most of what you'd want to as a player:

In Lawrenson's first season, Liverpool won the League championship and the League Cup before retaining both for another two seasons, becoming only the third club in history to win three titles in a row. They also added the club's fourth European Cup in 1984, the last time Liverpool would win this honour until 2005, sealing a treble of trophies that season.
He makes complete sense in the article. Levy hires and fires. Simple and undeniably a fact.

Really dont care what he won as a player many many years ago, that doesnt translate into a good manager. Football has moved on leaps and bounds since then and i really dont think the bloke is qualified to tell us what is and what isnt best for our football club.

 

[Sweetsman]

Really dont care what he won as a player many many years ago, that doesnt translate into a good manager. Football has moved on leaps and bounds since then and i really dont think the bloke is qualified to tell us what is and what isnt best for our football club.

Lawrenson played in the era of the backpass to the goalie and Liverpool used it ad nauseum.

 

[Donki]

I question Lawro's hairstyle... of lack of it.

 

[JoeT]

Very good player, winning most of what you'd want to as a player:

In Lawrenson's first season, Liverpool won the League championship and the League Cup before retaining both for another two seasons, becoming only the third club in history to win three titles in a row. They also added the club's fourth European Cup in 1984, the last time Liverpool would win this honour until 2005, sealing a treble of trophies that season.

He makes complete sense in the article. Levy hires and fires. Simple and undeniably a fact.

Agreed, but said with a slight tone of bitterness -seeing as what happened to 'his' Liverpool team - got to take out his frustration on someone I suppose.

 

[ginola007]

It's not a clear policy when you have a DoF structure and then abandon it. It's even less clear when abandoning that structure worked! We had our most successful period when we didn't have a DoF.

He appointed Santini and had to have Jol clean up that mess. He appointed Ramos and had to have Harry clean up that mess. That's called making it up as you go along, not a clear strategy.

A clear strategy may emerge. And certainly there appear to be criteria - CL placing and exciting footy. But the strategy would be how to implement that, not just constantly appointing people and then deciding they're not up to it.

Problem is that the clear policy that Levy envisioned was not matched by the execution on the field. As a result, he had to make changes. The question was whether, given more time, the managers he sacked could come good.

 

[Mullers]

Lawro is asking a perfectly reasonable question, will Poch be given time? The answer is no he won't be given time.

 

[Jody]

I agree with him. The headline however is a little misleading. He's not questioning the appointment itself.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

I can't believe you're all accusing levy of having no direction.

I don't agree with it, it's boring, but AVB and Pochettino both play exactly the same way. 4231. Two defensive midfielders. Inverted wingers cutting inside. High defensive line. Possession based low risk passing.

That to me is indicative of a man employing someone to continue what was started.

The odds of it succeeding imo are slim, but it proves he has an idea of where he wants to go.

They do not both play the same way. You simply cannot look at a system and assume the actiual play on the field is the same. To suggest that AVB and Poch 'play exactly the same way' is plain both daft and patently false.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

Really dont care what he won as a player many many years ago, that doesnt translate into a good manager. Football has moved on leaps and bounds since then and i really dont think the bloke is qualified to tell us what is and what isnt best for our football club.

But you are?

 

[riggi]

bore off blud

 

[spursbhoy67]

I can't believe you're all accusing levy of having no direction.

I don't agree with it, it's boring, but AVB and Pochettino both play exactly the same way. 4231. Two defensive midfielders. Inverted wingers cutting inside. High defensive line. Possession based low risk passing.

That to me is indicative of a man employing someone to continue what was started.

The odds of it succeeding imo are slim, but it proves he has an idea of where he wants to go.

They may both play a similar formation, but their influences vary.

Andre Villas-Boas was influenced and mentored by Jose Mourinho, so his teams have been built on a combination of pressing, but mostly counter attacking from a defending mindset. Think of how we scored goals last season (12-13) v Norwich City, Aston Villa, etc. Defend, counter at pace and score. Chelsea and Inter Milan under JM perfected the style.

Mauricio Pochettino was influenced by Marcelo Bielsa who plays a high intensity pressing game to win back possession in the opposition half of the field and then look to score from there. Barcelona play close to the way Bielsa wants his team to play.

If AVB had got Spurs playing like his Porto team then there would have been entertainment value to playing with power and pace on the break. Too often it was the Gareth Bale show and not enough of Bale, Lennon, Sandro, etc breaking at pace and scoring like Real Madrid against Bayern Munich in the CL semi-final.

The Pochettino style of play will be more Spurs like, push and run if you like with a modern slant of defending in the opposition half.

AVB's 4-2-3-1 was more like 4-5-1 at times. Pochettino's 4-2-3-1 will seem more 2-4-4. I think we will be very entertaining next season and will be a return to some high scoring games.

 

[davidmatzdorf]

Lawro is asking a perfectly reasonable question, will Poch be given time? The answer is no he won't be given time.

I wish it were possible to agree with a post and dislike it at the same time.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

They may both play a similar formation, but their influences vary.

I fucking dearly hope so.

 

[Geyzer Soze]

Cad

 

[neogenisis]

But you are?

No i am not, but at no point were we talking about me were we? It was about some shit pundit.

 

[Gaz_Gammon]

No i am not, but at no point were we talking about me were we? It was about some shit pundit.

I think he spent something like twenty odd years working on MOTD. So again because he gives a balanced and honest opinion on the amount of managers Levy has gone through and because the truth sometimes hurts he's all of a sudden a 'shit pundit'.