The Mauricio Pochettino thread

[Danners9]

I don't care too much either way but Poch jumped the gun a little bit here.

I didn't get the impression that Pep was having a dig at us, particularly after praising us and our players to the hills last season (when we were arguably more of a threat to him than we are now).

I would agree if he had said 'The Morata team, the Lukaku team, the Sanchez team, the Harry Kane team...' but he didn't. It wasn't a dig, but it was a backhanded compliment meant to praise Kane and highlight a view some hold that Kane IS Spurs, which is disrespectful to the club - as Poch said - considering last season Spurs had several players scoring 15+ goals and managed to beat his City side without Kane.

This is a fair response from MP: “It’s difficult to understand because Pep was part of the big success at Barcelona, when it was Messi at his best. And I never said it was the Messi team. I always said it was Barcelona and it was Pep Guardiola. I think everyone deserves to be recognised as being part of the success of the team.

“I think that many people took his words as very sad and disrespectful to the club. And for many players that are here – it’s a strange situation. Personally I didn’t take it in a bad way. It wasn’t disrespectful to me. I only express my feeling that, for a lot of people, it was unnecessary to say that.

He's right about both these points.

 

[Shadydan]

Storm in a tea cup

 

[King of Otters]

I would agree if he had said 'The Morata team, the Lukaku team, the Sanchez team, the Harry Kane team...' but he didn't. It wasn't a dig, but it was a backhanded compliment meant to praise Kane and highlight a view some hold that Kane IS Spurs, which is disrespectful to the club - as Poch said - considering last season Spurs had several players scoring 15+ goals and managed to beat his City side without Kane.

This is a fair response from MP: “It’s difficult to understand because Pep was part of the big success at Barcelona, when it was Messi at his best. And I never said it was the Messi team. I always said it was Barcelona and it was Pep Guardiola. I think everyone deserves to be recognised as being part of the success of the team.

“I think that many people took his words as very sad and disrespectful to the club. And for many players that are here – it’s a strange situation. Personally I didn’t take it in a bad way. It wasn’t disrespectful to me. I only express my feeling that, for a lot of people, it was unnecessary to say that.

He's right about both these points.

Kane is the stand out player in the Prem in the last two seasons, and surpassed even his own ridiculously high standards in the month of September. Morata, Sanchez and Lukaku, whatever their considerable merits as footballers, don't even come close in terms of delivering week in week out, year after year as Kane continues to do.

He is the exceptional footballer in the league right now. That's why, imo, Pep singled him out, not to belittle us, but to recognise that fact.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

I think this situation has been blown up way too much by the media to create a storm for their own benefit.

Guardiola clearly just made that comment as a tongue in cheek reference to the fact Kane is a goal machine. Nothing more that. Poch shouldn't have reacted as he's just contributed to the whole circus

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

Pep has clarified his comments, and in doing also highlighted the fact that he has praised us on several occasions in the past. If anyone loves attacking football it's him, and he makes a point of praising attacking teams, just as he's done on a few occasions with Napoli this season. Why would he just wake up one morning and feel like disrespecting us completely out of the blue? It's not like we'd just played them, or were just about to, so why on earth would he acknowledge the threat of other teams and then single us out for an insult? It just makes no sense whatsoever. But sections of our fan base are becoming as bad as Liverpool's lately, with this constant need to take EVERYTHING as an attack on our club. It's bloody pathetic. We finished 3rd and 2nd in consecutive seasons, most goals scored, fewest conceded blah blah blah....it's not exactly Man U 90s-style or Barca 00s-style domination. it's way too early for the "everyone hates us cos we're great" attitude. for the most part we're getting plaudits without having won a single thing, everyone just needs to chill the fuck out

 

[Bensonrecon]

It can't be defended when you take into account the entire comment. Even this whole Kane or Kane's thing is irrelevant. He mentioned United and Chelsea by name than said Harry Kane team. There is no context to confuse. He tried to be cute and Pochettino has put him back in his place and drawn a line under it.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

Yes he said Harry Kane....because he was praising Harry Kane. This isn't that hard to understand. Pochettino putting him "back in his place" is patently nonsense when he's (over) reacted and made it known everyone was upset about it

 

[Bensonrecon]

Yes he said Harry Kane....because he was praising Harry Kane. This isn't that hard to understand. Pochettino putting him "back in his place" is patently nonsense when he's (over) reacted and made it known everyone was upset about it

He said United and Chelsea, then Harry Kane team then said he scores 2 or 3 a game. Not United, Chelsea, Tottenham WITH Harry Kane scoring 2 or 3 a game. As for over reactions he didn't rant or rave at Guardiola he said in the same tone he answers every question that he found it sad. Drew comparisons with Barca and Messi under his management, defended his players and the fans, effectively called him a sore winner and said that he was not disrespected but it was disrespectful to some people then said it's done and to move on.

How is he showing he's upset about it? He was asked a question, he answered it in the same tone he answers every question. He said himself he was not bothered but it was disrespectful. There was no shit eating grin like when Guardiola say Harry Kane team, there was no snappy AVB "We is Us" He showed, as he always does, exactly how you deal with the English media. Guardiola has shown last season to be tetchy when things aren't going right and he gets asked a question he isn't comfortable with. Pochettino is far more calculating. Just look at how many times he gets asked something absolutely pathetic, feigns lack of understanding, turns to get it 'interpreted' and then answers it in a way that drives the question rather than be led by it. Pochettino knows exactly what he is doing

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

So he didn't word it the way you would've - this automatically means he was being disrespectful even though there was no good reason, he's gone out of his way to praise us in the past, and has clarified that wasn't in any way having a dig at us?

 

[Bensonrecon]

So he didn't word it the way you would've - this automatically means he was being disrespectful even though there was no good reason, he's gone out of his way to praise us in the past, and has clarified that wasn't in any way having a dig at us?

He didn't word it in the same fashion as he has previously. Like you said he's praised us in the past. Never had any issue calling us Tottenham in pre or post match reactions when we play them. Never had any struggles finding the right words when saying he likes watching us play, didn't smile when saying Chelsea or United were contenders in that same post match conference either yet found the need to smirk while saying Kane's name.

side note, it's a good job managers don't word things how I do or would otherwise they'd be getting fined every few days

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

so he basically just woke up and fancied having a pop at us then?

 

[Bensonrecon]

so he basically just woke up and fancied having a pop at us then?

Who knows? Maybe he wasn't happy with the Walker deal. Maybe he believes with little "you carry them" comments he can bend his ear into moving. Maybe he feels he can drive a wedge and pick up Rose on the cheap by trying to cause rifts. Maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed and is sore that he struggles to beat Pochettino sides but just beat the champions. Maybe Pochettino is spot on that after a big win Guardiola forgets how to be a gentleman.

I'm not just looking at the comment in and of itself, I'm looking at his face when he said it, the fact that out of 3 teams he chose to single out us with an individual player's name and the fact that as you rightly stated he's praised us a lot in the past and with no struggles in finding the right words. It seemed snide.

 

[Shadydan]

Who knows? Maybe he wasn't happy with the Walker deal. Maybe he believes with little "you carry them" comments he can bend his ear into moving. Maybe he feels he can drive a wedge and pick up Rose on the cheap by trying to cause rifts. Maybe he woke up on the wrong side of the bed and is sore that he struggles to beat Pochettino sides but just beat the champions. Maybe Pochettino is spot on that after a big win Guardiola forgets how to be a gentleman.

I'm not just looking at the comment in and of itself, I'm looking at his face when he said it, the fact that out of 3 teams he chose to single out us with an individual player's name and the fact that as you rightly stated he's praised us a lot in the past and with no struggles in finding the right words. It seemed snide.

I think you're reaching in fact the more people talk about this as some sort of dig at us the more ridiculous it sounds.

 

[StartingPrice]

so he basically just woke up and fancied having a pop at us then?

Every season Ferguson would make comments about us having a good team, playing nice football etc. In his last few years, when we actually started getting a half-decent team, he stopped doing that ans started making scathing little cutting remarks instead. Maybe last season Guardiola was expecting to finish above us until the wheels came off for them. Now he genuinely sees us as rivals.

I broke it all down when I posted his interview. He makes a point of saying "Harry Kane's team" several times in that interview. That is a very different phrase from "The Harry Kane team". So, either he either doesn't know the difference, or doesn't really understand the difference (which is, of course, possible for a non native speaker). Or he can't remember that he used the former expression in his original interview - in which case maybe he should check before sounding off. Or he knows full-well what he said and is trying to be cute by deflecting.

I suppose it is easier to think it is one of the former options if you view him as Saint Pep - largely based on him creating a brilliant Barcelona team. Me, I don't think how good a person is at a job reflects their actual personality very much. The aforementioned Ferguson was an absolute genius as a football - but also a snidey, sarcastic, sneaky ****. Why is it so difficult for the Cult of Pep folk to even consider that he might have some of that in him.

Personally, I saw him being very passive-aggressive last season when things weren't going his way. I saw/heard it - so it just doesn't matter to me how good his Barcelona team was. He also rather sneakily publicly tapped Walker and Rose up - and the Saint Pep Cultists are just letting him off scot-free for that. And I think his English is easily good enough for him to understand the difference between "The Harry Kane team" and "Harry Kane's team". He never once interchanged them in his self-justificatory interview did he? And I think this season he sees us as a real danger - remember his job is on the line this season. I think he knew full well what he said and is trying to wriggle out of it. And any previous praise is irrelevant to that.

 

[PeeEyeEmPee]

No offence, but I think that's utter bollocks.

 

[Donki]

How Pep has so many fan boys is ridiculous, there must be some secret group called the BSoPG. I don't see it as that big a deal what he said but if you really think it wasn't meant as a dig your wrong, the very same week he had a pop at both Man U and Chelsea, we were simply next in line. Been the same way since Barca he shoots his mouth off when winning and huffs and whines when he gets beat, first class prick in my book.

 

[Bensonrecon]

I think you're reaching in fact the more people talk about this as some sort of dig at us the more ridiculous it sounds.

Maybe it's just how it comes across to me. Maybe he is making an innocent mistake but I genuinely don't see how he can change how he is talking about teams mid sentence and not be being snide.

 

[tiger666]

How Pep has so many fan boys is ridiculous,

FIFA generation.

 

[DJS]

Pochettino could proper ‘ave Guardiola in a fight.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Did they ever come up against each other in La Liga?