The Mauricio Pochettino thread

[Deleted member 29446]

Brilliant press conference.

What i'm taking from all that is that it's a work in progress - and we fans need to have patience. But that might be the only thing we don't have. We want more of the good stuff - right now!!! We wan't Poch to sign a top class CM for 70m like Liverpool, but we're just not on that level yet, and people including myself have to be reminded of that. Not long ago we were a top6 club, and now 3-4 years in a row we play CHL football every year - consistency is key.

Like Poch said with a graph, we just climbed the first step. Next step is when stadium is ready and training ground was complete.

What I still don't get is, that if we really have a warchest (lol) of 100m, we still don't wanna spend on that one player like Liverpool, that could improve us massively. So I wonder if that Warchest really is for the next 3 transfer windows combined, and that's why we won't spend a dime. Or simply good players won't come to us, which is really weird since a player like Perisic would go to Arsenal. All other top6 clubs seems to be able to attract much better players than we can.

 

[dontcallme]

Problem with patience is many like the idea of it but have no idea how to exercise it.

 

[Primativ]

Apparently Poch blocked Tielemans. You do wonder why on earth at this stage, Poch would not want to sign a talented young CM to strengthen us in such a weak area.

He can't seriously think the likes of Skipp are better options. I just find his refusal to bring anyone in unless they are unrealistically top players a bit strange.

 

[Johnny J]

Brilliant press conference.

What i'm taking from all that is that it's a work in progress - and we fans need to have patience. But that might be the only thing we don't have. We want more of the good stuff - right now!!! We wan't Poch to sign a top class CM for 70m like Liverpool, but we're just not on that level yet, and people including myself have to be reminded of that. Not long ago we were a top6 club, and now 3-4 years in a row we play CHL football every year - consistency is key.

Like Poch said with a graph, we just climbed the first step. Next step is when stadium is ready and training ground was complete.

What I still don't get is, that if we really have a warchest (lol) of 100m, we still don't wanna spend on that one player like Liverpool, that could improve us massively. So I wonder if that Warchest really is for the next 3 transfer windows combined, and that's why we won't spend a dime. Or simply good players won't come to us, which is really weird since a player like Perisic would go to Arsenal. All other top6 clubs seems to be able to attract much better players than we can.

Someone with inside knowledge can correct if I'm wrong, but I get the feeling that all the other big clubs are prepared to pay what's needed for not just the player and wages, but agent fees and the other shit. I feel like Levy is resisting the market as much as possible, and hoping that we can somehow keep challenging with the odd £30m signing.

 

[joelstinton14]

the most annoying about it though is in a lot of his press comments, he mentions his relationship with Levy. yet if they are on such good terms why hasn't Levy told him that as an investment company we intend to sell at the 1st opportunity as some SC members have brought up.

he left Southampton partly to the Cortese issue. if he knows we intend to possibly change owners with no guarantee he will have a job under them, or even like them, why did he turn down the RM job, or start dampening down the Manure job, and sign a new contract.

he mentions about the project? but surely that project is with ENIC, a new company might have a different project.

All I know is I like this project, yes would be great to get some silver where, but unlike some don't understand winning a cup requires some luck, which includes the draw, or his players not making errors that cost us. it's not Poch can't get us over the line, it's the players on the day costing us. he doesn't operate the players with a game stick while sitting on the bench.

I don't know, the only person i have seen saying this is yIsrael. If there are others, than i am wrong, but I don't think there is anything in this. I think any club is up for sale if the right offer comes in, but personally, i think this is a non story. People said they would up and leave when we got CL football, yet they are still here building a new stadium and improving facilities across the whole club. The prospect of selling the club at the moment seems unrealistic because of the funds involved. The stadium alone is reaching 1 billion in costs.

Also the language that Poch and Levy use, particular the latter, words like custodian suggests that they are here for the long term.

 

[ackie]

Poch said he will stay with us until the end...
Is that end of season? End of january transfer window? End of stadium? End of time? End of relationship between levy and him? End of what?

 

[Mr Pink]

Poch said he will stay with us until the end...
Is that end of season? End of january transfer window? End of stadium? End of time? End of relationship between levy and him? End of what?

The end of the project, when we 'arrive' at the last stage. Ie we're a big Club and new signings join to win titles etc.

Thought that was a pretty obvious conclusion really given he talked at absloute length about it.

 

[Kiedis]

Poch is the one that is best equipped to see the bigger picture with this squad. There may be more talented players elsewhere, but perhaps he's not sure they'll do what he wants. We are a thoroughly coached team with so many recognisable traits, patterns and moves, and I know I'm danger of going into the "I'm very smart" trap, but I'm not sure everyone recognises this fully.

That being said, if Poch only wants Pogba, Dybala and/or De Buyne (just random unrealistic targets) and doesn't think there are any decent young obtainable players that can add something to our squad and possibly grow into the next Alli, Eriksen or Kane, then we're in for a bumpy road ahead.

I just think that Poch squeezes every single drop of ability and potential out of his current players, and even if he is very loyal to his players, I don't think its crazy to say that he may have been able to squeeze more out of someone like Tielemans than he's getting from a crooked Wanyama or the empty spot where Dembele used to sit.

 

[Cornpattbuck]

It's been such a bizarre season from the start...

We know the intended destination but it feels like all but a trusted few are having to do the journey blindfolded at the moment.

Can understand why it's testing some people's patience and faith - and I'm definitely occasionally baffled by some of the detours - but, well, fingers crossed it'll be worth it in the long run!

 

[teedee]

Brilliant press conference.

What i'm taking from all that is that it's a work in progress - and we fans need to have patience. But that might be the only thing we don't have. We want more of the good stuff - right now!!! We wan't Poch to sign a top class CM for 70m like Liverpool, but we're just not on that level yet, and people including myself have to be reminded of that. Not long ago we were a top6 club, and now 3-4 years in a row we play CHL football every year - consistency is key.

Like Poch said with a graph, we just climbed the first step. Next step is when stadium is ready and training ground was complete.

What I still don't get is, that if we really have a warchest (lol) of 100m, we still don't wanna spend on that one player like Liverpool, that could improve us massively. So I wonder if that Warchest really is for the next 3 transfer windows combined, and that's why we won't spend a dime. Or simply good players won't come to us, which is really weird since a player like Perisic would go to Arsenal. All other top6 clubs seems to be able to attract much better players than we can.

Shades of Wenger a few seasons ago when it was claimed that there was plenty of money available for transfers, but either Arsenal or Wenger failed to spend. That ended badly. The trouble is supporters are never told the truth, so despite all the speculation, no one outside of Levy and Poch knows whether there is money available or not, nor if there is, why hasn't some been spent. A bit of transparency would not go amiss, especially considering that a club is nothing without its supporters.

 

[easley91]

Shades of Wenger a few seasons ago when it was claimed that there was plenty of money available for transfers, but either Arsenal or Wenger failed to spend. That ended badly. The trouble is supporters are never told the truth, so despite all the speculation, no one outside of Levy and Poch knows whether there is money available or not, nor if there is, why hasn't some been spent. A bit of transparency would not go amiss, especially considering that a club is nothing without its supporters.

They didn't have a stadium with constant construction delays to deal with financially, along with paying to play at Wembley for a second season running, which was not expected.

 

[vegassd]

What i'm taking from all that is that it's a work in progress - and we fans need to have patience. But that might be the only thing we don't have. We want more of the good stuff - right now!!! We wan't Poch to sign a top class CM for 70m like Liverpool, but we're just not on that level yet, and people including myself have to be reminded of that. Not long ago we were a top6 club, and now 3-4 years in a row we play CHL football every year - consistency is key.

I hugely agree with this. Where I think it's tougher than maybe 5-10 years ago is the immediacy of everything in terms of media reporting. I don't think there's a particular anti-Spurs agenda or anything, but there's a hell of a lot of Internet space to fill up with stories so journalists and pundits love the "hasn't won a trophy" and "not backing the manager" narratives because they can easily fill up that space with very little effort.

Even this forum contributes to that kind of thing. 24 hours on SC can feel like a hell of a long time with the amount of sniping and trolling that goes on and it can sometimes feel like the sky has fallen in from one day to the next. Whilst the people working at the club are just getting on with their jobs, half the fan base are freaking about the latest ITK snippet or the particular way that Poch frowned in a press conference!

What I still don't get is, that if we really have a warchest (lol) of 100m, we still don't wanna spend on that one player like Liverpool, that could improve us massively. So I wonder if that Warchest really is for the next 3 transfer windows combined, and that's why we won't spend a dime. Or simply good players won't come to us, which is really weird since a player like Perisic would go to Arsenal. All other top6 clubs seems to be able to attract much better players than we can.

Again, I think the idea of a "war chest" is just a lazy narrative (not saying you are lazy) that is easier to talk about in a media piece than getting into the nitty gritty details of the club finances. Not only is it easier for the media to talk about but it's also easier for us fans to visualise.

The idea of Levy handing out pocket money and Poch heading off to buy whatever sweets he wants is really easy to grasp. But I would guess (just a guess) that the reality is a bit more like choosing where you go on holiday. You know what your salary is but that doesn't necessarily indicate what you can afford. Maybe you've done some work on the house this year so you have to scale back the holiday. Your eldest kid is off to University so you have to factor in that spending etc. By the time you realise you can only afford a week in Devon you might decide you would rather sit in your own back garden drinking beer instead.

And of course you can't look at one holiday in isolation. That week in Devon might be a nice boost but once the money is spent it's gone. Next year you might have all sorts of other bills to pay and be stuck with another week in Devon. You may feel it's better to save the money now so you have some extra security in the future, in case you lose your job or the kids need extra support. But all of that sort of stuff is too much to fit into a TV debate show so it's easier to say "they have no money" and move on to the next talking point.

PS. I have nothing against Devon and no reason to believe Poch does either!

 

[danielneeds]

Apparently Poch blocked Tielemans. You do wonder why on earth at this stage, Poch would not want to sign a talented young CM to strengthen us in such a weak area.

He can't seriously think the likes of Skipp are better options. I just find his refusal to bring anyone in unless they are unrealistically top players a bit strange.

If you can't understand why he wants to give Skipp the chance to gain experience and minutes, rather than buying someone who is in no way guaranteed to be a starter, then you really haven't been listening to Poch at all for 4.5 years.

 

[Lighty64]

To be honest mate I am a little concerned over the finances but I never expected us to sign anyone this month for obvious reasons, meanwhile I think we maybe in for a difficult summer perhaps 1/2 of our better players will be off as we need to raise funds for a couple in.
It will be as usual a long dragged out affair probably not securing anyone until the last week and I certainly won't be expecting much from the team but hey we are used to it by now nothing will ever change.

But I don’t see the issue with it being finances, unless you expect we should just pay 2-4 players to sit around doing nothing. A lot of the panic going on is because all of a sudden mid month we all of a sudden had massive injury problems because Kane and Alli made worse with Son.

The trouble is we need/needed to get rid of players in the summer, to be honest the players we wanted rid are either totally crocked, struggling, old or didn’t want to to such massive wage hits themselves. The Eriksen and Toby situation is something we will have to cope with. To be honest it won’t be easy to replace either, but Foyth will be the future

 

[McFlash]

Yep, there's probably plenty that are moaning about not making a signing, that have previously moaned about not giving youth a chance.

 

[ardiles]

Poch said he will stay with us until the end...
Is that end of season? End of january transfer window? End of stadium? End of time? End of relationship between levy and him? End of what?

 

[spursfan77]

Gonna be a clear out in the summer by the sounds of things. Well, we usually only spend what we bring in through sales so you’d expect things will have to change.

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...&utm_source=Twitter&__twitter_impression=true

But sometimes — and it’s so painful — you need to say, ‘OK, I love this player, he helped us arrive at this level but now, if we are going to achieve another level, we need to improve and we need to bring in another player.

“The only way we can reach the next level, and win titles, is by improving, improving, improving.

“We’re all getting older. The players can get more mature but at some point, they need another challenge, another experience, another goal, as always happens in life, and we need to be open to improve.”

Alderweireld, who turns 30 in March and is out of contract in 2020, is expected to leave next summer, while 35-year-old Michel Vorm and Victor Wanyama will also be available for transfer.

Spurs may also have to listen to offers for Christian Eriksen, who is stalling on signing a new contract.

 

[Coyboy]

The end of the Brexit negotiations?

I know someone who works for NBC covering football in the US and I’ve had an argument with her about Poch leaving. She reckons he will based on sources which sounds tenuous at best/worst.

When I said to her that Poch didn’t come to Spurs to win trophies and we were more interested in “organic growth” she laughed and said trophies are what all managers go to clubs for. When I referred to the managers who have won trophies to then receive their P45s (Wenger, LVG, Mourinho, Conte, Ranieri) she had no response and basically went back to stating that Poch left Southampton for trophies. I said that’s not strictly true he left because Cortese left and it was a different structure/club, she didn’t respond.


I realise this reads literally like dull/somewhat gossipy a he said/she said but it’s important to see how blinkered the media are on this point and their fetishisation of trophies particularly with respect to Spurs is incredibly frustrating. The ubiquitous headlines after Sunday (which many Spurs mates of mine regurgitated in frustrated texts) was “another trophyless season”; putting aside the technical/mathematical possibility that we could still win the UCL and/or EPL (in respect of the former, if Liverpool were a wrestling move on Salah away from winning it so why can’t we?) almost all teams, by definition, will have trophyless seasons. Last year, all but City and Chelsea did. City are City and financially doped and Chelsea sacked Conte.

It’s been said elsewhere probably but when we won the last two league cups, we then drifted with Graham and Hoddle for four years before Levy came in and changed the structure of the club; and in 2008 proceeded to lose our two best attacking players and then winning two points from eight games (copyright Harry) resulting in Levy again making structural changes which resulted in us winning qualification for the CL.

It’s clearly not a one or the other but the idea that by not winning a domestic cup, our season is somewhat in free fall is ridiculous. If we don’t get 5-9 points from the next three games, it may be time to worry but until then we are still on course for an excellent season.

 

[spids]

I think it is so important to bring in at least one new first team starter every season to keep things fresh and improve the team. Poch's project is going stale, with no player investment in two successive windows and the major balls up with the new stadium dates. This will be reflected in attendances at Wembley and player performances in the next month or two as fans and players lose heart. If that results in Europa football next season and then Toby and Eriksen leave this summer then the project is majorly off track and will take even more player investment. And it will cost even more as attracting the best players when you are not in the CL is a major problem. I really feel Poch and/or Levy (depending which ITK you give most credence to) are being so short sighted by not getting a decent player in this window.

 

[danielneeds]

Gonna be a clear out in the summer by the sounds of things. Well, we usually only spend what we bring in through sales so you’d expect things will have to change.

https://www.standard.co.uk/sport/fo...&utm_source=Twitter&__twitter_impression=true

But sometimes — and it’s so painful — you need to say, ‘OK, I love this player, he helped us arrive at this level but now, if we are going to achieve another level, we need to improve and we need to bring in another player.

“The only way we can reach the next level, and win titles, is by improving, improving, improving.

“We’re all getting older. The players can get more mature but at some point, they need another challenge, another experience, another goal, as always happens in life, and we need to be open to improve.”

Alderweireld, who turns 30 in March and is out of contract in 2020, is expected to leave next summer, while 35-year-old Michel Vorm and Victor Wanyama will also be available for transfer.

Spurs may also have to listen to offers for Christian Eriksen, who is stalling on signing a new contract.

Should have really happened last summer. At least with Dembele gone, Vorm and Llorente's contracts expiring, Toby guaranteed to be picked up for £25m, and Eriksen pretty likely to leave, we won't have the blocked-up squad we did then.