The Mauricio Pochettino thread

[Deleted member 27995]

Who knew Kyle Walker is/was bigger than Poch? Not me.

 

[Spurs72]

the original point before all this nonscene was dragged in, was selling an important first team player to a league rival is a mistake something we shouldnt do again.

And I said then, I do not Care 100% you do not sell to a rival, if Walker's head was turned because of Money and he wanted to go fine , but Poch I will say it again SELL HIM ABROAD , not to a bloody rival that is now hot, they are on a 16 game run of form with a Defence that has one of the best RB's in the land arguably.

 

[Spurs72]

Who knew Kyle Walker is/was bigger than Poch? Not me.

Ok he is not a bigger name than Poch but Poch should know Walker is a pretty big name for a RB and if Walker is throwing his toys out the Pram, Bench him or sell him ABROAD, Trips can cross yes, more technical than Walker blah blah blah , but man Douglas Costa now probably can't wait to get at Trips

 

[allpaths]

Jesus wept.

yeah I would be crying over missing that pen too, dont know what Poch has to do with that?

 

[Cravenspurs]

We can blame Poch for his ineptitude all day. But I think he played the game he had to in order to win. Some team selection issues but I want to address some of the themes.

1. He should put a true DM in there!!
   1. Who? Dier? Dier would have been eaten alive by that press. If Dembele and Winks are chewed up, Dier would have been mince meat. Our only option was out injured.
2. Trips??? Lacks pace and brawn.
   1. Poch missed this one. Serge should have started, but was the thought to have a ball player who can release a counter?
3. Park the bus like other teams.
   1. Our previous Man City installments verse Pep were basically the same tactics. Go at them and don’t let them dictate flow. Yesterday it didn’t work because of form and belief. Belief being the true leveler. Squad confidence right now is shot.
4. Why not 3 at the back?
   1. Dier, Jan, Juan? Maybe but then not allowed to press higher up the pitch. Plan was to win the ball off Ederson’s long ball. Fact was dude can pick out a pass.
5. The gap in class is massive.
   1. Yes it is. Kane, Jan, Toby and Sanchez would get into that City side.
   2. Eriksen is showing his true colors, that of major ebbs and flows of class.
   3. Dele is struggling massively and I’m actually kind of scared he has hit a ceiling of sorts.
   4. Dier is a mid table starter. A great backup but not a starter for a title chasing team.
   5. Son is brilliant on his day. But needs service
   6. Midfield is in shambles. Winks has a future but our quality there is bad. Even with Vic.

So I think we all have points, but anger is making us blurt out some inconsistent babble.

Right now the gulf in quality is massive. But the gulf in BELIEF is what is killing us. The moment they scored heads dropped and we lost focus. The squad is at a crossroads of sorts, but we have sooooo much to play for.

It comes down to the squad and the manager coming together and having fun again. The likes of Dele, Christian, Dembele need to regain some semblance of their old selves if we stand a chance and that hinges on their self belief.

Watch it again and just see the gulf in belief in the sides. KDB was a ****. But he bossed everyone in that midfield and his confidence is through the roof. Why? Pep. He had everyone sucking themselves off. He is a master motivator and is where we are really seeing the gulf.

 

[Cravenspurs]

Would anyone swap our squad for united because I wouldn’t. Then you have ask how on earth are we 10 points behind them. The only factors can be the managers. Hate mourinho but he gets the job done.

If there's one area United are much better than us in it is midfield. It's such a key area that we need to address with a quality number 8 and 6.

You can only do so much with the talent you have. As WiganSpur mentioned. Midfield is where the majority of games are won. We are currently leaving it up to an aging, one skilled Belgian and a classy, yet young and learning Englishman. Lots to be angry about but Poch is working with what he has.

 

[Gb160]

We can blame Poch for his ineptitude all day. But I think he played the game he had to in order to win. Some team selection issues but I want to address some of the themes.

1. He should put a true DM in there!!
   1. Who? Dier? Dier would have been eaten alive by that press. If Dembele and Winks are chewed up, Dier would have been mince meat. Our only option was out injured.
2. Trips??? Lacks pace and brawn.
   1. Poch missed this one. Serge should have started, but was the thought to have a ball player who can release a counter?
3. Park the bus like other teams.
   1. Our previous Man City installments verse Pep were basically the same tactics. Go at them and don’t let them dictate flow. Yesterday it didn’t work because of form and belief. Belief being the true leveler. Squad confidence right now is shot.
4. Why not 3 at the back?
   1. Dier, Jan, Juan? Maybe but then not allowed to press higher up the pitch. Plan was to win the ball off Ederson’s long ball. Fact was dude can pick out a pass.
5. The gap in class is massive.
   1. Yes it is. Kane, Jan, Toby and Sanchez would get into that City side.
   2. Eriksen is showing his true colors, that of major ebbs and flows of class.
   3. Dele is struggling massively and I’m actually kind of scared he has hit a ceiling of sorts.
   4. Dier is a mid table starter. A great backup but not a starter for a title chasing team.
   5. Son is brilliant on his day. But needs service
   6. Midfield is in shambles. Winks has a future but our quality there is bad. Even with Vic.

So I think we all have points, but anger is making us blurt out some inconsistent babble.

Right now the gulf in quality is massive. But the gulf in BELIEF is what is killing us. The moment they scored heads dropped and we lost focus. The squad is at a crossroads of sorts, but we gave sooooo much to play for.

It comes down to the squad and the manager coming together and having fun again. The likes of Dele, Christian, Dembele need to regain some semblance of their old selves if we stand a chance and that hinges on their self belief.

Watch it again and just see the gulf in belief in the sides. KDB was a ****. But he bossed everyone in that midfield and his confidence is through the roof. Why? Pep. He had everyone sucking themselves off. He is a master motivator and is where we are really seeing the gulf.

Agree with a lot of this, the only issue I have is the use of the term 'title chasing team'...we're not.
We're not even close.

 

[Shadydan]

And I said then, I do not Care 100% you do not sell to a rival, if Walker's head was turned because of Money and he wanted to go fine , but Poch I will say it again SELL HIM ABROAD , not to a bloody rival that is now hot, they are on a 16 game run of form with a Defence that has one of the best RB's in the land arguably.

Amazing...pray tell who we should have sold him to despite not one team abroad showing interest and Walker himself showing no desire to play abroad?

 

[Cravenspurs]

Agree with a lot of this, the only issue I have is the use of the term 'title chasing team'...we're not.
We're not even close.

I get that, but I think that is part of the belief portion of the team makeup. We started the season with the idea that we were in it to win it. If it weren’t for our injuries, I think we would be seeing a different team mentality. But the moment we started to struggle and City started making the gap bigger, Poch shot his whole team in the foot buy saying it’s over. Mathematically it might have been, but you don’t tell your players it’s over. That is my biggest gripe with Poch. If you want to instill a winning ethos then the battle is never lost. Mathematically we may have been out of the title chase, but the games against City are championship games where you get to prove your worth. Games against burnley are were you make it known you are near the top.

Currently we lack the idea that we are a team of classy individuals that collectively can punch above our weight. Two season ago, the Leicester winning season, we had that mentality. Poch was telling them it is still ours to lose. He should have never uttered the words “it is over”, as it gave the players a glimpse of a manager that didn’t believe.

Poch has some learning to do and in all honestly this is his make or break point IMO. You can lose a dressing room so quickly and if he doesn’t address the spirit of the team he could lose more than just Rose to the “I’m done with this” mentality.

Edit: I’m not suggesting it could be over for Poch btw. I’m saying he has a lot of work to do in order to win back some confidence in the room. I don’t doubt that when he said “it was over” there weren’t a couple of players that said “well okay then. I see where he is”

 

[John48]

I do think playing 3 at the back & a DM might have helped, but with Wanyama, Toby & Sanchez all out for one reason or another Poch's options were limited.

There are other issues MP needs to consider as well, namely:

- Should Aurier be the No 1 RB with KWP the No 2? Tripp's has shown he isn't good enough against the better teams.

- Should Rose be sold sooner rather than later?

- Is Dembele past his sell by date?

- & how does he solve the problem of Eriksen & Alli? We can perhaps live with one flitting in & out of games, but not the 2 of them.

 

[Colonel_Klinck]

Amazing...pray tell who we should have sold him to despite not one team abroad showing interest and Walker himself showing no desire to play abroad?

Exactly. He isn’t Bale or Modric ffs. You also can’t force a player to move abroad. Every team has to sell to rivals occasionally. Anyway it ain’t like them buying Walker has suddenly turned them into this team that is schooling everyone. Their squad is packed with world class players. Sadly they are only going to get better imo. They will keep spending money buying the best players.

 

[Shadydan]

the original point before all this nonscene was dragged in, was selling an important first team player to a league rival is a mistake something we shouldnt do again.

Hate to break it to you but it's going to happen in the summer when we sell Rose to Man Utd. This is all about fans merely accepting our place in the food chain at the moment and expecting that players will leave due to our financial constraints and career progression for those players and we will always be vulnerable until we begin to close the gap on our rivals.

 

[Cravenspurs]

I do think playing 3 at the back & a DM might have helped, but with Wanyama, Toby & Sanchez all out for one reason or another Poch's options were limited.

There are other issues MP needs to consider as well, namely:

- Should Aurier be the No 1 RB with KWP the No 2? Tripp's has shown he isn't good enough against the better teams.

- Should Rose be sold sooner rather than later?

- Is Dembele past his sell by date?

- & how does he solve the problem of Eriksen & Alli? We can perhaps live with one flitting in & out of games, but not the 2 of them.

I have never been in the Eriksen is a worldy club. He has some incredible skill, but I have said for ages he isn’t In the same class as KDB, Coutinho, and other creative types we see out there. He goes through massive dips in form and his lows are incredibly low. Yesterday, bar his goal, was very pedestrian.

Dele is an interesting case study. He isn’t anywhere near his influential self. Kind of scary.

 

[WexfordTownSpur]

Hmm, I'm no sure how you can then say that Poch will never be at Guardiola's level when Poch has never managed the strongest squad of players in the leagues.

You know it’s funny but I think last summer he could have left and got the big squad job. But after this season he may not get the offer. I would say Spurs have been lucky to have him and I want him to stay, but let’s face it he needs more to work with. He has done well with players like Trippier Winks Davies Dier etc. but if he’s gonna hit the heights he needs 12-13 great players in his team, and let’s face it, he has about 7 maybe 7.

 

[Spurs72]

Amazing...pray tell who we should have sold him to despite not one team abroad showing interest and Walker himself showing no desire to play abroad?

Then Bench him mate, you are saying he has all the power, What Walker says goes, what Poch or Spurs have no say so so who cares about them because Walker throws tantrums, lets just go ahead and sell him to a Rival ? cause that's what every1 is saying.

 

[Gb160]

Exactly. He isn’t Bale or Modric ffs. You also can’t force a player to move abroad. Every team has to sell to rivals occasionally. Anyway it ain’t like them buying Walker has suddenly turned them into this team that is schooling everyone. Their squad is packed with world class players. Sadly they are only going to get better imo. They will keep spending money buying the best players.

Exactly, the way people are going on about Walker like he's the reason City are so bloody good right now...if we refused to sell him they'd have just gone and bought someone else of similar quality.

 

[Shadydan]

Then Bench him mate, you are saying he has all the power, What Walker says goes, what Poch or Spurs have no say so so who cares about them because Walker throws tantrums, lets just go ahead and sell him to a Rival ? cause that's what every1 is saying.

Not necessarily, we kept hold of Dier this season despite him wanting to go to Utd.

How you gonna keep a player like Walker on the bench, we're talking the best RB in the country an international and a £50m asset, it doesn't make any business sense to keep an unhappy player on the bench, it's just a totally unrealistic scenario.

 

[Spurs72]

Not necessarily, we kept hold of Dier this season despite him wanting to go to Utd.

How you gonna keep a player like Walker on the bench, we're talking the best RB in the country and a £50m asset, it doesn't make amy business sense to keep an unhappy player on the bench, it's just s totally unrealistic scenario.

If We "Kept Dier" as you say, that was a freakin mistake because Dier is lacking Confidence he is not at his best imo, not what he was, If we had Benched Kyle he would have either .

1) Bucked up his Ideas and tried harder in training or
2) Been an absolute problem child which other clubs would have seen and maybe not want to deal with him.

We will never know now will we.

50 Million is not even a issue when we spend 30 Million on a player like Sissoko, yes it's 20 Mill more but Money is not a factor here.

Kyle Walker told Poch he wants to go, during a campaign, Poch even says he did not like it, Poch & Spurs let Walker go, Pochs ego let him believe he has KWP and Trippier, the Latter meets Sane, the rest is history.

Even you say he is "best RB in the country" can you see City selling KDB to us, if not u get the point.

 

[Spurrific]

Enough is enough.

 

[Shadydan]

If We "Kept Dier" as you say, that was a freakin mistake because Dier is lacking Confidence he is not at his best imo, not what he was, If we had Benched Kyle he would have either .

1) Bucked up his Ideas and tried harder in training or
2) Been an absolute problem child which other clubs would have seen and maybe not want to deal with him.

We will never know now will we.

50 Million is not even a issue when we spend 30 Million on a player like Sissoko, yes it's 20 Mill more but Money is not a factor here.

Kyle Walker told Poch he wants to go, during a campaign, Poch even says he did not like it, Poch & Spurs let Walker go, Pochs ego let him believe he has KWP and Trippier, the Latter meets Sane, the rest is history.

Even you say he is "best RB in the country" can you see City selling KDB to us, if not u get the point.

Dier was fine a few weeks ago, he was in great form heading into November and had some real stand out games as a CB until he hit a sticky patch, also keeping Dier in the team has allowed to fill in two positions where we are weak.

Think you're being a little naive in regards to Walker, he wanted to leave so benching him wouldn't have made an iota of difference and even if he would have kicked up a fuss he would be seen as a disruption and a distraction so we would have been fucked either way which is the point I'm making, I think we dealt with it the right way IMO.

What do you mean when you say Money isn't a factor?

That's a strange comparison mate, why would KDB want to come to a us, we sold Walker to City because he wanted to go to City.