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- Aug 13, 2008
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http://www.standard.co.uk/sport/foo...-could-not-come-at-a-worse-time-a3444946.html
Tottenham are aiming for their fourth consecutive win against Manchester City on Saturday as well as their seventh straight league victory.
Is there something about Argentines in Spurs colours having a mesmeric hold over City?
Where Ricky Villa famously led with Wembley’s “Goal of the Century,” in the 1981 FA Cup final, Mauricio Pochettino has followed his fellow countryman.
Once Pochettino properly established his methods and his beliefs as manager at White Hart Lane, his side beat City 4-1 at home and 2-1 away last season – and then famously smashed Pep Guardiola’s 100 per cent start in a stunning 2-0 win at the Lane last October.
"When he was in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola used to regard matches against Pochettino’s Espanyol as meetings with “the nearest thing to playing against a team from hell.”
Poch versus Pep has a nice ring to it. And the circumstances of the next fixture on Saturday - with Spurs flying high in second place and City floundering - mean that attention will naturally zoom in on the long-established rivalry between the two bosses, which began in Barcelona back in 2009.
Yet there are much broader issues surrounding this game than the personal clash between the two managers. And they underline the fact that Tottenham are in excellent shape both on and off the pitch.
It seems the much-maligned Daniel Levy had a master-plan after all.
Just now it appears to be a better one than that financed at the Etihad by Abu Dhabi’s billions.
Pochettino explains why he decided to introduce back three at Spurs
The emphatic manner of the 4-0 defeat of West Brom last Saturday convinced me that this is the most complete and highly driven Tottenham squad I have known in 40 years of watching them play.
The hugely important point in a league built more than ever on athleticism and stamina - and youthful self-belief - is that this squad is one of the youngest in the Premier League.
City’s is the oldest – and how it showed in the humiliating 4-0 defeat City suffered at Everton last weekend.
Spurs have a coach who knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. And who has four years’ experience of managing in England. It means he has been able to make his demands for endless hard graft, pressure and adventure count with supreme and entertaining effectiveness.
Guardiola, meanwhile, appears overwhelmed by the physical battle and the relentlessly competitive nature of the English game. So he is endlessly revolving his line- up in an attempt to find a way to impose upon the Premier League a measured style of football which many believe will never succeed here, anyway.
Against this, Tottenham have built a group of players who relish both playing together and playing Pochettino’s way.
The marauding full-back partnership of Kyle Walker and Danny Rose and the level of understanding between Harry Kane, Dele Alli and the resurgent Christian Eriksen illustrate this brilliantly.
The contrast, again, is that City’s lavish recruitment policy is now being blamed by his disciples in the game for his struggles and his failure to knit together a side which can perform in the refined manner he would like.
They have bought him the wrong superstars it appears.
Heaven knows, Spurs have made enough mistakes in the transfer market – and last summer’s acquisition, Vincent Janssen, is not exactly flourishing.
But there is certainly no need for a major overhaul of an ageing squad like the one many believe Guardiola requires before he can get properly started on revolutionising the English game.
Instead, Spurs have recently nailed down a string of new contracts with leading players like Kane, Hugo Llloris, Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen, with Pochettino himself signed up until 2021.
In fact, Lloris’s continued excellence points out another difference between Spurs and City.
One team has a goalkeeper. The other has Claudio Bravo.
The joke might even be taken further to highlight the differences between Tottenham’s imposing defensive resilience and City’s confusion and uncertainty at the back.
All of this ...and Tottenham have a fabulous new stadium rising into the north London sky to boot.
The team are roaring and after six straight league wins they have been re-established in the public’s minds as serious title contenders.
When he was in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola used to regard matches against Pochettino’s Espanyol as meetings with “the nearest thing to playing against a team from hell.”
It was meant as a very profound compliment and highlighted the toughness, the energy, the boldness and the spirit of Pochettino’s sides.
Now, with better players under his command and a renewed sense of urgency and self-belief surging through the Spurs team, there could be no worse time for crisis-hit Guardiola to run into his old rival again.
Tottenham are aiming for their fourth consecutive win against Manchester City on Saturday as well as their seventh straight league victory.
Is there something about Argentines in Spurs colours having a mesmeric hold over City?
Where Ricky Villa famously led with Wembley’s “Goal of the Century,” in the 1981 FA Cup final, Mauricio Pochettino has followed his fellow countryman.
Once Pochettino properly established his methods and his beliefs as manager at White Hart Lane, his side beat City 4-1 at home and 2-1 away last season – and then famously smashed Pep Guardiola’s 100 per cent start in a stunning 2-0 win at the Lane last October.
"When he was in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola used to regard matches against Pochettino’s Espanyol as meetings with “the nearest thing to playing against a team from hell.”
Poch versus Pep has a nice ring to it. And the circumstances of the next fixture on Saturday - with Spurs flying high in second place and City floundering - mean that attention will naturally zoom in on the long-established rivalry between the two bosses, which began in Barcelona back in 2009.
Yet there are much broader issues surrounding this game than the personal clash between the two managers. And they underline the fact that Tottenham are in excellent shape both on and off the pitch.
It seems the much-maligned Daniel Levy had a master-plan after all.
Just now it appears to be a better one than that financed at the Etihad by Abu Dhabi’s billions.
Pochettino explains why he decided to introduce back three at Spurs
The emphatic manner of the 4-0 defeat of West Brom last Saturday convinced me that this is the most complete and highly driven Tottenham squad I have known in 40 years of watching them play.
The hugely important point in a league built more than ever on athleticism and stamina - and youthful self-belief - is that this squad is one of the youngest in the Premier League.
City’s is the oldest – and how it showed in the humiliating 4-0 defeat City suffered at Everton last weekend.
Spurs have a coach who knows exactly what he wants and how to get it. And who has four years’ experience of managing in England. It means he has been able to make his demands for endless hard graft, pressure and adventure count with supreme and entertaining effectiveness.
Guardiola, meanwhile, appears overwhelmed by the physical battle and the relentlessly competitive nature of the English game. So he is endlessly revolving his line- up in an attempt to find a way to impose upon the Premier League a measured style of football which many believe will never succeed here, anyway.
Against this, Tottenham have built a group of players who relish both playing together and playing Pochettino’s way.
The marauding full-back partnership of Kyle Walker and Danny Rose and the level of understanding between Harry Kane, Dele Alli and the resurgent Christian Eriksen illustrate this brilliantly.
The contrast, again, is that City’s lavish recruitment policy is now being blamed by his disciples in the game for his struggles and his failure to knit together a side which can perform in the refined manner he would like.
They have bought him the wrong superstars it appears.
Heaven knows, Spurs have made enough mistakes in the transfer market – and last summer’s acquisition, Vincent Janssen, is not exactly flourishing.
But there is certainly no need for a major overhaul of an ageing squad like the one many believe Guardiola requires before he can get properly started on revolutionising the English game.
Instead, Spurs have recently nailed down a string of new contracts with leading players like Kane, Hugo Llloris, Danny Rose and Jan Vertonghen, with Pochettino himself signed up until 2021.
In fact, Lloris’s continued excellence points out another difference between Spurs and City.
One team has a goalkeeper. The other has Claudio Bravo.
The joke might even be taken further to highlight the differences between Tottenham’s imposing defensive resilience and City’s confusion and uncertainty at the back.
All of this ...and Tottenham have a fabulous new stadium rising into the north London sky to boot.
- Once, Spurs appeared hopelessly lacking in direction. Now, they are a model example of a stabilised and ambitious modern major football club.
The team are roaring and after six straight league wins they have been re-established in the public’s minds as serious title contenders.
When he was in charge of Barcelona, Guardiola used to regard matches against Pochettino’s Espanyol as meetings with “the nearest thing to playing against a team from hell.”
It was meant as a very profound compliment and highlighted the toughness, the energy, the boldness and the spirit of Pochettino’s sides.
Now, with better players under his command and a renewed sense of urgency and self-belief surging through the Spurs team, there could be no worse time for crisis-hit Guardiola to run into his old rival again.
