The sliding doors moment

[mill]

Not backing Poch properly which broke him and sacking him ended up being the right decision but I think not backing him when he wanted was where the rot set in

 

[rossdapep]

Not backing Poch properly which broke him and sacking him ended up being the right decision but I think not backing him when he wanted was where the rot set in

Yeah thew 2017 window for me is where we signed a bunch of players who have ultimately not been good enough.

Imagine if we'd signed;
A RB like Pereira or Cancelo instead of Aurier.
2 CBs more established than Foyth and Sanchez
An actual attacking winger that Poch wanted (Zaha etc)
Restructured the midfield instead of going on with a broken Wanyama and Dembele.

 

[HedgieSpur]

Life didn't begin and end with Poch. we didn't back 'Arry and paid dearly for it. For me that was when the ENIC modus operandi became clear and we've suffered ever since

 

[mill]

Life didn't begin and end with Poch. we didn't back 'Arry and paid dearly for it. For me that was when the ENIC modus operandi became clear and we've suffered ever since

Fair point

 

[g_harry]

Life didn't begin and end with Poch. we didn't back 'Arry and paid dearly for it. For me that was when the ENIC modus operandi became clear and we've suffered ever since

True, but think the point they making is if ENIC didn't back Poch and provide him with players he needed then it highlights them for what they are. Poch I think had earned the right to be given the money and time. ENIC have no intention in putting a squad together that will be serious contenders. Doesn't matter who manager is.

Poch, Jose & now Conte have all called the club out and I'm not so sure alot of our fans are getting the message. Under Levy we will never be a serious football team.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Sissoko handball 20 seconds into the Champions League Final. Had we won that game we would always have that triumph to look back on that even Levy couldn’t take away with subsequent financial buffoonery. But it’s gone. And here we are.

I think you’re right. I remember being high up in the ground that day and seeing the penalty being given and thinking game over and Poch era over, it was a horrible horrible feeling and a decision which with VAR and new handball rules probably wouldn’t have been given.

We had a chance that day but 1-0 down so early on killed everything Poch had built over the last 5 years.

 

[fishhhandaricecake]

Life didn't begin and end with Poch. we didn't back 'Arry and paid dearly for it. For me that was when the ENIC modus operandi became clear and we've suffered ever since

Also this… Jol built us up into Europa league then Harry Redknapp took our football to a whole new level, I genuinely think we had a chance at the title that season and instead of Gary Cahill and Tevez we get him Ryan Nelson and Saha and our season peters out.

As you say that was when our MO became very clear to me under Levy/ENIC.

That having said I thought when the stadium opened it would change and it has a bit in terms of net spend but our football strategy has gone out the window .

Another sliding doors moment, sacking Jose before the cup final, I know it was only the league cup but if he’d been given that final he could’ve won it and if he had then all of a sudden this group of mentally weak players and this whole notion of spurs and no trophies goes away and we build from there with or without Jose.

And the next sliding doors moments will be if/when we sack conte, who we replace him with and if we keep or sell Kane this summer.

 

[Dougal]

I think you’re right. I remember being high up in the ground that day and seeing the penalty being given and thinking game over and Poch era over, it was a horrible horrible feeling and a decision which with VAR and new handball rules probably wouldn’t have been given.

We had a chance that day but 1-0 down so early on killed everything Poch had built over the last 5 years.

I was in the second row, it happened right in front of me. On my birthday. It was shit.

 

[RuskyM]

If we had a time machine we could go back and convince Moussa to have his hand hacked off for the benefit of the team.

Bet he wouldn’t agree though.

Selfish.

 

[cockerel downunder]

Not getting grealish

 

[Spursmatty87]

The worse thing about not backing Poch was that it wasn’t really just about signing players, it was more about selling players at peak value to recycle the squad.

This could be a criticism of us fans as well, none of us would of enjoyed seeing the likes Dele, Kane, Jan or Toby go but maybe that’s something we need to be mindful of in the future.

 

[offside_ruel_fox]

For me the full backs and centre midfield. I always felt like a lot of our success came from the left and right backs and the ability to swap these over to keep this important area of the team fit and fresh.

Having Walker/Tripper (I mean what a combination of right backs) on one side and Rose/Davies on the other.

Losing these and never replacing them with a similar quality has hurt us.

The other for me was Dembele. A player the centre backs could confidently play a ball into midfield to. Someone who could receive it under pressure and move up the pitch. It’s taken all the way to Bentancur to find someone who can do this. Makes the centre backs look better in their distribution and stops risky balls.

 

[dude573]

The 2016/17 season was hugely symbolic for me. It ultimately showed our crazy potential but also set us up as the nearly men which we have been for years now.

We amassed the most points out of anyone over that year yet still lost the title to Chelsea. We didn't lose a single game at WHL in the league and only lost four away. I remember the 1-0 loss to West Ham feeling like the end of the world. To get 86 points and not win the title was a huge blow.

We faced Chelsea again in the FA Cup and battled back twice to make it 2-2. Conceded a third and yet still felt like we could equalise until Matic smashed one in - that was gut wrenching.

We got eliminated by Gent in the Europa League. I remember Dele getting a straight red which killed our chances. It highlighted just how young and naive our squad was. I thought that would be a huge lesson on how to not self-destruct or throw away good positions, but we seem to have never learnt that.

In my lifetime I don't think I have ever seen a better Spurs team then Pochettino's 2016/17 team - not even the Champions League final team, Kane & Son prime, Bale's dominance or anything. I felt we could have really kicked on from that but unfortunately we stayed still and stagnated. We really deserved a trophy that year.

 

[HedgieSpur]

I was in the second row, it happened right in front of me. On my birthday. It was shit.

I was literally just putting my bottle of water down under the seat, looked up and saw Sissoko point and penalty given....terrible moment

 

[g_harry]

I was literally just putting my bottle of water down under the seat, looked up and saw Sissoko point and penalty given....terrible moment

That one moment can sum ENIC up perfectly - Mane v Sissoko, both were around same fee, however Mane wages were more. So ENIC went with cheaper option.

Poch was given the player that stuck his arm out in penalty box. Klopp was given the smarter player that kicked ball off opponents arm to win their team a pen. You get what you pay.

 

[yido_number1]

True, but think the point they making is if ENIC didn't back Poch and provide him with players he needed then it highlights them for what they are. Poch I think had earned the right to be given the money and time. ENIC have no intention in putting a squad together that will be serious contenders. Doesn't matter who manager is.

Poch, Jose & now Conte have all called the club out and I'm not so sure alot of our fans are getting the message. Under Levy we will never be a serious football team.

20 years of no achievements should tell you that alone.

 

[NEVILLEB]

Every summer from 2016 onwards.

2016: could've won the league with better investment

2017: replaced Walker with Aurier, unspectacular signings in Foyth, Sanchez and others

2018: no signings was an obvious calamity

2019: signings this time, but they were so bad and so costly it sometimes tricks me into thinking we had the right idea in 2018

2020-present: mostly shit recruitment and managerial hires to boot. Definitely improved since Paratici came in but we've been left with so much to do thanks to all the previous years we're still well short of where we need to be

Yes it’s been constant sliding doors moments

 

[Grey Fox]

The biggest sliding door moment is now, Levy needs to shit or get off the pot

 

[rossdapep]

Life didn't begin and end with Poch. we didn't back 'Arry and paid dearly for it. For me that was when the ENIC modus operandi became clear and we've suffered ever since

Whilst I agree, my original point at the start of the thread is mostly..

"What was the sliding doors moment from the Poch era"?

Perhaps I should change the title of the thread slightly.

 

[rossdapep]

I think you’re right. I remember being high up in the ground that day and seeing the penalty being given and thinking game over and Poch era over, it was a horrible horrible feeling and a decision which with VAR and new handball rules probably wouldn’t have been given.

We had a chance that day but 1-0 down so early on killed everything Poch had built over the last 5 years.

Yeah not really sure why but against Barcelona, Ajax and City I had a sensation that those games were not totally dead and fate was with us. Despite my eyes telling me differently.

But the Liverpool game, yep totally killed any hope and I never had a tingling feeling that we would turn it around.