overlord.
Finally after 163 days Tottenham Hotspur actually have a manager. Mauricio Roberto Pochettino Trossero.
The former Southampton manager, Pochettino, wasn’t my first choice, possibly wasn’t even my second, saying that of the unlikely no chance in hell of getting him, he wasn’t even third.
I had first thought Van Gaal, what with his availability post World Cup, but before he’d joined ManUre I figured the game, no matter his protestations to the contrary, would mean he wouldn’t be round for long – especially working with Levy.
Then Frank de Boer. He’s done great work at Ajax, no matter what your bog standard xenophobic, one eyed, ex-England player pundit may think. With youth on his side, Dutch ability to stand up to Levy and working with the likes of Eriksen and Vertonghen previously, it ticked a lot of boxes.
Now if real Madrid had lost the Champions League final, there was a slight chance that Ancelotti would be available. Would he really come our way? You never know but even then he was just behind de Boer.
So that was Poch down in fourth spot.
But while he was that low I was never adverse to him coming. Maybe just the undoubted glee of having a real manager, no matter who, instead of that oaf in the gilet.
Things like the crap about him being here in the country for how many months and not speaking the language, spouted by some idiots who didn’t want him. Yes because I’m sure scouser Rickie Lambert is fluent in Spanish – ¿Eh? ¿Eh? ¿Eh? Dey Qué hacen dat masa no dey masa. Along with all the other young English players that thrived under him during the last season and a half. Even if they were called Rodriguez.
The problem is will those individuals give him the time he requires? The media one day are praising his team at Southampton are now saying Spurs are wrong to pick him, because his team didn’t score as much as Timmy’s did.
Well as I tweeted a while back, you’ve never heard Pochettino speak English in his post match interviews but you also never heard him embarrass the club either. I couldn’t care less if he speaks English or through a translator after the match. If he communicates with the players in a way that leads to them playing good football that’s all that matters.
Either way his English is probably far superior than those that deride him – no doubt the type that stump up in Spain and just add O to the end of English words when ordering their egg and chips and pint of Stella. And no matter what it will be better than Sherwood’s.
OK so Southampton wasn’t all out goals but they went out there with a plan – Sherwood’s scored while conceding and being generally clueless – but if it ends up a bit like it did under AVB, one nil wins, the Timmy fanboys – online, on telly and in print – will be out in force and you can never trust Levy in that situation.
But those fanboys will have to remember like they kept saying about Timmy, this isn’t Pochettino’s squad, he may add to it – hopefully certain very necessary additions – but it’s a bunch of players he’ll inherit.
As said there’s areas he needs to add, some he needs to subtract. Honestly it doesn’t matter if he can put his arm around Adebayor or not the player needs to be offloaded. Club house cancer. You might get a few games out of him at the beginning but just look how quickly the effort fell off even for Sherwood.
Two new left-backs are urgently required, as probably are a pair of right-backs – is Walker too old to learn to defend and not just grab a player running past him? Well Pochettino’s old club have a few half decent ones available. Or could he go back three and just dispense with inept fullbacks? Wouldn’t mind seeing that.
Along with a new striker is there anything else required if the new boss helps in keeping the rest of the squad intact? Well bar others needing shuffled to the exit, say Dawson, maybe Kaboul – can he regain his presence? So two centre-backs. But very little else. Lallana, had a great season but what Spurs have in the middle to front is it a requirement that needs £25m plus spent on it? No.
Levy’s given him a five year deal. Five year plans. Well they work a treat. And Pochettino said the right things at his introduction…
There is an abundance of top-class talent at the club and I am looking forward to starting work with the squad.
Tottenham Hotspur has a huge following across the world and I have great admiration for the passion the fans show for this team.
We are determined to give the supporters the kind of attacking football and success that we are all looking to achieve. Mauricio Pochettino
If he’s there in five years time, something half decent will have been achieved by the club both on and off the park. You wouldn’t put money on it though would you?