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It’s a tough gig, being the “nearly” men, having tons of potential but faltering at the final hurdle. Being in the spotlight for a little while is always better than never being in it at all, but the whole “15 seconds of fame” routine can get boring and frustrating very quickly.
Just ask Tottenham Hotspur fans. Their team has always been in the EPL top 6 in the last decade, but has finished 4th or higher only once. Spurs have had memorable matches, but never memorable seasons. Great players have been bought, created and sold, managers have come and gone, and the club has been, for the past decade, run by the shrewdest chairman-cum-businessman in the football world. Yet, Spurs have always been the bridesmaid, never the bride.
They might give the big boys a beating in their own backyard, but the Spurs are never taken seriously. And no one has been wrong so far.
No, as far as the football world is concerned, Spurs are good. On their day, they may even be a formidable opponent. But they are nothing to lose sleep over. Something always seems to go wrong at an inopportune moment, and the club more often than not turns on itself and brings itself down. It seems that Spurs are simply not allowed to have any kind of success.
And it is not for lack of trying. Chairman Daniel Levy has never shied away from hiring outliers as managers and backing them with the resources normally associated with a big club. Millions have been spent on recruiting managers, sporting directors and players that the managers have asked for.
Yet barring a couple of seasons under Harry Redknapp when the Spurs made it to the Champions League, and Gareth Bale’s final season at White Hart Lane, success has eluded the LilyWhites. They have been unable to break past the top 4 barrier despite possessing players and facilities of the required standard.
Good players are made better by a good manager. And that extra 10% a good manager brings or inspires is exactly what is needed for a club on the brink of the top 4 to break into the big boys’ club.
Enter Mauricio Pochettino.
Pochettino: New man at the helm with a different philosophy
The former Saints manager is hardly the type to play mind games or wash his dirty laundry in public. The Argentinian prefers a more quiet approach, letting his team do the talking on the pitch. You will never catch Pochettino poking someone in the eye.
It’s easy to see why Daniel Levy placed his trust in Pochettino, and it is also easy to see why the Spurs have started so well this season. Pochettino’s Southampton team was famous for their incessant pressing and easy-on-the-eye football, all geared around a high tempo approach to the game. But the demands placed on the players eventually took their toll, with complaints of injuries and burnouts pock-marking Pochettino’s overachievement with the Saints.
Hence, it is no coincidence that the Spurs have the youngest side in the Premier League at the moment. The demands that are placed on a Pochettino player can only be fulfilled by young, hungry cadets looking for their first medal of honour. The more senior members, those established in their ways and too stubborn and inflexible to change, were quietly ushered out the door over the first 12 months of Pochettino’s reign.
Team spirit is key to Pochettino’s style of play, and in that there is no place for dissenters. It is either his way or the highway, as the likes of Paulinho, Etienne Capoue, Roberto Soldado, Emmanuel Adebayor, Lewis Holtby and many others found out.
Their places were taken up by academy players and new signings – crucially, new young signings – and this allowed Pochettino to get his message heard loud and clear. This is the way forward, and it only works if you are all on-board.
A few of the experienced campaigners were given the chance to adapt, and the improvement has been radical. Kyle Walker has gone from being a liability to a valuable asset. Mousa Dembele is showing why he is the rightful heir to Luka Modric’s throne in the centre of midfield.
Danny Rose’s loan spell and subsequent re-introduction into the team has been largely successful. The likes of Lamela and Chadli have been broken and re-created in the mould of a Pochettino player – attacking players who don’t shirk their defensive duties as part of a system.
All this may seem like the wet dream of a Football Manager connoisseur, but Pochettino has made it a reality. Erik Lamela recorded eight tackles and four interceptions in the North London derby. That stat alone should tell you how much work has gone on behind closed doors.
Eric Dier has been shoe-horned into a new role, and the youngster has taken it in his stride. Dele Alli is currently the talk of the town, but no one raised an eyebrow when the Spurs signed him in February for £5 million.
Toby Alderweireld has been a revelation at centre-back and his partnership with Jan Vertonghen has added stability and quality to the back. Harry Kane has shrugged off his early season rustiness and seems to be well on track to prove that he is no one-season wonder.
Spurs’ chances on finishing in the top 4
After losing to Manchester United on the opening day (courtesy an own goal, one might add), the Spurs have swatted aside Manchester City and drawn with Liverpool and Arsenal. Few would bet against them when they meet champions Chelsea in late November, considering the current form of both teams.
It is rare for so many things to be going right for a club like Tottenham Hotspur, a club that has been plagued by misfortune and mismanagement for large parts of the last 15 years. And although they are some way off the finished article and there is still plenty of scope for improvement, it is difficult to shake off the feeling that this is a new and improved Spurs side; one that could go toe-to-toe with the big boys and come out unscathed and unnerved.
With Chelsea down and out and Liverpool in a state of transition, there is an empty seat at the top four table up for grabs. I wouldn’t bet against the Spurs taking that seat come the end of the season.
