Mauricio Pochettino - Sacked

[ricky2tricky4city]

I am starting to think something has happened behind the scenes sometime after the Chelsea match, we dont seem to have been the same since. Has something rocked the boat and unsettled the whole squad?
I guess we might know more after tonight

I'm not sure it's much more than a blip. We still got 3pts at Stoke, City have lorded over many a team this year, Brighton would have been 3pts but for the pen and mentally we looked good for the semi...we got mourinhoed in the end. None of that form is great but there is hardly worying signs either. There has been quite a few unpredictable results floating around the prem

I don't think the Kane thing is affecting any members of the squad apart from Kane himself. I think Harry has been knocked a liitle by the hoo haa, and maybe thats wormed its way into his all conquering brain. He does looked half paced at the mo.

As for Poch.....all is good. He is still on the same page as Levy.
I think he is frustrated by all the sniping and criticism of what him and the team haven't done rather than praise (not that he wants it) for what they have done. Ironically he is a victim of his own success, being ahead of the progress curve. I think his comments after the semi were saying 'i'm doing my best' but if anyone (that matters) thinks thats not good enough then they're welcome to try someone else, but this is the road we need to stick on and any other coach will have to (in conjunction with Levy off the pitch) follow the same path. I think he was affected by the semi defeat more than he thought he'd be (i certainly was ), and Poch being Poch was being honest with his asssessment of himself and the landscape at the club.

He could do a BIG SAM or Mark Hughes and swing his dingdong around and shout ' whose better than me' but thankfully he's not a bellend.

 

[ricky2tricky4city]

Just too add. I do think we look a bit jaded and cohesion at the back is a bit lacking....perhaps we gave it more this year in the CL and the rotation has been a bit off to keep us ticking. Plus that Chelsea victory c.ould of mentally switched us off a bit, thinking we were 10pts ahead etc.??

 

[harr1984]

Just too add. I do think we look a bit jaded and cohesion at the back is a bit lacking....perhaps we gave it more this year in the CL and the rotation has been a bit off to keep us ticking. Plus that Chelsea victory c.ould of mentally switched us off a bit, thinking we were 10pts ahead etc.??

I think theres more to it than thinking we were 10pts ahead so can relax a bit. Going into last nights game we was only 2pts clear of Chelsea, so you would have expected them to be a lot more 'on it' if you're looking at complacency as an excuse....

 

[thfcsteff]

I think theres more to it than thinking we were 10pts ahead so can relax a bit. Going into last nights game we was only 2pts clear of Chelsea, so you would have expected them to be a lot more 'on it' if you're looking at complacency as an excuse....

More than anything there was still an edge of both “hurt” and anxiety about elements of our performance last night. But the true measure of our growth is that we now get the job done despite set-backs. And let’s be honest...CL is the job and always was this season. One thing which should be noted is that second-half last night was like a practice match and we were hardly threatened after that skeezy first.


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

 

[harr1984]

More than anything there was still an edge of both “hurt” and anxiety about elements of our performance last night. But the true measure of our growth is that we now get the job done despite set-backs. And let’s be honest...CL is the job and always was this season. One thing which should be noted is that second-half last night was like a practice match and we were hardly threatened after that skeezy first.


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

Absolutely, the result trumps anything else - just a shame it was so terrible to watch. We need to up our game though because West Brom will not be so forgiving and we dont want the gap to Chelsea to go back down to two points and give them hope again...

 

[Bedfordspurs]

People forget that at this point last season we lost to West Ham... it’s all about getting points on the word and performances really don’t matter

One thing I’ll add is that Dele now has 14 goals and is having a brick season by all accounts

Keep it up dele

 

[thfcsteff]

Absolutely, the result trumps anything else - just a shame it was so terrible to watch. We need to up our game though because West Brom will not be so forgiving and we dont want the gap to Chelsea to go back down to two points and give them hope again...

It was strange. A couple of slips at key moments cost us two goals in the first 30 and had we got those I think fluidity would’ve oozed. It was stodgy and lack-lustre for sure.


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

 

[mint me]

would have expected them to be a lot more 'on it'.

 

[paxtonwolf]

I'm not sure it's much more than a blip. We still got 3pts at Stoke, City have lorded over many a team this year, Brighton would have been 3pts but for the pen and mentally we looked good for the semi...we got mourinhoed in the end. None of that form is great but there is hardly worying signs either. There has been quite a few unpredictable results floating around the prem

I don't think the Kane thing is affecting any members of the squad apart from Kane himself. I think Harry has been knocked a liitle by the hoo haa, and maybe thats wormed its way into his all conquering brain. He does looked half paced at the mo.

As for Poch.....all is good. He is still on the same page as Levy.
I think he is frustrated by all the sniping and criticism of what him and the team haven't done rather than praise (not that he wants it) for what they have done. Ironically he is a victim of his own success, being ahead of the progress curve. I think his comments after the semi were saying 'i'm doing my best' but if anyone (that matters) thinks thats not good enough then they're welcome to try someone else, but this is the road we need to stick on and any other coach will have to (in conjunction with Levy off the pitch) follow the same path. I think he was affected by the semi defeat more than he thought he'd be (i certainly was ), and Poch being Poch was being honest with his asssessment of himself and the landscape at the club.

He could do a BIG SAM or Mark Hughes and swing his dingdong around and shout ' whose better than me' but thankfully he's not a bellend.

Hope you are spot on, and some of us are reading too much into things. I was hoping we would come out last night and put it all to bed, but despite winning we were not convincing. Hopefully that was just the nerves of what was almost a 'must-win' match and now we have that under our belt we see a more fluid display on Saturday.

I think it will help that WBA will have to come and play football, and of late I think we have a better record against them away than we do at home. Would be great if we could go into the last 2 home games, Top 4 assured and just needing one win for 3rd

 

[Hashegotthesackyet?]

I want 4th (3rd better) but i want Chelsea to get so close, but fail at the death, i want the hope and subsequent failure, to kill them.

 

[Mikey10]

I want 4th (3rd better) but i want Chelsea to get so close, but fail at the death, i want the hope and subsequent failure, to kill them.

I want to smash them by as many points as possible and finish third.

 

[Rorschach]

More than anything there was still an edge of both “hurt” and anxiety about elements of our performance last night. But the true measure of our growth is that we now get the job done despite set-backs. And let’s be honest...CL is the job and always was this season. One thing which should be noted is that second-half last night was like a practice match and we were hardly threatened after that skeezy first.


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

Yep I thought I saw nervousness in a lot of our play too especially in the first half. Dier and Dembele in particular were trying to force passes that were never on. I did think we were working hard but the cohesion just wasn't there. We were not clicking as we had been and this drop off is as recent as 4-5 matches ago (to be honest I think the reintroduction of Kane has knocked us off kilter....).

However I certainly did not see a slacking of effort which has happen in seasons past when the prizes were no longer up for grabs. That was a positive for me as was the result. I think that result almost (nearly) guarantees CL again next year and that is not to be sniffed at.

It goes to show our upward progress that there is a slight feeling of deflation that we have only (nearly) qualified for the CL again and not won anything. I get that, I do, but it just shows where the bar is set for us now.

 

[Mikey10]

Yep I thought I saw nervousness in a lot of our play too especially in the first half. Dier and Dembele in particular were trying to force passes that were never on. I did think we were working hard but the cohesion just wasn't there. We were not clicking as we had been and this drop off is as recent as 4-5 matches ago (to be honest I think the reintroduction of Kane has knocked us off kilter....).

However I certainly did not see a slacking of effort which has happen in seasons past when the prizes were no longer up for grabs. That was a positive for me as was the result. I think that result almost (nearly) guarantees CL again next year and that is not to be sniffed at.

It goes to show our upward progress that there is a slight feeling of deflation that we have only (nearly) qualified for the CL again and not won anything. I get that, I do, but it just shows where the bar is set for us now.

This. Absolutely.

 

[metalgear]

whats with the lack of cohesion though. i thought we are a well drilled squad and its late in the season, they should be telepathic by now.
perhaps the cup exits were more damaging then we think. even poch sounded defeated with his " more time with me or another" comment.
i wonder if poch could have done more with alder, vorm and moura though. for different reasons, i think having them played a few minutes more here and there would have done the squad some good.

That said - looking across the season - we are doing pretty well despite all the injuries we've had.

 

[alekaras]

I think Levy is great. He’s done brilliantly for the club but he has a decision to make now.

Our wages to turnover ratio is similar to City and United (just shy of 50%). But they have much, much higher turnover so their actual
wages blow us out of the water.

Clubs like Liverpool, Arsenal and Everton have a much higher wages to turnover ratio (nearly 70% if I recall correctly). Levy will raise wages naturally because we have more money but the question is will he increase the ratio. If he doesn’t, we could still be miles behind the others which always leaves us open to players going elsewhere.

If our operating expenses remain more or less the same, then we should be able to increase our wage to turnover ratio. For example:

Turnover: 100 mil
Operating Expenses: 40 mil
Wages: 50 mil (wage/turnover = 50%)
Profit: 10 mil

Now let's say our turnover increases to 150 mil and operating expenses stay put.
Operating Expenses: 40 mil
Wages: 90 mil (wage/turnover = 60%)
Profit: 20 mil

So we could almost double our wages and have a higher wage/turnover ratio while at the same time doubling our profit. Of course the reality is that operating expenses will also go up and let's not forget servicing the stadium debt, but I think that would still allow us to increase our wage to turnover. But even if we kept it steady, it would still mean we could increase our wages by 50%, which is still a lot. It all depends what profit margin the club targets to ensure continued sustainability of our financial model and also account for things such as not being in the CL, etc.

 

[nayimfromthehalfwayline]

I think the point is that we will keep doing what we do, albeit at a higher/more expensive level.

We will continue to operate by targetting unproven talent and bargains, and by selling to fund most business.

As I say, it'll just be at a higher level of player/expense.

Thats what I think Poch is saying, to counter anyone who might think we will suddenly start splashing £100m or £300k a week on players.

 

[alekaras]

I know Utd and City’s wages blow us out of the water but my point was to highlight Levy isn’t being tight and offers decent wages considering the amount of turnover we are currently generating. At the end of the day unless we get an oil tycoon type we will always be open to players leaving, we just have to hope our differential of a real tight squad who have been growing together is enough to keep the majority for a good few years yet. We will lose a couple that we do t want to along the way, but hopefully the nucleus will remain strong....

Even if we do get an oil tycoon type, there is still FFP to deal with. Just because we would get an oil tycoon doesn't mean we will all of a sudden be making 50-60 mil transfers and offering 200K in wages. We'll still have to manage our finances in a prudent fashion, although an oil tycoon type may be fine with the club just breaking even and not turning a profit, which would give us a little more to play with.

 

[alekaras]

I have never thought of it that way but what you say is a good point, like you i do not want Poch to leave but our status right now should/would be a magnet for top managers looking for a good job.

I would think it would also be a magnet for top young talent, too. So now we can get the Martials instead of having to settle for the Nkoudous.

 

[thfcsteff]

Yep I thought I saw nervousness in a lot of our play too especially in the first half. Dier and Dembele in particular were trying to force passes that were never on. I did think we were working hard but the cohesion just wasn't there. We were not clicking as we had been and this drop off is as recent as 4-5 matches ago (to be honest I think the reintroduction of Kane has knocked us off kilter....).

However I certainly did not see a slacking of effort which has happen in seasons past when the prizes were no longer up for grabs. That was a positive for me as was the result. I think that result almost (nearly) guarantees CL again next year and that is not to be sniffed at.

It goes to show our upward progress that there is a slight feeling of deflation that we have only (nearly) qualified for the CL again and not won anything. I get that, I do, but it just shows where the bar is set for us now.

On the money!


Sitting on my porcelain throne using glory-glory.co.uk mobile app

 

[Rorschach]

Even if we do get an oil tycoon type, there is still FFP to deal with. Just because we would get an oil tycoon doesn't mean we will all of a sudden be making 50-60 mil transfers and offering 200K in wages. We'll still have to manage our finances in a prudent fashion, although an oil tycoon type may be fine with the club just breaking even and not turning a profit, which would give us a little more to play with.

There are ways around FFP as city have shown with their family of oil tycoons. Their commerical revenue is a sham.