Mauricio Pochettino

[DeanoAustin]

Eh? We needed a right back because Walker left. So we signed a decent one in Aurier, not as good as the one who left but decent nonetheless and has done pretty well. Sanchez? We needed cover for Verts and Alderweireld. To get the quality of Ruben Dias or VVD you need to spend at least another 20 million plus bigger wage.

Also worth noting that City had a few high profile and very expensive flops before they got Dias.

Absolutely bizarre some of the claims about Poch on this thread from @totman. Poch's achievements here were incredible given what he inherited and the circumstances he was working under.

 

[totman]

Lol you have made my day. What ready made players did he have when he joined the club? The best players he had were made better, but to cross the line he probably needed a few quality additions of his choice.

Did you not see jansen on the pitch?

Right so he’s equally responsible for the decline of the entire squad then right?
Right?

Ih no of course not, Levy did it by not signing Zaha

 

[StephenH]

Poch's achievements here were incredible given what he inherited and the circumstances he was working under.

These type of platitudes that are trotted out regarding Poch is far too overstated.

 

[totman]

Also worth noting that City had a few high profile and very expensive flops before they got Dias.

Absolutely bizarre some of the claims about Poch on this thread from @totman. Poch's achievements here were incredible given what he inherited and the circumstances he was working under.

Spurs fans calling failure with the best squad since 84 achievements and wondering why we tread water.....

No. What Ranieri did was incredible.
You know, the guy that won the title with Wes Morgan and Huth while we couldn’t teach a peak Jan and Toby to defend corners.

The guy that won the PL with Vardy while all Spurs fans claimed he was a fraud and Kane was world class.
We had a peak Dembele, Walker and Rose was considered the best full backs in Europe and the likes of Dier were England’s first choice and rightly so at the time.
World Cup winning keeper, Eriksen and Dele at world class form but yeah, Leicester had Danny Drinkwater and Grey and spent about 20M so how could poor little Poch POSSIBLY beat them.
Couldn’t even come second.

And that’s the problem here, Leicester winning the league in a season we finished above all of Chelsea, Utd, City and Liverpool will never, ever allow your argument to stick.

 

[totman]

Also, anyone defending Poch should ask themselves why, when at a club with endless cash, is he trying to sign Aurier for the second time in four years.

Laughable

 

[MKSpur]

Also, anyone defending Poch should ask themselves why, when at a club with endless cash, is he trying to sign Aurier for the second time in four years.

Laughable

He loves Spurs and wants to inject some excess cash towards our transfer budget??

 

[Gazza]

Ahhhh so this miracle worker super coach could only get already top players to perform?

He never wanted Janssen doesn’t mean he didn’t have 22M back up striker at his disposal if he had the managerial ability to get something out of the player

really? so he inherited a top team when he came in? which players were world class when he came in? Which team that wins things have not had a couple of players at a minimum were top class?

 

[glasgowspur]

Spurs fans calling failure with the best squad since 84 achievements and wondering why we tread water.....

No. What Ranieri did was incredible.
You know, the guy that won the title with Wes Morgan and Huth while we couldn’t teach a peak Jan and Toby to defend corners.

The guy that won the PL with Vardy while all Spurs fans claimed he was a fraud and Kane was world class.
We had a peak Dembele, Walker and Rose was considered the best full backs in Europe and the likes of Dier were England’s first choice and rightly so at the time.
World Cup winning keeper, Eriksen and Dele at world class form but yeah, Leicester had Danny Drinkwater and Grey and spent about 20M so how could poor little Poch POSSIBLY beat them.
Couldn’t even come second.

And that’s the problem here, Leicester winning the league in a season we finished above all of Chelsea, Utd, City and Liverpool will never, ever allow your argument to stick.

Jeez mate, did poch squeeze your lemons or something.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Spurs fans calling failure with the best squad since 84 achievements and wondering why we tread water.....

No. What Ranieri did was incredible.
You know, the guy that won the title with Wes Morgan and Huth while we couldn’t teach a peak Jan and Toby to defend corners.

The guy that won the PL with Vardy while all Spurs fans claimed he was a fraud and Kane was world class.
We had a peak Dembele, Walker and Rose was considered the best full backs in Europe and the likes of Dier were England’s first choice and rightly so at the time.
World Cup winning keeper, Eriksen and Dele at world class form but yeah, Leicester had Danny Drinkwater and Grey and spent about 20M so how could poor little Poch POSSIBLY beat them.
Couldn’t even come second.

And that’s the problem here, Leicester winning the league in a season we finished above all of Chelsea, Utd, City and Liverpool will never, ever allow your argument to stick.

Hmm…your argument kinda falls down when you consider that none of the players you are mentioning (Dembele, Rose, Walker, Dele) had shown anything like the consistent high level of performance that they showed us until Poch got hold of them.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

These type of platitudes that are trotted out regarding Poch is far too overstated.

I don’t agree. It might take a few years but eventually it will be looked back upon in the way it deserves.

Two actual title challenges (losing to a freak Leicester and a Chelsea with no Europe). The CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL. No signings for 18 months. The Wembley move and the overrun on the new stadium. Contracts for key players being allowed to run down. Refusal to sell players he wanted to sell. Watching Liverpool overtake us by making targeted moves to sign proven players in problem positions.

Anyone assuming all of that was just supposed to happen to us, because we had this ready made squad just ready to explode, is not being fair IMO.

 

[DeanoAustin]

Spurs fans calling failure with the best squad since 84 achievements and wondering why we tread water.....

No. What Ranieri did was incredible.
You know, the guy that won the title with Wes Morgan and Huth while we couldn’t teach a peak Jan and Toby to defend corners.

The guy that won the PL with Vardy while all Spurs fans claimed he was a fraud and Kane was world class.
We had a peak Dembele, Walker and Rose was considered the best full backs in Europe and the likes of Dier were England’s first choice and rightly so at the time.
World Cup winning keeper, Eriksen and Dele at world class form but yeah, Leicester had Danny Drinkwater and Grey and spent about 20M so how could poor little Poch POSSIBLY beat them.
Couldn’t even come second.

And that’s the problem here, Leicester winning the league in a season we finished above all of Chelsea, Utd, City and Liverpool will never, ever allow your argument to stick.

Jan and Toby couldn’t defend corners? We lost 4 games and conceded 26 goals the year we came second to Chelsea. They must have been doing something right. And don’t forget that Toby came in on his watch while a decent number of fans wanted Jan out after Tactics Tim’s reign. Something about body language IIRC.

Neither Rose or Walker were considered the best full backs in Europe when Poch arrived. In fact, as great a pair as they were, you’re overstating it by saying they were ever considered the best in Europe. But Poch improved them massively. Dembele was an enigma. He hadnt been a regular for years. Eriksen was a nice player but there were doubts around him. Not 12 months earlier, AVB had been leaving him out. Under Poch, both Dembele and Eriksen became consistent top class performers.

It was Poch who moved Dier into midfield when he was seen as a right back or CB. It proved a master stroke and saved the club a fortune. It was Poch who trusted Alli when he was seen as a prospect for down the road.

Yeah Ranieri worked a miracle at Leicester. Poch may not have reached that high but he over achieved over a longer period of time. With the 6th biggest wage bill, he finished 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. He did it without buying a player for 18 months. He did it playing away from home for a season and a half.

He got us to the CL final. Before around 2005, I never thought I’d see Spurs in the CL at all. He got us to the bloody final. I remember the euphoria of Harry getting us into the competition. Beating City that night in 2010 was euphoric in the same way winning the FA Cup in 91 was. Poch raised expectations to such a level that we got there 4 years in a row and it became just another qualification. Despite having the 6th biggest wage bill, despite no signings, despite playing away from home, despite inheriting a mess in 2014.

If you want to narrowly define success by trophies, you may say he failed. But Poch gave us 5 seasons where we were proud of our club and where we finished above and beat bigger clubs regularly. Best Spurs manager in my lifetime. By a distance.

 

[StephenH]

I don’t agree. It might take a few years but eventually it will be looked back upon in the way it deserves.

Two actual title challenges (losing to a freak Leicester and a Chelsea with no Europe). The CHAMPIONS LEAGUE FINAL. No signings for 18 months. The Wembley move and the overrun on the new stadium. Contracts for key players being allowed to run down. Refusal to sell players he wanted to sell. Watching Liverpool overtake us by making targeted moves to sign proven players in problem positions.

Anyone assuming all of that was just supposed to happen to us, because we had this ready made squad just ready to explode, is not being fair IMO.

Just! He was here for 5 years.
I like Poch

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Just! He was here for 5 years.
I like Poch

And he took over a team that was no where near as strong, performing at consistently a high level, as it was 2-3 even 4 years into his reign. By year 5, the squad went stale, which was nothing to do with him, and he entered an inevitable down swing.

 

[MKSpur]

Jan and Toby couldn’t defend corners? We lost 4 games and conceded 26 goals the year we came second to Chelsea. They must have been doing something right. And don’t forget that Toby came in on his watch while a decent number of fans wanted Jan out after Tactics Tim’s reign. Something about body language IIRC.

Neither Rose or Walker were considered the best full backs in Europe when Poch arrived. In fact, as great a pair as they were, you’re overstating it by saying they were ever considered the best in Europe. But Poch improved them massively. Dembele was an enigma. He hadnt been a regular for years. Eriksen was a nice player but there were doubts around him. Not 12 months earlier, AVB had been leaving him out. Under Poch, both Dembele and Eriksen became consistent top class performers.

It was Poch who moved Dier into midfield when he was seen as a right back or CB. It proved a master stroke and saved the club a fortune. It was Poch who trusted Alli when he was seen as a prospect for down the road.

Yeah Ranieri worked a miracle at Leicester. Poch may not have reached that high but he over achieved over a longer period of time. With the 6th biggest wage bill, he finished 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. He did it without buying a player for 18 months. He did it playing away from home for a season and a half.

He got us to the CL final. Before around 2005, I never thought I’d see Spurs in the CL at all. He got us to the bloody final. I remember the euphoria of Harry getting us into the competition. Beating City that night in 2010 was euphoric in the same way winning the FA Cup in 91 was. Poch raised expectations to such a level that we got there 4 years in a row and it became just another qualification. Despite having the 6th biggest wage bill, despite no signings, despite playing away from home, despite inheriting a mess in 2014.

If you want to narrowly define success by trophies, you may say he failed. But Poch gave us 5 seasons where we were proud of our club and where we finished above and beat bigger clubs regularly. Best Spurs manager in my lifetime. By a distance.

 

[DTA]

Jan and Toby couldn’t defend corners? We lost 4 games and conceded 26 goals the year we came second to Chelsea. They must have been doing something right. And don’t forget that Toby came in on his watch while a decent number of fans wanted Jan out after Tactics Tim’s reign. Something about body language IIRC.

Neither Rose or Walker were considered the best full backs in Europe when Poch arrived. In fact, as great a pair as they were, you’re overstating it by saying they were ever considered the best in Europe. But Poch improved them massively. Dembele was an enigma. He hadnt been a regular for years. Eriksen was a nice player but there were doubts around him. Not 12 months earlier, AVB had been leaving him out. Under Poch, both Dembele and Eriksen became consistent top class performers.

It was Poch who moved Dier into midfield when he was seen as a right back or CB. It proved a master stroke and saved the club a fortune. It was Poch who trusted Alli when he was seen as a prospect for down the road.

Yeah Ranieri worked a miracle at Leicester. Poch may not have reached that high but he over achieved over a longer period of time. With the 6th biggest wage bill, he finished 5th, 3rd, 2nd, 3rd and 4th. He did it without buying a player for 18 months. He did it playing away from home for a season and a half.

He got us to the CL final. Before around 2005, I never thought I’d see Spurs in the CL at all. He got us to the bloody final. I remember the euphoria of Harry getting us into the competition. Beating City that night in 2010 was euphoric in the same way winning the FA Cup in 91 was. Poch raised expectations to such a level that we got there 4 years in a row and it became just another qualification. Despite having the 6th biggest wage bill, despite no signings, despite playing away from home, despite inheriting a mess in 2014.

If you want to narrowly define success by trophies, you may say he failed. But Poch gave us 5 seasons where we were proud of our club and where we finished above and beat bigger clubs regularly. Best Spurs manager in my lifetime. By a distance.

I love poch, I wouldn't have sacked him, he earned the right to try to turn it around baring a relegation battle. But I have a problem with people sh iting on Levy. He has done more for Spurs then poch did. The poch times were great and I long for them... but the early Jol years were great as well, so were the Rednapp years... the common denominator is Levy. We were mid table at best before he arrived, just as I haven't forgotten poch I haven't forgotten what Levy has done for us either.

 

[DeanoAustin]

I love poch, I wouldn't have sacked him, he earned the right to try to turn it around baring a relegation battle. But I have a problem with people sh iting on Levy. He has done more for Spurs then poch did. The poch times were great and I long for them... but the early Jol years were great as well, so were the Rednapp years... the common denominator is Levy. We were mid table at best before he arrived, just as I haven't forgotten poch I haven't forgotten what Levy has done for us either.

I would agree with that. I think that getting us to pretty much ever presents in the top 6 over the last 15 years, building the training ground, building the stadium and getting us classed as one of the big 12 in Europe are phenomenonal achievements. Some of those go beyond the football club and have had a massive positive impact on the local community. I take my hat off to Levy for all of that and have said, id build a statue of him outside the ground because all that is worth more than a couple of FA Cups or League Cups.

But, the last two years and last 6 months particularly have raised huge questions over Levy. Not in terms of what he's done. That can never be taken away from him. But there is a big question there for me at the moment about whether Levy and his methods can take us any further.

 

[DTA]

I would agree with that. I think that getting us to pretty much ever presents in the top 6 over the last 15 years, building the training ground, building the stadium and getting us classed as one of the big 12 in Europe are phenomenonal achievements. Some of those go beyond the football club and have had a massive positive impact on the local community. I take my hat off to Levy for all of that and have said, id build a statue of him outside the ground because all that is worth more than a couple of FA Cups or League Cups.

But, the last two years and last 6 months particularly have raised huge questions over Levy. Not in terms of what he's done. That can never be taken away from him. But there is a big question there for me at the moment about whether Levy and his methods can take us any further.

I'm not going to lie, the last two years haven't been great at all and the last 6 months.... what the actual fucX... what the hell is going on? The optics of it are terrible.

But maybe this is Levy's blip and he certainly has earned the right to turn it around without fans turning on him

 

[glasgowspur]

I would agree with that. I think that getting us to pretty much ever presents in the top 6 over the last 15 years, building the training ground, building the stadium and getting us classed as one of the big 12 in Europe are phenomenonal achievements. Some of those go beyond the football club and have had a massive positive impact on the local community. I take my hat off to Levy for all of that and have said, id build a statue of him outside the ground because all that is worth more than a couple of FA Cups or League Cups.

But, the last two years and last 6 months particularly have raised huge questions over Levy. Not in terms of what he's done. That can never be taken away from him. But there is a big question there for me at the moment about whether Levy and his methods can take us any further.

I think levys methods can take us further, what I'm not sure about is if Levy is in a fit state to do it.
Most agreed poch was burnt out and needed a break, well that is the way Levy is beginning to look to me.
The two or three years have all the hallmarks of someone overworked and losing focus.
He's been under huge strain, the stadium, poch, covid, Jose, our form, search for dof, manager, Harry Kane. And that's all we know about.
Has to take a toll.

 

[DeanoAustin]

I think levys methods can take us further, what I'm not sure about is if Levy is in a fit state to do it.
Most agreed poch was burnt out and needed a break, well that is the way Levy is beginning to look to me.
The two or three years have all the hallmarks of someone overworked and losing focus.
He's been under huge strain, the stadium, poch, covid, Jose, our form, search for dof, manager, Harry Kane. And that's all we know about.
Has to take a toll.

That’s actually a brilliant point that most of us hadn’t considered. The guy is human too.

I’m sure anyone who has been overworked can relate to feeling unable to make decisions or think as coherently as you normally would. Sometimes we think football people aren’t really susceptible to that stuff.

 

[DTA]

I think levys methods can take us further, what I'm not sure about is if Levy is in a fit state to do it.
Most agreed poch was burnt out and needed a break, well that is the way Levy is beginning to look to me.
The two or three years have all the hallmarks of someone overworked and losing focus.
He's been under huge strain, the stadium, poch, covid, Jose, our form, search for dof, manager, Harry Kane. And that's all we know about.
Has to take a toll.

That's a good point and actually worrying .

The Levy out Shiiit will only add to that as well.

I'm hoping he needs just a little time to turn it around?