I can see it now. Exit the C1 Cup then lose to WBA, Arsenal, Liverpool and Fiorentina and he'll be a goner just in time for your game with us.
The style of football was what did Ramos in. That and the way he was hired, which was hardly his fault.
This is the one problem with the League Cup: a lot of the time the winners switch off for the remainder of the season, for example we did in both '99 and 2008, Birmingham did in 2011 (which led to their relegation), Liverpool did in 2012, and Swansea did in 2013.
I’ve waffled on the merits of Pochettino, among other things, but have remained convinced from the time we spent the Bale money that our players are good. The latest reasons are that they spanked Chelsea and have got to a Cup final. One by itself may be a fluke. Both together indicate quality in the squad. So I may not give Pochettino as much credit as some, though I do think he’s done reasonably well. He, or perhaps his system, have their blind spots and problem areas, but I have been able to see the team progress in a two steps forward and one step back process over the course of the season. If they continue to progress, I’ll continue to be satisfied. He still hasn’t done as well in the league as Sherwood, but he’s done much better in the cups, and has us playing a bit better football overall, I would say. The decisive factor at this point is that we’ve done considerably better against top teams than Sherwood or AVB did last year. 7/10 for Pochettino seems fair at this point, though coaches stock tends to go up and down like a rollercoaster. How many losses on the trot would it take to hear Pochettino out? 3? 2?
I think it's time we stopped making managers solely responsible for the results of the team. There's loads of factors internal and external that play big parts in how a team does throughout a season. What matters to me is that we have a sustainable long term vision of bringing young players into the first team, bolstered by other signings where needed. It's great that we're currently hitting what should be our standard targets for each season, challenging for a trophy(/trophies) and the top 4. I don't think Pochettino has direct control over all of that but what he does have control over is keeping the team happy and playing in a manner that suits our best players and for the most part that seems to be going well. Compare that with Sherwood who went around lobbing grenades everywhere after a loss, pissing off a significant portion of the squad whilst playing numerous players out of position. Or with AVB in his second season where it seemed he was intent on us playing a slow passing game that wasn't working. If we judge on results then we have to start looking at unsolvable questions, like was Harry a better league manager in the 09/10 season or the 11/12 season(both 4th and 69 points iirc)? Which manager did better, Harry getting 4th in 09/10 with 69 points or AVB getting 5th in 12/14 with 72 points? Each answer could be argued over until we're all bored to tears and would really just end up showing how significant external factors(that are rarely credited) can be.
Reminds me of the van Gaal situation at Old Trafford. I had a discussion with a Man Utd fan recently during which he claimed that the current manager was doing better than Moyes in the league. I pointed out that he'd got exactly the same number of points as the Scotsman, to which he retorted, "But we're 4th!" Apparently the last guy was poor because of other teams doing better than they are now. Or something.
When it comes to managerial appointments, Levy has a really weird batting average: whenever he hires a safe option (i.e. Hoddle, Santini, Ramos) it backfires horribly, yet when he takes a risk (Jol, Redknapp) is goes well - with the obvious exception of AVB. Realistically, this shouldn't happen and there should be more of a spread. For example, Abramovich's hiring policy has seen some safe options succeed (Ancelotti, Hiddink, Benitez, Moron's second stint) while others fail (Scolari), just as he's seen some risks succeed (Moron's first stint) and others fail (Grant, AVB, Di Matteo)
According to this poll at least, M.P. is in a strong position atm with strong support from the fans and not one Spurs fan wanting his immediate sacking. Of course in the fickle world of professional football this could all change very quickly but atm M.P has time to build his team, it's position and his own. Let's hope he can make a success of it. The poll is now closed.
Moyes was very conservative. The team did poorly in almost every game against the leading sides, but did OK v the rest. It was as if he was managing Everton to a creditable 7th, not defending a title with a club accustomed to winning honours. Van Gaal still has an awful lot to prove, but he seems to have a better grasp of what is expected and how to achieve it. I couldn't explain my reasoning because I rely on intangibles. What is evident is that he has lost Rio, Vidic and Evra from the defence and they need to be replaced. Other mainstays of the title winning sides have also gone or are getting older and less effective. He has had to overhaul the team quickly but he knew that the only way to do that was to bring in big name players and ensure that the CL qualification was achieved this season. Being out of the CL for another season could have sent the club into (comparative) decline which would be difficult to recover from. So far, he is on track. The belief that this team will finish in the top four is far greater.
