I said it before and I'll say it again: basing your opinion of a manager on their appearance means you rate this manager over this one. That's how ridiculous that stance is. It wasn't clear why Kane was removed, even though he was seen holding ice to his calf? As I said, anyone with eyes could've seen it - LockStock and SpursDisciple both saw it, which is why they pointed it out to you while the dummy you just spat across the room was approaching terminal velocity. Mason getting subbed made sense, given he has played the grand total of 75 minutes of football since Jack Wilshite injured him on England duty at the start of June. My main criticism of yesterday's tactics is moving Chadli up front after Kane went off, since as soon as that happened we didn't have anyone capable of holding onto the ball up top, and that saw our influence slip almost immediately. This issue is less to do with Poch's tactics, though: in the matchday squad the only options were Chadli or perhaps Dembele - and by "only options" I mean making the best of a bad situation, rather than offering a short-term solution, as any other solution would be ludicrous: either telling Adebayor he has no future at the club by having him on the bench as a backup, or not answering the phone for a couple of days while Villarreal wonder where Soldado is. So who to blame for the lack of backup for Kane? Is it Poch saying that he wants to play an entire season with just one striker in the first team squad...or is the the bloke several steps higher than him on the food chain who is playing his annual game of transfer window chicken?
So why did Poch say on the radio the only reason why he took Kane off was because he was tired ? I called him a prat because he had contradicted himself, not because he took the player off. You have no idea whatsoever where I sit in the stadium, so believe me when I say it was not clear why he was substituted. From where I sit it is physically impossible to see if a player is holding ice to his knee, or even if he is standing on his head, so wind your neck in on that one. As for Mason, for your information, the player himself demanded to know afterwards why he was removed. Maybe instead of asking his own manager he should have asked you.
I do think that we are sometimes guilty of expecting too much, lets not forget that its not that long ago that finishing in the top half of the table was an achievement, even these last 3 seasons under AVB, Sherwood and Poch we still maintained a place in the top six. Possibly playing football that was less pleasing on the eye than we played under Gerry Francis, but more its certainly been more effective. Then we have to consider our top 4 finishes, brilliant they were both times, but lets consider those 2 seasons and this is not to belittle any ones achievements, but the first time there was a space in the top 4, City had only just come into the money and Liverpool had started there decline, the 2nd time we all know we should have finished 3rd and not had to rely on Bayern Munich for another crack at the champions league and if we had managed that - who knows maybe Modric would not have left, Harry probably wouldn't have been sacked and maybe we would have had the investment to maintain a place in top 4. In all honesty I Am not convinced by Poch, but he finished 5th last year and has earnt my support for a bit longer yet particularly as this year, as other people have said we are repeating past mistakes by shopping late into the window in the hope of getting the best deals financially and that has left Pochettino short in at least 2 positions, hopefully when the reinforcements arrive we will be able at least match last seasons achievements. Finally I will defend Pav again, I actually liked Crouch, he seems to be a decent bloke and a was always a good 'option' but I personally think Pav was a better footballer and I also think that he was better than Adebayor, but that is just my own blinkered opinion and I have no issue with those who disagree. This is my favourite Spurs forum because we had can debate issues honestly and the opinions expressed are extremely diverse which makes for a great forum, and the passion for the club is so obvious in everyone who posts here.
You mean this interview, where he clearly says "Harry was very tired and had some cramps in his calf" at 0:44 of the video? Given the interview is out there for everyone to hear and read, there are three likely scenarios for you missing the important part of the story: i.) Talksport removed the part where he talks about Kane having cramps in his calf from the broadcast for whatever reason ii.) Talksport included the part where he talked about Kane having cramps in his calf in their broadcast, but you weren't paying attention to what he was saying iii.) Talksport included the part where he talked about Kane having cramps in his calf in their broadcast, but you neglected to mention that in an excuse to have a pop - hoping that nobody would call you on it I hope for your sake it's Talksport not being very good at broadcast journalism.
What exactly is your problem with me and others having a pop at Pochettino when you do it all the time with Redknapp ? Am I not allowed an opinion, even when it goes against the popular view ? I don't like him and I don't have to explain myself to you as to why I dislike him. I don't like your ridiculous and infantile jibes at "factitious" but I don't pick you up on it. I'll spell it out to you loud and clear here, I think Poch is hopeless and out of his depth, primarily because he is clueless at man management, clueless at PL level game knowledge and not the right fit for this club. If you can't stomach reading this from someone who has a damn sight more idea of what is going on at the club than you, then simply block my posts from your screen.
I agree that we should have finished 3rd but while Redknapp fans get called out for looking at the past with rose tinted specs, or being romantic, I think there are a section of fans that have rewritten history and imagined us finishing 3rd, harry staying, Modric staying, VDV staying and invested to finish top four, while taking the goons place! Modric was looking to leave regardless, he wasn't soley interested in champions league football, more moving to a club that could offer him titles so Modric was always moving on and I believe the club had already started to look past Redknapp before that season ended and missed out on 3rd, it was a case of they wanted to change how the club was setup and Redknapp in their eyes never fitted that vision. But sacking a manager after finishing 4th was to me foolish (some say smart) but if we never reach top four again while Levy is chairman, then you can be sure, there are some fans that will be happy to go down memory lane and remember the only time we went on a champions league run with Crouch and Redknapp.
I'm gonna tell you all off in my harshest voice and make you all sit nicely on the naughty step if this goes on much longer
When you look at the best British managers through the years, many have been fatherly figures.They cared about their players and wanted to get the best from them. In turn, their players would want to succeed for them and would get satisfaction from pleasing them. They were encouraging and supportive, but knew when discipline was needed and the players knew that they didn't want to cross them or get on the wrong side of them. This made them great man managers. But whichever successful managers you analyse, they all needed at least three or four of the best players of the time. Getting the best from players will only get you so far without having quality in your team. Nowadays, club directors look further afield, hoping to find someone who has had success elsewhere or is seen as a master tactician, but may have slipped under the radar of other clubs, in the hope that they can make them punch a little bit above their weight. But often, it turns out to be a forelorn hope because the man chosen simply doesn't have the experience, knowledge or personality to make it work. Pochettino may prove to be a good manager, but he has a number of disadvantages at present - his youth, his lack of experience of English football, his unproven record, comparatively limited resources and even his unfamiliarity with the language and culture in England.
Without meaning to wade into this handbags at noon debate, I have to say that I fully respect your opinion OS, and indeed value it given your privileged point of view. However, declaring that you don't rate a manger based on the way he speaks (granted, amongst other reasons) strikes me as needless at best, covertly racist at worst. Either way it isn't necessary and is going to turn a debate personal, which has happened.
To be fair to SC, I may have inadvertently set him up here as I posted an article from the most trusted of sources the mirror, which used quotes to suggest he was taken off to be rested, rather then Injured, which caused him to think Poch had contradicted himself.... not to mention we had lost a 2 nil lead to stoke. I dread to think what would have happened if Adam had come off the bench to make it 2-3!
I get why people have little or no time for Pochettino. .. I, as I have said on other threads, think he needs time and think the positives (a clear philosophy of how he wants the team to play, standing up to players, keeping rows in house, bringing through young players, buying players to fit his type of football and clearing out the deadwood) currently out weigh the negatives (attacking too slow, no clear plan b and being too negative at times). However I do not get people having digs at him for how he dresses and speaks...I spend all my time working with kids and a lot of my time bringing up my own kids encouraging them not to be narrow minded in these matters...and I find it difficult to take people's criticism seriously when they include such spurious excuses for disliking a manager.
Didn't watch the game, haven't watched the highlights. Don't think I even want to now. On Redknapp I'll always admit that I was one of them who wanted him to leave after he let his own personal ambitions get in the way of him doing his job properly, and that I thought that as great as he had done for us, he had taken us as far as he could - I'm almost certainly one of those people who used the phrase 'someone to take us to the next level'. With the benefit of hindsight now I look back on his time with us with great fondness, although it is a recollection sadly soured by his last 6 months at the club. The problem is that the appointments since have been a bit crap and if anything we've stagnated and perhaps even regressed a bit, not gone to the next level at all. Pochettino should have been a safer bet than AVB and Timmy after a good spell at Southampton and although I am a fan of his I completely get the concerns raised by OS, Boss and others because I share many of them. I think the difference is that I think (or maybe hope is a better word now?) that Poch will grow into the role, but I'm becoming increasingly less optimistic about this by the day. For me the jury is well and truly out on Poch now, I don't rightly know how I really feel about him. I was full of optimism at the end of last season and maybe its the effect of two negative, frustrating results and my perception that we aren't fully fixing the squad up in the transfer market and will start September with a needlessly unfinished article that is making me feel more uneasy now.
I'm very encouraged by the first two games, even while being really annoyed we have one point when we should have four. My biggest reservations about Pochettino were the lack of a Plan B and the regularity with which other teams got the better chances. It seems to me he showed he's capable of a Plan B in setting up his team correctly against Man U. We had the better chances in that game, and until the first goal versus Stoke. On the other hand, the way the team reacted to the ball going into the net both games was horrible. It ought to be quickly fixable. I also hope squandering that 2-0 lead will give us the kick up the butt we've needed for years regarding leads. The first problem was the team rolling out the red carpet. The second were awful, defensive substitutions, taking off Mason in particular. Changing a winning game breaks the first rule of strategy. Stoke couldn't get the ball till the first goal. We have the youngest team in the PL. Young teams take patience. I don't have a lot of it, and I gather I'm not alone. I think Pochettino is the best of our last three managers, and even AVB, the worst, is winning titles these days after some time in the same job. Sacking Pochettino means making the historically bad gamble that the chances of getting a better manager outweigh the advantages of continuity.
Watch it up until Stoke brought on Ireland and Joseli, then switch it off. You'll be wondering what performance people are talking about!
The PL is sack happy, firing managers at a much faster rate than any other league I know of. Maybe everybody's shooting themselves in the foot, because keeping the same man in charge may be more important than who that man is.
We threw away what should have been a comfortable 3 points yesterday. So many were looking great for those 70-75 minutes, the defence looked like a unit, Dier was immense (MOTM for me) as was Davies, Mason ran the game going forward and was a close second behind Dier in terms of MOTM in my opinion, Chadli & Eriksen interchanged well, Dembele looks better at RW than CM and Kane was really putting in a shift which shows he's so much more than a goal scorer, though unfortunately Toby's moment of stupidity proved to be the catalyst to our downfall (along with the subs) and the hard work they all put in resulted in a mere point. Starting with the subs, if Kane was tightening up and needed the ice packs then so be it take the lad off and I can understand subbing Mason when he's only played a minimal amount since last season's final game but the players that came on really didn't do enough. Lamela was woeful, painful to watch, I think within about 30 seconds of being on the pitch he gave away a petty foul, whenever he had the ball he done **** all and he left Walker massively exposed down that right hand flank to which a couple of times you saw Kyle screech at him. Bentaleb was also disappointing, he was caught in possession at one point which luckily didn't amount to anything but when trying to hold a lead he should've been a lot smarter both with and without possession, felt he should've dropped a lot deeper and just basically sat in front of that back four alongside Dier. Then Toby, who was fantastic against Utd and looking just as good against Stoke then committed that stupid foul, OK the Stoke player took full advantage (today's modern game, unfortunately) and made it look as though Toby wrapped chicken wire round his neck but it was such a needless thing to do on his behalf and ultimately gave Stoke the momentum to chase that equaliser. Speaking of the equaliser, that was just a freak goal, 9 times out of 10 a defender heads that or Hugo isn't caught out but sods law and Spurs luck it goes in, I don't think Diouf touched it and if he did it was strands of hair. Even though results haven't shown it, there's reason for encouragement, the defence is looking better - an own goal from a midfielder's mistake, a penalty and a freak goal is all that's bettered it - usually we'd just get carved open easily in open play and then pray Hugo saves it, now it seems we're just getting ****ty luck. Dier is showing even more versatility to yet again make that £4m spent last summer look like one of the best investments we've made, Kane is nearing full fitness after the Euros, Mason is also nearing full fitness, we've added some much needed pace in N'Jie and I think things will start swinging our way sooner rather than later.
PNP is correct.When the Stoke subs came on we suddenly had no forwards.We brought on a sub to play right wing but all he could do was commit fouls.When he had the ball he seemed as though he was on telly taking part in Come Dancing. Ye Gods! Forget top 6.Let's get the heck out of the bottom 6! ....and don't forget,for all the Spurs performance in the first half,Hugo kept the score at 2-0 at halftime.
