I wonder if someone could send in the histories of Poch's assistants.I don't remember seeing that anywhere...unless I passed over it. By the way.Do these contracts actually work because I see so many names signing these things and going elsewhere even though the contract is still running.
Miguel D'Agostino came through the ranks at Newell's Old Boys around the same time as Poch, while Toni Jiminez played alongside Poch at Espanyol
Thank you,Croydon. By the way,my nan used to run away from grandad when he got drunk and go to friends house in Carshalton.She took me and mum shopping in Croydon.Can't remember now.It was in the 1940,s long before your time. I always remember catching the route 80 Daimler bus tucked away in a side road opposite Tooting Broadway tube station,that took us to Carshalton. That's got nothing to do with Spurs,but sometimes the old memory clicks in and goes back many years........like again in the 40's,mystepdad took me to a Spurs game in Div 2.In a crowd of 60,000 he let me go to the toilet by myself at the Park Lane end........and got lost.Had to make my own way home to Lordship Lane. I think mum gave him hell!!!!
In all of the pleasure in seeing Mauricio Pochettino sign a new 5 year deal, the change in his title and role has been given little coverage. I recall Spurf commenting that MP understands that it is all about the details and his desire to co-ordinate everything confirms this. This is how we'll keep him at our club. He's a bright man. He passed an MBA upon retiring from the game and negotiates his own contracts. He wants to learn and wants to manage in the SAF manner rather than be the flavour of the month that is sacked in 12 months as happens at loony bins like Real Madrid, Chelsea, etc. Daniel Levy is obviously mightily impressed (with good cause) and is ceding responsibilities to MP whilst he concentrates on the ground and Spurs Lodge. “It is important today, the football has changed and moved on,” he said. “It is more specific, the job, but you need to co-ordinate all. To succeed in the future, you need to co-ordinate, not only to be focused on the game. “Ok you are head coach, you manage your team, you decide on your starting 11 that you want to play - but you need to be involved in signing players for your style [and] to take care of the club in the financial side, to understand the financial side - because if not maybe now I go to Daniel [Levy, the chairman] and say: ‘I want Messi’. And he says: ‘You are crazy, we don’t have enough money to bring him’. I think it is very important. For me, it represents more my job – manager - than head coach.” Giving additional responsibility to proven staff such as Mauricio Pochettino and John McDermott is infinitely preferable to gambling on outside appointments and shows more organic growth which can only be a good thing.
I've tried to preach many times, onto several deaf ears too, that the team manager is the one who knows what his team needs. Where he is weak, or short handed. Not some overpaid, and in many cases, overhyped, DOF.
It's interesting... Levy has over the years appeared to be dead set on implementing a structure that has a DOF role. The continental way as I believe he put it. Redknapp wasn't having any of that but AVB did. I believe Poch's success this season has meant that he can name his own terms.
I think because Levy is a good judge of character and fully understands the business side he has given successive 'managers' as much, or as little, responsibility as he feels they warrant. Pochettino has earned Levy's respect by his attention to detail, all top business men would notice this, and of course his results on the pitch. Levy's apparent keenness on DOF's was, I believe, more to do with his lack of confidence in the average football managers financial abilities. DOF's would probably speak in a language that Levy was more familiar and more comfortable with. I wouldn't mind betting that Redknapp scared the life out of him at times although I've no doubt he admired Harry's football knowledge.
I can completely understand the idea behind employing a DoF, especially in today's climate of impatience with managers. The problem is that you add another layer that can obscure the faults in the team and where the blame should land. If you're not succeeding on the pitch, then is it down to the DoF bringing in the wrong players or the manager failing to utilise them correctly? Having somebody overseeing the on-field activities from top to bottom and the scouting makes sense, in theory. If you've got a vision of how your side wants to play in the long term and bring in suitable coaches, then I get it. Trying to get the whole club moving in the same direction seems extremely sensible. It's just that the whole thing's extremely hard to get working and lots of managers hate it. One of the problems that we've faced in recent years has been the massive differences between our managers. When we switch from one to the next, we often need to clear out about half of the squad and assess all of our youth players, too. There's no continuity or consistency, as we change from a cavalier 4-4-2 to a pragmatic, European 4-2-3-1 who dominate possession. Sides who have one style of play, regardless of who's at the helm at any time, don't face this issue. Everton seemed to actually benefit from this clash when Moyes left and Martinez took over, somewhat counter-intuitively. The solidity and organisation at the back was already there, so the new coach could show off his strengths and play decent football. As the old habits died out and players were replaced, this all fell apart, the defence went to pot and now the manager's gone.
Feel the title is heading to WHL soon. 5th in his first season, 2nd in his second, it looks good. Liverpool need to do next season what Spurs did this season as I feel they are one season behind Spurs.
I'm not sure.Next season a lot of clubs will be going for it.We missed our chance because of silly results. Leicester and Chelsea won it the last two seasons because everyone was beating up on each other while those two managed to pick up points. Mind you,Spurs and Leicester weren't expected to be up there......
