An excellent article written by the top English sports journo, based in Brazil, Tim Vickery. http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/espnfcunited/id/10526?cc=5739 In it he cites the inspiration and huge influence of Marcelo Bielsa and how Pochettino is adapting it his way. EDIT: The accompanying article from Michael Cox is a pretty damn good read too: http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/tacticsandanalysis/id/2193?cc=5739
"...if it's accurate to say that many of the Saints youngsters are now in the shop window, the same is true of the coach. Far bigger clubs than Southampton will surely be keeping a watchful eye on Mauricio Pochettino." I wish people would stop making me stress by saying things like that.
Two good articles - thanks for hyperlinking them onto the board. Always a mixture of amusement and annoyance though when I read the comments on the bottom of the articles. Talking to fans where I live; they all like the way we play, very complimentary about what we have achieved so far - but all will caveat that we will not win silverware and all because they have stereotypical football views; you can only be a big-four team if you have paid huge sums to fill your squads and you can only succeed in football by this method. Underlying this belief is not that 'money talks' - but an unwillingness to accept you can be successful by other means and that is an unpaletable thought; that somehow your expensively acquired squad is, somehow, inferior to what we have seen created Saints and those languishing midtable year after year are also failing to acheive anything of note because of the way their clubs are being run. If this run continues (maybe it's a revolution if you want to call it that) - the plaudits singing our praises will start to turn into jackels willing us to fail because we are breaking the mould that has held a stranglehold over the Premiership since its inception - so long may our rise continue and I hope other so-called less fashionable clubs follow our business model and threaten the big four (but not be so successful of course).
Yeah, I know. I managed to scan over that line without too much strain. I remind myself that other clubs don't have Cortese, and they're safe while they're just keep an eye on MP.
Some good points, RS. Thing is, Saints are years ahead of other clubs because the infrastructure, tradition and the reputation is in place at SFC. The basis of any future success is going to come on the foundations of the Academy, whatever else Saints do. Other clubs simply do not pay close enough attention to their academies, or don't budget enough for them, or simply can't afford to budget for them properly. Look at Crewe Alexandra. A fabulous academy for the lower leagues, but they can only go so far with it. The rest of the English clubs have missed a trick, and thankfully Staplewood made Saints perfectly positioned to take advantage. All it needed was one man's vision and another man's money.
Agree Secondstain with regard to getting the infrastructure right. NC, in my view, is a genius when it comes to football management. Every step has be planned and excecuted; from the expansion of Staplewood in that first season in League 1; the purchase of Lambert, Fonte and the others who have helped us along the way. His ability to sell his aspirations to potential players, support staff and managers - to get the mix right at each stage of development through the leagues - so very refreshing to see in what is perceived by many of us (including me) as a very cynical profession. NC seems to be the Steve Jobs of modern football.
Some excellent responses on this thread that express how I feel about the current state of our club more eloquently than I could.
I hate to say this but has it occurred to anyone that this might not work forever? I wish I could tell you how much I hate myself for saying that but it's at least a possibility. It may prove to be a style of play that can be countered. I don't know how yet but I'm not a football manager looking hard at us and trying to counter it. I just hope we're not staking our future hopes on something that might not last. Someone help me and tell me I'm wrong, please. Vin
Not too worried Vin, after all, working hard as a team will always have a place in football, even if we do get somewhat figured out.
You're wrong, Vin. Does that help..? Look, there is no one best way to play, but Bayern Munich use this method, Barcelona often use this method, and several South American teams use it too. The tactic makes the most of the collective players abilities, but they all have to be committed to it, otherwise it doesn't work. Do yourself a favour and don't anticipate failure before we've even begun to enjoy possible future success.
It didn't work great in the run in to last season and, at times, we got caught on the counter. Wanyama and Lovren have added solidity to our defence and with Lallana and Lambert on form, we've learn to score goals.
Oh dear, you are a pessimist big time, don't worry, we will be 3 up at the Emirates when a giant asteroid wipes out the Earth, if that happens I will be really annoyed and extremely disappointed.
No, I'm not a pessimist in any way, shape or form. I'm rather stupidly optimistic, in fact, if you look through my posts. Just looking for reassurance. Look, I'm heavily into us for money, so I can't be a pessimist. Also, the guy who works for me is an Arsenal fan, so I'm into him heavily for having the pee taken forever if we lose as I've been larging it up for a week. I genuinely believe we'll end up at the top within a month. I just want it to last forever and I need reasons why it will. Vin
But Poch only came in in Jan and the team were learning how to play the style. Also i think the full season with Pochy has helped enormously.
I don't say you are a pessimist, Vin. All I say is, enjoy the success and don't anticipate failure when it isn't even likely, at the moment. I have a mate who looks forward to the summer only. When it is over he falls into a mock depression [I say mock because I know it is fake] and brings everyone down in mood. He's having a hugely funny time because he's controlling other people's moods around him. I just tell him to **** off with his mood [because I genuinely hate the winter and colder months] and enjoy what there is. So OK, he does that, but here's the rub - when summer is just about to hit he tells scenarios about when it is all over and the nights draw in and it becomes colder. Now he genuinely feels this, I know, and the crucial thing is, he is anticipating the disappointment of the summer being over before it is even begun. Don't do that with Southampton FC. On the horizon there is no prospect of failure. A top-half finish would be a success, but we hope for much better. This club is going places because [to paraphrase the words of that great philosopher, Jay Rodriquez], it isn't standing still..!
We are all getting over-excited, but there's no reason not to. Whether the wheels of this current run fall off or not, even if we sink to upper-mid table, we have still made a massive statement this season already. There is another way to run a football club, without an oil baron pumping money in. It just needs a visionary chairman and an exceptional academy. When you take everything into account, as well as the fact that the average age of the first team is about 24, the only way is up for us in my opinion.
