Just a few short years ago, the excitable media were praising an emerging Spurs side under Mauricio Pochettino. They had started to mount a challenge for the title in successive seasons and although they fell short, many thought that Spurs were just one more season from a significant trophy. The fact that they reached the Champions League final against Liverpool last season was more evidence that Spurs were in the ascendancy.
Over the same period, Arsenal had deteriorated under Arsene Wenger, which appeared to re-enforce the concept that there had been a power shift in North London. In reality, it proved to be too early to assume that Arsenal’s neighbours had made significant steps forward to rival their own level of success because they began to implode.
They lost the Champions League final to Liverpool in a game where defence cancelled out the attack and the Merseysiders took the few chances that came their way.
Then there was the infamous affair where a player slept with his team mate’s wife, creating a massive rift in the Spurs dressing room. Pochettino was unable to resolve or manage the situation and this failure led to a series of poor results but even worse, he started to lose the dressing room.
The media were still on board with the Argentinian’s revolution but as results continued to slump, the only ones that mattered, the Tottenham board, ran out of patience.
Before his sacking, Mauricio Pochettino was being touted as a manager for Manchester United where Betting odds at UK online casinos seemed to suggest him as the next in line to take over from Solskjaer, and had he jumped ship at that point, he wouldn’t have had to suffer the indignity of being sacked and a small dent in his reputation.
For an impartial observer, the meltdown of the club and manager was reasonably unexpected but as an Arsenal fan, it made for an amusing viewing. For Gunners fans who had been on the receiving end of taunts and abuse from the Spurs faithful, it was a moment to savour but if anyone took the time to analyse the situation, there were obvious comparisons between the two.
Spurs refused to invest massively in their squad even after reaching the Champions League final, preferring to go with what they had. They’d adopted Arsenal’s appetite for sirloin steak on a corned beef budget and in the long run, the inability of Mauricio Pochettino to get his bosses to back him with hard cash probably cost him his job.
The stadium that cost over £1bn to construct at the expense of a competitive team has made the Spurs board look completely stupid and naive. The same mistake Arsenal made after the Invincibles season.
Pochettino was found wanting when it came to man-management because he should have assumed control of the dressing room during the ‘affair’ to keep the harmony of the group. Instead, the two individuals involved managed to split the camp.
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The Spurs boss should have sold the player responsible or the one he thought was less crucial to the club, instead, he appeared weak. Wenger’s decision to allow Sanchez and Ozil special dispensation virtually ended his reign after the team became fragmented and performances suffered.
The Present :
Mourinho was appointed Spurs successor before Pochettino was even sacked which was a total embarrassment, but fans instantly thought that a cure had been found. However, key injuries and speculation that three or more stars are unhappy haven’t exactly improved their results or position. Could he be the Spurs equivalent of Unai Emery?
The attacking flair has given way to a more methodical, tactical and mechanical style of play but that’s what you get with Mourinho. The promise of silverware at the expense of pretty football. The power shift didn’t last very long and Spurs have still been unable to put a trophy in the cabinet.
