A guest blog from Daniel Woodley to keep you on your toes and thinking...
WHEN MAURICIO Pochettino was appointed Tottenham Hotspur head coach just under a year ago his task was simple: lay down your foundations and look to build a team capable for an assault on UEFA Champions League qualification in 2015-2016.
With 56 games gone, and just one remaining, plans are already underway ahead of the summer transfer market.
This has been one of Tottenham’s longest seasons in recent years and one which has brought plenty of optimism, but also frustration.
With a new man at the helm, and expectations the lowest they have been at White Hart Lane for a number of years, Pochettino hasn’t been under any pressure to qualify for Europe’s elite competition.
Instead he has been able to assemble a core group of young, hungry players who he hopes will deliver success for the Club in the coming years. Installing the mental strength and belief within the group is testament to his abilities as a head coach and it is hoped he can build on the positive things that have happened this season.
Currently Spurs sit sixth in the Barclays Premier League table, one point behind Liverpool and one ahead of Southampton, with only a trip to Everton to come next Sunday. It has been a season of highs and lows with impressive victories against Arsenal and Chelsea coupled with poor results against Manchester United and Stoke City.
A strong performance in the UEFA Europa League was enjoyed with Italian side Fiorentina eventually knocking them out of Europe in the last 16 but it was their run in the Capital One Cup which was the closest they came to cup success.
Victories over Nottingham Forest, Brighton & Hove Albion, Newcastle United and Sheffield United took them all the way to the Final where they were to play Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea. Despite battling hard, and hitting the crossbar in the first couple of minutes, they suffered a 2-0 defeat but their performance was praised by many in the game.
Their young side’s mental strength has been a testament to the Club this season and there has been many players that have taken on board Pochettino’s philosophy and used it to stake a claim for a regular starting spot – and in particular one man.
Since the start of the campaign the rising talent of Harry Kane has eclipsed that of many players in the Barclays Premier League. After scoring 30 goals this year, the first Tottenham player to do so since Gary Lineker did for the Club back in 1991-92, much more is expected of the 21-year old next year.
After scoring on his England debut back in March the Spurs supporter is hoping to kick-on along with many other young players that Pochettino has guided.
Under the tutelage of the Argentine players like Nabil Bentaleb and Ryan Mason have improved vastly this season and are two of the first names on the team-sheet each week.
Eric Dier, signed from Sporting Lisbon last summer, is another who has impressed and even though there have been times when he has found life tough that is expected of a young player who has never tasted top flight football in England before.
Finally left-back Danny Rose has been one of the most improved players in the league. After a difficult start to the season his form in recent months have shown why he was picked for Roy Hodgson’s squad for the recent internationals against Italy and Lithuania. Injuries eventually forced him to miss both clashes but he will come back even stronger next season.
That spine will remain intact over the summer but many of their team-mates will be packing their bags ready for a summer transfer.
Ahead of the final home game of the season against Hull City last Saturday Chairman Daniel Levy wrote a letter to the fans informing them of the Clubs plans ahead of next season:
“We have continued to challenge in the top six and reached the League Cup Final where we saw our young team put in a spirited performance against a side that would go on to win the League.
We have been able to give playing time to young players coming through the ranks – and we have certainly seen exciting new talent for the future emerge.The life in performance mid-season, however, raised all our expectations, such that we have been disappointed by our more recent results. We need to ensure that we have a balance of experienced and home grown players. Perhaps we had lost our way a bit, so this will be our guiding principle as we embark on the summer transfer window.
This summer we shall look to make changes to support Mauricio’s plans for next season.”
It has been all-change at the Club since their most-prized asset Gareth Bale was sold for a whopping £86m almost two years ago. That summer Spurs spent in excess of £100m trying to assemble a squad to challenge the Premier League’s elite.
What has happened since then has been a total disaster with many of the signings that followed proving to be costly misses. Etienne Capoue, Nacer Chadli, Vlad Chiriches, Christian Eriksen, Erik Lamela, Paulinho and Roberto Soldado were all signed however only two of them have been successful.
Chadli and Eriksen are regulars in the side and this season have contributed 25 goals and 8 assists between them. They are two players who Pochettino will look to use to greater effect next season.
Former England assistant boss Franco Baldini was charged with the task of replacing Bale and building a strong competitive squad and so the Italian used his many contacts in the game to acquire the seven new recruits.
However, just a couple of years on, he has now been given a new task: find five of them new clubs.
The appointment of Paul Mitchell, who was Pochettino’s head of recruitment at Southampton during their time together on the South Coast, was met with relief at White Hart Lane back in November with Levy desperate to land the 33-year old who was a man in demand at many top clubs.
This has sparked speculation that Baldini could be on his way out of the Club but Levy wants him to sit down with a number of players’ agents and find them new clubs.
Last week Pochettino was clear in his assessment of the squad and stated that no-one was assured a spot in his plans for 2015-2016: “Always, you need to analyse the last season. Nobody is sure that they are staying at the club.
“I do not have the same possibility to spend a lot of money like the manager here two seasons ago. We need to be clever in the way that we build the new squad, because it is difficult to compete with the money. We want good players, with the right profile.”
It is clear that any head coach or manager will not publicly state which players are no longer needed but Pochettino did hint that it is defensive additions which will take greater priority in the coming months:
“When we beat Arsenal 2-1 or when we beat Chelsea 5-3, we were not boring. In football, you always have to accept all opinions but it doesn’t affect our decisions or our plan for the future.
We are the only team with three players with more than 10 goals each – Harry Kane, Nacer Chadli and Christian Eriksen. Not Chelsea, not Arsenal, not another team has three players.
But we need to find a better balance between offensive and defensive and be more consistent. We need to improve a lot in our defensive situation.”
Tottenham have conceded the same amount of goals as relegated Burnley have this season. A stat which doesn’t make good reading for a club looking to challenge the big boys.
It is expected that Chiriches and French defender Younes Kaboul will be leaving the Club. Kaboul was even made club captain at the start of the season in one of Pochettino’s stranger decisions. The former Portsmouth defender hasn’t made an appearance for the side since February and Chiriches has constantly been a liability all year. His sending-off at Stoke City last weekend was the final nail in his coffin.
Tall defender Federico Fazio was signed from Sevilla for £8m last summer but he has failed to adapt to the pace and strength of the English game. With a number of transfer targets lined-up the Argentine could also be headed for the exit door.
Other players looking for new clubs include Capoue, Paulinho and much-maligned Emmanuel Adebayor. The Togolese striker has been a major headache for the club and his exit will be met with joy and relief around the Club. His £100,000 a week wages will help ease the wage budget and give Pochettino the chance to use that figure to greater use.
Erik Lamela and Roberto Soldado have been big misses for Spurs. After spending over £50m on the pair the Club could look to move them onto pastures new but it is thought that Pochettino is willing to keep faith in them if he can’t land other targets.
Lamela he has been criticised by many for his lack of inspiration and strength which is needed to be a success in the Premier League. There is no doubt he has an abundance of skill and talent, which he showed in Serie A for AS Roma before moving to North London, but his lightweight build and creativity-less ways have been frustrating for many Spurs fans.
As for Soldado the Premier League is simply not made for his style of play. Whilst the play in England is fast and can be direct, La Liga is at the opposite end of the spectrum.
Spanish football is played with a more technical edge and Soldado benefits from a slower game with early crosses into the box for him to meet.
It is no secret that the former Valencia-man has looked more lively and threatening in European competition then he has in the Premier League.
Other players who Pochettino will be looking to offload include Lewis Holtby and Aaron Lennon, both on-loan at Schalke 04 and Everton respectively and Frenchman Benjamin Stambouli who is interesting Marseille.
In effect this summer Pochettino and Spurs will be looking to put right the wrongs of two years ago. With many players expected to depart it will be a busy period for the revolving doors at the training centre with many going in as well as out.
The former Saints and Espanyol head coach has already targeted a host of players who he wants next season.
One of those is Toby Alderweireld who is currently on-loan at former club Southampton from Atletico Madrid.
Even though there is an agreed price between the two clubs there is a buy-out clause for the Spanish side of £1.5m.
They know they can exercise this and sell him for even more money to Spurs who are looking to partner him with current Belgian centre-half Jan Vertonghen.
It is expected that Vertonghen has been tasked with trying to convince Alderweireld that he should move to N17. With the two international team-mates at the heart of the defence next season it would give Tottenham that defensive stability that they have been missing for many years.
With the constant transfer speculation regarding Morgan Schneiderlin, another Southampton star, it is thought the Frenchman could indeed be on his way out of St Marys. His next destination is still up in the air though with a number of clubs interested in his services. Pochettino is hoping he and Mitchell can tempt the 25-year old that White Hart Lane is the best place for him.
One player that has been constantly linked to a move to Spurs is Ukrainian international Yevhan Konoplyanka who currently plays for Dnipro and is out of contract in the summer.
The Ukraine side have reached their first ever European final after defeating Napoli 2-1 on aggregate last Thursday in their UEFA Europa League Semi-Final and the 25-year old was a constant threat to the Italian sides defence. His quick feet and movement would be a valuable asset to any side in the Premier League.
The winger almost joined Liverpool for £15m last year and has expressed his regret at turning down the move:
“I am sorry I didn’t join Liverpool when they wanted me but this Europa League final will help me get over that.”
Tottenham have sent scouts in recent weeks to have a look at Konoplyanka who scored a memorable goal from range against England at Wembley in 2013 but they face a battle for his signature with a whole host of other clubs interested in his services.
It has been claimed by The Sun that Spurs are hoping to tie-up a deal for him in the next few weeks but the Ukrainians are looking to sign Konoplyanka to a new contract and then sell him this summer just so they get a transfer fee for him.
With Alex Pritchard returning from a loan spell with Brentford and Konoplyanka in the ranks Spurs will have pace on the wings which they have missed all season.
Finally with Harry Kane their only regular attacking goalscorer this season the Club have effectively been playing with one striker for the whole season.
With this mind a move for another forward is expected in the close season. Rumours of Jackson Martinez are gathering pace on a weekly basis but with North London rivals Arsenal also sniffing around the Colombian that deal looks a long way off currently.
One player who is joining Tottenham though is Austrian international defender Kevin Wimmer. According to the Daily Mirror the 22-year old has put pen to paper on a four-year deal which will go through on July 1st.
The Cologne defender will cost the club £4.3m and has shown huge potential for the Germans this season.
This summer will certainly be one of major change at Tottenham Hotspur. With the Club given the green light to finally start building their new 60,000 plus stadium next to their current one in time for the 2018-2019 season optimism for the future is growing.
They now need to turn their attentions to ensure that the playing squad next year is one that can challenge the likes of Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool and the Manchester clubs for that coveted Champions League place. It certainly won’t be an easy task, and there is sure to be even more ups and downs for us Spurs fans, however, a summer of overhaul is desperately needed.
As Pochettino puts it:
“We need to learn and look forward. We have a different plan to develop over the next few years and we need to deliver it.”
Those words, coupled with the comments from the Chairman above, is something the fans have been wanting to hear for a long time. Time for change is now and hopefully we will get it.
