Time is a cruel mistress for football managers, especially those that are looking up the table, opposed to down it.
And so there are some interesting extracts from Mauricio Pochettino’s latest press conference, in The York Press ahead of the Sheffield United game later this afternoon.
Spurs are currently in 11th spot and when asked about a Champions League finish this season, it the gaffer drew parallels to his arrival at Tottenham, and that the transition from outside the top four to within it, and that one cannot simply wave a wand.
Poch was asked about the chances of recovery, making up the lost ground.
This is a brave acknowledgement, because Spurs have unquestionably gone backwards, identifiably since last February when one trawls through domestic results.
Some will point to the Champions League final appearance, as if this was an achievement in its own right.
Alas, in professional sports, winning is the metric and that loss in Madrid was merely symptomatic of darker issues that had been clear to see in the domestic results.
“…we cannot move the club forward quick, to accelerate things, we can’t. We cannot accelerate the time. The time is the time and the process is the process.”
The York Press
Will Poch be given the time he needs? If he is, then he will need more new players. The ‘very happy with my squad’ line simply doesn’t stack up when you look at the results of that squad.
Or will Daniel Levy take the possibly cheaper route and see if a new coach can still get a tune out of this group of players?
What’s a “dedicated supporter” nowa days then?
All the club’s playing problems could have been solved with a competent scouting team and a professional transfer committee. Not upgrading the team for two transfer windows has been costly , and combined with allowing valuable players to run down contracts has resulted in our current malaise. Players were out there who could have been bought without wrecking the club’s finances which Levy has managed to do, of course, by going twice over budget for the stadium and one year late for completion. I wonder when an authoritative and well respected journalist, if they exist, is going to do a warts and all expose of Levy’s time at Spurs, instead of leaving it to the dedicated supporters on this blog.