Mauricio Pochettino’s time as Tottenham Hotspur manager is generally viewed in a positive light by
the club’s fans, despite his failure to deliver major silverware. His team mounted a strong bid to win the Premier League title in 2016/17, but they ultimately finished seven points adrift of eventual champions Chelsea.
The team’s record of just two draws during Pochettino’s last full campaign at Tottenham
undoubtedly made draw no bet an interesting prospect for sports bettors in 2018/19.
He also defied the odds to guide Spurs to the Champions League final that season, but was
subsequently sacked in November after a poor run of results.
Purely from a Premier League perspective, Pochettino clearly has strong claims to be classified as the
greatest manager during that era. However, despite alternative options being fairly thin on the ground, we think a strong case can be made for a couple of candidates to challenge Pochettino.
Martin Jol – 2004 – 2007
Initially appointed as an assistant to Jacques Santini in 2004, Jol was fast-tracked into the top job
after the Frenchman surprisingly resigned in November that year. He had previously built up a respectable reputation in Dutch football with Roda JC and RKC Waalwijk, before being thrown in at the deep end in the Premier League. Jol led Tottenham to the verge of European qualification in his first season, but a final-day draw at home to Blackburn Rovers scuppered their hopes.
He garnered further improvement the following season, guiding Spurs to within one match of
beating local rivals Arsenal to Champions League qualification.
Tottenham secured fifth spot again at the end of the next campaign, but an underwhelming start to
the 2007/08 season resulted in Jol being sacked. Jol was responsible for persuading Gareth Bale to sign for Tottenham from Southampton – a move which benefited the club on the pitch and when he was eventually sold to Real Madrid.
The Dutchman improved Tottenham during his time with the club, but his efforts were not quite
enough to be categorised as the club’s greatest Premier League manager.
Harry Redknapp – 2008 – 2012 Tottenham were bottom of the table with just two points from their opening eight league games when Redknapp was appointed in 2008, but he quickly turned things around.
They finished eighth and reached the League Cup final in Redknapp’s first season with the club and
made further improvements the following season. Tottenham claimed fourth spot and Champions League qualification, resulting in Redknapp winning
the Premier League Manager of the Year award. His team finished fifth and fourth over the next couple of seasons, playing a style of football that earned plenty of plaudits from fans and pundits alike.
However, they missed out on Champions League qualification due to Chelsea winning the
competition in 2011/12, and Redknapp was sacked after failing to agree terms on a new contract.
Redknapp’s spell at Tottenham was unquestionably positive, and he would likely have won
silverware with them had he remained in charge.
Given that he worked during a period where chairman Daniel Levy kept a tight grip on the club’s
finances, Redknapp deserves a ton of praise for the job he did.
Mauricio Pochettino – 2014 – 2019
Pochettino replaced Tim Sherwood in May 2014 and set about sending Tottenham fans on a journey
that they still remember with extreme fondness. While his style of play was not quite as eye-catching as Redknapp’s, his methods almost delivered major silverware to a club which had been starved of success. Tottenham secured three consecutive top three finishes under Pochettino and would have won the title in 2016/17 but for Chelsea’s brilliance.
Players such as Harry Kane, Heung-min Son and Christian Eriksen shone under the Argentinian, but
they were ultimately unable to win a trophy. Tottenham’s run to the 2018/19 Champions League final should have been the catalyst for the club to kick on, but Levy refused to build on the foundations Pochettino had laid. He was sacked in November 2019 with Tottenham 14th in the table and has since gone on to manage Paris Saint-Germain, Chelsea and the United States national team.
Pochettino’s time in charge can ultimately be viewed as ‘what might have been’, but he did enough
to be called Tottenham’s greatest Premier League manager.