Spurs managers have been sacked
for better runs than this. Since Liverpool, in no great form themselves, showed
up Spurs’ early season optimism for what it was back in August, Mauricio
Pochettino’s flops have only won one match at the Lane, over Southampton. Results
against the top four teams used to Spurs achilles heel. Now the likes of West Brom,
Newcastle and now Stoke City are routinely plundering points at White Hart Lane.
It is fair to say that Pochettino
is still working out his best eleven. He has chopped and changed the team with
increasing regularity. Even so, the line up against stoke took most by surprise.
It was a brave call (or stupid depending on your point of view) to play
Federico Fazio after two red cards in seven games rather than Jan Vertonghen who
did not play in the midweek Europa league game. Playing Harry Kane in place of
Adebayor (another who was not involved in midweek) as a lone striker after a
full ninety minutes in midweek was also asking a lot of young Harry despite the
loud clamouring from the crowd. Leaving two of the most experienced players on
the bench would no doubt lead to questions about his relationship with those
two in particular.
In any event, Federico Fazio
would have been relieved to get through the match without being sent off.
However, he had a poor game as did the rest of the back four. Anyone who
captained a top La Liga team to the Europa league deserves a bit of credit and
time to settle into new surroundings. The Premier league is an unforgiving
league though and Faz hasn’t done the business yet for Spurs. One hopes he has
the tough character needed to come through. In midfield, the disorganisation
was unbelievable. Pochettino likes his midfield to press but to be taken out of
the game with one pass as they were for both goals is simply unacceptable. Stoke
bossed the midfield play for pretty much the entire game apart from a brief
period of panic when Nacer Chadli scored in the seventy fifth minute.
Speaking of Chadli, I have been
highly critical of his performances in the past. However, he appears to have
stepped up his game recently this season and has been Spurs’ most consistent
outfield performer as his six league goals show. Harry Kane toiled fruitlessly upfront with
hardly any service. He had one good chance in the first minute and not much
else. Christian Eriksson is also struggling badly to recapture the form of last
season. Ryan Mason seems out a gas a bit and probably needs a rest after his
run of games. Andros Townsend is used to be called a cheap Gareth Bale, but he
was more Gareth Anonymous yesterday before being replaced for the second half. Etienne
Capoue is hard to judge as a defensive midfielder. He doesn’t seem mobile
enough but is not helped by being isolated most of the time.
Spurs have what those in the
boxing trade call a glass chin. Their midfield can be got at too easily and
this exposes a defence still searching for form and confidence to sustained
pressure. Without a strong midfield, Spurs struggle to control matches. This is
why teams fancy their chances at the Lane right now. This is evidenced by the
fact that goalkeeper Hugo Lloris has been Spurs best player this season. He has
simply had to make far too many saves for a club with top four aspirations.
Pochettino’s biggest problem is that
the club he and half the first team left behind are flying so high right now, with
a manager who has never managed in the premiership before. Perhaps the structural
deficiencies in terms of player balance at Spurs are only now just being brutally
exposed. Watching Gylfi Sigurdsson blossoming in a Swansea shirt also makes me
wonder if he was allowed to go too quickly. He seems the type of player that
could have adapted quickly to Pochettino’s methods.
Pochettino says he does not feel any
pressure (He has a five year contract after all) and it is too early for his
position to be at risk, even by Spurs trigger happy standards. However, he took
this job on the premise that he could improve this team and while there is not
a quick fix, the reconstruction is very painful viewing for fans. Despite modest success at Espanyol and Southampton,
this is the job that will show exactly how good a coach Pochettino is. Spurs
must hope that this Argentinian is more like Diego Simeone and less like Ossie
Ardiles.
No comments:
Post a Comment