A serious look at Mauricio Pochettino

GlastonSpur

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1 win and he is back.

Edit: I mean back with taking cheap shots after going into hiding for few weeks.

Also don't talk about CL too much, very good chance Spurs won't be in it too next season.
First, we're talking about Pochettino in relation to United, not Spurs.

Second, it's not a cheap shot - it's a valid point about whether Pochettino would be willing to step down to the EL just for the sake of coming to United, when he'll have his pick of perhaps several big European clubs all playing in the CL.

Third, Spurs have won two games in the last few weeks prior to Saturday's win (neither of which results I commented on) and in fact have lost only 1 game in 5 weeks and more - and that was away to Liverpool. So not much there to "hide" from.

My last few posts prior to today have all been about the managerial change at Spurs. Would you have preferred me to comment instead on our progress in the CL group stages and the 9 goals scored without reply in our last 2 CL games? Or perhaps our draw away to Everton? Either way, I'll post when I want to and not when you think I should or about whatever topic you may have in mind.
 

roonster09

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First, we're talking about Pochettino in relation to United, not Spurs.

Second, it's not a cheap shot - it's a valid point about whether Pochettino would be willing to step down to the EL just for the sake of coming to United, when he'll have his pick of perhaps several big European clubs all playing in the CL.

Third, Spurs have won two games in the last few weeks prior to Saturday's win (neither of which results I commented on) and in fact have lost only 1 game in 5 weeks and more - and that was away to Liverpool. So not much there to "hide" from.

My last few posts prior to today have all been about the managerial change at Spurs. Would you have preferred me to comment instead on our progress in the CL group stages and the 9 goals scored without reply in our last 2 CL games? Or perhaps our draw away to Everton? Either way, I'll post when I want to and not when you think I should or about whatever topic you may have in mind.
Or maybe he won’t have pick of all the top European clubs.

well you can post whenever you want to and I can comment on anything I want to. If you want to know my preference I would rather not post about it here, it would be too harsh.
 

mu4c_20le

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Second, it's not a cheap shot - it's a valid point about whether Pochettino would be willing to step down to the EL just for the sake of coming to United, when he'll have his pick of perhaps several big European clubs all playing in the CL.
He is also linked with Arsenal. CL doesn't matter when the club is big enough.
 

GlastonSpur

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Didn't seem to bother Jose, who has a much better CV than Potchettino
The difference is that Spurs, unlike United, are already in the CL this season. So he's come to a club that's playing CL football.
 

GlastonSpur

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How does that relate to what I said whatsoever?
Sorry, I assumed that you were referring to Mourinho coming to Spurs now rather than his going to United previously.

I'm not saying there's no chance of Pochettino being willing to come to United, but it's likely he'll have competing offers from one or two big European clubs with CL football on offer.
 

Posh Red

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Sorry, I assumed that you were referring to Mourinho coming to Spurs now rather than his going to United previously.

I'm not saying there's no chance of Pochettino being willing to come to United, but it's likely he'll have competing offers from one or two big European clubs with CL football on offer.
You could be right. I hope we try though
 

Zen86

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I’d imagine United would be perfect for Poch. We’re a big club, he’ll have money to spend and there’ll be no immediate expectation for trophies. He would be daft to not want the job if he had the offer.
 

dev1l

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Apparently he cannot coach another team before the end of this season - according to his agreement with Spurs
 

Xaviesta

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I hope Bayern take a serious look at Pochettino and end up appointing so Erik Ten Haag remains an option for Barcelona if Ernesto Valverde's tenure ends at the end of the season.
 

jackal&hyde

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I’d imagine United would be perfect for Poch. We’re a big club, he’ll have money to spend and there’ll be no immediate expectation for trophies. He would be daft to not want the job if he had the offer.
Did you not see the forum or social media? If we're not top 4 by November he will be considered crap.
 

mu4c_20le

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Linked to Arsenal, he would never manage Arsenal, said so himself. Of course he could have jut been talking shit, but doesn't seem the type, unlike Jose. :D
I was going to say it was a pundit that suggested he wouldn't care. Then I realized it was Paul Merson.
 

thegregster

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Linked to Arsenal, he would never manage Arsenal, said so himself. Of course he could have jut been talking shit, but doesn't seem the type, unlike Jose. :D
All bets are off when a manager is sacked.

He owes Spurs nothing.
 

lysglimt

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It puzzles me that so many people don't see the problem in hiring a guy who performed so poorly over the last almost 18 months - and by all accounts turned the majority of his players against him. That was why I was opposed to us getting Mourinho.

To me that is a major warning flag. If we had been after Pochettino 18 months ago, I would be all for it. But when a manager can turn a team from one of the best in the League to losing 50% of the matches in his last 36 matches for Spurs - now that is a serious warning sign.
 

theyneverlearn

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It puzzles me that so many people don't see the problem in hiring a guy who performed so poorly over the last almost 18 months - and by all accounts turned the majority of his players against him. That was why I was opposed to us getting Mourinho.

To me that is a major warning flag. If we had been after Pochettino 18 months ago, I would be all for it. But when a manager can turn a team from one of the best in the League to losing 50% of the matches in his last 36 matches for Spurs - now that is a serious warning sign.
Personally I feel that the team stopped performing as they didn’t continue to recruit. Without competition players get lazy and don’t push themselves. It’s known that making a few changes each year refreshes the squad and keeps players on their toes. Without this, you see performances drop and players don’t work as hard.

I also feel that it must be extremely difficult getting players back in the right mood after such a defeat as in the CL final. To be so close to the pinnacle, but to be left with nothing must take it out of a player, manager and the staff.

The summer would have been the right time to leave, but they stuck with each other even though the relationship was looking strained towards the end of last year. You can’t blame the board or Poch for trying to work it out, they had a good few years together.

Poch is still a top coach and he and the players just needed a change of atmosphere around them. Just look at what he achieved and how he and his team turned the fortunes of Spurs around, the squad he left behind is a clear indication of quality. I’d happily take him at United.
 

Champ

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Personally I feel that the team stopped performing as they didn’t continue to recruit. Without competition players get lazy and don’t push themselves. It’s known that making a few changes each year refreshes the squad and keeps players on their toes. Without this, you see performances drop and players don’t work as hard.

I also feel that it must be extremely difficult getting players back in the right mood after such a defeat as in the CL final. To be so close to the pinnacle, but to be left with nothing must take it out of a player, manager and the staff.

The summer would have been the right time to leave, but they stuck with each other even though the relationship was looking strained towards the end of last year. You can’t blame the board or Poch for trying to work it out, they had a good few years together.

Poch is still a top coach and he and the players just needed a change of atmosphere around them. Just look at what he achieved and how he and his team turned the fortunes of Spurs around, the squad he left behind is a clear indication of quality. I’d happily take him at United.
I agree with part of this, however the last window Spurs spent £100m, a huge amount of money, this was the season they were meant to kick on. If he can't motivate his players for this season then it highlights a big big issue with his skills.
Also, it's a bit of a myth to say he changed spurs fortunes, they had 4th,5th and 6th place finishes before Poch came in, whilst he improved on them he hardly changed their fortunes.
 

cyberman

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I'd be pretty sure that he covets managing a team that at least plays in the Champion's League, which it doesn't look likely that United will be.
Not sure we can trust your feelings about what Poch wants or what his future holds anymore tbh
 

1966

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Personally I feel that the team stopped performing as they didn’t continue to recruit. Without competition players get lazy and don’t push themselves. It’s known that making a few changes each year refreshes the squad and keeps players on their toes. Without this, you see performances drop and players don’t work as hard.

I also feel that it must be extremely difficult getting players back in the right mood after such a defeat as in the CL final. To be so close to the pinnacle, but to be left with nothing must take it out of a player, manager and the staff.

The summer would have been the right time to leave, but they stuck with each other even though the relationship was looking strained towards the end of last year. You can’t blame the board or Poch for trying to work it out, they had a good few years together.

Poch is still a top coach and he and the players just needed a change of atmosphere around them. Just look at what he achieved and how he and his team turned the fortunes of Spurs around, the squad he left behind is a clear indication of quality. I’d happily take him at United.
It wasn't a lack of competition that killed Poch. Almost all of their best players just weren't happy playing for him anymore and he wasn't happy playing with them. That's what created the internal impasse that ended Poch's job. When you can't even get a friend and consummate professional like Kane to back you behind the scenes, you're done.

Of course, Poch losing the players - which is where I place the vast majority of the blame, not on the board - still doesn't necessarily mean that he'll make the same mistakes elsewhere. Five years is a hell of a long time to manage any club these days. It was always incredibly difficult to not only retain but boost standards for so many seasons and from now on, I think it's going to be almost impossible. I could envisage Poch being the last manager to ever lead any club from Europe's elite leagues for more than five years tbh.

There's no more revealing statistic regarding the strange death of Poch at Spurs than the numbers for distance covered per player at last week's West Ham match. Many people, myself included, believed that successive ankle injuries had harmed Kane to the extent that his days of sustained dominance over the whole pitch were done. He physically couldn't run that far or fast anymore, we thought. When, in his first game under Jose, he covered more distance than anyone on the pitch, playing with more energy than I've seen for literally years, I was overjoyed to learn that Kane had suffered minimal long-term impact from his injuries.

I was less happy to realise that Poch had been an albatross around the Spurs neck for far longer than even I had suspected. Almost the whole squad has clearly felt it, albeit to differing degrees, and Jose has already got them - many previously half-assing it intentionally, most with no realistic competition for places, and some still planning to leave at the end of the season - playing like the rough diamond of a team they were at the start of 2015.

The only potential problem with Poch having lost the faith of the players is whether he might do the same again in future. Poch is a man manager, a motivator, not a master tactician by any means. It's only taken Jose two games to demonstrate tactical superiority over Poch. Poch relies on morale and trying to improve individual players, especially in terms of confidence. His tactical weaknesses will be continually exposed as the season goes on, I feel. His tactical rigidity is one factor that will be exposed time and again, as it was by Jose against Olympiakos when the latter did something Poch never did throughout his long tenure and made an unforced first-half substitution.
 
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FootballHQ

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Surely Bayern Munich will re-consider giving Flick the job until end of the season. Think that would be ideal job for him. He'd then meet Spurs in a weeks time.

Of course he might just want a break. He's been in football employment since 2012 I think so that's a long time.

Can see PSG also coming in for him next summer given he did play for them many years ago.
 

Sandikan

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I’d imagine United would be perfect for Poch. We’re a big club, he’ll have money to spend and there’ll be no immediate expectation for trophies. He would be daft to not want the job if he had the offer.
Now this, is something he has superb pedigree for.
 

TheHeya

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I'd prefer to see Ole succeed than bring in Poch, but Poch is a proven elite manager, whereas Ole is not even close so far. Maybe with more time. Its a risk.

But there are some decent managers in the bundesliga, that might be an option if we miss out on Poch.
How is Poch a proven elite manager? Last time I checked him and Ole have they same trophy count. Does finishing second with Spurs once since he took over and reaching two cup finals without winning any makes you elite nowadays.
 

FlawlessThaw

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I'd be concerned of the way things had ended for him at Spurs, seems like Jose just came in and gave the players pick me up which they needed.
 

el3mel

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I'd be concerned of the way things had ended for him at Spurs, seems like Jose just came in and gave the players pick me up which they needed.
He lost the dressing room after what, 5 years? Honestly hardly a concern for me. Bring him for United and let him stay for 5 years then losing the dressing room and I will be pretty happy with that period.
 

MikeKing

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He lost the dressing room after what, 5 years? Honestly hardly a concern for me. Bring him for United and let him stay for 5 years then losing the dressing room and I will be pretty happy with that period.
Even without any trophies?
 

zenith

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Would be even be available right now. I mean, won't he stand to lose his severence package if he were to take up another job in the league before a cooling off period??