Do you have a knife in the house?
Go nuts
:lamelashock:
Paulinho did this.
It didn't work out well for him.
-
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Manager Mauricio Pochettino
- Thread starter WHITE&BLUE
- Start date
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Paulinho did this.
It didn't work out well for him.
Tottenham win title for youthful promise and being the most watchable
Spurs’ achievements under Mauricio Pochettino this season deserve at least a slice of the adulation being lavished on fairytale champions-elect Leicester City
Mauricio Pochettino has made Tottenham the most compelling team in the Premier League and they can look forward to another title challenge next season.
Barney Ronay
If you’ve somehow managed to miss the opening eight months of the Premier League season you could have picked up a pretty decent precis of the action so far just by watching Sunday’s games at the Stadium of Light and White Hart Lane. Basically it’s been like that all along.
Leicester City have scored lots of breakaway goals and played like a proper team. It’s been emotional. People have cried. The usual heavyweights have ranged from poor to bafflingly dreadful.
And beyond that Tottenham Hotspur have been the most watchable, most promising, most intriguing team in the league this season. All issues of sentiment, underdoggery and fairytale glee aside, it is an achievement that deserves at least a slice of the adulation being lavished on the champions-elect.
This is not to suggest Leicester are unworthy league winners. The table is never wrong. Leicester have been the most consistent team by some way, seven points clear and not so much sprinting for the line as already off on one of those helmet-doffing, high-fiving home-run trundles around the baseball diamond, waving to the crowd, taking the cheers, ball safely spiralling off above the bleachers into the blue.
Even in the second half of the season after Christmas Leicester have dropped fewer points than their nearest challengers. They beat Spurs 1-0 at White Hart Lane in January, and deservedly so. For Claudio Ranieri’s team this has been both a wonderful story and a purely sporting triumph of teamwork, talent and unblinking focus.
Still, one achievement should not diminish another and Spurs have been by so many other measures the most compelling team in the Premier League, the most layered, all the while remaining the only Premier League team (fairytale Foxes included) to run a profit on transfer spending over the past five years.
Against Manchester United on Sunday they started poorly. Dele Alli made a lovely run for his goal but otherwise he was largely absent. Harry Kane ragged Chris Smalling about once or twice but touched the ball only 33 times, a rare lack of involvement for an unusually assertive No9. The full-backs were muted, Kyle Walker bothered at times by the high-class menace of Anthony Martial.
And yet even on an off-day Tottenham were hugely enthralling in the periods where the pistons began to fire. By the time the goal rush arrived in the final 20 minutes Mauricio Pochettino’s team had begun to swarm in that familiar way, every passing angle, every pocket of space choked off.
This isn’t so much the old push-and-run Spurs as push-and-run-and-snipe-and-hustle, albeit in a controlled kind of way. The idea Tottenham will inevitably tire themselves out before the season’s end has always been based on a slight misunderstanding. This isn’t simply covering every blade of grass, Carlton Palmer-style. There is no blur of perpetual motion here.
Spurs’ defensive movements are instead minutely drilled, with every shift of position among the opposition a cue for some interlocking reshuffle of the pieces, energy not so much wasted as put to synchronised good use. Often Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé will stand still, waiting for the play to arrange itself around them.
There are some interesting similarities between the league’s top two. Both have a simple set of methods based around teamwork and quick, accurate passing. Both are genuine collectives, the role of each player equally weighted, without favourites or luxuries or glitzy passengers.
But Spurs simply have more depth to their game. They are a team who can score all kinds of goal, can play with the ball or on the break, for whom eight players have scored three or more goals in the league this season. Spurs have scored more goals than anyone else while conceding fewer. Their starting outfield players were, on average, almost four years younger than Leicester’s equivalent on Sunday. Ranieri’s men will be hugely impressive champions but there is another gear to come in this Tottenham team.
Or at least, there should be. If there is reason to celebrate Spurs excellence, even as the season dwindles into a race for second place, it is the simple fact that such progress is precarious. This weekend Sir Alex Ferguson gave an interview to Sky Sports, apparently at his own behest, in which he lavished praise on Pochettino’s work. It is hard to see any obvious reason, beyond the really obvious, why Ferguson would choose to do this. Pochettino is an ambitious manager. He will be hugely in demand now, as will Tottenham’s best players. There is a shelf life to any rising team these days. Money will not allow this to go on unchecked for ever.
Not that there is reason to think anyone’s leaving just yet. This Spurs team can look forward to another title challenge next season, with plenty of flux among the usual heavyweights and the new champions facing a different set of challenges, not least the demands of running a midweek team as well. Spurs dropped seven points this season after Europa League fixtures, the exact extent of Leicester’s lead at the top.
By the end against United, Tottenham were lolling about at White Hart Lane like drunken lords, no doubt thrilled by the sense of their own power in that three-goal burst but still aware that for this season the race may be done. For the most captivating of second-placers the challenge now is simply to make their excellence count in more tangible ways.
Tottenham win title for youthful promise and being the most watchable
Spurs’ achievements under Mauricio Pochettino this season deserve at least a slice of the adulation being lavished on fairytale champions-elect Leicester City
Mauricio Pochettino has made Tottenham the most compelling team in the Premier League and they can look forward to another title challenge next season.
Barney Ronay
If you’ve somehow managed to miss the opening eight months of the Premier League season you could have picked up a pretty decent precis of the action so far just by watching Sunday’s games at the Stadium of Light and White Hart Lane. Basically it’s been like that all along.
Leicester City have scored lots of breakaway goals and played like a proper team. It’s been emotional. People have cried. The usual heavyweights have ranged from poor to bafflingly dreadful.
And beyond that Tottenham Hotspur have been the most watchable, most promising, most intriguing team in the league this season. All issues of sentiment, underdoggery and fairytale glee aside, it is an achievement that deserves at least a slice of the adulation being lavished on the champions-elect.
This is not to suggest Leicester are unworthy league winners. The table is never wrong. Leicester have been the most consistent team by some way, seven points clear and not so much sprinting for the line as already off on one of those helmet-doffing, high-fiving home-run trundles around the baseball diamond, waving to the crowd, taking the cheers, ball safely spiralling off above the bleachers into the blue.
Even in the second half of the season after Christmas Leicester have dropped fewer points than their nearest challengers. They beat Spurs 1-0 at White Hart Lane in January, and deservedly so. For Claudio Ranieri’s team this has been both a wonderful story and a purely sporting triumph of teamwork, talent and unblinking focus.
Still, one achievement should not diminish another and Spurs have been by so many other measures the most compelling team in the Premier League, the most layered, all the while remaining the only Premier League team (fairytale Foxes included) to run a profit on transfer spending over the past five years.
Against Manchester United on Sunday they started poorly. Dele Alli made a lovely run for his goal but otherwise he was largely absent. Harry Kane ragged Chris Smalling about once or twice but touched the ball only 33 times, a rare lack of involvement for an unusually assertive No9. The full-backs were muted, Kyle Walker bothered at times by the high-class menace of Anthony Martial.
And yet even on an off-day Tottenham were hugely enthralling in the periods where the pistons began to fire. By the time the goal rush arrived in the final 20 minutes Mauricio Pochettino’s team had begun to swarm in that familiar way, every passing angle, every pocket of space choked off.
This isn’t so much the old push-and-run Spurs as push-and-run-and-snipe-and-hustle, albeit in a controlled kind of way. The idea Tottenham will inevitably tire themselves out before the season’s end has always been based on a slight misunderstanding. This isn’t simply covering every blade of grass, Carlton Palmer-style. There is no blur of perpetual motion here.
Spurs’ defensive movements are instead minutely drilled, with every shift of position among the opposition a cue for some interlocking reshuffle of the pieces, energy not so much wasted as put to synchronised good use. Often Eric Dier and Mousa Dembélé will stand still, waiting for the play to arrange itself around them.
There are some interesting similarities between the league’s top two. Both have a simple set of methods based around teamwork and quick, accurate passing. Both are genuine collectives, the role of each player equally weighted, without favourites or luxuries or glitzy passengers.
But Spurs simply have more depth to their game. They are a team who can score all kinds of goal, can play with the ball or on the break, for whom eight players have scored three or more goals in the league this season. Spurs have scored more goals than anyone else while conceding fewer. Their starting outfield players were, on average, almost four years younger than Leicester’s equivalent on Sunday. Ranieri’s men will be hugely impressive champions but there is another gear to come in this Tottenham team.
Or at least, there should be. If there is reason to celebrate Spurs excellence, even as the season dwindles into a race for second place, it is the simple fact that such progress is precarious. This weekend Sir Alex Ferguson gave an interview to Sky Sports, apparently at his own behest, in which he lavished praise on Pochettino’s work. It is hard to see any obvious reason, beyond the really obvious, why Ferguson would choose to do this. Pochettino is an ambitious manager. He will be hugely in demand now, as will Tottenham’s best players. There is a shelf life to any rising team these days. Money will not allow this to go on unchecked for ever.
Not that there is reason to think anyone’s leaving just yet. This Spurs team can look forward to another title challenge next season, with plenty of flux among the usual heavyweights and the new champions facing a different set of challenges, not least the demands of running a midweek team as well. Spurs dropped seven points this season after Europa League fixtures, the exact extent of Leicester’s lead at the top.
By the end against United, Tottenham were lolling about at White Hart Lane like drunken lords, no doubt thrilled by the sense of their own power in that three-goal burst but still aware that for this season the race may be done. For the most captivating of second-placers the challenge now is simply to make their excellence count in more tangible ways.
Tottenham win title for youthful promise and being the most watchable
Not a massive fan of the Torygraph, however always find Jason Burt's writing about Spurs to be very good.
Spurs may have missed out on Louis van Gaal, but they hit the jackpot with Mauricio Pochettino
Spurs may have missed out on Louis van Gaal, but they hit the jackpot with Mauricio Pochettino
There was a reminder of one of those 'sliding doors’ moments in the press conference room at White Hart Lane on Sunday. After Manchester United’s 3-0 loss, Louis van Gaal was asked whether he had any regrets at not becoming the Tottenham Hotspur manager.
Van Gaal called the question “pathetic” although most observers thought that best described his and his team’s unambitious performance against a Spurs side who are now 12 points ahead of United in the Premier League and heading in a different direction under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Dutchman said he had turned down Spurs for a club who he said “shall always be bigger”. As ever in such scenarios, it depends upon whose version of events you believe.
It is certainly true that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy travelled to Holland to hold talks with Van Gaal when he sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December 2013. It also appears true that Van Gaal understandably resisted the suggestion – and it seems to have been no more than a suggestion – that he could combine being Spurs manager with the Holland coach’s job for the 2014 World Cup before he stepped down from that role.
And so Spurs turned, initially, to Tim Sherwood and even though they put him on an 18-month contract, it was always with the view that the situation would be revisited at the end of what was an extremely frustrating, acrimonious campaign.
At this point that viewpoints really diverge. Either Spurs dithered and United snapped up Van Gaal with a much bigger offer, or the manager held Levy off once he got a sniff that David Moyes was going to be sacked and that he had a chance of the Old Trafford job, which he clearly coveted more.
Or something else happened and senior figures at Spurs had second thoughts and urged Levy to consider other candidates from an alternative shortlist drawn up prior to Villas-Boas’s sacking.
One school of thought was 'go for a big-hitter’ such as Van Gaal, Carlo Ancelotti or Fabio Capello. The other was to persist with a younger, track-suited manager. That list included Pochettino and Murat Yakin, who was then the coach of Swiss side Basel.
As early as January 2014, Pochettino’s name was in the frame to such an extent that rumours emerged that the Southampton players were expecting their manager to leave at the end of the season. Some even thought it was a done deal, although that was not the case.
Among those who urged Levy – who, in fairness, was not pushing solely for Van Gaal – to look at other managers was the club’s then technical director Franco Baldini, who was under huge pressure, given the scrutiny on the seven signings he had been involved with as Spurs spent the world-record fee they received for Gareth Bale.
Baldini had offered to resign when Villas-Boas left but Levy rejected the Italian because he still valued his input. And it does appear that Baldini was among those who urged the chairman to stick with the model of a younger coach working alongside a technical director.
Given that Baldini was technical director, clearly there was a strong element of self-preservation in his approach, although his offer of resignation had been submitted, so he was prepared to go. Even then, his critics argue that was a shrewd move from Baldini as he knew Levy would not want to lose him at a period of such instability. But Baldini – like Villas-Boas, ironically – admired Pochettino.
Contact with Van Gaal definitely cooled amid rumours that Spurs were, indeed, casting around. It led to the accusation that they had mucked this one up and would lose their man.
In the end, United hired Van Gaal, announcing the news on May 19, 2014. Nine days later, Spurs announced that Pochettino was their new manager after formally approaching Southampton on May 26.
Pochettino had held off Southampton’s attempts to tie him down to a new contract, stalling for more than two months. The Argentine had ostensibly claimed he needed time to decide whether to stay after the departure of chairman Nicola Cortese, who had brought him to the club, in January.
So, did Spurs miss out on Van Gaal? If they did, nearly two years on they will have been happy to have done so. Van Gaal’s reign at United has been dismal and expensive while Pochettino’s stewardship of Spurs has been so impressive that there is anxiety at the club that he may well need a new contract even though his current deal still has three years to run.
Baldini, meanwhile, has gone. He is spending time away from football, mainly in South Africa. His reputation among the fans has been tarnished and his role at the club was diminished before he left. Although he brought Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela to the club, he will always be associated with expensive flops such as Roberto Soldado and Paulinho and his main task last summer was to try to claw cash back on some of the transfer failings – which he largely did. Maybe, though, there is a far greater legacy that he played at least some part in.
Spurs may have missed out on Louis van Gaal, but they hit the jackpot with Mauricio Pochettino
Spurs may have missed out on Louis van Gaal, but they hit the jackpot with Mauricio Pochettino
There was a reminder of one of those 'sliding doors’ moments in the press conference room at White Hart Lane on Sunday. After Manchester United’s 3-0 loss, Louis van Gaal was asked whether he had any regrets at not becoming the Tottenham Hotspur manager.
Van Gaal called the question “pathetic” although most observers thought that best described his and his team’s unambitious performance against a Spurs side who are now 12 points ahead of United in the Premier League and heading in a different direction under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Dutchman said he had turned down Spurs for a club who he said “shall always be bigger”. As ever in such scenarios, it depends upon whose version of events you believe.
It is certainly true that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy travelled to Holland to hold talks with Van Gaal when he sacked Andre Villas-Boas in December 2013. It also appears true that Van Gaal understandably resisted the suggestion – and it seems to have been no more than a suggestion – that he could combine being Spurs manager with the Holland coach’s job for the 2014 World Cup before he stepped down from that role.
And so Spurs turned, initially, to Tim Sherwood and even though they put him on an 18-month contract, it was always with the view that the situation would be revisited at the end of what was an extremely frustrating, acrimonious campaign.
At this point that viewpoints really diverge. Either Spurs dithered and United snapped up Van Gaal with a much bigger offer, or the manager held Levy off once he got a sniff that David Moyes was going to be sacked and that he had a chance of the Old Trafford job, which he clearly coveted more.
Or something else happened and senior figures at Spurs had second thoughts and urged Levy to consider other candidates from an alternative shortlist drawn up prior to Villas-Boas’s sacking.
One school of thought was 'go for a big-hitter’ such as Van Gaal, Carlo Ancelotti or Fabio Capello. The other was to persist with a younger, track-suited manager. That list included Pochettino and Murat Yakin, who was then the coach of Swiss side Basel.
As early as January 2014, Pochettino’s name was in the frame to such an extent that rumours emerged that the Southampton players were expecting their manager to leave at the end of the season. Some even thought it was a done deal, although that was not the case.
Among those who urged Levy – who, in fairness, was not pushing solely for Van Gaal – to look at other managers was the club’s then technical director Franco Baldini, who was under huge pressure, given the scrutiny on the seven signings he had been involved with as Spurs spent the world-record fee they received for Gareth Bale.
Baldini had offered to resign when Villas-Boas left but Levy rejected the Italian because he still valued his input. And it does appear that Baldini was among those who urged the chairman to stick with the model of a younger coach working alongside a technical director.
Given that Baldini was technical director, clearly there was a strong element of self-preservation in his approach, although his offer of resignation had been submitted, so he was prepared to go. Even then, his critics argue that was a shrewd move from Baldini as he knew Levy would not want to lose him at a period of such instability. But Baldini – like Villas-Boas, ironically – admired Pochettino.
Contact with Van Gaal definitely cooled amid rumours that Spurs were, indeed, casting around. It led to the accusation that they had mucked this one up and would lose their man.
In the end, United hired Van Gaal, announcing the news on May 19, 2014. Nine days later, Spurs announced that Pochettino was their new manager after formally approaching Southampton on May 26.
Pochettino had held off Southampton’s attempts to tie him down to a new contract, stalling for more than two months. The Argentine had ostensibly claimed he needed time to decide whether to stay after the departure of chairman Nicola Cortese, who had brought him to the club, in January.
So, did Spurs miss out on Van Gaal? If they did, nearly two years on they will have been happy to have done so. Van Gaal’s reign at United has been dismal and expensive while Pochettino’s stewardship of Spurs has been so impressive that there is anxiety at the club that he may well need a new contract even though his current deal still has three years to run.
Baldini, meanwhile, has gone. He is spending time away from football, mainly in South Africa. His reputation among the fans has been tarnished and his role at the club was diminished before he left. Although he brought Christian Eriksen and Erik Lamela to the club, he will always be associated with expensive flops such as Roberto Soldado and Paulinho and his main task last summer was to try to claw cash back on some of the transfer failings – which he largely did. Maybe, though, there is a far greater legacy that he played at least some part in.
That beautiful man...
He called Mark Hughes english. 
ochlol:
ochlol:
I'm getting very worried about Luis Enrique's position at Barcelona.
He played for 10 years, captained and managed Espanyol. He even cried at the press conference where he revealed that he would retire at Espanyol. Would he really go and manage their arch rivals? I can't see it.
Fuck me, hadn't thought of that. You ruined a perfect day yesterday :dembelewtf:
Had this discussion with someone I follow on Twitter who is quite knowledgeable about Spanish football. He said Espanyol had their chance and blew it. However Pochettino loves the city and his wife hails from there. It wouldn't be too ridiculous to think it might happen as the set up at Barcelona is more suited to his philosophy with the academy set up and structure of the club. However there will be a lot of 'personalities' in the first team squad, which as we know isn't to Poch's liking as his players need to become disciples to his cause.
No one turns down Barcelona.
I know , just ask
jimmyriggle
Poch won't be going anywhere in my honest opinion . He'll still be here in 2020
The Enrique comment is exactly what I was going to suggest is causing me concern.
It would be devastating because it really is the one specific job that I think could well turn his head. More so than Madrid and certainly more than any in England.
That said, they don't have £25M rated Chadli.....
It would be devastating because it really is the one specific job that I think could well turn his head. More so than Madrid and certainly more than any in England.
That said, they don't have £25M rated Chadli.....
The Enrique comment is exactly what I was going to suggest is causing me concern.
It would be devastating because it really is the one specific job that I think could well turn his head. More so than Madrid and certainly more than any in England.
That said, they don't have £25M rated Chadli.....
Or Tommy Carroll
ochlol:
Poch is number 10 in the Gooner tv most hated managers.
The reason? ....He is good and manages us
Take a bow son, you are a proper yid now
We have a further two in there with Sherwood and Redknapp.
The reason? ....He is good and manages us
Take a bow son, you are a proper yid now
We have a further two in there with Sherwood and Redknapp.
Poch had more trouble containing his emotions tonight than I've ever seen before.
In the Sky interview after the match however, I just loved how he apologised for going over the top when Alli had that miss. Compare it to Van Gaal's stupid dive imitation, Jose's antics, Wenger being the crying cunt he is, and of course Klopp forever trying to be the center of attention. Not that I would hold it against Poch to show emotion in a game like this. But it just shows again, again, again, again, again, again, again, what a complete class act the guy is.
In the Sky interview after the match however, I just loved how he apologised for going over the top when Alli had that miss. Compare it to Van Gaal's stupid dive imitation, Jose's antics, Wenger being the crying cunt he is, and of course Klopp forever trying to be the center of attention. Not that I would hold it against Poch to show emotion in a game like this. But it just shows again, again, again, again, again, again, again, what a complete class act the guy is.
