Mauricio Pochettino

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Thin Lilywhite Duke said:
No sour grapes here because you know I love him - but when it comes to that cup absofuckinglutely.

If they get pipped to Ligue 1 by Lille (or I suppose Monaco, technically!) it's a shit season.
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I believe they were in 5th (or was it 3rd) when he took over, albeit with a marginal points differential covering the top 5, which tailed off to be a top 4 contesting the title this year, still only 4pts separating the top 4 sides as they go into the last game.

So, that suggests that for this unique season at least, there is parity in the competitiveness in the league. So, that would also be true of the domestic cups too, so there is an argument to be had that achieving the two he's got so far have been harder to win given where the competitiveness of the teams are this season.

I do not know why this is the case this year. Is it COVID related (condensed season, foreign players worried for families back home, lack of training, empty stadiums, pressing teams not pressing)? Is it that this team is at an end of a cycle? I think Tuchel is a brilliant coach, so why were they not dominant this season under him? I don't follow this league so I've no handle on it.

PSG have total financial domination over Ligue 1, so it is absolutely right that any manager taking this Club should be winning all the domestic trophies (I wouldn't usually be this unequivocal on the outcome of football because anything can happen but such is their financial advantage they really have no excuse not to be) and Poch would have had his first summer to acquire the players he wants (assuming that the nut job Leandro doesn't actually do his own thing, which I don't think is the case), he will also get his first famed pre-season under his belt too.

So, next year the expectation will be to win all domestic competitions, as is correct. They will also be one of the favs to challenge CL.

But given the competitiveness of this season is hinting at issues that shouldn't be there, issues that were clearly there before he arrived. Maybe they just do what Bayern do and acquire their rivals best players to eliminate their rivals threat (or take their Manger as they have done this year)?
 
Guido said:
I believe they were in 5th (or was it 3rd) when he took over, albeit with a marginal points differential covering the top 5, which tailed off to be a top 4 contesting the title this year, still only 4pts separating the top 4 sides as they go into the last game.

So, that suggests that for this unique season at least, there is parity in the competitiveness in the league. So, that would also be true of the domestic cups too, so there is an argument to be had that achieving the two he's got so far have been harder to win given where the competitiveness of the teams are this season.

I do not know why this is the case this year. Is it COVID related (condensed season, foreign players worried for families back home, lack of training, empty stadiums, pressing teams not pressing)? Is it that this team is at an end of a cycle? I think Tuchel is a brilliant coach, so why were they not dominant this season under him? I don't follow this league so I've no handle on it.

PSG have total financial domination over Ligue 1, so it is absolutely right that any manager taking this Club should be winning all the domestic trophies (I wouldn't usually be this unequivocal on the outcome of football because anything can happen but such is their financial advantage they really have no excuse not to be) and Poch would have had his first summer to acquire the players he wants (assuming that the nut job Leandro doesn't actually do his own thing, which I don't think is the case), he will also get his first famed pre-season under his belt too.

So, next year the expectation will be to win all domestic competitions, as is correct. They will also be one of the favs to challenge CL.

But given the competitiveness of this season is hinting at issues that shouldn't be there, issues that were clearly there before he arrived. Maybe they just do what Bayern do and acquire their rivals best players to eliminate their rivals threat (or take their Manger as they have done this year)?
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When Poch took over, PSG were third one point behind both Lyon and Lille after 17 matches.
PSG had 35 points from 17 (2.06 per match which equates to 78 points per season)

In the following 20 matches both Lille and PSG have improved by 44 points (2.20 per match), and Monaco by 50 points while Lyon only garnered 40.

So during season Poch did get more out of PSG than Tuchel did points wise

I wonder if it will all come down to that game where they were winning against Nantes and had to take Di Maria off because his house had been robbed with family in it, which they went on to lose, obviously with the players concerned.

Still doesn't explain the general drop off of about 10 points from the usual 90 or so points they get though
 
Nabil Bentaleb said:
I mean good for him but Paris should win every nautical trophy without question.
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His first trophy (Trophee des Champions) came in just his third game as manager and PSG won it for the eighth year in a row so hardly any 'miracle working there'.

PSG lost to Rennes in a penalty shoot out in the Coupe De France final in 2019. but they have won it in 2015/2016/2017/2018/2020 and now 2021 so they do have somewhat of a pedigree in this competition.

PSG have won the French League Title in 2012/13 (12pts margin) 2013/14 (9pts margin) 2014/15 (8pts margin) 2015/16 (31 pts margin) 2017/18 (13 pts margin) 2018/19 (16pts margin) and 2019/20 (12pts margin)

They now find themselves surprisingly going into the last game of this season in second place, one point behind Lille.
I am not trying to belittle Poch's achievements at his new club but simply trying to put a reasonable perspective on things.
 
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Mr. Voldemort said:
His first trophy (Trophee des Champions) came in just his third game as manager and PSG won it for the eighth year in a row so hardly any 'miracle working there'.

PSG lost to Rennes in a penalty shoot out in the Coupe De France final in 2019. but they have won it in 2015/2016/2017/2018/2020 and now 2021 so they do have somewhat of a pedigree in this competition.

PSG have won the French League Title in 2012/13 (12pts margin) 2013/14 (9pts margin) 2014/15 (8pts margin) 2015/16 (31 pts margin) 2016/17 (8pts margin) 2017/18 (13 pts margin) 2018/19 (16pts margin) and 2019/20 (12pts margin)

They now find themselves surprisingly going into the last game of this season in second place, one point behind Lille.
I am not trying to belittle Poch's achievements at his new club but simply trying to put a reasonable perspective on things.
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They didn't win league in 16/17 - Monaco did
 
Trotter said:
When Poch took over, PSG were third one point behind both Lyon and Lille after 17 matches.
PSG had 35 points from 17 (2.06 per match which equates to 78 points per season)

In the following 20 matches both Lille and PSG have improved by 44 points (2.20 per match), and Monaco by 50 points while Lyon only garnered 40.

So during season Poch did get more out of PSG than Tuchel did points wise

I wonder if it will all come down to that game where they were winning against Nantes and had to take Di Maria off because his house had been robbed with family in it, which they went on to lose, obviously with the players concerned.

Still doesn't explain the general drop off of about 10 points from the usual 90 or so points they get though
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Yeah, it's a hard one to put your finger on the specific reasons that attribute to the drop-off and I don't watch enough (barely any) to have even a clue.

But using City as a barometer, who were really poor at the beginning of the season, it was noticeable how much their press had almost completely disappeared and as a result, meant teams were able to have and use the ball against them. They weren't the only high-pressing team that was struggling, in fact right across Europe teams that were known for their high-press as their identity were all struggling and had stopped pressing.

At the time there was a lot of talk that this was by design, that Clubs had a shortened pre-season and knew the league was also to be far more condensed meaning less recovery between games and this was theorised as the leveller. Maybe some teams just couldn't flick the switch back on mid-season???

But whatever the reason it existed before Poch arrived.
 
Guido said:
Yeah, it's a hard one to put your finger on the specific reasons that attribute to the drop-off and I don't watch enough (barely any) to have even a clue.

But using City as a barometer, who were really poor at the beginning of the season, it was noticeable how much their press had almost completely disappeared and as a result, meant teams were able to have and use the ball against them. They weren't the only high-pressing team that was struggling, in fact right across Europe teams that were known for their high-press as their identity were all struggling and had stopped pressing.

At the time there was a lot of talk that this was by design, that Clubs had a shortened pre-season and knew the league was also to be far more condensed meaning less recovery between games and this was theorised as the leveller. Maybe some teams just couldn't flick the switch back on mid-season???

But whatever the reason it existed before Poch arrived.
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Diaz at the back is the single biggest reason Citeh won league. It’s been a funny season really. Citeh as you said were shit start of the seasons. They were 9th after 13 games. It was that mid season third that won it for them - 13 straight wins. Element of taking foot off the pedal possibly, but they haven’t been too hectic recently either, losing 4 of last 11. Number of league defeats 6 has been quite high for league champions.

Playing behind closed doors has helped the likes of Citeh and Man U and bigger teams in general away from home as there’s no crowd factor. Possibly a factor in the Dippers losing 6 consecutive home games too.
 
Juno said:
Diaz at the back is the single biggest reason Citeh won league. It’s been a funny season really. Citeh as you said were shit start of the seasons. They were 9th after 13 games. It was that mid season third that won it for them - 13 straight wins. Element of taking foot off the pedal possibly, but they haven’t been too hectic recently either, losing 4 of last 11. Number of league defeats 6 has been quite high for league champions.

Playing behind closed doors has helped the likes of Citeh and Man U and bigger teams in general away from home as there’s no crowd factor. Possibly a factor in the Dippers losing 6 consecutive home games too.
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Diaz has been terrific but he's not the reason for them winning the league IMO.

City's press was nonexistent in the early part of the season, all the numbers support this and you only had to watch their games to see that the oppo was able to build their attacks against them as there was no pressure on the ball from City.

Whether this was deliberate (as has been suggested by many) because they weren't the only pressing team that had stopped pressing during this season, supporting the theory that the short pre-season and knowing that the entire season was to be condensed in a shorter time frame suggests that pressing teams knew it couldn't be sustained so they had to change their approach.

The reason they won the Legaue is they have the best squad and best manager. They can go 11v11 against and almost every team in the league and there are few teams that they are not better than in every position. For their odd player weakness, it's made up for a highly well coach squad with every player well drilled in what they do and knowledge of what their teammates do. Well managed teams don't need a dominant CB or Striker for example, they play as a unit (just as we once did and when Kane was injured we still went on winning streaks, or if Toby or Jan got hammies we still won with Wimmer playing at the heart of the defence).

Their press returned as the season went on, but it was also well measured and nothing like it has been in previous seasons, they weren't trying to win game 5-0 this term, content to be 1 or 2 goals up then manage the game.
 
Guido said:
Diaz has been terrific but he's not the reason for them winning the league IMO.

City's press was nonexistent in the early part of the season, all the numbers support this and you only had to watch their games to see that the oppo was able to build their attacks against them as there was no pressure on the ball from City.

Whether this was deliberate (as has been suggested by many) because they weren't the only pressing team that had stopped pressing during this season, supporting the theory that the short pre-season and knowing that the entire season was to be condensed in a shorter time frame suggests that pressing teams knew it couldn't be sustained so they had to change their approach.

The reason they won the Legaue is they have the best squad and best manager. They can go 11v11 against and almost every team in the league and there are few teams that they are not better than in every position. For their odd player weakness, it's made up for a highly well coach squad with every player well drilled in what they do and knowledge of what their teammates do. Well managed teams don't need a dominant CB or Striker for example, they play as a unit (just as we once did and when Kane was injured we still went on winning streaks, or if Toby or Jan got hammies we still won with Wimmer playing at the heart of the defence).

Their press returned as the season went on, but it was also well measured and nothing like it has been in previous seasons, they weren't trying to win game 5-0 this term, content to be 1 or 2 goals up then manage the game.
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A lot is made on the so called 'press. Ultimately players playing consistently well is the way to success. That and relatively few injuries.
 
Notabadsquad said:
A lot is made on the so called 'press. Ultimately players playing consistently well is the way to success. That and relatively few injuries.
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Apart from when they were playing poorly, they weren't pressing and when they improved and ultimately played well they were pressing.

It's not about whether a team does it or not. I talking about City's identity, how they play, what they have created and defined as their identity, which is a high-pressing, high possession team.
 
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