Sir Alex Ferguson has long considered Mauricio Pochettino to be his top pick to manage Manchester United since stepping down in 2013. The legendary manager has consistently praised Pochettino’s work, dating all the way back to his Southampton days. But to the relief of Spurs fans, the Argentine mastermind set up camp in North London after his thrilling rise with the Saints, where he had already begun turning heads across Europe.
Pochettino didn’t take too long to raise the levels at Spurs and start challenging for the title. He only needed one season to set up an identity at Tottenham that would stick on for years to come.
The majority of the Spurs faithful adored the man for playing an entertaining brand of football and promoting academy players like Harry Winks and Kyle Walker-Peters. Despite zero investment in the squad, he secured top 4 finishes, setting the club up for future success by strengthening its financial health and keeping them in line with profit sustainability rules.
He arrived in 2014, a year before Klopp came to Liverpool and two years before Pep’s arrival at City. The league was an open competition before the City-Liverpool era would begin in a few years’ time. Poch led Spurs through their most hopeful years in recent history and gave them memories for a lifetime but, most importantly, built a team capable of winning against any opponent.
This is the story of Pochettino’s best efforts to lift the Tottenham curse and how he came closer than any other manager in recent years.
Pochettino’s Joins Tottenham Hotspur
Before arriving at Spurs to take over from Tim Sherwood, Pochettino had made his name in the Premier League with Southampton. He was appointed the Saints manager in January 2013 and turned them into the league’s entertainers for the 16 months he was at the helm.
Pochettino was a disciple of Marcelo Bielsa and broke down his play into three clear principles: intensity, organization, and speed.
Klopp is often praised for popularizing the gegenpress in England, but the watchful eyes had already witnessed this in Poch’s Southampton and then Spurs.
In the summer of 2014, Daniel Levy hired the services of Poch after carefully watching his Saints tenure. The team at hand for the Argentine looked wildly different from what Poch would eventually assemble. The likes of Paulinho, Lennon, Soldado, Chadli, Chiriches, and Dawson made up the squad.
Ben Davies, Dele Alli, and Eric Dier were brought in that season, while there were significant departures of players that didn’t fit the new system. But the biggest addition came in the form of an academy player blossoming in front of the fans that season. Harry Kane made his first mark in the Premier League with 31 goals across the campaign in Pochettino’s debut season.
The first season was a step up from the last year, as they finished fifth in the league and booked their berth in the League Cup Final against Chelsea. But Mourinho’s league-winning side proved too good for Spurs as their silverware hopes were crushed in a 2-0 defeat. The side was simply too raw to mount the pressure of finishing the job, but the first season was useful in stepping down an identity and raising expectations for the next one.
Poch was ruthless in training because his playing style demanded physical exertion to the extremes. He was influenced by fellow countryman Bielsa after all.
The Title Charge
The 2015–16 season started, more unwanted players were sold while Son, Alderweireld, and Trippier were brought in for reasonable prices. These three would go on to become core members of Pochettino’s first team, while the old guard was slowly sold off.
That season was one of the strangest, right from the start. The favorites to contend for the title – Chelsea, along with United, City, and Liverpool, were all simultaneously having an underwhelming season.
Spurs arrived late to the race after starting the season without a win in their first four games, but stranger things were still to come as the most underrated team in the league kept up with the top clubs.
Claudio Ranieri’s magical Leicester side were on their way to make history that season. Jamie Vardy was an enigma, scoring 24 goals, just one shy of Golden Boot winner Harry Kane.
Poch had assembled his best eleven by now, and it was the most well-balanced side in the league. Future World Cup winner Hugo Lloris started between the sticks, with the Belgian center-back duo of Vertonghen and Alderweireld in front of him. Alderweireld was brilliant at pinging diagonal long balls to his teammates up front, while Vertonghen was especially clever with his defensive positioning. Danny Rose and Kyle Walker were the best full-back pairing in the league and contributed heavily to the attack.
The emergence of youngster Dele Alli and his link-up play with Kane proved to be lethal. Lamela also had his best season in a Spurs shirt, with his work rate and aggression proving to be exactly what Poch needed for his high-pressing side.
Another brilliant pairing came from the midfield pivot of Dembele and Dier, who were both in the top tier for physical presence. Dembele was one of the best players in the league, if not the world that season, as many have attested to as well.
The two midfielders would outmuscle any opponent in the league together, very similar to what Ange Postecoglou was faced in his early tenure regarding how his style is unsustainable and how he’ll soon be “found out.” Poch also faced similar allegations.
Spurs 2015–16 title race side, supported by the even more impressive underlying numbers, said otherwise. They scored 68 goals in the league, with Alli and Kane contributing the most up front. Eriksen turned into one of the best creators in the league, while Son showed occasional flashes of brilliance but was usually rotated with Lamela.
Their biggest drawback was the lack of depth in their squad, and that issue continued to persist throughout Pochettino’s tenure.
The 2-2 draw at Stamford Bridge, courtesy of Hazard’s brilliant goal, proved to be the final dagger for Spurs. It was also one of the most aggressive Premier League matches in recent memory. Spurs imploded after that result and lost their remaining two matches. Arsenal leapfrogged to second position on the final day to add more salt to the wounds. But no one had expected Pochettino to be able to mount such an impressive title challenge in his second season. The concept of the “big six” as opposed to just the top four was also popularized after this.
Manchester City and Chelsea the next season, opened up their coffers as they brought in Guardiola and Conte, respectively. Sissoko and Wanyama were brought in as midfield reinforcements by Poch to battle with the big spenders.
Spurs managed to climb up to second place by the end of January and didn’t let go until the end. They finished the season with a club record of 86 points in the Premier League era, but silverware continued to be out of grasp with deserving exits from every competition.
The third season saw another phenomenal increase in the underlying numbers for Spurs, finishing seven points off of Chelsea. Their problems had come and gone early in the season with too many draws.
Dele Alli scored 18 goals in the league that season, announcing himself as the next big English talent. Kane scored 29 in 30 appearances in the league, picking up his second Golden Boot award. Son had settled in well by now and made up one of the best attacks in the world alongside Kane, Alli, and Eriksen.
Spurs made their last season at White Hart Lane a memorable one as they went unbeaten at home in the league. The construction of a new stadium meant a new home for the team for the next few years. Wembley Stadium became the new home ground, and the decline was expected because of this change.
The new stadium also added pressure in terms of qualifying for the Champions League because they needed funds to pay off bank loans. You could draw a striking parallel between Wenger at Arsenal post-Emirates move and Pochettino at Spurs. Both men forged a deep, unbreakable bond with the fans and guided their clubs into the modern era of football.
Pochettino’s and Tottenham Expected Downfall
Spurs best opportunity had gone past them as the richer clubs stabilized and took over. Pep’s City was complete, and Klopp had transformed his Liverpool side with some important signings like Van Dijk and Alisson. Spurs tried to spend their limited money wisely, but the signings couldn’t compensate for the gap left by Walker’s departure to City.
Poch was tasked with getting top 4 at any cost, which further diluted performances in cup competitions. The manager delivered on his target year after year while facing criticism from fans for lacking the mentality to win silverware. Poch was blamed for not being able to make players go for the kill, as they would occasionally concede late goals while sitting back on a one-goal lead.
The last full season under him was one of the most memorable ones for the fans as they went on a Champions League final run. An injury to Kane during the knockouts of the tournament was expected to cost Spurs heavily, but Llorente and Moura led the way for Spurs.
The less said about the Champions League final, the better though, as it was over in just 30 seconds with one of the worst handball decisions against Sissoko. Liverpool won the trophy, and the Lilywhite hearts were broken once more.
Poch was sacked the following season after underwhelming performances in the league and a sense of sadness around the locker room after almost getting their hands on the biggest trophy in club football. The need for change was required, even though many fans resisted.
In his five years at the club, Pochettino raised the standards and expectations of the squad. He built a core identity at the club, and managers that came after him benefited from the marks he left behind. Ange Postecoglou is the closest manager to his style of play since then, and Spurs fans have formed similar expectations around the Australian.
Do you think Spurs could have potentially lifted the title had they won against Chelsea in 2016?
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