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Date of publication: Thursday 26 July 2018 06:07
Mauricio Pochettino was talking in the heat of the moment, but his message was crystal clear. Manchester United beat Tottenham in the FA Cup semifinal, relegating the Spurs to another season of progress without a tangible reward. "More time" was needed, the director insisted. Then came the warning: "with me or another".
The mask had not slipped; Pochettino simply allowed himself to be looked at from a different angle. The overall mood at Spurs was always positive, even with the inevitable disappointment of almost ending their trophy drought before falling to the penultimate hurdle. This setback would only lead these players and manager to collective glory further down the line. But not if the project manager left before the job was completed.
The comments were sharp, barbed, sharp enough to wake up even Daniel Levy from his pre-transfer sleep. Then Pochettino doubled before Tottenham's last game of the season. "I have very clear ideas about what we need to do, I do not know if the club will agree with me or not," he said, highlighting the "need to get on board". be brave "and" take risks ".
It was an ultimatum, and Tottenham responded in kind. Within 11 days, the manager received a new contract, a mandate to "achieve long-term sustainable success," and a £ 150million budget to do so. Pochettino wanted a statement; he came up with an exclamation point.
Yet two months after challenging the establishment, Pochettino is following the party line. His recent statement that new contracts for Harry Kane, Heung-min Son, Erik Lamela, Davinson Sanchez and Michel Vorm are "like signing five new players" is at best misleading, a particular change in tactics public demands for courage or risk taking. Trying to convince fans that extending your goalie contract is equivalent to buying a new player is more difficult to sell than Vincent Janssen for £ 20m.
There is sympathy. Burnley is the only other Premier League club to have signed a single player this summer, and there has been a flagrant lack of genuine speculation. Anthony Martial would have been the ideal signature in a window where Jack Grealish is likely to be the best option possible. But in terms of spending, rumors have been widespread. Toby Alderweireld and Danny Rose made more appearances in the gossip columns this summer than in the first team last season. The budget of £ 150m has been replaced by an ethos 'sell to buy'.
Combined with the fact that Tottenham players have featured more than any other at the World Cup, Pochettino is in a ruthless position. Even when José Mourinho hands you one of his tiny violins you know the situation is worrying.
Yet this is not an unknown territory for Pochettino. Tottenham was the last club to bring in a new player last summer, Davinson Sanchez 's first arrival on August 23. Spurs has not signed any player in the first 52 days of the window, and five in the last eight. There are 14 days left until this year's deadline. If anything, the complaints are ahead of schedule.
The only shame is that it was supposed to be different, the summer when Tottenham released the self-imposed chains. It was time to be ruthless, to watch a first team with some obvious weaknesses, but still find cracks in the armor areas to improve. That's what the best clubs do, and Tottenham has earned that right.
Instead, they chose to put undue pressure on themselves and invited criticism. Pochettino's insistence as "five new players" stemmed from an answer to a question about the inactivity of the transfer. It's a boring but avoidable trap in which Tottenham was walking directly. The new offers for Kane, Son and Sanchez in particular have laid the foundation for a positive window, but Spurs lack the time to build on it.
That might work, and new players will surely arrive soon, but that still looks like a useless bet from a club refusing to change their habits. Tottenham considered Pochettino's call for "more time" last season; perhaps he should have asked for more flexibility and ambition too.
Matt Stead
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