Tottenham’s Pochettino Hands John McDermott Bigger Role
Tottenham’s youth academy is getting a big shake-up after Mauricio Pochettino handed John McDermott, Tottenham’s head of coaching and development, a bigger role.
According to The Guardian, Mauricio Pochettino has given John McDermott a bigger role in Tottenham’s youth academy to oversee every age-group below the first team level. Which also includes the under-21s.
This move was partially done to block Manchester United from hiring McDermott, Tottenham’s head of coaching and development, to take over the same position with the Red Devils in a potential coaching overhaul.
But it was to also reward John McDermott for his continued excellence behind the scenes at the youth level. Something that Pochettino surely noticed since he took over as manager in May 2014.
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With Pochettino and head of recruitment, Paul Mitchell, mostly handling new signings and scouting young players, John McDermott — who also has a say on these matters — instead deals with the youth academy and plays a major role in which players ultimately get called up to Pochettino’s first team.
When Daniel Levy had a meeting with the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’ Trust last week, details about this expanded role for John McDermott in the youth academy were explained as “McDermott being in charge of everything below the first team, including the under-21s,” and how “there were regular discussions with McDermott, Pochettino and Mitchell regarding recruitment and talent.”
“All three would consider whether we [Tottenham] have the talent under our first team that we could promote up. The approach is to always try and promote up, if possible.”
(quotes were edited for clarity)
This is why Federico Fazio was able to go on loan to Sevilla for the remainder of the season despite losing Jan Vertonghen to injury. Pochettino, Mitchell and McDermott had confidence in a youth player to step up, if called upon. Therefore Cameron Carter-Vickers was added to Tottenham’s Europa League List B for emergency depth. Not to mention being able to train with the first team throughout the season.
Even Shayon Harrison is the same. His goal scoring exploits have seen the 18-year-old also train with Pochettino’s first team and be added to Spurs’ B List for the Europa League. Therefore, a possible need for a striker and center-back were filled with two academy players instead of new signings.
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So what will change in John McDermott’s new role now that he will oversee all age-groups in Tottenham’s youth academy? Not much in all honesty.
As a “shrewd judge of young players”, per The Guardian, which can only be described as looking for the absolute best prospects in the academy. It explains why at most, two players have been promoted to the first team this season: Josh Onomah and Harry Winks.
Harry Kane, Nabil Bentaleb, Ryan Mason, Tom Carroll and Alex Pritchard are all academy products. However each one has had a different route to join Tottenham’s first team.
Kane, Mason, Carroll and Pritchard went out on loans before getting a chance. Bentaleb was promoted straight into the first team, but it was Tim Sherwood who gave him that opportunity.
Under Pochettino’s tenure, only Onomah and Winks were promoted directly into his squad without going on loan. With, potentially, Shayon Harrison and Cameron Carter-Vickers joining too in an unofficial capacity as depth in Spurs’ Europa League campaign.
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Now while it seems that Mauricio Pochettino hasn’t seen many academy players promoted under his watch. He has gotten the most out of the youth players that his predecessors had at their disposal instead. Which illuminates how only a select few of academy players are picked by John McDermott as recommendations for Pochettino. Where the Argentine manager and Paul Mitchell chime in as well to decide who is ready to contribute now or later after returning from loan.
This partnership where these three men will oversee a long-term project which finds strength in homegrown talent and key signings here and there. Will greatly aid the club when they begin their first couple of seasons at their new £400 million stadium, where money will be tight.