Tottenham’s Pochettino proved Levy’s best deal ever against Manchester United
The level of Tottenham’s play against Manchester United was stratospheric but it still paled in comparison to that of their manager Mauricio Pochettino.
When Jose Mourinho first came to England he was a young man and he and his Chelsea were a perfect combination. They were brash and bright and talented and everything the old establishment didn’t want them to be. It was exactly the sort of thing that English football needed to break up the Manchester United and Arsenal duopoly. Even Sir Alex Ferguson acknowledged the great talent that Mourinho was.
On Monday though it was Mourinho in the dugout at Old Trafford it was Pochettino who reminded the world of the glory of Sir Alex Ferguson and what a strong manager really means.
Now, I am not the football writer who thinks that Tottenham’s lack of transfer activity is going to hurt them. That view is both undercooked and not all that perceptive. Last season due to contract negotiations Tottenham could have been found guilty of freezing out both Danny Rose and Toby Alderweireld. Ordinarily, though I disagree with the practice of isolating players for exercising their contractual rights, this isn’t that big of a difference. Spurs were still a wonderful side and it didn’t make a big deal. What it did do however is deny Tottenham two genuine world-class talents.
What Pochettino did by starting both against Manchester United was smart and classy and demonstrated that the depth in the Spurs squad actually is better than it is given credit for. Though he should be given credit for the incredible growth of the club under his guidance it can be said that Daniel Levy perhaps focuses too much on the finances and not enough on the football. With Pochettino though that will never happen again.
By starting both players Pochettino essentially added two players that Spurs handicapped themselves last season by not playing. It’s in an interesting way the same as adding two world class players in the transfer market and the Spurs who beat United 3-0 are the team that would be.
When led by a true leader of men and a phenomenal football coach Tottenham are a force to be reckoned with. It would be ignorant to suggest the club doesn’t have a lot of controversy surrounding it at the moment. Between Lloris, the stadium, the transfers and possible point deductions there’s a lot of dust in the air surrounding Spurs and with Pochettino they appear to be rising above it all with grace, class and magnitude at exactly the time they need to. These next couple of years may be the best chance Spurs have to win the title in over a decade. Yes it will be tough, thank you for stating the obvious. Humans also breathe air and water is wet I’ll have you know.
More from Tottenham News
- Storybook ending after difficult period for Tottenahm’s Richarlison
- Tottenham comeback showcased invaluable intangible Ange has cultivated
- Tottenham player ratings in 2-1 comeback win over Sheffield United
- Tottenham projected starting 11 for Sheffield United
- Tottenham’s Richarlison says he’s going to seek psychological help
But winning the title isn’t about looking at your opponents. It’s about looking at yourself and realizing the dreams that you and yourself alone have and believing you have the metal to realize them. It’s true City are good and Liverpool are ascendant but are they better than Spurs? Perhaps no.
Neither side has a striker even close to as good as Kane. Dele Alli, though needing to find consistency, is on his day one of the best attackers in the country. Lloris is a World Cup winning phenomenal goalkeeper and the defense is perfect. Trippier is a hero. Vertonghen is a Bentley and either Alderweireld or Sanchez is a perfect partner for him and when he was on a few years ago Danny Rose was the best left back in the division by far. Eriksen is the best number 10 in the country, we can discuss it if you’d like. Lucas Moura people forget because he wasted his introduction to Europe by chasing money in Paris but was in the same class as Neymar when he left Brazil. United chased him desperately as did Barcelona. Take that into account and then realize that I’ve not mentioned any of Son, Dembele, Dier or Lamela and then the mind does suddenly have ground clearance for dreamland.
Winning the title is about being in the running at the end of the year when things get crazy. If you start well and hold out through the winter and build a strong enough foundation anything can happen during the run in. Spurs traditionally take themselves out before the spring comes and just play nice fun football for the last month. They’re in the hunt now.
Tottenham have a chance this year and demonstrated that against Manchester United. Under Pochettino Spurs have shown exactly the sort of team they are and they’re a title contender in the same way that the team they beat on Monday always used to be under Sir Alex.