Background
Five years after arriving from Southampton, Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur football club, months after leading them into their new stadium as well as their first ever champions league final. However, following a poor start to the new season, he was replaced by Jose Mourinho by Daniel Levy.
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In Cardiff, the celebrations had started. Gareth Bale had led his beloved Wales team to another European championship finals. The youthful attack deployed by Ryan Giggs, an inexperienced young manager, who has been doubted many times since he took the job, gave hope to Wales for their bright future. Sky Sports were ready to show the world the celebrations and give the limelight to this bright young team.
That was until the yellow bar on sky sports news came up with breaking news. Pochettino had been sacked by Tottenham and this was announced at the same time Gareth Bale was celebrating. Irony indeed. Six years earlier, Gareth Bale, the main star in a decent Tottenham team, was sold to Real Madrid for £80m and the money was spent on a sprinkling of replacements. In came in one of the brightest young managers in world football, the new Mourinho, André Vilas Boas. He would put this team together and make it all work. Meanwhile the manager who had transformed Bale from a poor left back who was almost sold to Wolves, into a Real Madrid galactico, was sitting at home as he had been sacked by the Tottenham board. Why? Because this Englishman at a latter stage of his long career, was flattered to be linked to the England manager’s job.
Pochettino was in also in England, an unknown Argentinian whose last job was for a team from Barcelona, which wasn’t Barcelona. Vast criticism was there when he joined Southampton which he overcame to produce a dynamic young team full of energy and life.
The stage was set, André Vilas Boas, spoke well, but soon, it was found that putting 7 new players in a team and expecting them to gel in a month doesn’t really work, Fulham fans will confirm this. The Tottenham board however expected better and we now had Tim Sherwood in charge, managerial experience, zero. He was going to bring the passion back. This worked a bit but not that much! So Tottenham acted like a club that wanted what others had. Pochettino, playing great football, was identified and swiftly poached from Southampton. He came in and it all came together. He spoke well, developed young players, played modern pressing football and was likeable. An unknown striker loaned out multiple times came into the team, thanks partly due to Sherwood, but developed by Pochettino. His name? Harry Kane. The mass of players brought in to replace Bale all started playing good football.
The Tottenham board were happy, they had found their dream manager. One who could develop good teams and attacking football without spending money. They could focus on building a stadium bigger than Arsenal’s one. Over the next 5 years, the team finished consistently in the top 4 and even reached a champions league final, something, never done by this club in their history. Envious glances were made in the direction of North London again, this time, not Arsene Wenger’s Arsenal but Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur. A team which employed a good dynamic manager, played modern attacking football and gave youngsters a chance. What could go wrong?
As the stadium started to take shape and the team continued to do well, players who were once signed up to long contracts in advance started asking for more money. In 1988, £10k per week given to the PFA player of the year, John Barnes, was seen as extravagant money. In 2017, as more tv money came in, wages started going up. Now players wanted more of the money. But no worry at this well run club, Daniel Levy, the master negotiator, would sort it.
Of course, he thought, the beautiful new stadium would fix everything. Once they see it, they would be lining up outside his door to sign the new contracts. The stadium opened and still no queue. All of a sudden, half the team were running down their contracts. In an age when a Harry Maguire costs £80m, their two star centre half’s would be left with less than 8 months on their contract. Their international left back said he wouldn’t sign a new contract in public, clearly irritated by how negotiations were being carried out. Incidentally, a raw inexperienced right back with average technical ability had just cost Manchester United £50m. Oh, and their superstar midfielder, Eriksen, a model professional and truly a magnificent footballer, had decided to run down his contract and leave at the end of the 2020 season on a free transfer. He will be at one of the top five clubs in world football next June, maybe joined by MP as well.
Flashback to May 2019, MP and Daniel Levy walk off arm in arm, celebrating the last gasp victory over Ajax. Tottenham was now in the big time. New stadium, lots of tv prize money to spend on players and a superstar manager. Oh and Arsenal were doing really badly. Tottenham were in the big time now. Ok, so they narrowly lost a final to Klopp’s red machine, not the end of the world, surely. Get some players in early, give Pochettino a chance to gel them in, renew some contracts and top 4 guaranteed for the next 5 years. It was a chance for the club to be part of a big 3 in England.
So what happened next? All the players came late so they could save a few millions here and there, the contracts still not renewed and their superstar manager was frustrated. The stadium was nice though! The domestic season didn’t start so well, with half the team wanting to get away and new players taking time to settle in. And then, well we know what happened next. No worries, the person who spent £300m + at Man Utd to get them in the top 6 and played attacking football, not, would come in. Good luck filling in the stadium with that idea. Meanwhile, in June 2020, their leavers will be at top clubs getting the salaries their skills deserve and their manager will at a club which prioritises on the pitch football.
Meanwhile, for Tottenham fans, it will be a case of so close, yet so far. The dream that almost came true. No worries, the person who got them close to the dream has gone and the person who was instrumental to breaking the dream is still there. Glory glory Tottenham Hotspur.
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