If anyone told us one year ago that Spurs and Leicester City will be leading the race for the Premier League title in the near future, we surely wouldn’t have believed them. And yet, here we are, with six more games to go, Leicester sitting top with 69 points and Tottenham trailing only a short way behind with 62.
These two unlikely contenders are right up there with the usual suspects and there’s a very real chance the title will go to one of the two. A lot has been said about the magnificent job Ranieri has done with Leicester this season, but has enough been said about Pochettino’s side and have Tottenham been pushed too far astray from being considered EPL betting favourites for the league?
Taking the league one step at a time
Surely not. Pochettino came to White Hart Lane with a very good reputation from Southampton, who he managed to take to upper mid-table standings. His first season at Spurs was not particularly good, with the club only managing to qualify for the Europa League from fifth place, one that Tottenham supporters have probably become sick of. They did manage to finish runners-up in the League Cup however, giving them much to look forward to as the 2015/16 approached.
An inspiring leader
This season, however, Tottenham are doing much better in the league, and there are few reasons behind that. The first is the way Pochettino manages his players emotionally. He requires nothing but the utmost dedication – his trainings sessions are hard, and people who lack discipline are quickly sent away either on loan or a permanent deal (see Townsend). He also treats the players as family, which can clearly be seen during games, which although may sometimes be a strange combination, it’s one that certainly seems to have worked so far.
Making Changes
Speaking of Townsend, another area where Pochettino has managed the club well has been in the transfer market. He came to the club after the summer that Gareth Bale was famously sold to Madrid – that sum was reinvested in the first team, and we all know how badly that panned out. Pochettino didn’t make any very spectacular signings, but he knew very well that he had to make changes. He sold a lot of players that were deemed unfit for Tottenham, including the likes of Kyle Naughton, Jonathan Obika, Iago Falque, Gilfy Sigurosson, Roberto Soldado, Jake Livermore and Heurelho Gomes, before adding to this list by selling Andros Townsend, Vlad Chiriches, Younes Kaboul, Paulinho, Lewis Holtby and Etienne Capoue – almost an entire team. His message was clear – he didn’t care how big a player’s name was, if they weren’t doing well in training or the job they’ve been asked to do, then they wouldn’t be playing.
After bringing in some savvy signings, he also made changes in the Tottenham playing style, one strongly influenced by Marcelo Bielsa’s philosophy. Spurs press high up the field, suffocating their opponents, relying on their attacking fullbacks (mostly Rose and Walker) and have a lot of flair behind the striker – with the likes of Lamela, Alli, Son or Eriksen. This season, Tottenham have played some hard-fought battles against sturdy opposition and collected wins in some of the hardest grounds in the Premier League.
Last but not least, Pochettino has shown great talent in promoting players and helping them reach their potential. Harry Kane, Danny Rose, Dele Alli, Ryan Mason, Nabil Bentaleb, Eric Dier – these are all very young players who constantly feature for Tottenham, with good success.
Pochettino’s season with Tottenham, whether they finish top or not, can be taken as an example to many mid table hangers on that big things can happen with the right manager. Even if they fail to claim the Premier League title this year, they have shown remarkable improvements and will be a force to be reckoned with next season.
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