Sport
Tottenham’s struggles to regain their identity since Pochettino
Since sacking Mauricio Pochettino in the autumn of 2019, Tottenham Hotspur have been caught in middle of an identity crisis. But they’ve never been able to match the quality, connection or success of the Argentine’s reign.
Daniel Levy, Spurs’ increasingly unpopular chairman, made the decision to part with Pochettino because of a lack of silverware. Although they had a team full of quality young players who had both finished second in the Premier League and reached the Champions League final, they had not managed to end a trophy drought which had lasted since 2008. Pochettino’s team played high octane, attacking football, but couldn’t quite get over the line when it mattered.
Nevertheless, there was a sense that winning trophies for the sake of it was not Pochettino’s aim; he consistently spoke about targeting bigger competitions ahead of the domestic cups. Although he didn’t quite leap the final hurdle; he definitely changed perceptions. That’s what mattered to him; Spurs were no longer a joke, they were a serious club and team. It was he who created an environment which made building a new, £1bn, 62,000-seater stadium a natural progression. But by the time he left, things were turning stale and needed refreshing. The mistake Levy made was not giving Pochettino the freedom to oversee things.
Instead, he opted for the perceived trophy ‘guarantee’ in Jose Mourinho. No more attacking energy, and the good spirit at the club which allowed the likes of Dele Alli to thrive also went. Dele’s career never recovered, and although Harry Kane kept scoring goals, Mourinho bemoaned the attitude and lack of bite in his team. There was none of the connection, Spurs fans began to feel as though their team wasn’t theirs anymore. But even then, the biggest irony was Levy’s decision, having hired Mourinho for trophies, to sack him a week out from the Carabao Cup final against Manchester City.
After an ill-fated few months with Nuno Espirito Santo in charge, Antonio Conte arrived. His reign promised to be a continuation of Mourinho’s, but Levy would accept that if he were able to win a trophy. He restored Champions League football, but never got close to a title, and left in a blaze of glory in the spring of 2023, launching into a public rant against the club and environment in which he was working.
In four years, Spurs had lost the competitive edge and style which entertained their fans. Kane, their captain and greatest ever academy product, left for Bayern Munich, finally admitting defeat in his personal campaign to lift a trophy with his club.
In came Ange Postecoglou. He found a club that had effectively come full circle; selling their ideals in order to win something under a coach who didn’t think of much else. They longed to feel together again, enjoy themselves again. Though he’d won trophies at Celtic, he didn’t have the reputation as winner Conte or Mourinho did. He promised entertainment, and his affable nature endeared himself to the fans.
But the Australian’s own principles are so strong that he puts them above anything else. He will not change, believing they will bring success naturally, even if the evidence is stacked against him. His desire to attack neglects defensive issues, magnifying them in turn, but still, he remains unmoved in his approach. Currently in the Premier League’s bottom half, they are where you’d expect a team with such wild inconsistencies to be.
Given that Spurs sacked Pochettino to win things only to revert to type, it is clear they need balance. Postecoglou won’t change, so how long until they do again?
