OPINION
Talk about a bombshell.
Any Tottenham fan concluding their team are back on the right track after Saturday evening’s 2-1 win over Brighton ended a run of three consecutive defeats will have to think again.
Mauricio Pochettino has dropped some grenades in his updated book that threatens to destroy Spurs’ season and strongly suggests his time at the club is coming to an end.
Brave New World: Inside Pochettino’s Spurs, the behind-the-scenes story at the club in the manager’s own words, has a new chapter that takes in the events of the 2017-18 season, in which the club finished third in the Premier League but failed to end their trophy drought following demoralising Champions League and FA Cup defeats at the hands of Juventus and Chelsea..
Author Guillem Balague writes in June 2018 (p. 277-278) how Pochettino had signed a new five-year contract the previous month but only after extensive conversations with chairman Daniel Levy that made it clear the team needed a total overhaul and a new direction this summer.
“Levy had to do one of two things, either get rid of certain players and replace them with others who were good enough or look for another coach,” Balague explains. “The renewal of his contract at the end of May was the consequence of some tough, but totally necessary, conversations that took place and was an indication of how the club responded to his demands.
“The project conceived by him up to that moment had come to an end. It was time to be rid of those who lacked commitment, those who could not help the club to grow.
“It was now time to set about renewing the dream by bringing in a new energy in the shape of players of the highest possible calibre.
“The 2018-19 season would not be like the last. The club had to admit that it had made mistakes and they needed to learn from them. Bravery can sometimes be at its best when the accelerator is pressed to the floor.”
So, what happened in the three months between Pochettino’s demand, as relayed by Balague, and the end of the summer transfer window in which the manager clearly demanded an overhaul of the team?
Absolutely nothing. Talks to sell star Spurs names resulted in nothing other than them staying. Negotiations to replace them drew a blank.
Balague does not name the players Pochettino wanted out, but it can be safely assumed that first-team trio Toby Alderweireld, Danny Rose and Mousa Dembele feature among them, as well as striker Vincent Janssen, who has been stripped of his shirt number.
All four remain at the club, and three of them were in the starting XI against Brighton on Saturday.
Clearly, Levy and Pochettino expected to raise £150million by selling the big names over the summer, and the manager was forced to climb down and get three of them back on board after new clubs could not be found.
It leaves Spurs in a mess that threatens to not only cast a shadow over their season, but totally destroy it.
The manager didn’t get what he wanted – demanded, even – and relations with Levy have surely suffered huge damage as a result.