Paul Merson has claimed that Mauricio Pochettino has taken his Tottenham side as far as he can, and believes that he is ‘ticking all the boxes’ to be offered the Manchester United job.
Spurs were knocked out of the Carabao Cup on Thursday night by Chelsea in which a number of the club’s fringe players feature due to vary reasons.
Merson has argued that even Pochettino’s handling of that defeat was admirable, but he didn’t shy away from slamming those who came into the side at Stamford Bridge.
Speaking on Soccer Saturday (January 26, Sky Sports News, 12:00pm), he said: “Watching the other night, nobody can miss the three players that they missed. The players that have come in are nowhere near as good as them. It’s different if they’re like 10% less better than them, but they’re probably 50% worse, no disrespect.
“I think the lad’s class. He could have made up a million excuses, and we’ve seen it with other managers. This is where I think he’s ticking all the boxes for Man United. If you’re on the board at Man United you’re thinking ‘this boy’s class, he isn’t digging anybody out, he just gets on with it’.
“I like him, I think he’s a top manager, I think he’s taken this team as far as he can. This team isn’t winning the league.”
OPINION
Spurs fans will hate to admit it, but Merson is probably right on this one. Without any kind of investment, it’s hard to see how Pochettino can take Tottenham forward, and it’s looking increasingly likely that financial backing will not be forthcoming. The Argentine is a model manager, well-liked, professional, gracious, and diplomatic, and he would be a massive coup for any team. The issue Spurs have is that they are hurtling towards a massive crossroads. The choice is simple, break with tradition and spend big to go all out for a title, or at least some kind of silverware, or accept that they have hit their ceiling, allow Pochettino to leave, risk losing a whole host of players alongside him, and then restart the building process all over again. It’s obvious which path the fans would prefer, but that might not be the most prudent business move, and at the end of the day, Levy will probably favour conservatism.