Paul Merson has claimed that he was “shocked” by Mauricio Pochettino’s suggestion that Tottenham need to “rebuild”.
The Spurs boss made the comment, as reported by the Evening Standard, in the aftermath of his side’s penalty shootout defeat to Colchester United in the Carabao Cup on Tuesday night, but Merson has revealed that he was baffled by the admission.
Speaking on Sky Sports (Sky Sports Premier League, 14.43, Saturday September 28th), he said: “That shocked me.
“There’s something going on there that we don’t know. There’s definitely something going on.
“It seems like there’s a divide. I don’t know what it is, but at the moment, I worry for Tottenham.”
Is Merson right to be shocked?
To be honest, these feel like exceptionally weird comments from Pochettino.
Spurs may have built a reputation for stinginess in the transfer market, but with the signings of Tanguy Ndombele, Ryan Sessegnon, Giovani Lo Celso, and Jack Clarke, they have more than outdone themselves in terms of transfer activity this summer.
Moreover, Spurs managed to hang on to several key players who were linked with exits during the transfer window.
The likes of Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld face uncertain futures at Spurs, as reported by the Daily Mail, but as it stands they are still Tottenham players, and in that sense, Pochettino can have nothing to complain about.
Presumably, Pochettino should be happier than he has been in the previous summers purely based on the fact that he has been able to add to his squad.
And yet, this team feels more disjointed than it has at any point in recent times. Results have not been up to scratch and the manager himself has hit out at members of his squad who may be playing with “different agendas” to his own, as reported by the Telegraph.
Merson isn’t the only one to notice it either.
Ian Holloway, speaking to The Sack Race, has also suggested that “something isn’t right” in north London. Whatever the matter is, however, the last thing you would expect Pochettino to blame would be his transfer activity.
On the other hand, Mark Lawrenson has claimed that the club are “a long way off being in a crisis”, as per BBC Sport.
If that is the case, then Pochettino’s comments are even more baffling.
A 2-1 win over Southampton on Saturday was hardly the resounding result needed to put this matter to bed, but whether you agree with Merson and Holloway, or Lawrenson, the truth is that Pochettino is out of order by suggesting he needs time to rebuild.