Old frustrations re-emerge and Pochettino deserves sympathy

By Ryan Conway

Even Pep Guardiola had a touch of sympathy for his adversary. The Manchester City manager dubbed the playing surface at Wembley as “Not football conditions” after he left the capital with all three points following a narrow 1-0 win.

Mauricio Pochettino has had to endure the national stadium while Tottenham move from White Hart Lane into Tottenham Hotspur Stadium. Delays to the opening of their new home was one problem. The added stress of having to play the champions on a surface which hosted an NFL game one day prior was an extra body blow.

The Spurs manager acknowledged the situation calling it his “worst feeling” as boss, “It’s so difficult to explain because many things happen,” he said, “I am disappointed we are still waiting for the new stadium when the expectation was to be there at the beginning of the season.”

Spurs have enjoyed their best Premier League start, but a run of three without a win, a miserable Champions League campaign so far and now more stadium woes – along with the small mentions of their failure to strengthen their squad in the transfer window – have stoked frustrations.

The season has been filled with irritations, a capitulation in Italy against Inter Milan was followed up by a 4-2 home defeat to Barcelona. The latter fixture came when Spurs were missing Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen and Moussa Dembele to name but three.

Their European misery continued in the Netherlands. A moment of madness from Hugo Lloris had Tottenham face the final 11 minutes a man light. They eventually surrendered their 2-1 advantage to settle for an unsatisfactory point. More poor fortune for their Argentine manager.

While Pochettino must be partly held accountable for some of their shortcomings this season, there is no doubt that the underlying problem is not of his own doing.

The stadium move has tightened the purse strings, and they will remain tight for seasons to come one would imagine. Throughout the process the former Southampton manager has turned Spurs into perennial figures in the Premier League’s top four. And on a couple occasions as outside title contenders.

The foundations Pochettino has laid have been put on hold while the club finalise their moving in and settling in period.

Across London, similar had happened when Arsenal moved from their iconic Highbury to The Emirates Stadium in 2006. There could be fears that a similar fate will strike Tottenham just as some of key players matured.

Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Kieran Trippier and Ben Davis have all become been blooded and become vital members of the squad. Christian Eriksen, Heund-Min Son, Davinson Sanchez and Mousa Dembele were all brought in from external sources but complete what is an impressive spine to build a title charge on.

With funds now set to be at a premium, as evidenced by their failure to bolster their squad during the transfer window, and after prized right back Kyle Walker jump shit and lift titles, one will wonder if Pochettino may also turn elsewhere should the constant restrictions placed upon him from higher powers continue.

In Spain, Real Madrid just relieved Julen Lopetegui of his duties just four and a half months into his tenure following a crushing 5-1 defeat at the hands of bitter rivals Barcelona.

Although several big names have already been connected to the job, and managerial changes of such magnitude are rare at this stage of the season, when the Spanish giants are involved anything is possible.

Pochettino has done a remarkable job since taking the reigns of a muddled Tottenham team, will instability bookend his tenure?