Tottenham fans want Mauricio Pochettino back… but it could be another mistake

Twenty minutes to midnight and a growing crowd of weary Tottenham supporters as they waited for the Victoria Line platforms to reopen at Seven Sisters began chanting about Mauricio Pochettino.

‘He’s magical, you know,’ the song goes, and that would help, but is he really?

Pochettino failed to conjure up a trophy in five full seasons at Spurs, eventually becoming exasperated by the very limitations Antonio Conte complained about when they slipped feebly out of the Champions League on Wednesday, failing to score in two. matches against Milan.

Just as he was unable to score a goal in two games against Leipzig, the last time he was in this phase of the same competition, under the orders of José Mourinho, three years ago.

Rumors of concern echoed through the stadium and from the dressing room, with Richarlison expressing disappointment that he did not start against Milan.

Spurs limped out of the Champions League with a 0-0 draw against AC Milan on Wednesday.

Spurs chairman Daniel Levy (left) watched from the stands as under-fire boss Antonio Conte could do little to inspire his team to success in the round of 16 tie.

“I’m very sorry for the fans, but we can’t make up the victory,” Conte said afterwards. “It’s important to know this and not wait for a miracle that one day a trophy will come to us.”

There is no magic wand. ‘Time and patience’ has become Conte’s catchphrase ever since he realized what it’s like to manage Tottenham, considered among the Premier League’s elite but with just two League Cup wins to prove all the money. spent and all the hope generated in the last. 32 years

They may have the best stadium with Beyonce, the Red Hot Chilli Peppers, and go-karting along the way. But they trail a distant sixth of the Big Six. Quite possibly soon it will be overtaken by Newcastle. And with Harry Kane approaching the final year of his contract, looking to move on.

The outlook isn’t particularly rosy, which might be why fans chant for Pochettino because they can remember when they couldn’t win anything with him, at least the football was decent to watch.

This has not been the case this season under the orders of Conte, who has sought to cover the shortcomings of the squad by pressing back and trusting in Kane and Son Heung-min to find a goal at halftime.

Sections of Tottenham fans have long wanted Pochettino’s return since his departure in 2019.

Pedro Porro shares a discussion with Conte on the touchline as he comes on as a substitute

Frustrated striker Richarlison expressed his dissatisfaction after the match due to his lack of playing time.

It’s clear his players don’t enjoy this restricted style, but whenever he’s tried to loosen up and be more adventurous, they’ve been too weak on defense. They lack strength at the back and protecting them in midfield costs them creativity, especially without Rodrigo Bentancur.

This would have been on his mind when he sent in Davinson Sánchez as a late substitute, to fix the back three after Cristian Romero’s red card, leaving attackers Arnaut Danjuma and Lucas Moura unused on the bench.

The Tottenham crowd roundly booed the decision. They needed a goal and wanted to see more risk. Conte, on the other hand, was thinking: ‘Milan scores and it’s over, but if we can keep them out, Kane could still find the net.’

Kane was about to, but saved a last-gasp header. Conte is not a cup. He’s a winning coach even if he’s done it before with teams closer to the top of the food chain. Win with Juventus and Inter in Italy. Win with Chelsea in England.

His time at Spurs, however, has run its course. He’s ready to go and no one is desperate to keep him.

It was a success appointing him at a time when president Daniel Levy needed to reinvigorate the place after Nuno Espirito Santo, but he was never a natural fit for the club, always yearning for bigger players to compete for bigger prizes and satisfy his limitless ambition. .

The same as Mourinho before him. And who’s to say Pochettino won’t be the same since his time at Paris Saint-Germain, working with Neymar, Kylian Mbappe and Lionely Messi, and flirting with jobs at Manchester United and Real Madrid.

Spurs fans want Pochettino back, but the Argentine also failed to bring success to the club

His successor, José Mourinho, was sacked a week before his team played in the League Cup final.

If he is to come back and replace Conte, either at the end of the season or sooner, he will not be the same manager plucked from Southampton nine years ago, hungry to work with better players, ready to develop promising youngsters.

He was not the same coach when he was fired, four months after losing the Champions League final. At the time, he was demanding that Tottenham start behaving like a small club, spending big and chasing down star players.

Then again, the club’s best signings have often been low-key. Gareth Bale, Christian Eriksen and Luka Modric come to mind. Kane cost them nothing, and he was there the whole time.

Oh, that would be a fabulous story. The prodigal son and all that. Full of emotion. Pochettino is charismatic, popular and likeable. The media would enjoy it, no doubt. So would many followers, but not all.

Even as the choir began to grow in support in the Seven Sisters, there were dissenting voices. Those who fear another turn of the same old wheel of misfortune. Never go back, they say.

Look back at the most successful managerial appointments in the Levy era. They are Harry Redknapp and Pochettino, drawn from old-fashioned clubs further down the Premier League. Martin Jol also did a good job, rising unrecognized from his role as Jacques Santini’s assistant.

Along with Pochettino, Spurs’ top managerial appointments came with little fanfare in Martin Jol (left) and Harry Redknapp, who both led the club to higher levels.

All three were fired when Levy thought it was time for something more sophisticated or something more commercial. Someone from the top of the line super trainer circuit to take them to the next mythical level and extend their global appeal.

Jol was fired by Juande Ramos. Redknapp by André Villas-Boas. Pochettino for Mourinho.

Tottenham should think about their level and not the next. That could be someone like Roberto de Zerbi or Steve Cooper as well as Pochettino Returns or Thomas Tuchel, another on the Chelsea rebound.

Consider managers who might be excited to develop the team they will have, rather than those who will be agitated by signings they can’t get, and who can tune in a frequency to the recruiting team and club identity. Get it right and magic could happen.