Our miracle-man Poch is ready to do it all again
SPURS’ BOSS WILL THRIVE SAYS ALLEN
MAURICIO POCHETTINO is about to work another miracle but he needs Tottenham to spend big again in January to do it.
That is the verdict of former Spurs great Clive Allen, who graced White Hart Lane as a player and coach.
Spurs are in the doldrums after a mixed summer in the transfer market, a nightmare start to the season, and continuing unrest around the future of Pochettino and several of his players.
But Allen, who is famous for scoring a club-record 49 goals in the 1986-87 season, says there is no chance their most successful manager of recent times will walk away.
And he believes Pochettino is about to turn things around
– with the club’s full backing.
Allen, 58, said: “I don’t think they’ll lose him. Not in the immediate future, certainly.
“Mauricio and Daniel Levy have a good relationship and that will continue, I feel.
“His frustration is that they didn’t win the Champions League and he’s had to start again. But he can do that. He’s capable.
“He’s had five magnificent years there. Champions League qualification each year, then to go to the final, that’s massive progress. But there comes a time when it has to move forwards with new players.
“There’s been a hangover from the final and how it’s affected the group. I’m sure come January they’ll add to the squad.”
In his new autobiography ‘Up Front’ Allen recalls being part of the coaching set-up when Harry Redknapp asked Levy for Carlos Tevez and Gary Cahill in January 2012 and got Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen on free transfers instead. He still believes that failure to back the manager contributed to Spurs missing out on the Champions League that year. But he says times are different now – for one big £1bn reason.
Allen said: “The chairman and directors have delivered in a big way with the training ground, and particularly with the new stadium. It’s probably the best football stadium in the world. The cost to deliver that and for the team to stay in the position it’s in has been nothing short of a miracle.
“Moving forward I think they’ve got themselves into a fantastic position now. They will attract the top players with the revenue the stadium will produce.” ●UP FRONT by Clive Allen with James Olley is published today by deCoubertin Books. To order a signed copy visit deCoubertin.co.uk/cliveallen