WHY IS POCH LOSING MAGIC TOUCH?
Three defeats in a row, flaky at the back and Kane feeling the strain. . .
According to La Gazzetta dello Sport, Tottenham had committed the ‘sin of presumption’ in the San Siro.
They failed to crush their opponents when the chance was there and paid the price for underestimating inter Milan’s powers of recovery.
‘An unusual error for the English,’ noted Gazzetta, an aside which will send a shudder through Mauricio Pochettino. The Spurs boss has not been happy all season, fearing complacency as much as fatigue from players who returned amid high praise from the World cup.
Pochettino warned his team not to be deceived by their 3-0 win at Manchester United and was furious when it went apparently unheeded as they tossed away a lead to lose at Watford.
defeat in italy breaks new territory. never before has he lost three in a row at Tottenham and now a trip to Brighton on Saturday takes on added significance.
Brighton, on their day, can beat strong teams at the Amex Stadium, as Arsenal and United will testify. And despite various vows of defiance from his players as they left Milan, the problems are stacking up for Pochettino.
NO KILLER INSTINCT
Attention is trained on Harry Kane and he is not at his best. He has scored twice this season but, at his best, would take the chance he missed in the first half at inter.
‘Harry is not a machine,’ said Erik Lamela. ‘He scores a lot. He always scores. For two or three games he didn’t, but he will score again. it’s not like Harry needs to score every single game. christian scored in Milan, i scored against Liverpool.
‘Sonny will score. Lucas will score. All the pressure is not on Harry. All the attacking players need to score.’ no mention of Fernando Llorente or Vincent Janssen, two international strikers at the club with a combined total of three goals in 45 Premier League games for Tottenham.
SOFT AT SET-PIECES
of greater concern to Pochettino (right) might be the flakiness which has seeped back into the team. They have caved in under pressure and conceded late in the game at Watford and inter. ‘ We obviously recognise that’s where the majority of goals are coming from,’ said full back Ben davies. ‘ That’s frustrating. it’s difficult to put our fingers on it. We have to go back to basics and work on that.
‘We have to go back to the training pitch and look at what we could have done better and try to improve. it’s just about working hard.’
ABSENT LEADER
club captain Hugo Lloris has been out with a thigh injury since soon after the shock of his drink- drive offence, fine and ban, depriving Spurs of his authority and calming influence at the back. Michel Vorm, criticised during the defeat by Liverpool, made no glaring errors in Milan and made some decent saves — but Tottenham still miss Lloris.
WORLD CUP HANGOVER
Pochettino has been at pains to avoid talking about fatigue. Some managers consider it a state of mind. But he was concerned about so many of his players going deep into the World cup.
They returned after 21 days’ rest and straight into the season without the usual fitness work they rely upon to survive the long haul of two games a week. He would have preferred not to throw so many into the opener at newcastle but injuries and poor form elsewhere forced his hand. He is trying to keep them fresh by rotation.
INJURIES AND NO FRESH FACES
Lloris is a big loss. So, too, dele Alli, a big-game player, always capable of finding a goal at the right moment and working off the ball with supreme levels of natural stamina.
Also, when Pochettino needed his fringe players to step in and provide more time for the World cup players, injuries robbed him of Harry Winks, Victor Wanyama and Moussa Sissoko.
Son Heung-min was given dispensation to play in the Asian games, returning with the gold medal that allows him to avoid doing national service in South Korea.
There have been no new signings, of course, but also no youngsters demanding recognition. Josh onomah and cameron carter-Vickers are back out on loan. Juan Foyth is not threatening the centre halves. nor is georges-Kevin n’Koudou on the wing.
Players with their eyes on the exit could not be moved on. Toby Alderweireld remains with an exit clause in his contract. danny rose did not land the move north he was hoping for. Mousa dembele is into the final year of his contract.
STADIUM STALLING
The team have lost their forward momentum against a backdrop of delays with the new £850million stadium at White Hart Lane. Spurs will play their next home game at Milton Keynes and will still be hosting champions League fixtures at Wembley in november.
Fans are behind Pochettino and the team. He’s magic you know, as the song goes, and he has taken them into the champions League and closer to the biggest prizes. Yet the twin perils of homelessness and defeat will test everyone’s patience.
This season was supposed to be an exciting time for Tottenham, opening a magnificent stadium for a fast-evolving team.
The notion of positive energies draining away will not escape Pochettino as he tires of fielding questions about things going not quite right. He is a manager who promotes the holistic nature of his job. He must search for a spell to reverse the flow.
He is not the type to presume everything will work out fine.