MAURICIO IN FOR THE LONG HAUL
MAURICIO POCHETTINO stands out from his rival managers in the Premier League’s top six.
Why? Because the Tottenham boss goes into the new season under less pressure than Pep Guardiola and Jose Mourinho in Manchester, Jurgen Klopp at Liverpool and fellow London-based chiefs Antonio Conte and Arsene Wenger. Spurs finished second to Conte’s Chelsea champions last season. But while winning the title one season at Chelsea doesn’t mean keeping your job the next – as Mourinho can testify – Spurs could drop to sixth and Pochettino, 45, would still be safe. That’s because the Tottenham board understand that moving to Wembley this season will make life harder for the Argentine (left).
They will lose the lively atmosphere of White Hart Lane and every away club will feel like they are playing in the cup final.
But whatever happens this season Spurs want Pochettino at the helm, as they love having a manager who likes to develop players from the club’s academy rather than spend fortunes.
He even pulled the plug on a deal for Estudiantes defender Juan Foyth, 19, because he felt the £8million fee was too high. NORWICH
CITY sporting director Stuart Webber the club’s has shaken up Among scouting department. are Asa Hartford the departures popular and Colin Suggett, Road. Webber figures at Carrow
Chris Badlan has brought in to head up and Kieran Scott European and domestic scouting for the Championship side.
WEST HAM appear best equipped to make the l eap f r om mid- t abl e obscurity to top-seven contender this season.
More than £40million invested in landing playmaker Marko Arnautovic from Stoke and hitman Javier Hernandez from Bayer Leverkusen suggests Slaven Bilic’s East Enders will be heading the Premier League’s chasing pack in 2017-18.
Now, of course, actually breaking into the top-flight’s top seven at the summit of English football i s another matter altogether.
In recent times only the Hammers, Southampton and, most famously of all, Leicester managed to make a significant dent on that group seemingly destined every year to grab the Champions League and Europa League places.
However, that does not stop loaded owners and ambitious managers dreaming of taking the next step up the ladder.
In addition to the Saints, Foxes and Irons, West Brom, Stoke and Crystal Palace will this season aim to be safe as quickly as possible – by reaching the magical 40-point mark – before taking a shot at European qualification.
And we can probably add Bournemouth to that bunch as their much-admired manager Eddie Howe continues to build a squad capable of mixing it with the big boys.
But if the Cherries are preparing for only their third season ever in the top tier, West Ham are a rather more established force at this level.
And one man reasonably impressed by this summer’s transfer activity in and out of the London Stadium is former Irons defender Stuart Pearce.
After struggling badly last term with a new ground, the saga surrounding Dimitri Payet and a string of poor signings, the arrival of Arnautovic and Hernandez – along with on-loan Man City keeper Joe Hart and former Etihad right-back Pablo Zabaleta – signals better times ahead.
And if they can also resolve the injury problems that have plagued striker Andy Carroll in the last couple of campaigns, West Ham can be a real force, according to Pearce.
The ex-England ace, now a pundit with TalkSPORT, said: “The big key once again will be Carroll. Is he fit or not? Is he going to cause problems for opposition defences or will he be sitting on the treatment table?
“Carroll with Hernandez is a real goal threat. You can’t beat one in the air and the other one runs in behind you. It’s a double whammy.”
When it comes to the potential impact of club-record £25m buy Arnautovic, Pearce is less positive, adding: “He is either a three or nine out of ten.”
If he is underwhelmed with Arnautovic, it is the complete reverse when Pearce discusses t he managerial t alent at Bournemouth and West Brom.
Full of praise for both Howe and Baggies counterpart Tony Pulis, he said: “Eddie is one of the top young managers in the land and his club are going in the right direction. They are an exciting set-up and could be the surprise package this year.
“And, for me, Tony Pulis is the most under-rated manager in the country. People dismiss him because he only keeps his teams in the division. Well, move him on and see where West Brom go.
“He is brilliant at what he does. They will be comfortably midtable.”
As f or t he other t eams with aspirations of a top-half finish – Stoke, Leicester and