Safety First

Whatever your spiritual convictions it is hard to deny the statement in the Bible that says,“A prudent man foresees the difficulties ahead and prepares for them; the simpleton goes blindly on and suffers the consequences.” Proverbs 22:3.

Mauricio Pochettino is increasingly looking prudent by the day. He has gone a step further to evade the pitfalls that sealed the fate of managers before him. He has seen difficulties that lie ahead this season unless the defence is sorted. The fact that we conceded 21 goals from self inflicted errors is something that has not gone unnoticed by the new gaffer.

Pochettino has an excellent football philosophy and it’s refreshing to see him tweak it based on the team he has inherited at Spurs. This is where managers fail sometimes by being obdurate and not altering their football tactics to get the best out of their current lineup.

It doesn’t take a genius or digging out stats on Squawka to work out our defensive department was the most inefficient sector of the team. Hapless and sloppy defending screwed the paucity of chances our attackers failed to take, which effectively curtailed any faint hopes we had last season, of achieving anything worthwhile.

There is no team that can envision a challenge in the league without the insurance of a safe-secure back four. The cross-section of our current defensive players stands like this. Super Jan, should he sign an extension, will help solidify our porous back line. Lloris already pledged his future to our cause so it’s assuring to have one of the best between the sticks still wearing our shirt. Benni is surely surplus to requirements now and will get his P45 anytime soon. The left back has talent but is just too unpredictable these days to be trusted with a starting berth. Oh Yes, and Dawson, the epitome of everything Spurs stand for, looks sadly to leave this window too. There are noises Kaboul might be off and even Chiricheș but I personally do not see them leaving especially the latter. Dier, Davies, Vorm and possibly Musacchio will herald the beginning of a new era, defence-wise.

This is not Fifa 14. We are not expecting fireworks straight from the off. In reality things take time. So it will be a while before the defence gets to know each other and function better as a unit, playing the high line Pochettino favours.

In this light, Mau Po, already looks a wise guy. Even before his journey into the unknown has begun, he has made sensible purchases. All defensive players mind you. There is little to suggest this is all a massive coincidence but rather a stroke of genius. He would have observed the humiliating defeats that cut short the tenures of both his predecessors and is making sure if worst was to happen it would not be for the same defensive malfunctions. The door to safety they say, swings on the hinges of common sense. Mau Po is clearly putting his to good use by shoring up the defence.

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