Andros Townsend has claimed that the likes of Manchester United, Arsenal and Chelsea are looking to replicate Mauricio Pochettino’s success at Tottenham by offering jobs to young managers and trusting in the long-term process.
Pochettino did not do particularly well in his first season at Tottenham but the North Londoners backed his decision to get rid of some big-name players, with the Argentine placing his trust in up and coming youngsters who bought into his style of play.
The decision proved to be the right one as Pochettino was able to quickly transform the team from top four hopefuls to title challengers.
The Argentine even took Spurs to the brink of European glory despite having no investment in the squad that season.
Townsend believes that the likes of Arsenal and Chelsea are hoping that Mikel Arteta and Frank Lampard are able to do something similar at their respective clubs and facilitate the development of young players.
The former Spurs winger told talkSPORT Breakfast: “I think these clubs, Manchester United, Chelsea and Arsenal. For me, they have looked at Spurs. They have looked at Spurs under Pochettino.
“How did Spurs get from sixth, seventh in the table to challenging for the title and the Champions League final without spending relatively that much amount of money.
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“I think they have looked at, we need to bring young players through, we need a young and attractive coach, who likes to play good football. We will buy players for £5 or 6 million and make them into world-class players.
“So, I think they have gone down the five-year plan route and all these clubs have now got young and attractive managers, who like to bring through the youth. I think in three or four years time if these clubs stick with these managers then they will bear the fruits like Spurs did.
“I know people will batter me and say ‘Spurs didn’t win a trophy’ but they got damn close.”
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While the comparison to Lampard at Chelsea might not be a fair one given the funds the Chelsea boss has been handed in the transfer window, Townsend certainly makes a good point.
The likes of Arsenal are hoping that Arteta is able to do something similar to what Pochettino did at Spurs by bringing the best out of young players as the Gunners are not in a position to compete in the market for top-tier talent.
Ironically, Spurs have now gone the opposite way by seemingly prioritising short-term success over long-term club building by appointing Mourinho.
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