After Tottenham’s shock defeat to Colchester United on penalties, Mauricio Pochettino hinted at the fact that some of his players had different agendas and that Spurs could only fix their problems when the transfer window reopens in January (Football.London).
While some people have interpreted that as a criticism of the lack of commitment from some Spurs stars, former striker Peter Crouch believes the manager is frustrated that the team haven’t earned the glory they deserve.
The lanky forward, who spent two seasons at White Hart Lane as a professional after joining from Portsmouth in the summer of 2009, opined that the team were still suffering from a hangover from their defeat in the Champions League final.
In his column for the Daily Mail, the England striker wrote, “Pochettino might not be happy with certain aspects of his squad but not to the point that he has lost faith in them. If anything, it looks to me that he is frustrated that they are not getting the ‘glory’ they deserve.
“He used that word repeatedly in his press conference this week — glory is the reason we play football and it’s fair to say a part of Pochettino is still grieving over losing the Champions League final in June. I can understand that. I lost the 2007 Champions League final with Liverpool and still think about it with regret now.
“There has been a hangover since Madrid but sometimes you need a defeat such as the one at Colchester to refocus minds and it is not as if Pochettino does not know Tottenham will benefit from freshening things up through the course of the next two windows.”
While he claimed that Pochettino was indeed the man to take Tottenham forward, he believes that the Lilywhites need to freshen up their squad after retaining the same core group for the last five years.
MORE SPURS STORIES
Crouch added, “This team has been together a long time. Five players who began his first game with a 1-0 win at West Ham in August 2014 (Hugo Lloris, Danny Rose, Eric Dier, Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen) remain regulars, while Harry Kane came off the bench. Jan Vertonghen was also at the club.
“Compare that number to Liverpool, Arsenal, Chelsea and Manchester City. Five years on, only one player from each team has remained a regular starter. They have all been re-energised and Pochettino recognises it is now Tottenham’s turn.
“If they need some change to the personnel, they don’t need it in the dugout. Pochettino is one of the best managers in the world and has many admirers — the work he has done to make Tottenham Champions League regulars should not be taken for granted.
“He is the man to lead them through this gloom and, most importantly, the man to keep taking Tottenham forward.”
Spurs Web Opinion
Perhaps it was wishful thinking to expect that there wouldn’t be a hangover from the Champions League campaign following the emotional toll that that the run to the final had on the squad, the coaching staff and the fans. I agree with Crouchy that Pochettino is the man to take Spurs forward and have no doubt that he will guide us to a fifth consecutive top four finish this season.
Keep up to date with all the latest Tottenham news and opinion by following SpursWeb’s Facebook, Twitter and Instagram accounts.
