Former Liverpool forward Robbie Fowler has praised the job that Mauricio Pochettino has done at Tottenham Hotspur over the past five years but feels that it is time for the club and the Argentine to now part ways.
Fowler rubbished suggestions that Pochettino could be sacked but questioned if he would himself be wondering if his work at Spurs was done.
In his column for the Daily Mirror, Fowler wrote, “Tottenham reached the Champions League final five months ago. Before that, their manager has taken them into the top four for the past four years.
“Bill Nicholson is the last Spurs manager to do that. I’ll struggle to support the sacking of any manager if I’m honest.
“But I’m coming around to the idea that Poch himself may be wondering if he’s done his stint at the club and the time has come to move on.
“He’s produced a brilliant young side and made them a real force in Europe on a net spend of around £90million in five years. Man City have spent getting on for a billion in that time.
“I don’t know what he’s thinking at the moment, but I do know there’ll be far more questions inside his own head than anyone else is asking.”
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Fowler, who now manages Australian A-League club Brisbane Roar, said that Spurs would have been better served selling the likes of Christian Eriksen and Toby Alderweireld a year or two ago and reinvesting the money back into the squad rather than playing hardball and allowing them to run down their contracts.
He said, “If Spurs have made a mistake, then it’s playing hard ball with the likes of Christian Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen. They’ve missed out on the money that could have given them the final push.
“Like Philippe Coutinho’s huge transfer fee paid by Barcelona did for Liverpool.
“What is it Kenny Rogers said? ‘You’ve got to know when to hold ’em, know when to fold ’em’. That’s not the manager’s fault.”
Fowler also suggested that perhaps it was time for Spurs to look for a younger and more hungry manager who can bring the same energy that Pochettino bought when he first arrived at the club.
Fowler added, “I also get it that Spurs maybe need a manager at a different stage in his career too.
“Pochettino was young and hungry and prepared to work within their financial limitations, build a young side with an emphasis on development.
“He’s on a different trajectory now, but maybe Tottenham aren’t. Maybe they need a young Pochettino again, someone who can work within their budget and develop another young team, promoting from within and nurturing talent.”
Spurs Web Opinion
As long as Pochettino still has the hunger to turn things around at the club, then there is no doubt that he is the man for the job. The Argentine has to be backed in the next few transfer windows and allowed to rebuild the squad as this team has clearly come to the end of their cycle. At a minimum, I don’t see Pochettio leaving before the end of the season.
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