Spurs' Pursuit of Saints Scouting Chief Is Right Move but Won't Solve Problems

The arrival of Franco Baldini as Tottenham's technical director was supposed to create ideal conditions for their manager to succeed. Using his network of contacts across Europe, Baldini should have been finding appropriate targets based on the recommendations of the coach and bringing them to the club. 

Unfortunately, even with the approximately €100 million from the sale of Gareth Bale, Baldini failed in his task. If the stories are to be believed, then-manager Andre Villas-Boas was given inferior, inexperienced versions of many of his top targets. According to Jack de Menezes of the Independent, AVB was set against four of the so-called "magnificent seven" signed with the Bale bonanza. 

Tom Collomosse of the London Evening Standard recently suggested that Baldini could lose his job after this season. 

AVB paid for Baldini's errors with his job, but now, after a difficult start to the season under new manager Mauricio Pochettino, chairman Daniel Levy has shifted his gaze to the technical director. 

Earlier in the season, it was reported that Levy was determined to shake up Spurs' antiquated scouting system. The head of analysis, Jonathan Beaker, was the first member of staff to leave the club, but more significant changes are now on the horizon. 

According to reports from the Guardian,  the Telegraph and MailOnline, Levy has concluded that Southampton's head of recruitment Paul Mitchell is the man to spearhead his overhaul of Spurs' transfer dealings. 

Two summers ago, Southampton spent big, paying £36 million for Victor Wanyama, Dani Osvaldo and Dejan Lovren. Those transfers can be judged a mixed success. Lovren moved on to Liverpool for £20 million, and Wanyama is taking some time to adjust to the Premier League. Osvaldo's explosive personality always made that move a gamble, and it has proved a fruitless one, with the Italian international telling Sky Sport Italia that he is keen to see out his Saints deal on loan in Italy (h/t Press Association and the Daily Mail).

Previous big-money moves made under Mitchell, including the £12 million spent on Gaston Ramirez, also raise questions, but the summer of 2014 saw several shrewd transfers. The acquisition of Dusan Tadic, eyed by many supposedly bigger clubs, was perhaps the highlight. 

Mitchell has won deserved plaudits for his exploits in the transfer window, and his relationship with Pochettino would contribute to his success with Tottenham. 

Pochettino has recommended him, and if Levy were to acquire his services, it would serve to underline the strength of the Argentine's position at the club.

Acquiring Mitchell and upgrading Spurs' scouting department would shift player recruitment from a weakness to a strength and serve to deepen Pochettino's connections with the club. 

It is a shrewd (albeit predictable) move from Levy, but it will not solve Spurs' real problems. 

Two factors have contributed to Spurs' poor start to the season and regrettable recent transfer record. 

One is a lack of stability. Football players are far more delicate than they appear. The upheaval of managerial change can prevent them from reaching their best form. Constant changes of team-mates also create a less than ideal atmosphere for development.

Pochettino appears to have no fear for his position. The manager has criticised the culture within the club and promised to make his underperforming players "suffer" as he attempts to drag them forward.  

He insists that even the worst performers can grow under his guidance, and perhaps some of Baldini's credibility can be restored in the same way Damien Comolli's has been.

Comolli left the club in 2008 with Juande Ramos and was judged an utter failure. As players like Gareth Bale and Luka Modric emerged into genuine stars, many fans began to suggest that Comolli had been harshly judged. The same may eventually be true of Baldini. 

Unfortunately, the only real solution to that lack of stability is time. 

The other (and more significant) factor is Levy himself. The chairman insists on being involved in transfer deals, and any Spurs fan can reel off a list of transfers that broke down due to Levy's intransigence. Levy has often helped Spurs win transfer battles, but it seems as if he is losing the broader war. Tottenham have missed out on the difference-making players while acquiring inferior imitators. 

The removal of Baldini (who must be labelled a failure) and the installation of Mitchell and a raft of new scouts can be the bridge to genuine growth.

If Levy builds a grand new scouting and player-acquisition apparatus but continues to be involved in the daily goings-on, Spurs will make no progress.

If not, the club remains stuck in frustrating mediocrity.