How Mauricio Pochettino Turned Tottenham Hotspur from 'Spursy' to Contenders

Certain things are expected of certain clubs. Arsenal, for instance, are pencilled in as top-four fixtures every summer, with Manchester United targeting the title season after season. The same goes for Tottenham Hotspur, although rather less success is expected of them. So, after mounting an unlikely title challenge last term, they were expected to fall away this season. 

But with seven matches played of the 2016/17 season, Spurs look to be positioning themselves as Premier League title challengers once again. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are just a single point off Manchester City in top spot, with their 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s outfit a watershed moment for the White Hart Lane club. They must be taken seriously.

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Spurs’ form has been all the more impressive when taking into account how they have been without top goalscorer and attacking figurehead Harry Kane for the past few weeks. Factor in that Pochettino’s side are competing on both domestic and continental fronts—taking three points from their first two Champions League group games—and they clearly deserve their place among the elite.

Much of this is down to Pochettino. The influence of managers in the modern game is often overstated, but in Spurs’ case there can be no underestimating the impact the Argentinian coach has had.

He has made the most of the club’s squad, which, on paper, lags some way behind that of some of their Premier League rivals', excelling in the big games as a tactical mastermind. It takes a lot to out-think Guardiola, but that’s exactly what he did last month. 

Per Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, Guardiola gushed after City’s defeat at White Hart Lane: 

"

We played against Pochettino as players and then as coaches. I think he’s one of the best managers in the world, I enjoy watching Tottenham.

He’s doing an amazing job in London at Spurs. The way they play I like a lot, they’re aggressive and have a lot of quality. The basis of the team is the national team with [Dele] Alli, [Kyle] Walker, [Harry] Kane, they have a lot of quality. Last season they were there until the last couple of games for the championship.

"

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Now the challenge for Pochettino is to sustain Spurs’ title charge. A sense of frustration must surely persist at White Hart Lane over the way the club meekly conceded the title to Leicester City last season. The manager must harness that to ensure his team has the conviction and drive to go all the way this time round. 

Spurs’ recent surge has come as something of a surprise. With many of their Premier League rivals spending big during the summer, many criticised Tottenham for missing their chance to build on last season’s impressive efforts.

Indeed, there appeared to be unrest at the club over the less-than-prolific transfer strategy, with head of recruitment Paul Mitchell handing in his notice before the close of the summer window.

There is still a lot that could go wrong at Spurs this season. While the loss of Kane has been absorbed, would Pochettino be able to compensate for an injury to either Alli or Christian Eriksen? Could Spurs’ defence hold things together without one of either Toby Alderweireld or Jan Vertonghen?

Pochettino need only look to the Emirates Stadium for evidence on how injuries can derail a title challenge.

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Pochettino has dealt with everything thrown at him so far, though. It’s almost as if the Argentinian relishes the prospect of being written off, thriving when the odds are stacked against him and his team. Despite their occupation of the Premier League’s second place, Spurs still find the odds against them, with some bookmakers putting them as only fifth favourites for this season’s title.

That might be based on Spurs’ lack of a true difference-maker. Alli, Kane, Erik Lamela et al. are all exceptional players, but Pochettino still lacks a bona fide world-class talent in the way Manchester City have Sergio Aguero or Manchester United have Zlatan Ibrahimovic. 

But to play down Spurs’ chances on that basis is to show a gross misunderstanding of what makes them so good as a team.

Pochettino has forged the ultimate adaptable force, altering and tailoring his side depending on the task at hand. Last month’s win over City provided the perfect illustration of this, with the Spurs boss using Eriksen as something of a tactical pawn, pushing him deeper into midfield to disrupt the opposition’s passing. It worked; everything worked.

With Guardiola, Pochettino and Jurgen Klopp all masters of the high press, the Spurs boss is in good company, tactically, this season. But where the Argentinian excels where others don’t is in defence. He has succeeded in making Spurs the Premier League’s best defenders without turning them into a defensive team. He has struck the perfect balance.

“You have to take some risks to give the opponent counter-attacks to force some chances, but it’s about your philosophy and idea,” Pochettino outlined, per Paul Doyle of the Guardian. Indeed, his Spurs ideology is based on the concept of risk, but the White Hart Lane club have paradoxically never looked more secure in their place at the top end of the Premier League table. 

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Pochettino is the epitome of the modern football manager, and his Spurs side are increasingly the epitome of the modern football team.

It was said before Guardiola’s arrival at City this season that the Catalan coach would lead a tactical awakening in English football; that his methods and practices would force the sport in the country to adapt and evolve. If that still rings true, Pochettino should also be heralded as the tactical vanguard of his times. 

Spurs can no longer be accused of being "Spursy." They are now a true force under Pochettino, with the Argentinian becoming the kind of figurehead who can be compared to Arsene Wenger of the 1990s. He is leading Spurs into a new age, just as the Frenchman did with Arsenal two decades ago.

Pochettino’s real legacy could be secured in what happens between now and the end of the season, though.