International breaking

There are few words in the football vocabulary that deliver such an acute sense of disappointment as “the international break.” Perhaps a few of you reading this would argue that a yellow tied microphone holder stating: “No more business at Spurs” is more depressing, but for me its always the first international break of the season.

After a summer interrupted by the World Cup and players arriving back at White Hart Lane in a staggered fashion, the day the squad is finalised and transfer business closes, there needs to be a game at the weekend, not a break. Spurs have the squad that will take them to January, I want to see them train, I want to see them play, I don’t want to see them jet off across the world.

International flights, jet lag and a climate change are enough of a distraction for most squads, but even more so for Spurs, a team notorious for losing focus quicker than a bored goldfish. For Tottenham, in recent years, the international break is often the herald of a bad announcement, or a horrendous result. We are normally drenched in the pain of a defeat or a superstars’ departure, leaving us in a void of uncertainty with nothing to do but think. Not a good place for a Spurs fan.

[linequote]For Tottenham, in recent years, the international break is often the herald of a bad announcement, or a horrendous result[/linequote]

Last season at every international interruption, either before or immediately after Spurs suffered. These weren’t the usual pains and aches that any normal fan endures, they were defeats away to Arsenal, Chelsea and Norwich, and the most embarrassing of all at home to West Ham. Therefore when I realised Liverpool was the last game before a break, my stomach sank.

Sat for a change in the Paxton I watched a team that had schooled QPR in the arts of pressing, industry and incisiveness, walk into a master class tornado. Each and everyone of us at some point has thought themselves “good” or at least “proficient” at something, only for someone to stroll into your field and without malice simply blow you out of the water. You may be in a bar, a meeting room or even bashing your head against a keyboard trying to make a point, the truth is there is always someone better than you, the trick is learning from it and moving on.

Sunday was a chastising experience, but it is one that will serve us better in the long term. It highlighted where we have issues, what needs to be improved but it also showed what we are aiming for. I don’t like the fact that Liverpool, a team that we have been finishing above in recent years, are now what we aim towards, but they are reaping the rewards of stability and fundamentally, a belief in their manager. Brendan Rodgers may be a walking gap toothed sound bite, but his self belief has been great enough to turn them into actual challengers. He believed in his methods, sought out the personnel who would buy into it and is now reaping the rewards of it.

Liverpool have individuals that have been learning how to play Rodgers’ system for over two seasons. They have been allowed time to change and alter their playing staff slowly but surely. Daniel Agger, Pepe Reina, Andy Carroll, Stuart Downing and the loathsome Charlie Adam, are just some of the casualties of their new ethos. The difference between Rodgers and AVB is quite simple, one believed in his system and received the support he needed to ostracise those against it, whilst the other had to put up with the unruly players hanging around WHL on match days. The moment AVB’s ethos was deemed less important than members of his squad, was the moment he failed.

[linequote] I don’t like the fact that Liverpool, a team that we have been finishing above in recent years, are now what we aim towards, but they are reaping the rewards of stability[/linequote]

Looking back AVB should have been allowed to exclude the players he felt couldn’t play, couldn’t focus or adapt to his system regardless of the financial loses it would have incurred. Liverpool had the balls to take a big loss on Carroll, Adam and Downing, Spurs didn’t.

Liverpool have bought into their manager wholly and their squad has been carefully selected, and where their first choice has been unavailable, they have given themselves the freedom to select a second, without their fan base baying for blood, a luxury we seem unwilling or unable to give.

Just as not every club has divine right to win every game, nor do they have divine right to sign everybody. Players, admittedly not Spurs ones, turn down Real Madrid, they reject Man City and perennial Champions League second round victims Arsenal. A player, agent, chairman, third party contingent or wife may have a say in where a player goes. It is not the player simply saying no, or a chairman refusing to spend. Morgan Scheirderlin and Matteo Musachio are not Spurs players for more reasons than simply Daniel Levy. In essence football is a simple game, stick the ball between the white sticks, but transfers are far more complex than any of us normal people can truly comprehend.

What we seem to have overlooked in the past few hours is we signed well. We signed players that were available to us and we didn’t overspend. We weren’t drawn into protracted battles and our own players seemed relatively content to stay. However the most encouraging part of the summer and the last day of the window was Mauricio Pochettino’s confidence to cut players from his squad. Rather like Rodgers he has removed those he deemed unable to adapt, or players who may have, simply by not playing caused discontent in the changing room or across the stands.

[linequote]What we seem to have overlooked the past few hours is we signed well. We signed players that were available to us and we didn’t overspend[/linequote]

Sandro, Michael Dawson and Lewis Holtby are prime examples of players who may have disrupted the squad, not necessarily by their attitude, but their sheer presence. We may have lost something in terms of personality and quality, but Pochettino has made a statement. He has shown those that remain that he trusts them. A great deal of what happens on the pitch is down to confidence, yesterday the manager showed everyone of those remaining that he believes in them, otherwise they would have gone.

The squad, at least to my eyes, looks better than it has in quite some time. We may lack the standout players, but as a unit we have improved across the park. Eric Dier, Federico Fazio, Benjamin Stambouli, Michel Vorm and Ben Davies are all improvements. All that is left for them to do is start implementing Pochettino’s ideas and reaping the rewards of his confidence, unfortunately that will be difficult with quite a few of them scattered across the world.

Once again we may have suffered a disappointment before the international break, but this time we will learn, move on and become the stronger for it. No more breaking. Not this time.