Pochettino Episode IV – A new hope

I offer you all a big welcome back from a dreadful international break. This may not hold as strongly for English readers, but as an American I loathe the international breaks – what do I care about lackluster performances involving such quality sides as Moldova or Gibraltar?

I am extremely excited at the prospect of watching some (real) football this weekend, and it is not only because our beloved Spurs are poised for three points against lowly Sunderland. This excitement is fueled by hope – hope mainly founded in our new manager.

The Liverpool match may have been a disappointment, and West Ham may have been dodgy at best, but this team has gotten me more legitimately excited heading into Match Day 4 than I was at almost any point during last year. The team looks to be on the right path, and it is under the proper decision-making and leadership of Pochettino that I believe this team can compete with the top four this season.

[linequote]In just three Premier League games, Poch has brought Lamela up to a world- class form[/linequote]

Poch has this undeniable ability to make the most out of his players. This most of all begins and ends with Erik Lamela. Last season he spent more time on the sofa nursing injuries than he did on the pitch. Even when he was on the pitch, he only gave flashes of his record-fee ability; unfortunately, it was shown mostly against much weaker competition, such as Sheriff Tiraspol.

But, at least for me, there were never any doubts about his ability – he has the capability to be worth much more than the thirty-million Levy paid for him in the near future, and amidst his struggles last season that thought was one that I never found myself doubting. I remember watching his scouting highlight reel on Youtube from his time at Roma, and believing instantly that this could be the man to move the team forward for years to come – dare I say, a worthy replacement for the former left back who shall not be named. He showed pure class – pace, intelligent runs, a Messi-like “ball glued to his foot” touch, and incredible curves on his shots.

Neither the suave AVB nor the snarling Sherwood could get much out of Lamela when available. And yet, in just three Premier League games, Poch has brought Lamela up to a world- class form; a form that has not only been consistent, but has been far above the performances of most of the remainder of the squad. Even in the less-impressive team games, Lamela has been the outright star of the team, controlling the pace and making decisive attempts moving forward both on and off the ball.

And this rise in consistent form is not uncommon for Pochettino. This is the same manager that brought young-gun Luke Shaw, formerly a 58 overall rating in FIFA 13 (of course, with FIFA being the most valid of sources), to a 30 million pound transfer target at age 18, and a top class left back option for club and country. Likewise situations with Adam Lallana, Jay Rodriguez, and Ricky Lambert last season brought an irrelevant Southampton squad into the top half of the table and a perpetual status of the “trap team.”

Poch’s previous success with Southampton’s struggling squad, and ongoing success with Lamela, bode well for the future of this team. This is the same manager who, somehow against all logic and odds, got Nacer Chadli to score a brace in his opening appearance of the season. For that matter, Chadli is currently our leading scorer; tied with Dier with 2. Although Chadli will probably not keep up this form (in fact, I placed a wager at DC Spurs involving me running bare-assed down H street if Chadli is the leading scorer at the end of the season), he did look strangely impressive in that performance – his movement was intelligent, his touches were purposeful, his decision-making (namely on his goals) was sublime. If Maury can get Chadli to do that, I half-sarcastically believe he can do anything.

Pochettino is elevating this team from a side with a strong academy system and exciting youth prospects to a team laced with lots of young, influential talent. Let’s not forget – Erik Lamela and Christian Eriksen are both only 22 years old. In addition, Harry Kane,21, has been influential in his appearances off the bench. Eric Dier is proving to be an incredible talent, and only at age 20. Ben Davies (who I believe will become the first choice left back by the end of the season) is only 21. And of course, Nabil Bentaleb is still a ripe 19 years old.

[linequote]The front four players are being given the freedom tactically to be creative and inventive[/linequote]

Poch’s lineup week in and week out contains a number of extremely young players that are not just along for the ride, but have proven to be highly influential in this team (save Ben Davies, who has yet to start a Premier League match). The upside to this team is unreal, but even more impressive is that Poch has brought the team where Spurs are looking to be competitive in the present, not just potentially threatening in the future.

Tactically, Pochettino appears to have instilled a system that, when being executed properly, fits this team perfectly. The front four players are being given the freedom tactically to be creative and inventive. With Lamela, Eriksen, and a third man playing as free-floating attackers, defenses will have an extremely difficult time accounting for all possible angles and runs that these stars can create, especially once they perfect their chemistry.

Behind them, Capoue and Stambouli’s defensive versatility paired with (current first choice) Bentaleb strongly support the attacking midfielders. Under Poch’s system, the two deep-lying midfielders play with a mentality to win the ball and move it forward quickly. Bentaleb has looked strong in this role, moving a little farther forward and playing with the courage to pass forward rather than last season’s strictly lateral passing. Thankfully, Poch has supplemented these attacking changes with the eradication of AVB’s high line, along with aggressive support from both full backs.

[linequote]This weekend against Sunderland, I expect an inspired performance full of energy, goals, and execution[/linequote]

The differences between Poch’s system and AVB’s system will hopefully result in an ever-threatening and high-scoring offense: the exact opposite of AVB’s 68% possession with one shot on target offense featured during the former half of last season. Most fans saw AVB’s tactics as the same three things: boring, unproductive, and un-Spurs-like. There was no dare in our do, and definitely no glory in our game.

Save one lack of execution and an unfortunate 34 minutes playing down a man, Poch’s managing has proven he may be exactly what Spurs players and supporters need. This weekend against Sunderland, I expect an inspired performance full of energy, goals, and execution – a perfect move toward finally washing out the stale taste of last season.

But why limit this to erasing a bad season? This team is talented, and under the direction of a more than competent manager, this team undoubtedly has the potential to make noise in the Premier League this season.

And I don’t mean to say Spurs will finish top 2, nor do I mean to say we will even finish top 4. But maybe Spurs can put pressure on the top 4: score some goals, blow out some lower-half teams, beat the piss out of those scumbag gooners, steal some points from Chelsea, ruin a team’s title chances, play with some glory. Spurs do not need to go perfect against the Premier League’s elite – all I am asking for is taking every touch with an Echo of Glory.

And I believe Pochettino is more than capable of making that all happen.