Under the microscope in what context?
No one and I mean no one has a thing to say about him. In this thread, the Spurs Youth Thread, there is a lot of talk about Poch, hardly anything about McDermott, the man responsible for the Academy.
McDermott's reach is deep in the football side of the club, he's on the transfer committee or whatever it's called. I think it's great that he is as it shows that there is planning involved which you would have thought includes the discussion and inclusion of possible academy players. A process of player identification about who he thinks is looking good, what they need to develop in order to be considered for Snr squad inclusion/selection and over what timeframe. To have this discussion about identifying these players helps Hitchin scout the players in the positions that AREN'T looking likely of making a breakthrough (I assume Hitchin also has a hand in player identification of academy players at other academies??).
I digress though. All the negative talk about the academy right now has Poch's name stamped on it, not McDermott's, despite losing Parker (I do understand why he would take a PL managers job), Kieran McKenna, Inglethorpe & Matt Wells. Whilst recruiting the much-maligned Wayne Burnett and his woeful U23 side who play the most un-Tottenham like football I've seen. If Poch is being criticised then surely the man responsible for the academy must also shoulder some of the blame/responsibility too.
Everything I've ever heard about McDermott has been of the highest praise, the snippets we've heard from him too I like, he comes across very well. The snippets of the standards he sets and the measurement of players I really like and yet here we are under his leadership moaning about players not breaking through.
Whilst it can be debated until the cows come home about the qualities of player 'X', 'Y' or 'Z' and if they have the quality to make it or not ONLY Kane and Winks have genuinely shown they have, with Skipp tapping on the door. I'd include KWP in that as my eyes tell me he is and has always been a better more technical footballer than Frodo, but and to coin a Pochism, the "reality" is he hasn't, yet.
Don't confuse this as a rant, I just want to know more about the workings of the academy. I want to get under the skin of it and rather just say Poch is the roadblock to players making it, I want to know is McDermott is happy, complicit or responsible.
I do not have a happy vibe right now about our academy and it's not solely about KWP not being selected, it's about our U23 being shit and having them playing a poor brand of football. It's about losing numerous key and quality coaches (Inglethorpe, Parker, Wells, McKenna and go further back Chris Ramsey).
Is this all down to Poch?