One of Pochettino's biggest strengths was his loyalty and passion for his players and in the end, it came back to bite him.
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I lost interest when it started talking about how we have sacrificed free flowing, attacking football
One of Pochettino's biggest strengths washis loyalty and passion for his playersMousa Dembele
Fixed it for you.
Just for context..
Tottenhams win record under Pochettino without Dembele starting (2014-2019)
P: 138
W: 83
D: 24
L: 31
Win percentage without: 60%
Worth noting that 10 of those losses were in cups. So we lost 21 games in the league that Dembele didn't start across 2014-2019.
Tottenhams win record under Pochettino with Dembele starting (2014-19)
P: 114
W: 60
D: 28
L: 26
Win percentage with: 53%
Worth noting that 10 of those losses came in cup competitions. So we only lost 16 league games between 2014 and 2019 when Dembele started.
Tottenhams win record under Pochettino since Dembele left and no longer in squad from when sold to Pochs sacking (Jan 19-Nov 19)
P: 42
W: 16
D: 9
L: 17
Win percentage: 38%
Poch choice of replacement :Winks / Sissoko (Not his best position) /Ndombele (not his best position)
Mourinho choice of replacement: Dier
Some fans on here: Skipp.
Not one of these players comes close to Moussa imho.
Phenomenal at retaining possession and creating space while under pressure. Don’t think Poch ever really recovered from not having him as an option in the squad. But needed to go. age had caught up with him
Pochettino for me embodied more than just a manager, a genuine role model on how to conduct yourself in the real world
Dembele played NEXT to a DM (either Dier or Wanyama); he was the #8.
I don't disagree with his qualities, but look closer at the numbers.... We won more without him than with him.
Whilst we did. Percentages could be skewed by losing or drawing cup fixtures, especially in the likes of the Europa League which we never really took seriously under Poch.
On average we'd lose less league games a season with Dembele but only one or two less a season.
Poch choice of replacement :Winks / Sissoko (Not his best position) /Ndombele (not his best position)
If Ndombele is not a DM and playing the 'Dembele' role is not his best position - where is he supposed to play? In goal?
Up top we have Alli, Son, GLC and Kane. He doesn't fit into any of those positions either.
Everyone seemed desperate to bring Ndom in, but now he is here; we keep hearing 'it's not his best position'. We didn't spend 65m on a squad player did we?
Just based on what I have seen.
His fitness or lack of hasn’t helped but he seems much more attack minded than defensive minded. Maybe better with a solid DM next to him in a 2 rather than being a lone holding midfielder?
What’s your opinion of him and his work off the ball?
If Ndombele is not a DM and playing the 'Dembele' role is not his best position - where is he supposed to play? In goal?
Up top we have Alli, Son, GLC and Kane. He doesn't fit into any of those positions either.
Everyone seemed desperate to bring Ndom in, but now he is here; we keep hearing 'it's not his best position'. We didn't spend 65m on a squad player did we?
A 2CM consists of a #6 & #8..... Typically #6 is the DEFENSIVE midfielder. Ndombele is the #8.
Dembele was #8 too
Amazing how after it being the common system of play for decades people still struggle with this, yet still throw their weight around in discussions about our play, who we should buy etc.