Did Pochettino use Spurs for his own good?
By Don Scully
Mauricio Pochettino has signed a new contract with Paris Saint-German.
When Pochettino was ruthfully sacked by Levy, he took a sabbatical from football and observed the lie of the land until he found a club that could project his talents, and that club ended up being PSG. Yes, he took over from Thomas Tuchel in January. While at the club – and in such a short time – he led them to the Coupe des France; however, he could not help retain the Ligue 1 title, as they finished a point behind Lille. At least he won one more trophy than he did at Spurs (in five years). Not only that, but he took PSG to second place in the French league (same as he achieved with us in the Premier League, but he is at the beginning of his quest with PSG) . Sadly Pochettino also exited the Champions League at the Semi-Final stage. But he has time on his side to still achieve those landmarks.
In the race for a new Spurs manager, Pochettino was considered by Levy as every manager he approached fell by the roadside. If you read the press, it seems that the Argentian was interested in returning to Spurs as he was unhappy with PSG. But that piece of misfortune never materialised, and Poch stayed with the French club. And as we all know, Levy finally got his thousandth placed failure (Nuno) as everybody else rejected his attempts to join his botched enterprise (on the field).
But low and behold, it has just emerged that Pochettino has committed himself to the future of the French club by signing a new contract until 2023.
On signing the new deal, Pochettino told PSG’s website: “I’m really very happy, for myself and also for my staff. It’s very important for us to feel the confidence of the club and we will give our maximum so that the supporters are proud of Paris Saint-Germain. That’s why we will try and reach our objectives all together, as one. Twenty years ago, I was captain of this club and today, I am the coach…It’s a dream come true.”
So, what do I think?
It all sounds a bit iffy to me. We read in the press that Pochettino was unhappy at PSG and he wanted to return to the club that abused his achievements (or his failures, as some fans have suggested) by sacking him for daring to ask for “more”. Not food (as in Oliver) but more money so that he could rebuild his team. Levy being Levy, thought it was far better to sack him (than paying out money) and appoint a better-established manager, who ended up being an even bigger failure at Tottenham than Pochettino himself. Daniel Levy being Daniel Levy, prefers working in the Dead Zone than under normal human rules. The only problem is once he steps back into the real world, it all hits him full-throttle in the face. But like all good Accountants/ Chairmen, he shrugs it all off and then carries on regardless, oblivious of what he has just done.
I believe Pochettino used the Levy difficulty to get himself a better contract with the club. If he is wise, as people say he is, why would he return to a club that treated him so badly? And if he did come back, I would have no doubt that Levy would end up sacking him all over again as he dared (again) to ask for more money to improve the team, instead of Levy’s prefered option of creating a great team out of thin air.
Now we got Nuno, PSG have Pochettino, the race is on – or the bets – to see who is sacked first. Of course, as Spurs fans, we all want Nuno to do well; as for Pochettino… maybe he will achieve his fairy tale at the French club, after all, he has already won one trophy with them, and he was only there a few months before silverware starting falling out of the sky. Where all he got falling out of the sky in North London was his cards (as every manager before him (and afterwards) did under Levy’s watch).
By Don Scully
I have been following Spurs since the sixties and work in London. My current job is as a professional writer (working in the media), and I have work connections to the club and had previously worked for them. Including working at the old White Hart Lane stadium.
I also have my own blog and have written for the SpursWeb app & its website.
The combination of Poch trying to be friends with Levy and him not being assertive with Levy when he needed more earlier did not impress Levy that Poch was a winner.
They were too close for Poch to start having a relationship of negotiation. Poch just expected more but Levy wasn’t interested especially as Poch was letting out indirect abstract and often incoherent comments and so there was no push and pull of negotiation.
It was too easy for Levy to say no.