If some people at Tottenham had their way, or things had gone differently in the summer of 2021, Monday night would not be Mauricio Pochettino’s first return to the club since leaving. There was always an obstacle, though. Although it seemed like many elements might have been aligning to bring Pochettino back to White Hart Lane, both the manager and Spurs sensed it probably wasn’t right to go back.
The approach never came from either side. That left a lot of Spurs fans disappointed, and then feeling betrayed when he went to Chelsea. Such emotion was probably why the response to Ange Postecoglou’s arrival was so muted.
Had the Australian not defied every single argument against his appointment, the response for Pochettino on Monday might have been worse. A long-term sense of dissatisfaction might have fed into a resentment and angry reception. As it is, the mood at Tottenham is totally different. They’re loving Ange instead.
Postecoglou has probably made Spurs feel their most content since around 2017, which was just about the peak of Pochettino’s period. The qualification for the Champions League final two years later of course brought a far more profound jubilation, but it was the end of the journey rather than the start. There wasn’t quite that excitement about what might be possible. That is precisely what Spurs are feeling now, for the first time in a long time.
It reflects what should have been the main lesson from Pochettino’s period but took a long time to sink in. For all the allure of big names, a team is obviously much better set if the manager’s profile matches that of the club. It inherently brings full focus, rather than complaints about where they are or what they do. The latter is what happened with Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte. They were used to the wealthiest institutions so behaved that way.
Spurs financially operate in the second tier, at least, so need someone who buys into that; who sees how it’s about building a team up.
Pochettino’s first Tottenham team was one of the great examples of this. Relatively long periods out of the game and a predictably complicated spell at Paris Saint-Germain have brought some revisionism about the Argentine’s time at Spurs. It was one of the best and longest periods of overachievement in the Premier League since the competition’s foundation in 1992.
One fact illustrates that. Spurs hadn’t finished in the top four for two seasons in a row since 1983. They hadn’t done it for three seasons in a row since the 1960s. Pochettino did it for four seasons in a row, just like Bill Nicholson’s great side.
And if he didn’t emulate the club patriarch by winning the league, the truth is it’s a different world. In a football ecosystem where all modern studies show there is a 90 per cent correlation between wage bill and league finish, Spurs were always the sixth wealthiest club in the Premier League. Their wage bill sometimes didn’t get as high as that, though.
Mauricio Pochettino’s Spurs team enjoyed one of the best and longest periods of overachievement in the Premier League since the competition’s foundation— (Getty)
Despite that, Pochettino’s Spurs finished third, second and third, and got to a Champions League final. That’s in part why there was such resentment at such a club hero going to Chelsea, although it has been greatly tempered by Postecoglou’s impact.
The Australian so far has done what not even Pochettino could. There was never a start to a season like this, where Spurs were unbeaten in their first 10 games and had won eight of them. It again comes from Postecoglou fitting exactly what Spurs require – an upwardly mobile manager to go with what should be an upwardly mobile club. Combined with being a superb coach.
His performance so far has been a lesson in another way. A highly stratified game, especially at the top level, has become far too sniffy about big clubs and managerial CVs. Thinking outside the usual parameters can bring managers who do much more than think outside the box. Roberto De Zerbi is another example.
Big-club experience is of course important at that level but it says much that Postecoglou is already being talked about in the game as someone Manchester United should think about in the future. He shows why personality can be as important as experience. Some coaches just have that instinct and ability for managing dressing rooms, no matter where they are. Postecoglou evidently has, to go with a supremely keen tactical mind that is always about adventure. Pochettino had much of that.
Ange Postecoglou is already being talked about in the game as someone Manchester United should think about in the future— (Getty)
It remains to be seen whether he completely fits with where Chelsea are as a club. This isn’t because of any doubts about the Argentine but rather that it’s still impossible to know where the Stamford Bridge project is going or whether it will work. Nothing like this has ever been tried in football. It is like a super-extreme and expensive version of what Pochettino did at Tottenham, but with players signed rather than promoted, and all of that bringing a pressure of its own.
Up to now, Postecoglou has clearly implemented his idea to a far greater degree than Pochettino. Burgeoning stars like Destiny Udogie and Micky van de Ven have fitted in superbly because the spaces for them have been clear. That hasn't been the case yet at Chelsea. There is a lot of huge potential there but almost too much of it. Pochettino is still making sense of it all.
And yet, from that, there has almost been a logic to how his Chelsea have actually been better against superior sides. While they have lost to all of West Ham United, Nottingham Forest, Aston Villa and Brentford, they are unbeaten in fixtures against Liverpool and Arsenal. It is as though the fact that those sides will seek to impose their games brings a clarity to the team. Monday will reveal how true that actually is.
Pochettino has naturally insisted there is no bad feeling on his side, only happy memories. It's not like he'll be seeking to prove Levy wrong, given there are still good relations. It's now just about going their own ways. Spurs have a clear vision again. Pochettino could do with a win to make the outlook that bit brighter.
