How Mauricio Pochettino Turned Tottenham Hotspur from ‘Spursy’ to Contenders

Certain things are expected of certain clubs. Arsenal, for instance, are pencilled in as top-four fixtures every summer, with Manchester United targeting the title season after season. The same goes for Tottenham Hotspur, although rather less success is expected of them. So, after mounting an unlikely title challenge last term, they were expected to fall away this season. 

But with seven matches played of the 2016/17 season, Spurs look to be positioning themselves as Premier League title challengers once again. Mauricio Pochettino’s side are just a single point off Manchester City in top spot, with their 2-0 win over Pep Guardiola’s outfit a watershed moment for the White Hart Lane club. They must be taken seriously.

Spurs’ form has been all the more impressive when taking into account how they have been without top goalscorer and attacking figurehead Harry Kane for the past few weeks. Factor in that Pochettino’s side are competing on both domestic and continental fronts—taking three points from their first two Champions League group games—and they clearly deserve their place among the elite.

Much of this is down to Pochettino. The influence of managers in the modern game is often overstated, but in Spurs’ case there can be no underestimating the impact the Argentinian coach has had.

He has made the most of the club’s squad, which, on paper, lags some way behind that of some of their Premier League rivals’, excelling in the big games as a tactical mastermind. It takes a lot to out-think Guardiola, but that’s exactly what he did last month. 

Per Jamie Jackson of the Guardian, Guardiola gushed after City’s defeat at White Hart Lane: 

We played against Pochettino as players and then as coaches. I think he’s one of the best managers in the world, I enjoy watching Tottenham.

He’s doing an amazing job in London at Spurs. The way they play I like a lot, they’re aggressive and have a lot of quality. The basis of the team is the national team with [Dele] Alli, [Kyle] Walker, [Harry] Kane, they have a lot of quality. Last season they were there until the last couple of …

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