Path’s Not Been Smooth, but Tottenham Must Stay Patient with Mauricio Pochettino

There was a story stateside last week about a 100-year-old fan of the Oregon Ducks college (American) football team.

Ann Danby has been watching the university side for 70 years and has seen the good and plenty more bad of the programme. Speaking to ESPN’s Chantel Jennings, she encouraged patience when evaluating the coaching and performance of a side who had just gone 4-8 (win-loss), two seasons removed from competing for the sport’s national championship.

Goodness knows what 70 years and that kind of perspective in sports must feel like. The eventful almost seven months between Tottenham Hotspur’s two matches with Chelsea at Stamford Bridge in 2016 feels like it has been long enough.

The first of those games on May 1 saw Tottenham draw 2-2 with their London rivals, ending their Premier League title hopes. The second, this past weekend, saw Mauricio Pochettino’s side lose 2-1, ending their unbeaten record and leaving them seven points behind the table-topping Blues.

Although obviously separated by a lengthy summer break, the period has been a reminder that hoped-for progression seldom stays on an upward trajectory. Achieving success does not run to a fixed, plannable schedule, certainly not anyway for a club lacking the financial clout to start from a more advanced position.

Despite their disappointing ending to last season, Spurs fans would be forgiven for thinking the only way was up under Pochettino’s management.

The Argentinian was appointed boss in May 2014 and in his first season improved their final league position from sixth to fifth (albeit they accrued five fewer points than the previous year).

The team recorded some notable victories along the way against north London rivals Arsenal and eventual champions Chelsea, losing to the latter in the League Cup final after an enjoyable run. As Pochettino shaped and trimmed his squad, hints of the aggressive style he had implemented at Southampton were increasingly emerging in their play.

Earning that fifth place ahead of both a still-competitive Saints and a Liverpool team who had finished runners-up the season before was a nice confidence boost here. The added bonus of automatic qualification for the Europa League group stage allowed them a less complicated start to 2015-16, too.

They needed it given they began the campaign slowly. Things improved heading into autumn with a calculated, assertive 4-1 handling of title favourites Manchester City the first sign Pochettino might really be on to something.

From there, they pushed on into a two-way title race with Leicester City no-one anticipated.

The mix of experienced campaigners like Mousa Dembele and Hugo Lloris with hungry, young performers including Dele Alli and Harry Kane worked terrifically. Ultimately the team fell short—even dropping into third behind Arsenal after their spirit collapsed post-Chelsea—but there was a lot to be proud of and encouraged by.

It was on the combination of experience and youth that hopes for this season were, and still are, founded. That the same quality would still be there, just improved by the already talented youngsters developing even further (the aforementioned Ms. Danby would approve—she told Jennings the key for longevity is “don’t think you’re old. Think young.”).

How …

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