A look at the Premier League table will show an anomaly in the standings, not only are Leicester leading the Premier League – and rightly so with their incredible performances – but Tottenham are actually above their bitter rivals Arsenal and could well finish the season higher than third even.
This would mean Champions League football for a club that has turned things around ever since the signing of Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton. Many had doubted the credentials of the Argentine when he took over at White Hart Lane and even though this was a signing which would just run through the motions but Pochettino has made Tottenham into an attractive side that plays some great football and has even turned on the youth academy with players such as Dele Alli and Harry Kane shining for the club.
This isn’t all that Pochettino has done for Spurs; he is a shrewd manager and has gotten many things right for them. We look at three things that the Argentine has gotten right this season for Spurs as he looks to take them up to the top of the Premier League.
- The transfers
When Tottenham sold Gareth Bale to Real Madrid they went literally mad with money and ended up signing a clutch of players. Too many transfers into the team are not a good idea and most of the players failed to adapt to the league and were in the periphery of the side. This season Pochettino got rid of a lot of players such as Capoue, Younes Kaboul, Roberto Soldado, Andros Townsend and Paulinho, just to name a few and brought in a few replacements.
This has worked wonders for a team that seems to be tight-knit at the moment and are playing great football. Tottenham didn’t need to have such a large squad and now with Pochettino trimming his side and playing the players he wants, they seem a better side than those under previous managers as well. Plus Tottenham actually made a profit in this transfer season, something that most Premier League clubs cannot boast about.
2. Sticking with Kane
Harry Kane had an incredible season for Spurs last season scoring 31 goals for Spurs last season. This season was always going to be a tough one for the English striker and he had a rather poor start but bounced back very quickly.
There were calls for dropping the striker or pairing him up with another target man to ease the pressure off him but Pochettino stuck with Kane and that has now paid off handsomely with the 22-year-old striker scoring goals for fun and has actually accrued 18 goals so far this season and looks set to easily cross the 25 goal mark come the end of the season.
3. Pushing on Alli
Another great call by Pochettino has been on Dele Alli, the youngster came to Tottenham with a lot of potential but finding a lump of coal is something and turning it into a diamond is something else. Alli did have a great season last year with MK Dons but has only gone from strength to strength for Spurs.
The 19-year-old put in a few great performances at the start of the season but the trust that Pochettino has shown in playing Alli regularly, even ahead of more seasoned professionals shows just how much faith he has in Dele Alli’s ability and his own judgement.
