Brave New World: Inside Pochettino's Spurs

I've just noticed it's been a while since I've added anything to this blog so here's a little write-up of Brave New World. Not the Huxley dystopia-cum-reality novel from 1932 but a record of Tottenham Hotspurs' 2016-17 season under the very special (and current at time of writing) manager, Mauricio Pochettino. It's a kind of diary, told to Spanish journo Guillem Balague, which briefly delves into Poch's time as a player and manager before coming to Spurs, and then focuses on the season in question. If there's a story arc, it begins with the soul-searching regarding the previous season's final match, a devastating 5-1 defeat to already-relegated Newcastle that enabled The Arse to snatch second spot to surprise chancers, Leicester. Poch puts himself and the team through the ringer after this, it's like a dirty hangover that won't disappear, months after we, the fans have forgotten about it. The vindication occurs right at the end of the season when Manchester United are dispatched 2-1 in the final match at the old White Hart Lane and then Leicester and Hull are smashed 6-1 and 7-1 away respectively.

If you're a Spurs fan like me, you'll get a kick out of the game by game approach and there's even a chart at the back of the book that records each match result, scorers and table position at the time. Nice, analytical stuff to go with the emotional descriptions throughout. Here's a small taster, coming after Dele was sent off for a high tackle in a 2-2 against Gent in the Europe League:

Dele Alli was down in the dumps. That's why I told him, in front of the rest, that these things can happen to anyone and that he hadn't let us down: 'You simply made a mistake. There are other players who let us down all week long, from Monday to Sunday; they feature in plenty of matches, but it's like being down to ten men because they're passengers. They, the guys who hide, are the ones who are unforgivable.' Dele never leaves us in the lurch. Now it's my job to protect him at my press conference.

There are interviews in the epilogue with folk ranging from Ivan Del La Pena to Hugo Lloris to Harry Winks to Daniel Levy. All talking about Poch and his methods. Some great photos too, especially Poch with other legends (Simeone, Batigol and Ziziou - see below).

Look, I'll not bullshit you, it's probably better to read this if you're a Spurs or Poch fan but there are still some pretty nice insights into the workings of the mind of a high level coach. The day will come soon when Poch 'ups stumps' and leaves (the new) White Hart Lane but until that day, I'll appreciate  what we have at Spurs - a great manager, who with time and a little more investment, could take the club to the top. Wishful thinking, perhaps.