F365 Says: Now for the real Spurs rebuilding job…

Ian Watson

The time has belatedly come for Tottenham to take up residence in their palatial new home, but now the White Hart Lane renovations are complete, Spurs need to refocus their rebuilding efforts on Mauricio Pochettino’s squad. A new era for the club, coming almost a year too late, coincides with the end of an era for this untouched team.

Spurs’ season has hit the skids and though they remain in third place, their focus has been forcibly switched from a title race they always appeared reluctant to fight, to a battle to finish in the top four they absolutely have to win. Arsenal could leapfrog them into third on Monday evening, while Manchester United can smell blood with Ole Gunner Solskjaer and Pochettino’s teams on contrasting trajectories.

The last-gasp, self-inflicted defeat at Liverpool was Spurs’ fourth in five Premier League matches, with Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s woeful late penalty in the north London derby the only thing separating Pochettino’s side from five pointless games. It is hard to fathom which pair of losses was the most painful: the two against top-six rivals, or the couple at sides fighting relegation?

Regardless, it all leaves Spurs languishing in tenth place in the Premier League form table for 2019. Crystal Palace, who are Spurs’ first guests to the revamped White Hart Lane on Wednesday, have taken more points this year, as have Burnley, Southampton and Newcastle.

Perhaps going home will provoke Spurs into getting their act together to finish the season strongly. But even if their form improves and they preserve their place in the top four, Pochettino still faces a pivotal summer.

That is providing the Argentine boss sticks around long enough. Ahead of the trip to Liverpool, Pochettino again swerved the opportunity to pledge his commitment for next season, though Spurs fans have heard it all too often to really panic over the prospect of losing their manager. With Real Madrid and Manchester United vacancies now filled, it is hard to fathom what pull factors may influence Pochettino to quit, while Daniel Levy is surely too savvy to push too hard from the inside.

So the manager’s summer is likely to be spent performing major surgery on a squad that has been left untouched for far too long. Having not bought a player during the last two windows, Pochettino could be looking for at least five signings.

Should that number include a goalkeeper? Hugo Lloris’ form this season certainly suggests so and, sentiment aside, the Tottenham keeper would struggle to build a convincing case against being dropped for the homecoming this week. The late howler at Anfield was the latest in a long line of errors since Lloris captained France to World Cup victory – even then, in the final, he was calamitous in conceding to Croatia.

Only Asmir Begovic has made more errors that have led to goals since the start of last season and the Bournemouth keeper was benched for two months prior to the weekend. Lloris has certainly lost the air of invincibility that put him in the bracket of the world’s best stoppers. Now, after some reassuring cameos from Paulo Gazzaniga, we are no longer sure Lloris is even the best at Spurs.

The 32-year-old would not be the only World Cup winner to struggle in the wake of achieving the game’s greatest honour and he has made some vital saves, most notably against Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League and Arsenal in the north London derby. But erraticism is exactly what Tottenham do not need as they face the possible scenario of needing to win every single remaining game to secure a top-four spot.

But Lloris is not the only player culpable for a record of one clean sheet in ten games since New Year’s Day and Pochettino will have to overhaul his defence this summer whether he likes it or not. Toby Alderweireld may well be on his way if anyone stumps up £25million, while Jan Vertonghen – 32 and a year from free agency at the start of next season – could follow.

At right-back, Kieran Trippier has gone from being linked with Real Madrid after the World Cup to being touted as a £20million target for Everton. Though the persistent changes in formation do not help, Trippier’s struggles have been obvious and they were brought into even sharper focus by Andrew Robertson on Sunday. Has Serge Aurier the technical and mental quality to capitalise on Trippier’s troubles? Apparently not.

Pochettino may not relish the prospect of replacing any one of those defenders this summer, though the idea of finding an alternative to Christian Eriksen would be far harder to stomach. The Denmark star – one of two Spurs players in the world-class category – is one year from the end of his current deal and reports suggest he is considering his options, of which he will have plenty. You might not blame Levy for digging in his heels over the 27-year-old, though given the finances involved, his supposed demand of £130million for a player in Eriksen’s contractual situation is made from a weaker bargaining position than the Spurs chief has become accustomed to. Given Spurs’ very obvious financial obligations, Eriksen’s suitors will anticipate that Levy cannot afford a stand-off to continue into next season.

And still there remains the issue of a stand-in for Harry Kane. The England striker wants to play every game – which is handy given Pochettino has little other alternative – but when Kane is crocked, Spurs are forced to improvise because the stand-in forwards are still Vincent Janssen and Fernando Llorente, neither of whom are likely to stay at the club beyond the end of this season.

Spurs have been pursuing targets with greater vigour ahead of a pivotal transfer window, with their scouting brief seemingly revolving around young talent looking to take the next step, rather than proven players who have already accomplished what Spurs have not. That tallies. Pochettino prefers to work with players hungry to improve, while star names already know they won’t get from Levy what they can from other chairmen.

As well as personnel, might Pochettino consider tweaking the environment? With a new stadium and training ground, few squads have better working conditions than Tottenham’s and, while they are continually shielded from the expectations of their top-six rivals, players will be hard pushed to find a cushier gig anywhere. But the anticipated influx of young arrivals means Pochettino’s tone is unlikely to change and, most likely, nor will their short-term level of attainment.

Without arresting their current form, Tottenham may have to consider the consequences for their longer-term prospects. Playing constantly ‘away’ amid the stadium delays has hurt Pochettino, with their main rivals all making the most of their home comforts while Spurs crash at Wembley. Now the home improvements are finished, a top-four finish is a must if Spurs are to finance the necessary squad renovations and build a team worthy of its stadium.

Ian Watson

F365 Says Mauricio Pochettino

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