Thursday 17 September 2015 16:08, UK
Tottenham fans seem underwhelmed by their team so far this season.
Their first win at Sunderland on Super Sunday got a luke-warm response and on the face of it a return of six points and only four goals does not pull up any trees.
This after a much quieter and less productive transfer window than Spurs fans had hoped for. Yet I think Spurs are a decent bet for their usual top-six finish at 6/5 with Sky Bet. Mauricio Pochettino will get it right. And I like the way he is going about it.
At Southampton he had a group of young players that bought in to the "Pochettino ethos" and they became a force to be reckoned with. A team far better than the sum of its parts. At Spurs he took on a squad full of expensive parts that weren't working and it was always going to take time for him to put his stamp on it.
Most of those players and dead wood have now been moved on and, with Emmanuel Adebayor finally departing by mutual agreement, it feels like the start of a new chapter at Spurs.
With the abundance of wealth in the Premier League many clubs have thrown money at their problems and for plenty of teams that policy doesn't seem to be working, with Newcastle a prime example as Gary and Jamie discussed on Monday Night Football.
Pochettino is taking a different and healthy approach. He is investing in youth and, just like in his time at St Mary's, plenty of that investment is in English youth for which he should be applauded.
Tottenham had the youngest average age of any team last season and that trend has continued this term with an average of 25 years and 45 days going in to the weekend and an even younger average age on Sunday.
Dele Alli was the latest English youngster to be given his chance last Sunday and on a weekend where English players featuring in the Premier League dropped to a season low of 83, which is a meagre 29.7 per cent, it was healthy to see Walker, Mason, Dier, Carroll, Alli and Kane all involved at Sunderland.
There is a strong home contingent and an English core at the club. Tottenham could become a beacon for English football, just as Southampton were under Pochettino. He just needs patience and time. As the Southampton players will tell you, the manager works his players incredibly hard, but if you buy in to it, the results will come.
So far this season the likes of Silva, Payet, Ayew, Mahrez and Martial have been making headlines but wouldn't it be good to see some of our own young talent come to the fore, plenty of which is at White Hart Lane?
Live on Super Sunday again this weekend, Spurs face a real test as they go in search of a first home win against Crystal Palace. The London club were beaten by Manchester City but their upward curve under Alan Pardew shows no sign of stopping. The journey under Pardew started with a 2-1 win against Tottenham in January and they haven't looked back.
Spurs will have to be careful again as Palace remain specialists on the road. They are potent away from home and have won eight of the 10 Premier League away games under Pardew: the most in that period along with Arsenal.
They have won their first two away games of a season for first time in the Premier League since August 1997 and could make that three on Sunday for the first time since 1960 when they were in Division Four!
We'll be based at St Mary's on Sunday with Manchester United in town. They have have enjoyed their recent trips to the south coast and Saints fans are well aware that their team have lost more games (22) and conceded more goals (70) against Man Utd than against any other club in their Premier League history.
However, the last meeting was a Saints win at Old Trafford, which was the first time I'd presented a Southampton win in my time presenting Super Sunday and Monday Night Football. Thankfully I am no longer referred to as the 'curse' in these parts.
Eight months on it is hard to tell where we stand with Manchester United under Louis van Gaal. There were glimpses in the second half at Old Trafford against Liverpool of what they are capable of. Then came another lacklustre display, this time in the Champions League.
All the excitement and intrigue revolves around Anthony Martial. What a moment that was on Saturday Night Football and what commentary for his goal. Vintage Martin Tyler.
Scoring on your Man Utd debut, as a substitute with your first-ever shot in the Premier League, against Liverpool, at the Stretford End, aged 19, is some story.
I guarantee there will be money at 9/4 with Sky Bet on Martial to become the first player since Federico Macheda in April 2009 (against Aston Villa and Sunderland) to score on their first two Premier League appearances for Manchester United.
The sadness is that Luke Shaw won't be back at his old club on Sunday after his horrific double leg fracture on Tuesday night. It's a huge shame as we were starting to see the real Luke Shaw for the first time at United.
His pace and power has been so impressive and along with Matteo Darmian, the two full-backs have been the big positive for Manchester United from the first few weeks of the season. Shaw will be a huge loss for United and for England.
The immediate response on Tuesday night shows Luke's popularity on and off the field and the tweet from Southampton FC - "We'd like to send our best wishes to @LukeShaw23 following his injury while playing for #MUFC tonight. Come back stronger, Luke. #saintsfc" - showed real class. He is still much admired at the club, would have got an excellent reception and I wish him well plus a speedy recovery.
I hope Morgan Schneiderlin gets a decent welcome on Sunday as he makes his first return to St Mary's since signing for Man Utd for £25m in July.
Schneiderlin played a huge part in Southampton's journey from League One to the Premier League and although he had a hiccup last summer, he knuckled down and was outstanding again last season.
Another Southampton number four, Steve Williams, was my hero growing up and Schneiderlin is the best midfielder I've seen at the club since. He's the real deal and will be a big hit at Manchester United but Southampton fans will hope he doesn't hit the heights on Sunday.
It promises to be should be a terrific day. We start at 12.30pm on Sky Sports 1 HD with Spurs against Palace.
