Mauricio Pochettino’s philosophy has taken effect at Tottenham and now he can claim a trophy to show for it
Friday 27 February 2015 06:23, UK
Mauricio Pochettino has made an encouraging start in charge of Tottenham and has the chance to deliver a trophy when his side take on Chelsea in the Capital One Cup final on Sunday. But what has he done to change things at Spurs? Adam Bate looks at the stats…
“Our simple ethos is this – we try to win the ball back as quickly as possible, as far up the field as we can.” – Marcelo Bielsa, current Marseille coach and Mauricio Pochettino’s former manager at both Newell’s Old Boys in Argentina and Espanyol in Spain
Pochettino continues to subscribe to the three-second rule in attempting to recover possession, but what’s really fascinating is how diligent the Tottenham boss is determined to be in giving his team the very best chance of achieving this goal.
The Argentine not only focuses on pressing high up the pitch but instructs his players to tackle opponents in such a way that it might increase the possibility of regaining possession of the ball rather than seeing it cannon out of play for a throw-in.
This emphasis on tackling – a skill some would suggest has decreased in importance in recent times– is highlighted by the statistical evidence. Tottenham have made 10 more tackles than any other Premier League team this season.
Moreover, in accordance with Pochettino’s demands, Spurs have made 28 more successful tackles (a tackle leading to the team retaining possession) than any other team this season. Their tackle success rate of 79.8 per cent is currently higher than any team managed in 2012/13 or 2013/14.
Even in this era where talk of philosophy has become trite (and surely interchangeable with strategy) it is undeniable there is something distinct about a Pochettino team. Tackling illustrates the point. The team with the second-most tackles? His former club Southampton.
For a manager to impact on a team’s approach in such swift fashion requires malleable minds willing to embrace a new way of working. It’s telling in this regard how young players seem central to Pochettino’s plans.
Live Capital One Cup Final
He certainly revelled in working with the likes of Luke Shaw, James Ward-Prowse, Calum Chambers and the rest at St Mary’s. And while the Spurs squad represented a very different demographic upon his appointment, the speed with which it has been reshaped has been astonishing.
The Tottenham team that beat Arsenal earlier this month was the youngest fielded by anyone in the Premier League this season with an average age under 24 and four uncapped Englishmen among the ranks. It’s a clear policy.
“For me, when you watch the training session, you do not see the names,” said Pochettino in his post-match press conference after that north London derby win. “You have to be brave to give them the possibility to play. You need to take a risk.”
Risks have been taken and Pochettino has been rewarded. Most notably, Harry Kane’s 24 goals have more than justified his selection ahead of Emmanuel Adebayor and Roberto Soldado – two men who might be forgiven for clinging to the view that their old methods had some merit.
In midfield, Ryan Mason has established himself. The 23-year-old has embodied Pochettino’s pressing with his tally of 62 tackles in the Premier League already only three short of the highest total managed by any Spurs player last season.
Nabil Bentaleb has partnered Mason in each of the last three Premier League games and continues to develop under Pochettino. “In training, he shows you clips,” said the 20-year-old Algeria international, quoted in The Mirror. “He takes you one-by-one and shows you what you are doing wrong and doing right.”
The gaffer did a lot of work on getting us fit and it's really starting to work. In pre-season there were double sessions, times when you were pushing yourself to the limit, but you're doing it for a reason.
It can be demanding, as fellow Spurs midfielder Mousa Dembele would attest. “With this manager as well, training is different than we're used to,” said Dembele. “It's much harder. I think it is a good thing for us and I think it is easier to develop then to become a better player.”
The improvement in Kane has certainly been remarkable and in addition to the confidence with which he’s been infused, it’s been a testament to his physical capacity. Pochettino advertised the fact that the young striker covered 13 kilometres against Everton in December and it’s all been part of the plan.
“As the season has gone on we've got fitter and fitter,” said Kane, quoted in the Tottenham & Wood Green Journal. “I feel the fittest I've ever felt and the best shape I've ever been in. The gaffer did a lot of work on getting us fit and it's really starting to work. In pre-season there were double sessions, times when you were pushing yourself to the limit, but you're doing it for a reason. This is the reason that you’re seeing now.”
As others flag, Tottenham’s players are faring rather better. They have made more high-intensity runs than their opponents in every game since the turn of the year and the only team to outrun them in 2015 was Crystal Palace in Alan Pardew’s first home game in charge. The summer work is paying off.
“It has been a hard pre-season,” Christian Eriksen told The Independent in August, with the Dane also admitting he’d had early nights to cope with it. “There have been double sessions twice a week, when we are training at 10am and then again at 4pm, so it’s a long day.” But Eriksen has benefited. Only three players have covered more ground than him in this season’s Premier League.
Hugo Lloris has also spoken of the “great working mentality in the team” and their desire to do what the manager expects of them. Evidently, Pochettino has the faith of his players but the wider public might still need some convincing given that predecessor Tim Sherwood continues to boast of possessing a superior win percentage in charge of the club.
The way to cement his position is winning silverware and that’s precisely what Pochettino has the chance to do against Chelsea in Sunday’s Capital One Cup final. The underlying statistics offer encouragement that Tottenham are on the right path. It’s the numbers on the Wembley scoreboard that matter now.
Watch the Capital One Cup final live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 2.30pm on Sunday
