So maybe having a translator was good for us?

http://www.bbc.com/sport/0/football/29990739

"He's a good manager and we just have to find a way so that we can try to understand what he wants to tell us and how he wants us to play and put that on the pitch." - Adebayor on MoPo

Either that or maybe the north London yobos have really dumb players! Take your pick.

His media interviews are awful - always in the present tense and unable to elaborate on any point.

The idea of the translator getting more information out of him was another innovative solution from our classy back room team that the North London yobs failed to implement.

"I need to find any excuse I can to explain how p*ss poor we are...I'll blame the guy with a funny accent"

He's just trying to buy time for the manager to settle (something he sorely needs, but probably won't get)...not literally misunderstanding Pochettino.

Maybe the translator was a bit of a wannabee footie manager and wasn't passing on Mopo's tactics but delivering his own ideas in pre match team talks!!

If this is still a problem eleven games in, and after a full pre-season with Pochettino, I'd suggest that the issue is not so much that they don't understand what's expected but that some of them don't want to understand it. After all, Rickie said very early on that it was a non issue here.

The challenge for some of the Spurs players is (and was always going to be) that Pochettino's system requires them to work much harder than they've ever had to work, and several of them are not suited to it. It also requires 100% buy-in because the system can't afford passengers.

I always felt that MP would have a big problem at Spurs because he wouldn't have the kind of players he had here. I wouldn't be surprised if reuniting with Pochettino has become much less attractive to Schneiderlin - partly because he's enjoying life here and partly because he can see that Spurs are at the start of Year One of a three-year work in progress.

It's looking increasingly likely that Saints' success last season was not BECAUSE of Pochettino but IN SPITE of Pochettino.

I think that fact is going to dawn on Levy sooner or later.

We March On.

I always thought that Poch was more protected against criticism because he couldn't be easily misquoted by the press when he had a translator. Probably not the reason why Spurs are underperforming, but could possibly have something to do with it.

If this is still a problem eleven games in, and after a full pre-season with Pochettino, I'd suggest that the issue is not so much that they don't understand what's expected but that some of them don't want to understand it. After all, Rickie said very early on that it was a non issue here.

 

The challenge for some of the Spurs players is (and was always going to be) that Pochettino's system requires them to work much harder than they've ever had to work, and several of them are not suited to it. It also requires 100% buy-in because the system can't afford passengers.

 

I always felt that MP would have a big problem at Spurs because he wouldn't have the kind of players he had here. I wouldn't be surprised if reuniting with Pochettino has become much less attractive to Schneiderlin - partly because he's enjoying life here and partly because he can see that Spurs are at the start of Year One of a three-year work in progress.

I watched them yesterday, they either just don't have a clue what they're supposed to be doing or (and this is my hot favourite) they're just incapable of doing it. They don't keep posession because some dumb ferk always tries to do something that just isn't on, they don't recover the ball quickly, they don't press effectively and the don't defend very well because they don't track back quickly and leave their team-mate isolated most of the time, plus they can't score for toffee. As I said yesterday if I was Poch I'd tell Levy where to stick his job because it's impossible with the shower of shîte that they have.

Maybe the translator was a bit of a wannabee footie manager and wasn't passing on Mopo's tactics but delivering his own ideas in pre match team talks!!

Lol, wasn't that how Mourinho started…...

It's looking increasingly likely that Saints' success last season was not BECAUSE of Pochettino but IN SPITE of Pochettino.

 

I think that fact is going to dawn on Levy sooner or later.

 

We March On.

I think that is a bit harsh. Although his weaknesses have become more apparent with hindsight, I don't think any one can say he did not get a lot out of the players last season.

I think his problems are exactly what I thought could happen to him which is that here he had a bunch of players ready and wanting to develop, players that although very good were fighting to develop there careers. At Spurs there is a number, maybe even a majority of players that believe they have made it and much less likely to buy into his highly physically exerting playing style. His system can only work if the players all buy into it 100% as it falls down other wise.

If he can't get them onside very quickly ( and I do not think with the players at his disposal that he can) he will be gone by the end of the season.

Can't help feeling he has made a massive mistake with his career by leaving us, but personally am pleased he did as I do not think the club will have developed as much in the next few years if he had stayed.

MP had pliable "want to improve" players at SFC. At spuds he has no such luxury.

MP is not a bad manager, but he misjudged his powers. I will hold my hand up and say I thought he would be a success at Spurs. It seems the personality and desire of our squad were of the correct type to follow MP's regime. Spurs team of big time Charlie's, who are overpaid and not hungry will not suit his style.

I fully expected Lamela and the othe high price forward would fire under MP. I suspect Levy and MP expected the same.

iam delighted that I was wrong, and hope we can laud it over Spurs for many years to come

His translator never spoke to the players did he?

I said when he went there he would struggle to impose his methods on that squad. It's one thing to come into a club full of players starry eyed players in their first season in top flight or teenagers just breaking into the team and get them to play a certain way, which might not initially be popular due to the work demanded, quite another to get millionare big time players who have worked under bigger name managers. People like Adebeyor were never going to like it. Pochetino will need to rebuild that squad if he's going to succeed there and he'll need time to do it, something that spurs managers don't get.

As I said before, I fully agree with the notion that his group of Spurs players are just too far up their own backsides to want to listen to him and work harder.

Under Nigel, we had a very well rounded group of blokes and young lads who got on, were down to earth (Nigel style) and wanted to learn, develop and push on up the leagues together. Pochettino inherited that lot and they generally all looked as if they lapped up the new instructions as we kept more clean sheets and looked a step on again.

It's probably also why Pochettino likes the academy players so much, because they are younger and more willing to listen and try new things?

At Spurs, he does not have a group of well rounded lads who have come on a journey together. He has a group of highly paid individuals who expected Champions League football. Although I really did think he'd get more from them than he has, especially Lamella.

There's a book out called Southampton Match of my Life: Eighteen Saints Relive Their Greatest Games which includes a chapter on Lambert's greatest game (Man City away, first game first season back.) In it he says:

"Mauricio arrived and I did not really know him but full credit to the people in charge who brought him in because he was unbelievable, a top class manager.

He, Mauricio, played the situation very well because he made an effort to get close to the main core of the senior players.

He bedded in well and made his ideas very clear. He was very good to me because I think he could tell I was a little bit uncertain and wanted to reassure me but it didn’t take me long to be very impressed with the way he went about things.

There was a time a couple of months after he joined when the players were questioning his training regime because he worked us so hard.

Mauricio didn’t like us questioning him and we had to decide if we were going to keep on moaning or accept it and believe in him.

We decided to go with it and from that moment we never looked back, avoiding relegation with a few games to spare before kicking on the following season."

..we had to decide if we were going to keep on moaning or accept it and believe in him. We decided to go with it and from that moment we never looked back"

Difference between Spurs and Saints right there. Pochettino must rue the fact that he couldn't take the players' attitude (or "mentality") with him when he left.

Can't rule out that there were a combination of factors that made Pochettino successful with us: mourinho-class translator, lack of prima donna personalities, a squad that can physically maintain his high press demands etc.

Interestingly Moyes new job at Real Sociedad have striking similarities with Everton, things to suggest that he should be comfortable with the club... Less the fact that he can't speak Spanish.

It's not often that the victim of a stabbing in the back climbs to his feet and is grateful to the person responsible, but, Hey, Thanks Poch, that was just what was needed......

Where this falls down is that Perez and Jimenez in MoPos back room team both speak excellent English.

His translator never spoke to the players did he?

No, think it was just for the media. I guess all clubs use translators for players that don't speak English tho.

We shouldn't forget that he did a very good job for us... And apart from the apparent lack of a plan B broadly moved us forward... Yes... It all ended badly....

Seems to me that part of our success has been... Decide a type/style of play... Then recruit both manager and players that fit that style...

At Spurs they just bought a bunch of random stars and expected a manager to 'fix it'....

If that works it's going to be luck not judgement

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He is a good manager but sadly believed the hype around him which was little premature. As others have said, he does not have the same players (or owners) at Spurs.

Also intersting to note that Spurs fans are highlighting the same issues we did -

1 Lots of possession without making it count

2 Defensive errors

3 No plan B

4 Poor / badly timed substitutions

5 A tendancy to only use one full back as a wing back during a game (but switching depending on the game)

Difference between Spurs and Saints right there. Pochettino must rue the fact that he couldn't take the players' attitude (or "mentality") with him when he left.

or the players……..

Maybe the translator was a bit of a wannabee footie manager and wasn't passing on Mopo's tactics but delivering his own ideas in pre match team talks!!

my spanish isn't that good, but I got the impression that the translator had a number of standard replies to standard questions and seemed to make the rest up as he went along, whilst Poch smiled...ah well.

Can't rule out that there were a combination of factors that made Pochettino successful with us: mourinho-class translator, lack of prima donna personalities, a squad that can physically maintain his high press demands etc.

 

Interestingly Moyes new job at Real Sociedad have striking similarities with Everton, things to suggest that he should be comfortable with the club... Less the fact that he can't speak Spanish.

.....which maybe equalled out by the rumour that he's going to get Inigo Idiakez (SFC 2006-08)....on his new coaching staff....

I've been shocked by what looks to me like a substantial change of personal image and style by Pochettino. At Southampton he seemed to me to look cool, calm, collected and confident. At press interviews, although the translator gave the reply, you always felt that MP was listening to the questions in English and knew what his response would be even before the question was translated into Spanish.

At Tottenham, its not just the simplistic way that he tends to struggle with the interviews, but he now looks rough and unkempt by comparison to last year and with a poorly performing team his confidence has deserted. It wasn't unreasonable for Tottenham to think that in his second year in England he should have mastered the language and having dispensed with the translator they can hardly bring one back, but it is looking like a mistake.

All he really says is that he needs to change the "mentality" and the Journos all swallow it up without asking what he actually means.

However to be fair the guy whilst they have a few decent players they have a lot of **** blokes. The difference from here I guess. Personality and character are as important as skill.

Can't rule out that there were a combination of factors that made Pochettino successful with us: mourinho-class translator, lack of prima donna personalities, a squad that can physically maintain his high press demands etc.

 

Interestingly Moyes new job at Real Sociedad have striking similarities with Everton, things to suggest that he should be comfortable with the club... Less the fact that he can't speak Spanish.

He's not exactly fluent in English is he?

I've been shocked by what looks to me like a substantial change of personal image and style by Pochettino. At Southampton he seemed to me to look cool, calm, collected and confident. At press interviews, although the translator gave the reply, you always felt that MP was listening to the questions in English and knew what his response would be even before the question was translated into Spanish.

At Tottenham, its not just the simplistic way that he tends to struggle with the interviews, but he now looks rough and unkempt by comparison to last year and with a poorly performing team his confidence has deserted. It wasn't unreasonable for Tottenham to think that in his second year in England he should have mastered the language and having dispensed with the translator they can hardly bring one back, but it is looking like a mistake.

When you're winning, you can go to matches (and be interviewed) wearing a suit and tie and be cool, calm and collected.

When things are tough , the " track suit image and unshaven look " suggests you've been out long hours on the training ground trying to make your ideas work...

When (Saints) players said he spoke enough English to communicate, thats not difficult to believe. The vocabulary required isn't difficult to communicate to players who may have struggled with their GCSE's, where MP had the upper hand was his demand for an interpreter who could sanitize his Spanish expressions, into " English football-jargon " that people could accept.

Levy's (obvious) insistance that MP uses English betrays the fact that MP didn't bother to pursue the opportunity to take any English lessons, or he would have certainly improved much more than he has.

With his team struggling, he now has difficulty in explaining that (in interviews) and hardly seems more coherent than when he first arrived at SMS.