Everything that's wrong
Style and identity
We had swashbuckle under Harry Redknapp that collapsed thanks to the lack of tactical astuteness. Andre Villas-Boas gave us slow brooding possession play that never evolved into aggressive counter-attacking football. Mauricio Pochettino wants pressured play but we are hard pressed to get it with the current set of players. Spurs fans just want to be entertained.
Transfer Ethos
Only Spurs could implement backroom strategy to methodically sign players to fit a coaching philosophy after spending £100M on players to fit a previous tenure doomed to failure because no such system existed. Transparency over how it all played out between chairman, director of football and coach remains confusing and a libellous minefield of accusations and deflection. The antithesis needs to be a more measured approach, a scientific one that works in practice and not just theory. All pressure on Poch and Paul Mitchell whilst we wait on the fate of Levy's buffer, Franco Baldini.
Leadership
Ledley King led by example without the necessity for constant vocal screaming, but the latter is something we could do with. Team spirit was superb (for a stint) under AVB. Never say die attitude, especially away from home. That degraded to being solely dependent on Gareth Bale's pegs, but since then the teams structure has degraded to a mish-mash of misfits. Harry Kane as captain (deserved as reward for his efforts) mocks our lack of mental fortitude in the more experienced players. I'd give it to Hugo Lloris permanently but he should only have to focus on the four Keystones ahead of him.
Ownership & Stadium
Are we ground sharing with MK Dons? Is there an NFL partnership in the works? Will Cain Hoy return with a renewed bid? Joe Lewis and Daniel Levy have invested in THFC. The end game is maximising the profit margin. You have to be a fool to think this isn't about business, even if there is a personal affinity (ignoring the cynicism) that the chairman might have with the club. Fact is, success on the pitch breeds success off it. For all the account balancing and in the black financial statements, we can't seem to reverse this logic.
Patience
One of the biggest gripes concerns a sizeable section of the fanbase advocating the necessity to 'move on' for the greater good even if that means ruthlessly accepting mistakes made with managerial appointments. Some have already called for Pochettino's head. Sacking managers is probably the one thing we're consistently good at. The argument is the 'give him time' mantra isn't necessarily the golden path to success, AVB being a prime example of waiting for something that was never going to arrive. But considering what Poch has inherited, to expect dramatic change is perhaps being too needy, especially with our recent history of stagnation. Think of this way, if Poch has struggled to embed his philosophy is it because he can't coach the best out of the players or because this is as good as the players can give?
The team we've pulled together from a gradual dismantlement is built on a house of cards. You need to be a magician to make it stick. Mauricio is in dire need of a new box of tricks.
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Just call me the Grim Reaper.
