Toxic dressing room before Poch?

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https://thisisfutbol.com/2017/05/blogs/neville-pochettino-inherited-a-toxic-tottenham/



Neville: Pochettino inherited a toxic Tottenham
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Date: 9th May 2017 at 2:00pm
Written by: Dominic Toner


Gary Neville believes that the Tottenham dressing room was “toxic” when Mauricio Pochettino arrived as the manager in 2014.

Spurs finished sixth in the Premier League during the 2013/14 season and qualified for a Europa League play-off.

The north London club welcomed Pochettino from Southampton the following summer and he has gone on to transform them into a top side, who are looking to establish themselves as Champions League regulars.



Several first teamers departed during his first transfer window in charge with the likes of Gylfi Sigurdsson, Michael Dawson, Jake Livermore and Sandro all being sold.

They have been competing for the league title since Pochettino’s arrival and look set to finish as runners-up this season.

Neville has praised the current state of the Spurs squad, but feels that it has taken a huge overhaul to fix it.

“I think back to Tottenham teams that won trophies in the 80s,” Neville said on the Monday Night Football programme on Sky Sports One. “This is the best Tottenham team I’ve seen in my lifetime, the most exciting.

“Think of the shambles that Pochettino picked up a few years ago. Toxic dressing room. For me he’s done a brilliant job and I think we should celebrate what Tottenham have done this season.”

Spurs’ team spirit has been a shining factor in their success this season and they have a strong core of England international at the heart of their success.

Pochettino has managed to make young pair Harry Kane and Dele Alli crucial to his side’s success, while he has recruited smartly by adding the likes of Toby Alderweireld, Heung-Min Son and Victor Wanyama during his time at White Hart Lane.

They now look like a side that can challenge frequently for league titles and will be looking to improve their European form next season
 
I just can't imagine Sandro or Sigurdsson being 'toxic'. I'm sure we had our fair share of lazy, entitled and arrogant wasters and needed an injection of professionalism and drive, though.
 
We had Kaboul. That was enough......it only takes one.
 
The toxicity supposedly came from a group of players including Kaboul, Adebayor, Capoue and allegedly. The real toxicity, imo, started under Sherwood. Confidence was shot because of awful form under AVB, the loss of Bale and the flopping of so many of our new big name signings. Then Sherwood tried and failed to inject fight into them but ending up just putting fuel on the fire. That caused a real division in the dressing room that never got addressed until after Poch's first season.

Poch knew how to deal with ego's and he didn't fuck around.
 
Matic - 9/5/2017 16:12

The toxicity supposedly came from a group of players including Kaboul, Adebayor, Capoue and allegedly. The real toxicity, imo, started under Sherwood. Confidence was shot because of awful form under AVB, the loss of Bale and the flopping of so many of our new big name signings. Then Sherwood tried and failed to inject fight into them but ending up just putting fuel on the fire. That caused a real division in the dressing room that never got addressed until after Poch's first season.

Poch knew how to deal with ego's and he didn't fuck around.
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You're closer to the truth there than you know, Tim took the issue to the board and warned that their was a number of 'senoir' players who weren't playing for the shirt anymore and had a smelly attitude and weren't giving their all - something he couldn't abide as a player, nor as a coach.

A different more experienced coach might have dealt/managed it better - Tim wore his heart on his sleeve and should have kept his own counsel. Interestingly, Poch asked him for his opinion on the dressing room after he took over - I'm told he didn't hold back...
 
Sherwood wasn't given the authority to do a clear out, because at that point Levy wouldn't take the hits on resale. Pochettino has been allowed to, and it is no stroke of genius to be allowed to ditch the toxic players - most of us could identify them. Apart from those, he has been allowed to get rid of anyone who criticises him or his methods.

Neville is usually pretty perceptive, but is way off target saying this side is better than our 80's sides. Those sides were very entertaining to watch and won stuff. This side is genuinely the second best in a pretty poor quality PL, but get outside the bubble (EL and CL) and we get badly shown up. Not the case with the 80's sides or Redknapps.
 
Bald Archie - 9/5/2017 21:11

Sherwood wasn't given the authority to do a clear out, because at that point Levy wouldn't take the hits on resale. Pochettino has been allowed to, and it is no stroke of genius to be allowed to ditch the toxic players - most of us could identify them. Apart from those, he has been allowed to get rid of anyone who criticises him or his methods.

Neville is usually pretty perceptive, but is way off target saying this side is better than our 80's sides. Those sides were very entertaining to watch and won stuff. This side is genuinely the second best in a pretty poor quality PL, but get outside the bubble (EL and CL) and we get badly shown up. Not the case with the 80's sides or Redknapps.
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Love Harry, but he ultimately failed, as to the 80's a lot of the time it was hit and miss and it was a different era with different pitches, nothing really transcends the two periods other than ball skills and now across all the top leagues team play and tactical knowledge has a much bigger importance than it ever did. |We were more interested in having a pre or post match piss up than understand why we won or lost in those days...few players were different back then.
 
Bald Archie - 9/5/2017 21:11

Sherwood wasn't given the authority to do a clear out, because at that point Levy wouldn't take the hits on resale. Pochettino has been allowed to, and it is no stroke of genius to be allowed to ditch the toxic players - most of us could identify them. Apart from those, he has been allowed to get rid of anyone who criticises him or his methods.

Neville is usually pretty perceptive, but is way off target saying this side is better than our 80's sides. Those sides were very entertaining to watch and won stuff. This side is genuinely the second best in a pretty poor quality PL, but get outside the bubble (EL and CL) and we get badly shown up. Not the case with the 80's sides or Redknapps.
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Re: Sherwood.

He wasn't given the authority because he was designated interim manager. Lame duck. You don't give strategic squad decisions to an interim manager. It had nothing to do with financial issues a that precise moment.
 
Spursex - 10/5/2017 10:03

Bald Archie - 9/5/2017 21:11

Sherwood wasn't given the authority to do a clear out, because at that point Levy wouldn't take the hits on resale. Pochettino has been allowed to, and it is no stroke of genius to be allowed to ditch the toxic players - most of us could identify them. Apart from those, he has been allowed to get rid of anyone who criticises him or his methods.

Neville is usually pretty perceptive, but is way off target saying this side is better than our 80's sides. Those sides were very entertaining to watch and won stuff. This side is genuinely the second best in a pretty poor quality PL, but get outside the bubble (EL and CL) and we get badly shown up. Not the case with the 80's sides or Redknapps.
Click to expand...

Love Harry, but he ultimately failed, as to the 80's a lot of the time it was hit and miss and it was a different era with different pitches, nothing really transcends the two periods other than ball skills and now across all the top leagues team play and tactical knowledge has a much bigger importance than it ever did. |We were more interested in having a pre or post match piss up than understand why we won or lost in those days...few players were different back then.
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That is exactly why Neville was wrong to compare. Had he said that this was the best Spurs team in the PL years he would still have been wrong, but the argument would have held water better than the soggy tissue of the argument he did put forward.

(To be fair to Redknapps team though it took the CL by storm, which is something untrue of Porkys's ventures in the EL and CL.)
80deg16minW - 10/5/2017 12:23

Re: Sherwood.

He wasn't given the authority because he was designated interim manager. Lame duck. You don't give strategic squad decisions to an interim manager. It had nothing to do with financial issues a that precise moment.
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He was given an 18 month contract as manager wasn't he? In Levy's head he was unlikely to be more than interim, although had he handled himself a bit better he might have got a longer contract and then been entrusted with squad re-shaping.

At that point Lewis / Levy most certainly did not want to lose huge money casting aside the wasted Bale money players, but a year later when Porky showed he wouldn't use them, and with 2 years left on their contracts, and having an ever diminishing value if held onto for longer, selling was allowed.
 
Sherwood changed his mind on certain players with the wind. 1 minute saying no one works harder than Sandro and he's the one who gives his all in training and puts the others to shame then dropped him saying he doesn't work hard enough 2 weeks later. Interesting he changed formations and approaches almost as quickly. We played some great stuff under Tim but he basically threw enough shit at the wall that some of it had to stick - glad we got rid, don't understand how some view him with rose tinted glasses for anything he did after he left the youth team.
 
freundorfoe - 12/5/2017 01:26

Sherwood changed his mind on certain players with the wind. 1 minute saying no one works harder than Sandro and he's the one who gives his all in training and puts the others to shame then dropped him saying he doesn't work hard enough 2 weeks later. Interesting he changed formations and approaches almost as quickly. We played some great stuff under Tim but he basically threw enough shit at the wall that some of it had to stick - glad we got rid, don't understand how some view him with rose tinted glasses for anything he did after he left the youth team.
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It's all ancient history now, but once it had been made clear to players via their agents that he was only a temporary stop-gap, the shit in the dressing room started, as you say, we played some great football under him, but player power and inexperience along with the boards desire not to have a Harry clone did for him..

It's worth noting that the 7/8 players he had on his list to go, were all the ones Poch moved on..Tim, like Harry was too public in his thoughts and naively thought the media could be 'friends', he learned the hard way and still is.
 
Bald Archie - 10/5/2017 21:08

Spursex - 10/5/2017 10:03

Bald Archie - 9/5/2017 21:11

Sherwood wasn't given the authority to do a clear out, because at that point Levy wouldn't take the hits on resale. Pochettino has been allowed to, and it is no stroke of genius to be allowed to ditch the toxic players - most of us could identify them. Apart from those, he has been allowed to get rid of anyone who criticises him or his methods.

Neville is usually pretty perceptive, but is way off target saying this side is better than our 80's sides. Those sides were very entertaining to watch and won stuff. This side is genuinely the second best in a pretty poor quality PL, but get outside the bubble (EL and CL) and we get badly shown up. Not the case with the 80's sides or Redknapps.
Click to expand...

Love Harry, but he ultimately failed, as to the 80's a lot of the time it was hit and miss and it was a different era with different pitches, nothing really transcends the two periods other than ball skills and now across all the top leagues team play and tactical knowledge has a much bigger importance than it ever did. |We were more interested in having a pre or post match piss up than understand why we won or lost in those days...few players were different back then.
Click to expand...

That is exactly why Neville was wrong to compare. Had he said that this was the best Spurs team in the PL years he would still have been wrong, but the argument would have held water better than the soggy tissue of the argument he did put forward.

(To be fair to Redknapps team though it took the CL by storm, which is something untrue of Porkys's ventures in the EL and CL.)
80deg16minW - 10/5/2017 12:23

Re: Sherwood.

He wasn't given the authority because he was designated interim manager. Lame duck. You don't give strategic squad decisions to an interim manager. It had nothing to do with financial issues a that precise moment.
Click to expand...
He was given an 18 month contract as manager wasn't he? In Levy's head he was unlikely to be more than interim, although had he handled himself a bit better he might have got a longer contract and then been entrusted with squad re-shaping.

At that point Lewis / Levy most certainly did not want to lose huge money casting aside the wasted Bale money players, but a year later when Porky showed he wouldn't use them, and with 2 years left on their contracts, and having an ever diminishing value if held onto for longer, selling was allowed.
Click to expand...

That's harsh on Poch, Harry had the inspirational Bale. Poch had Lamela ******* up within 15 mins of our CL campaign and being a waste of space until he got injured.
 
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