Don't forget Pochettino's stress on fitness. We consistently outwork our opponents.

All things considered, Pochettino does more with less than just about anyone out there.

I think that also limits him a bit though. His strengths are what you described above: overall, he gets every man on the squad on board, and all pulling in the same direction--a high tempo, high-pressing, attacking football. However, part of how he accomplished that is by shipping out players that aren't working hard. He especially rejects players that don't carry out their instructions and play their role in the system (Adebayor). And that's wonderful, that's what I want.

The drawback of this is in player selection: because he NEEDS players who will play specific roles and who will put the team's ultimate plan above their own ambitions, he choice of players will always be more limited than other managers'. And, it will quite likely be biased against the very top tier of talented players. Even if Tottenham matched the wages of United or Barcelona, any superstar player considering the three would know that working for Pochettino would be more physically demanding in training, and more mentally demanding in matches. I think even when the new stadium is complete and more revenue is coming in, Spurs will have trouble landing the very top talent, and what truly talent we do land will probably be disappointing. Under Pochettino, we're not built to allow individal to be mega stars. We're built as a team that will be more than the sum of our parts. We just won't be able to use the very best parts.

Now, as I said, I'm fine with this. I love the teamwork, I love the collective, working class attitude. We should be cognizant, though, of Pochettino's drawbacks. I think we're about at our ceiling now, always in contention for trophies but never favored. We could spend more money but I don't think we'll get much better than this.

COYS