- Published
Big spending always means big ambitions, but shelling out so much money on so many players the way Tottenham did this summer produces problems for any manager, and there is no quick fix.
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Tottenham → publish → manager
If I was given a bundle of cash and asked to buy an outfit for a wedding, and I spent every penny of it on pink shoes, brown trousers, yellow shirt and orange tie, then I am sure you would all say that just doesn't work.
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that → give → shoes
That is similar to what has happened at Spurs, where the board backed Roberto de Zerbi to the hilt with an outlay on new players of around £400m.
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board → happen → m.
It was an almost unprecedented occurrence from a club that has always been renowned for being careful with investment in their team, and it sent expectations from many Spurs supporters through the roof.
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it → renowne → roof
The club had just avoided relegation two seasons running, finishing 17th twice in a row, but suddenly some fans were looking forward to a season competing for trophies and a top-four finish.
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fans → avoid → finish
Their early results and performances have been disappointing, of course, but fans have to understand all the different factors that affect you when you are building a team - and it is ridiculous to suggest De Zerbi should be under pressure already, especially after he kept them up last season.
Let's give De Zerbi a chance
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's → have → chance
Finding a way for your club to win takes a manager in lots of different directions but they all involve time - on the grass or with social interaction with the players.
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they → find → players
Not only has De Zerbi not been given that early time and opportunity, the majority of his players have now been taken away from him for another three weeks on international duty.
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majority → give → duty
De Zerbi has many other issues to deal with, from Tottenham's poor home form to their inability to recover from conceding the first goal in games.
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Zerbi → have → games
But his biggest challenge right now will be to fit those players who have just arrived in with the ones already at the club, into a unit that plays as a team and produces results so that the money the club has spent is justified.
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club → fit → results
All of this will take time, and patience, and all the kinds of little detail that supporters never see.
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supporters → take → that
In my day, we were given time to create a team, and a family.
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we → give → team
For today's managers, time seems more limited than ever.
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time → seem → managers
We are only five games into the season but there are already some Spurs fans who seem to think De Zerbi is the worst manager in the world, even though he has proved elsewhere how good he is.
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he → be → world
I like De Zerbi's passion, and his approach.
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I → like → passion
That will count for nothing if Spurs don't eventually produce, but let's give him a proper chance.
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's → count → chance
Combinations can take time to click
De Zerbi is a very passionate, straight-talking and ambitious manager who demands total commitment and backing from his board.
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who → take → board
He has definitely had that at Spurs, which has left people wondering why he has made such a slow start.
But, before the season started, I thought his biggest challenge with so many different types of players arriving would be to put players together that fit as a team, not as a group of individuals.
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that → have → individuals
I've been in that situation myself, for example in my early days at Stoke, when I signed Gerry Taggart and Michael Duberry to play together, two centre-halves who were complete opposites in relation to how they dealt with space on the pitch.
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they → sign → pitch
Gerry always wanted to drop off deeper because he wasn't overly quick, whereas Michael was fast and didn't ever worry about leaving space behind him.
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Michael → want → him
I couldn't make Gerry any quicker, so common sense locked in and I
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sense → make → ?
had to convince Michael that he would have to take a step away from his main strengths of pace and power and work along Gerry's lines instead.
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he → have → lines
We spent a great deal of time on the grass in training until we finally got both working in unison.
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both → spend → unison
Both were different, but they understood the importance of working together as a pair for the benefit of the team.
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they → understand → team
Even so, it still took time for it to click.
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it → take → time
For any manager trying to build a successful team by developing combinations like that, the main thing you need is time with your players.
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you → try → players
It can happen where a lot of new players settle in quickly at the same time and the team starts well - like Sunderland last season, or Brighton pretty much every year when they have lost several key players - but the difference is that while those clubs might also have changed their manager, they have not changed their identity.
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they → happen → identity
Whether it is Sunderland and Brighton, or Brentford and Bournemouth, they all have a set identity so that when they look for a player to fit in a certain position, he has to have certain strengths.
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he → have → strengths
When you don't have that solid base behind you, knowing exactly what is needed for certain positions, then bringing 10 new signings and all in one window like Spurs have just done, is going to create many issues for the coach.
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Spurs → have → coach
Each player has a different personality and needs different amount of time to settle in, not only to a new environment but also to adjust to the demands of a very single-minded and demanding coach like De Zerbi is.
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Zerbi → have → coach
This settling-in period would have been covered if all the players had had a pre-season together, to get up to speed with their team-mates and what De Zerbi is asking of them, with his front-foot style of play.
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Zerbi → settle → play
That did not happen, and then even after the season started, Spurs were still adding to their squad.
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Spurs → happen → squad
Finding out who understands importance of teamwork
Coaching a team to be a team takes time, patience and a sound idea of the strengths of all your players.
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team → find → players
Even when you have got that, trying to knit every player together takes time, and that is still De Zerbi's issue now.
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that → get → time
For starters, he was always playing catch-up.
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he → play → up
Because all of his players were not in place when the season began, he missed the opportunity to assess his squad and impose his own principles on his top group of players.
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he → begin → players
He is a coach at heart and will want to be out on the training pitch conducting a system of work for the team, in and out of possession, that he believes will bring success to the club.
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he → want → club
This international break means he cannot do that with all his players.
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he → mean → players
Another issue De Zerbi has is that he has only been in the job a few months and he is still getting to know the existing players, not just the new ones, on and off the grass.
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he → have → grass
On it, you need to find out who understands the importance of teamwork and who doesn't, to iron out shortcomings and and see what works and what doesn't.
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what → need → shortcomings
…and 19 more, not listed.
The Aporia
