Neil Humphreys: Spurs barely deserve their brilliant boss
Pochettino continues to work magic with scant resources
Tottenham Hotspur should build a statue of Mauricio Pochettino and stick it on a blue and white marble plinth outside White Hart Lane's construction site.
The manager who never won a trophy can stand forever outside the stadium that never seems to be finished to underscore the madness around both club and manager.
Like Spurs at White Hart Lane, reality has left the building. Perception reigns, closely followed by ignorance and selective amnesia.
Until the 3-1 win over Chelsea yesterday morning (Singapore time), Pochettino endured those persistent whispers... Tottenham had gone off the boil. Tottenham had run out of ideas. Tottenham's day in the sun was done. Here come the clouds.
Or here come the clowns, forming a disorderly line to criticise Pochettino while taking leave of their senses.
Frankly, Tottenham are lucky to have Pochettino.
The annual maker of minor miracles deserves a trophy at the very least this season.
Pochettino's tactical acumen and Real Madrid's wealth are a match made in heaven.
Pochettino and Tottenham are almost a mismatch, a rare example of a coach possibly being bigger than his club.
The unassuming Argentinian engineered one of the most commanding English Premier League victories of the season despite working with more dodgy handicaps than a group of kelong golfers.
As they prepared for Chelsea, Tottenham missed a couple of centre-backs and a welcoming stadium. But Pochettino didn't whine. He went to work.
He pulled off a tactical masterstroke that no one expected, not the Tottenham faithful and certainly not Chelsea boss Maurizio Sarri, who admitted as much.
MUZZLED
Pochettino polished a rough diamond in midfield, opting for a 4-3-1-2 that muzzled Jorginho and released Christian Eriksen. Deli Alli dropped back to take out Jorginho, leaving Eriksen to take care of Chelsea's back four.
Pochettino considers risks the same way Jose Mourinho considers throwing on Marouane Fellaini after an hour. It's normal, a way of life.
Despite the unfamiliar diamond, he still picked the novice at centre-back. Juan Foyth, 20, got the nod to babysit Alvaro Morata and Eden Hazard. And Foyth came to the fore.
Juergen Klopp and Pep Guardiola are lauded for their man-management manoeuvring, but Pochettino's ace in the hole was months in the planning.
Son Heung Min's tireless performance against Chelsea was no fluke.
In pre-season, Pochettino agreed to release the South Korean to play in August's Asian Games, only if Son missed this month's meaningless friendlies. The South Koreans agreed and Son played Road Runner to David Luiz's Wile E. Coyote.
As Son completed his slaloming solo goal, Luiz was still running, in the opposite direction, towards the corner flag, as if hypnotised.
Pochettino proved yet again that he's a devilish seamstress, stitching together all his odds and ends to make something attractive. He makes almost anything fit.
He continues to work wonders with scraps. No stadium, no proper home, no money, no centre-back, no problem, he'll keep overachieving.
Spurs are above Chelsea, Manchester United and Arsenal and only five points behind the most obscenely wealthy club that the sport has ever seen.
If that's not considered good enough, then Pochettino should be as good as gone. Spurs don't need a trophy to save their manager's job. They need silverware to stop him from leaving.
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