Tottenham take on Manchester City at the Etihad Stadium on Sunday sitting in second place and with a real chance of taking the title.
Andy Gray and Richard Keys, who front beIN Sports’ EPL coverage, look at manager Mauricio Pochettino and the players who have put Spurs back on the glory trail.
Andy Gray: Of all the teams in the league, Tottenham have been as impressive as anybody, fighting on more than one front. They change a couple of players every now and then but generally it’s the same team, week in, week out.
Apart from the odd signing Pochettino has used the players that were already there when he arrived at the club from Southampton. He sifted out the ones he didn’t want like Paulinho, and then demanded more from the ones he kept and he is getting it.
I think he has done a terrific job and Tottenham fans won’t thank me for saying this, but if I was Manchester United he would definitely be on my radar. He’s young, ambitious and what he is doing at White Hart Lane is no fluke. He has built a young, vibrant team at Tottenham and they definitely look like a side that could go all the way and win the Premier League title.
One of the things l like about Pochettino is that he doesn’t court publicity like Jose Mourinho does; he operates under the radar. That’s partly down to the fact that he is still not fluent in English so he can’t command a press conference but it suits him to let the others get on with it. He is a bit like Manuel Pellegrini who just gets on with his job without looking to get into the headlines.
He has some great talent to work with. Harry Kane is having another great season and Dele Alli has proved that if you are good enough you are old enough. It has been refreshing to see a young kid given an opportunity.
Too often we are told that if you are 19 years old you are not ready but that’s nonsense and he has proved that. He has been sensational and if he carries on like this there is no doubt in my mind that he will be in the England squad for the European Championships.
And it’s not just about those two. Toby Alderwiereld has been fantastic at centre-back, the shifting of Eric Dier from the centre of defence to midfield has been inspirational and players like Christian Eriksen, Mousa Dembele, Nacer Chadli and Erik Lamela have upped their game.
Sunday’s match will be open and there will be goals. Man City have got to do better than they did against Leicester last week and it would be a blow to their title ambitions if they were to lose again. However, I don’t think that is going to happen. 2-2.
Richard Keys: At the start of the season I wasn’t sure about Pochettino because I couldn’t see the direction he was taking but it has become very evident now. I would say he is the first Tottenham manager to actually get a grip of the reins at the club, maybe since Bill Nicholson.
Chairman Daniel Levy was always the person we talked about whether it was Martin Jol, Harry Redknapp, or whoever else managing Spurs. Even Terry Venables under Alan Sugar was all about what was happening behind the scenes. Not any more.
Pochettino is quietly causing a revolution there that has to be taken seriously. He has gone in there, got rid of the players who weren’t good enough to mount a title challenge, and I really like what he is doing.
Right now l guess the primary objective for Tottenham fans is to finish above Arsenal for the first time since the year dot and I think they can do that and possibly win the title. Pochettino has brought steel and belief to the club.
Like Andy, I think Alli has played a massive part in what they have achieved so far. He stepped off the bench last week and it was no coincidence that within 90 seconds he had made the winner.
Liverpool missed out on signing him because they saw him as a player for the future and Pochettino saw him as someone who could make an instant impact and how right he was.
City look a bit off the pace at the moment and Pellegrini doesn’t look well to me. If they lose this I think they can forget their title bid. 1-2.
