FOR THE FIRST three months of this season, Tottenham were a mess.
Despite having spent much of their post-Gareth Bale millions on an expensive array of talent the summer before last, there was a sense of déjà vu with their results.
They were narrowly losing to plainly inferior teams such as Stoke and West Brom, as well as being well beaten when they came up against more high-profile sides, as they were defeated 4-1 by Man City and lost 3-0 against Liverpool.
Much like Man United now, the Spurs players looked confused and uncomfortable with the tactics, while Mauricio Pochettino constantly chopped and changed and looked set to become the latest promising young manager to be tarnished by an ill-fated reign in the White Hart Lane hotseat.
However, suddenly something changed. Pochettino — perhaps sensing his job was at risk — began to take the type of gambles that, if they had not paid off, would have led to countless pundits claiming he’d ‘lost the plot’.
The 2-1 win at home to Everton felt like a turning point though. The majority of the talent they had spent so much money on were conspicuous by their absence. Emmanuel Adebayor, Paulinho and Etienna Capoue were all not starting.
Instead, Pochettino did something a modern-day manager seems to rarely consider — he placed faith in youth.
Harry Kane didn’t score that day, but he produced an influential performance, brilliantly tackling Gareth Barry in the lead up to Roberto Soldado’s winning goal, and deservedly winning man-of-the-match as a result.
It was beginning to become clear that Kane was undroppable, despite more high-profile strikers such as Soladado and Emmanuel Adebayor having been picked ahead of him for much of the season before then.
Moreover, Kane wasn’t the only youngster that was given a chance to the shine. The relatively inexperienced pairing of Nabil Bentaleb (20) and Ryan Mason (23) were played together in midfield.
Again, Spurs have a number of more obvious candidates for these sitting roles that most managers would consider the more viable selections, including Moussa Dembele, Etienne Capoue and Paulinho, but again Pochettino opted for youth over experience.
And ever since that Everton match, the Tottenham revolution has seldom stumbled. In the 11 league games they have played since then, they have lost just twice and won seven times, including victories over top-four contenders in the form of Arsenal and Chelsea.
(Harry Kane has been a revelation since getting an extended run in the Tottenham first team)
Pochettino’s emphasis on youth has been further accentuated in the time following the Everton watershed. In their highly impressive victory over Arsenal at the weekend, Hugo Lloris at 28 was the oldest player in Spurs’ starting XI. Aside from himself, Jan Vertonghen and Moussa Dembele, none of the other players picked were over the age of 24.
It was therefore perhaps hardly a surprise that Spurs invariably looked sharper and more enthusiastic than the Gunners at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
United, by contrast, were the complete antithesis of Tottenham in their performance against West Ham on Sunday. Their lack of energy up front must have been particularly worrying for Louis van Gaal. Of their two main strikers, Robin van Persie will be 32 in August, while Radamel Falcao, at 29, is still struggling to recapture his form of previous years, having been hampered by a series of serious injuries in recent times.
Yet while the difference between Tottenham and United was stark at the weekend, as evidenced by the latter’s laboured build-up play and relative absence of Kane-esque inspiration, there are parallels between Van Gaal’s side now and the situation Spurs were in earlier during the campaign.
Just as Tottenham appeared to struggle with Poccettino’s philosophy and demands in the initial part of the season, United — even though their overall results have been better than Spurs — still seem ill-at-ease with Van Gaal’s tactics. He is often asking players such as Wayne Rooney to play out of position — as a consequence, the England striker has endured a torrid time and has failed to have a shot on target in all of 2015 thus far.
But unlike Poccettino, the Dutch coach has continued to persevere with his underperforming stars, and like Tottenham’s Argentine coach prior to the Everton game, Van Gaal often gives the impression that he doesn’t know his best team.
And despite all the millions the Red Devils spent in the summer, LVG isn’t much better off than the club were under David Moyes points-wise compared with this time last year. If this trend along with the sub-par performances continue, United are in serious danger of missing out on the top four — an outcome that would almost certainly result in Van Gaal suffering a Moyes-like fate.
The veteran coach has been patient with stars such as Van Persie, Falcao and Angel Di Maria, but perhaps now is the time to be brave.
James Wilson’s mobility would offer United the kind of threat they have so often been lacking this season, while Adnan Januzaj needs to be played in his best position if he his rediscover the kind of form that the Belgian international showed when he first burst onto the scene under David Moyes.
Opting for youth Poccettino-style against Burnley tomorrow tonight, as well as adding some much-needed freshness to the United team, would also send out a message to the United stars — no matter how much money you’re on, no player is untouchable.
Of course, there is no guarantee that Wilson and other youngsters will be good enough to feature regularly for United in the long term, but as with Kane, they won’t know for sure unless they try it out.
