Is Cristian Romero A Liability? | Spurs In Relegation Trouble, Thomas Frank’s Failings & Pochettino to Return?

17:31Jack:We could have been four or five down.

17:32Con:100 % could have been four or five down, yeah. And yeah, that's why, the only reason I'm quite naively starting to believe some of these times when we have been trailing by one or two goals. And you have seen a huge sort of swing in the second half in our favour in terms of momentum and attacking. Part of me is starting to believe that is the players sort of chucking in the plan and just going for it, which I didn't used to buy into at all. But the evidence there in that, you know, when we do sort of discover something that seems to be working, and results in us actually having chances on goal.

18:18Con:And sometimes, you know, like City coming back and get a result, the next game we'd just revert back to the same old shot, really.

18:28Jack:Christian Romero, let's do it, Con. Which red or not red for you?

18:37Con:I think it was a red card, unfortunately, mate.

18:40Jack:You pearl-clutching wet lettuce.

18:43Con:You're going to call me woke.

18:44Jack:Yeah, it is a bit woke. It is a bit woke. Game's gone.

18:49Con:Game's gone. I get the argument in that the frustrating thing is the inconsistency because, I mean, just at Old Trafford a couple of weeks ago, there was a challenge on Doku that wasn't given a red card. There was one at the Emirates just this weekend, the Sunderland player. I can't remember who he was on. Obviously, if Arsenal didn't get that result, we'd be hearing a lot more about that than we have. which was very similar to Romero's. But I think the difference is with that one, he seemed to sort of pull out a little bit towards the end, whereas Romero didn't. I completely get the argument that I do think Romero is both refereed differently and spoken about differently by pundits in the press than most other players in this league.

19:38Con:Or the Gary Neville, he's been a naughty boy stuff and all that.

19:41Jack:It's basically Neville sets the tone for it, isn't it? It is, but you can't do that.

19:48Con:I don't think you can do that. There was no moment in that sort of tackle, in that motion, where he sort of tried to even pull out a bit. I think if that was Lissandra Martin as an Archie Gray, I don't think there'd be any Spurs fans saying, that's a bit soft, we've been a bit lucky there. I don't think it was a good challenge. I really don't

20:11Jack:I think equally though if that's Lissandro Martinez on Archie Gray we're not seeing a red card I think we are I'm not so sure maybe not

20:19Con:maybe not but I don't know you can't it is frustrating because as I say I do think he's a referee differently but you can't give right I think half the times I think 50 % of referees in the Premier League give a red there 50 % give a yellow but you can't you can't take those odds you can't give them that chance. I don't think it was a good challenge. And I don't think it was a shocker of a decision or anything like that. But I mean, we were, you know, 25 minutes, half an hour into a game. It was 30, 35 yards out. I just don't think there's any need for it, to be honest. And, you know, it was a Brazilian.

20:58Con:So he obviously did.

20:59Jack:I mean, that's, yeah, that's just what he sees, isn't it? He sees that.

21:03Con:Yeah. Red rag to a ball, mate. Yeah, big time. Oh, there's a little Brazilian there with a football. Yeah. Better shopping.

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22:27Jack:RJ Decker, series premiere, Tuesdays on ABC. and stream on Hulu. I guess the conversation has sort of bled out naturally into, is he a lot? Well, I mean, Rhea Ferdinand literally called him a liability. This is a man that's won every single cup final he's ever played in. It's a man that Lionel Messi has called one of the best defenders he's ever played alongside. You know.

22:58Con:Well, it's a pretty awesome ending, really.

23:01Jack:Is there a problem with perception here? Because let's forget the wider narrative. Let's look at Spurs because I'm seeing quite a few Spurs fans saying, I love him, but he's a red card waiting to happen. He's a liability, all this sort of stuff. But again, when we're talking about the most accounts of things like Bilbao, he was pivotal in getting that across the line in delivering as that piece of silverware is he is he not kind of one of those players where you take the rough with the smooth and yeah all right i'm not going to sit here and pretend that i've not called him a liability before um because i do think he can be he's definitely hot-headed right he's definitely got a level of emotional dysregulation on the football pitch i think i think we can say that without having to go like to cod psychologist on him right the the guy i think he needs to feel like he is believing in in what he's seeing on the pitch he definitely isn't believing in that right now um i can't remember who was it that i think it was flav said it on the five statements after the game the sort of the the fighting cox patreon he he was saying that it feels like the off pitch issues the fact that Romero's had two red cards this season I think the Liverpool one was a shocker as well to be honest but still he's getting himself into a position where he's getting two red cards there's clearly off-pitch frustrations bleeding into what's happening the Instagram posts the red cards the the whatever right why but why does that mean we should be writing off somebody who is you know one of our few I think we can still say world-class players and I know people will always debate the meaning of that and whatever but let's just take it on the value that this is a guy that has played and won a world cup final he's won two copper americas he's captain tottenham to well no he wasn't the captain was he but he still was one of the pivotal figures in us winning a europa league our first trophy in 17 years by all accounts if we are talking about a pochettino coming in in summer right i know people immediately make the rg link but pochettino is a very similar type of defender to what christian romero is you know are we are we getting too quick to say let's get this guy out the club because he gets a red card every now and again as opposed to thinking about all the good things he does for the club and if he's bought in if we get a manager that he can believe in if we start making signings and i know there's a lot of big ifs here to be honest with the current ownership but still let me cut to the point are we being too quick as Spurs fans to say he is part of the problem we need to get rid of this guy to improve when I look around and I'm like okay but what are we doing if if we're getting

25:56Con:rid of him yeah I mean he obviously can't be anywhere near the top of the list in players that we want to get out get out the door um in the summer um I don't think he's a liability I think that's harsh I think a lot of it is as you alluded to I think he needs to be fully bought in and sort of have that belief that things are going in the right direction and we are competing. I think when he is frustrated at things off the pitch as well, I think that does sort of go into what he does on the pitch and in terms of his frustrations and how he acts on the pitch. I mean, you just need to look at how incredible he was in that run, especially quarter semis final, that Europa League run.

26:43Con:how sort of switched on he was, how sensibly he played it, how mature he was in that run. And obviously the World Cup as well, his record in finals is ridiculous. I just think when things aren't going well off the pitch and he doesn't really think that there's anything to sort of buy into in terms of a project or something heading in the right direction or competing at the top level, I think he does often let his frustrations get the better of him and his temper get the better of him. I think he has let us down in terms of red cards and things like that because he's missed a lot of games for Tottenham as a result.

27:28Con:And I can't just put that all on the officiated and the way he's officiated and the narrative around him outside the club. He's not blameless in that. And I think the Canate red card, for example, against Liverpool, I know you mentioned it. I think that's stupid. You can't kick out an opponent, especially these days with VAR. You're not going to get away with it. I think it was silly and naive. I'm not going to call him a liability, but he's missed a lot of games for Tottenham through red cards. Obviously, I would say, obviously, what he's done for Tottenham since he joined outweighs that. And I think there are much more pros than cons with Romero.

28:06Con:but I can't really just sort of let him off, you know, in terms of, oh, I can see why he's frustrated. I can see why he's not happy with things. Because obviously I can and I agree with him in terms of the off-pitch stuff, but you can't miss that many games through suspension. I mean, it's getting ridiculous, really, the amount of games that he's missing. It'll be, what, seven this season now through a red card. that's what, you know, getting on for a quarter of the season again. And he's done that before. So I think the pros that way, the cons, as I said with Romero, I love him. And he shouldn't be someone that we're looking to get rid of by any means, I don't think.

28:51Con:But I think he can take sort of some of the blame for some of the blame. He can take some of the blame for some of the things being said about him at the minute. But I think, you know, the likes of Rio Ferdinand, according to liability and the reaction in general of the pundits and the media to pretty much everything he does is just yeah way over the top it's funny because i find that english football's

29:15Jack:just in this in this place right now where and ali mccoyst for me is so emblematic of it gary neville as well to to a degree where they sort of want to they always want to put forward their own proper football man credentials they always want to say in my day we were all hard nuts game's too soft nowadays if it's a decision that they hasn't really gone the way that their narrative wants it to it's the game's too soft now you can't do that type of thing anymore players are too protected blah blah blah blah blah but then when you see the the fallout at the back of the Romero thing it's just all pearl clutching and it's so they say so wildly over the top that look you know it might be tinfoil hat but to your point about him being refereed differently i can't help but feel that that sort of media friends because we did we had a week we had a whole week of romero scrutiny because of an instagram post you know thomas frank's entire press conference was pretty much questions about an instagram post that he answered the same way over and over again 30 40 minutes of being asked what was it what was that about what are you going to do about that how do you keep a lid on him doing that type of stuff you know and he's just like he's a passionate guy we deal with it in-house it's just it's tedious you know but you can see exactly the way it's going to go that for then you know the first sort of questionable 50 50 to be straight red card not even var i don't know about nothing he's clearing the ball he's going for the ball he wasn't he's not he's not over the ball he's not studs up he's he's he's trying to

30:58Con:kick the ball away i don't i don't know i completely agree with with that and i agree with um yeah sort of the way that he's talked about in general um commentators pundits media but i don't think he helped himself with that challenge i just don't think it was a good challenge I don't think it was any I don't think it was a shocking decision or anything like that as I say I think and yeah the inconsistency is incredibly frustrating and as I say we've seen similar challenges not be red carded but we've seen similar challenges be red carded down the years in the league and I yeah I just I don't know as I say I don't think he's he's blameless And I think in terms of the reaction to his Instagram post, yeah, there might have been a bit more in it because he is who he is, but he's the club captain of a big six club.

31:56Con:And he called, basically called out the ownership and labeled them disgraceful for the transport. I think, I think.

32:05Jack:Was it cowards and liars or something before? Whatever it was, something like that. And I do think if that's,

32:14Con:if Bruno Fernandes does that or if, I don't know, Declan Rice does that, I think there's a, again, I think there's a massive media response to that. A captain or a senior player at the Big Six club calling out the board in that way on social media, you are going to get a big reaction to that, whoever it is. But, yeah, it's just the frustrating thing is because there were so many eyes on him this weekend and the week building up to the game. That was only going to end one way in terms of, yeah, a challenge like that, I think, because he was just at the forefront of everyone's minds, wasn't he? But yeah, just in terms of that challenge, I know maybe I am going soft in my old age, Jack.

32:57Con:I'm 34 in April, but I don't know. I don't think there can be too many complaints about a player being sent off for that in the Premier League in 2026, to be honest.

33:10Jack:it's too much it's all that coffee and cake you've been having at National Trust houses and stuff

33:16Con:I've changed I know

33:18Jack:I think one of the sort of stark things about this game is that all right Romero aside what else are we talking about what other bright sparks were there from Xavi Simons I think was nobody's talking about

33:31Con:the performance and I get it

33:35Jack:that people say yeah it didn't help but it's not like a team with 10 men has never gone on to play well get a draw last weekend

33:44Con:Brentford won 1-0 away at Aston Villa last weekend they got a red card in the 38th and 39th minute and they were brilliant it can't happen I feel like just us as fans and probably even the players and the manager as soon as he got sent off there we're like oh game's gone there's nothing we can do about this I was saying

33:59Jack:game's gone game's gone game's gone

34:02Con:and Spurs game has gone and this particular game is also gone I just as soon as that as soon as he was sent off there, that game was completely dead to me. I just thought we've lost this. And I think the manager and the players did as well. And that's not to say we were okay for a bit. I mean, Thomas Frank was, as he does quite often, saying the first 30 minutes we were good and it was an even game. I don't think it was at all. And, you know, we did okay with 10 men for a while to sort of keep it at 1-0 as long as we did. But they missed plenty of chances. and yeah I just I had absolutely no faith in us getting any kind of result when we went down to 10 men part of that's yeah obviously the the injuries and stuff in terms of you know who we had to bring on after that but yeah I just had absolutely no faith that we we were going to get anything and you know he said he said in his post-match press conference that obviously he did make three positive changes towards the end in in those substitutes but with what 15 to play i think that was yeah i think that was too late um and then obviously he conceded a couple of minutes after that so it's dead anyway but yeah i had no faith in us getting anything out of that and i mean yeah there was only half an hour of the game gone um but yeah i think that that was it as soon as he got that red card i think you touched on something really good there con because

35:29Jack:you know a lot is being made about the squad a lot is being made about the quality of the players the sort of players we're buying and stuff and the debate will rage on us to you know people will say this is a 15th place team or this should be a top 10 team or or whatever i i personally believe that the squad that we have even with the injuries this year is better than it's showing right now I feel that you can look to the Champions League and again there is a debate about the quality of teams in Europe and so on and so forth but still I think we've played a good few teams who are not mugs Spurs have done well in the Champions League because they have believed that they can because European football again has been something of a sanctuary for the club for the players they actually play with a bit more freedom for whatever reason that is you know probably spurred on by the fact that we won in Bilbao last year so I think a lot of this is about belief a lot of this is about mentality and there's a stark example of that in Manchester United who we've just seen a team who have been largely trash under Ruben Amarin who have been you know stodgy uninspired much like we've been under Thomas Frank and you've got this guy in Michael Carrick who you know I think there was a bit of umming and ahhing about I think Spurs have even been linked to him as a as a caretaker in the past given our sort of and it feels tenuous link now because he doesn't seem to care anything about Tottenham um from his time there fair enough I'm not I'm not going to go into that one um disgrace that he celebrated against us disgusting but still look he's he's you know he's unleashed them a bit he's breathed some life into a talented squad he's brought in a player like Kobi Mainu who for Christ knows whatever reason Ruben Amirim has totally sidelined for the past yeah for the majority of his tenure there who it's plain to see is one of the most talented young players in the country that you know United have inherited through their academy who whatever it you know the point is you know the fear is at Tottenham allegedly that they don't want to get rid of thomas frank because of the position that we're in they don't feel there's any viable candidates maybe maybe sometimes you just need to change maybe you have to afford players afford players the the you know the belief that they are actually good that if you get somebody in that just speaks to them in the way that they want to be spoken to panders to their egos tells them all they are great tells them all to play with a bit more reckless abandon if you like play more front footed you know knock the ball about use your individual talents more you don't have to stick so dogmatically to this system that i have that limits the amount of shots that we have that creates exactly the same type of opportunity game after game after game you know maybe spurs can be better than they are right now and look the stark thing about this is con i don't know if you'd seen it but at the start of this season Michael Carrick who is out of work was working for the Premier League as like a host he's interviewed Thomas Frank he sat there and interviewed Thomas Frank and now he's in the opposition dugout and he's you know you you said it yourself to me on WhatsApp they have absolutely played the ball around us today and they did they completely yeah we were being allayed in the sort

38:59Con:of 80th minute onwards which is just humiliating they haven't beat us for years you know we've had their number for the last three years in all competitions every time we played them I know they've obviously got a couple of draws against us but you know last season we went there and I know they were worse and they were a lot worse or I think it was actually still Ten Hag when we went there and won 3-0 last season but yeah I mean obviously Carrick has done a few things in terms of tactics he's obviously reverted to a back four he's brought different players in but a lot of it is you can just tell they're a lot more confidence in the ball they've been given a a lot more freedom from their manager in terms of, like you say, we don't have to stick so ruggedly to this formation and this system and this way of playing in particular.

39:48Con:And I think this squad is a lot better than what he's getting out of it, even with the injuries. I think this should still be... You know, and I say, I genuinely believe if we brought in Michael Carrick towards the end of November or December, as there were some whispers about at the time. Obviously, it's very easy now with the hindsight and you've seen him go there and win four out of four. I'm not saying he'd have done that at Tottenham, but I do think we would be a good few points better off and I think would be sort of up there in the sort of top eight, nine at least. I don't know, that's not saying a hell of a lot for a club like Tottenham.

40:26Con:We could be in the top eight or nine in the Premier League, but I do think we would be if we had made that change then. Because November, December, when I think it's pretty obvious that Thomas Frank wasn't the right man, we were very, very close in terms of points. We were five or six points off the top four, five, six at that time. That gap's obviously got a lot bigger, and the gap between us and the bottom three's got a lot smaller. I think if we pulled the trigger at that time, we'd be in a much, much better position. And I think the squad is a lot better than 14th or 15th in the Premier League, even with the injuries.

41:05Con:And I just, as I alluded to right at the start, I can't see how... It used to be at this club, any manager, no matter what they'd done for us, how much credit they had in the bank, once it got to a point where it looked like we weren't going to qualify for Europe, they'd just pull the trigger. Well, Daniel Levy would pull the trigger. You just have to look at AVB. Obviously, I mean, Poch, six months after a Champions League final, was where we are now in November and got the bullet. Mourinho just finished, or no, Mourinho was in seventh. Nuno was in eighth. Conte, I know that was very different.

41:42Con:I know a lot of that was, that wasn't just us sacking him, was it? That was, to be kind, that was a mutual agreement at the end to make a change there. And yeah, I just can't think of a time in the last 20 years where this would have been acceptable at Tottenham and it doesn't even sound like he's in trouble. It's all as frank. It doesn't even sound like, you know, if he doesn't win tomorrow against Newcastle, he's in big trouble. I don't think anything will happen if he loses the home to Newcastle tomorrow, which he probably will because we won two at home all season. I just can't really see how it's got to a point where what's happening now is acceptable given the better managers we've had in the past.

42:29Con:They've done much more for us. they've had a lot more credit in the bank given you know the circumstances of their departures in terms of you know once as i said once it looks like we're struggling for europe here they're gone no matter what point of the season it is um and i could yeah i can only think as you say i can only think that's because they can't see a better alternative at the minute but there obviously is out there there was in michael carrick in terms of an interim and you know it's not our jobs to pour through the sort of available coaches around Europe at the minute but I can't see how there isn't one person out there now that's available right now and obviously there's some of the different conversation there has to be someone out there now that can be getting a tune out of these players and that can be yeah that can have us performing better than Thomas Frank has at the

43:22Jack:minute I mean all the Guna jokes on that side don't we literally have you know one of the most promising coaches in the country and Justin Cochran sat on our bench who, you know, might be able to stellene it afterwards. You know, I don't know.

43:35Con:I think it's got to a point because they haven't made a decision now and because things have got so much worse, they all feel it's a proper gamble, something like that, in terms of, you know, flirting with relegation. We're six points above the drop zone now and I feel like they've left it so late and things have got, obviously got a lot worse as you could see, you know, You could see that it was going to pan out like this. You could see that it was going to pan out like this in November, December. It's got to a point now where I think if they think if they pull the trigger, it's just such a risk.

44:06Con:And if they give it to someone who hasn't quite got the experience or anything like that in terms of what someone's Frank has, I think they just feel like it's too big a risk. And I think they just think we're going to stumble over the line to the summer, finish 14, 15, 16 and go from there when there are more people available.

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45:42Jack:Fast, free shipping, free road hazard protection, and convenient installation options. Go to TireRack.com to see tire test results, tire ratings, and consumer reviews, and be sure to check out all the special offers. TireRack.com, the way tire buying should be. I think we've avoided this one as long as we can, Con, because one of the big question marks will be what happens next season. Who is Tottenham's manager? If Thomas Frank makes it to the summer, will he get next season? Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. Mauricio Pochettino has just appeared on everybody's favorite podcast. the high performance podcast with jake humphries i've not watched it myself yet i've seen you know the teaser which was a whiteboard with a lemon on it and it said champions league and spurs and all this type of stuff from what i'm picking up from the vibe is that pochettino is basically in no he's not making any secret of the fact that he would come back to tottenham in a heartbeat he very much wants to it's a club that he loves it's a club that he feels has values that are very in tandem with his own hence the perfect match that it was you've seen more bits of it mate i mean what is it what's the general vibe what sort of things has he has he said on this

47:01Con:yeah i mean he's i mean apart from the year he was at chelsea you know every opportunity he's had since he was sacked in 2019. Every time he's spoken to the media, he's mentioned about how we still have such a special place in his heart, how much he loves the club, how much he'd one day like to return. And yeah, obviously it was more of the same in that way. He spent a lot of it talking about how much he wants to win the Premier League and the Champions League. You know, the thing that stands out is, he basically said, obviously winning the Europa League for a club like Tottenham is good but he said winning the Europa League, winning the Conference League or playing in that, winning the Caravan FA Cup isn't enough for a club like Tottenham.

47:48Con:They should be challenging for the Premier League or Champions League which obviously couldn't be in much more style contrast to our current manager's narrative about the club.

47:57Jack:Do you take that as a dig at Ange? I've seen some people say, oh you know he's having a dig at Ange saying it was only a Europa League but he didn't win anything. that's just been precious that's been precious isn't it really yeah that is

48:08Con:it's been very precious I think I mean realistically he'd know that we weren't going to compete for the Premier League and Champions League last season given a whole array of issues squad building injuries things like that but I think he was pretty much making it clear that's where he sees the club and that's where he thinks the club should be and can be which yeah as I say is in stark contrast to what we've been hearing this season I do think we need that kind of narrative. You can say it's naive. You can say it's, yeah, unrealistic. But I do think, I mean, I think a club our size should be. I'm not saying we should be winning the Premier League and Champions League.

48:46Con:I think we should be competitive in those, which we haven't been for a long time, which I think is basically what he was saying. And yeah, I mean, a lot of it has pointed to him potentially coming back in the summer. Obviously, I wouldn't massively be surprised because I think the club would think that would be a popular decision. I think they think that would get a lot of fans back on side. And I think it's quite clear that he'd be up for it. I don't think he's made any secret of that. I think for a large part of that interview, I think he basically forgot that he had a job at the minute. And I mean, I mentioned earlier, but yeah, they basically got him and Jesus Perez to write which trophy they'd most like to win in football.

49:28Con:And, you know, they wrote the Premier League and the Champions League. And then after that segment, Potts went, oh, and the World Cup, I'd like to win that as well, which I'm sure is going to go down well. I can't imagine that many American football fans will be watching a high-performance podcast, but they might. So, yeah, I mean, it was obviously a lot of the same that we've heard from him before in terms of wanting to come back one day. He's got unfinished business at Tottenham, you know, with the club of his heart, as he said, as he said before. But, yeah, the thing that stood out for me was that Europa League comment, and I don't think he was having a go at Ange at all.

50:05Con:I think he seemed quite happy for us that we had won a trophy like that, but I think he was just saying sort of long-term view for Tottenham, you know, competing in those competitions and potentially winning those competitions is great, but it isn't enough.

50:20Jack:See, I'm at such a crossroads on this one, Con, because I'm not going to pretend Mauricio Pochettino is unveiled as our new manager again in summer after the World Cup, that I won't be trying by hook or by crook to be in the ground for his first game, to be joining in the chorus of his magic, you know, right? But there is, as you touch on there, there is that part of me, right? And this is the other part of me, the emotional part, everything that came before with him, the belief that he is actually a great manager as well. It's not all just based on the sort of warm and fuzzy stuff. He did a good job at Chelsea.

50:58Jack:I believe that he did. I don't buy that. Yeah, you know, he's a good gaffer and he would be a great manager for us. He knows the club. There's a lot going for it. The part for me that I worry about, the crossroads where I'm at is, as you say, Enoch know that this is a cynical appointment. Enoch know that the pressure is on them. There is a heat turning up beneath them. And what they can do to, say, alleviate some of that is bring in somebody like Maurizio Pochettino. but what i don't want to have happen is they bring in mauricio pochettino to make us all happy and again don't properly back him don't implement a proper footballing strategy don't look at a way in which spurs can back up the things that they are saying the things that pochettino will want to achieve here i don't want them to look at it and say well you know he did a good job with like rose and walker and all that before so he'll get a tune out of berg val grey and i think he would I'm not saying that as a slight on those players.

52:00Jack:But what we saw from the last time Pochettino was in charge is that it's not enough. You have to do it in the way that Liverpool, Arsenal, whoever else have done it. You can implement a great strategy, promote youth, build a core around homegrown talent that is good. But in the Premier League, you simply cannot avoid spending loads of money on really good players. and I just there's that part of me that just worries that bringing in Pochettino from their perspective would allow them to paper over the cracks would allow them to not properly address all the things that have led to what's happened this season what's happened in the transfer windows this season what's happened in the transfer windows in the past 20 years at the football club pretty much is a lack of vision is a lack of clarity it's let's just break glass get get Pochettino in, make all the yobbos happy again, and we can sort of disappear into the background again for a bit.

52:58Jack:That's kind of my fear. However, if you ask me, do I want Pochettino back in summer? Of course I fucking do. Do you know what I mean? Let's be honest.

53:07Con:Yeah, I do think that I think he would have us in, you know, as I say, how much a standard is it for him? I do think he would have us at least even in this scenario with these injuries in this squad, I think he'd have us sort of in and around that top seven. But we do need more. We obviously need more. And I think even if we did have a 30-foot squad, I think there's a lot there. I do think there's a lot there. But obviously we do need more. We need at least, you know, we know what we need in terms of attackers and defenders and, you know, the midfield or even pass the football. We need three or four additions who are going to properly challenge the 11, the starting 11.

53:48Con:um i don't know all the noises are that this you know things are going to be different in terms of transfers and transfer window now daniel evey's gone um they're going to be ambitious and things like that we didn't see that in january at all obviously all the narrative has been january's difficult window but in the summer you know all bets are off and we're going to go big we do need to do that whoever comes in um if we are gonna you know the only the only thing is we've let mediocrity set in so much that we are now a lot more unattractive than we were two years ago um i think last season it was helped by obviously massively helped by winning the Europa League and getting into the Champions League next season we're not going to be in Europe um and you know i wouldn't be surprised if they came out after the summer transfer window and said that's had an impact that's had a financial impact we didn't qualify for Europe so we're not able to spend what he wants to spend.

54:46Con:But, yeah, I mean, is he the right man? I don't know. But if we are going to, you know, if we are going to back him, obviously I'd love him. He's probably my favourite ever title manager. I wouldn't necessarily be against it. Part there is part of me that thinks, should we be going for Pochettino for those reasons or should we be trying to find the next Pochettino? I mean, I've always really liked Iriola. I think he's done a really good job at Bournemouth. I think he's lost, you know, obviously he's lost half of his team over the last couple of transfer windows. And I think they're just always a team that is competitive, especially in the big games and against the big clubs, against us especially.

55:26Con:They always seem to have on under quite often, or they have under Iola. Yeah, they do, don't they? I think part of me would want to see us go for someone like that. And he's out of contracts in the summer. Obviously the dream would be someone like Xavi Alonso, but I think that's pretty much certain that he's going to go to Liverpool. I don't think Arnaud Stott's going to keep his job, especially if they don't get Champions League and I think that's just obviously such an easy move for both those parties to make but obviously I'm not going to be against Richelio Pochettino coming back but part of me would think it's just a romantic decision and we should be looking forward more instead of back.

56:05Jack:I don't disagree with that at all and that that again plays into the whole idea of what's division what's the strategy of the club are they identifying the next you know the next Nagelsmann I mean that sounds silly Nagelsmann's probably only about 35 now isn't he but still you know as you say the next Pochettino the next Pep Guardiola whoever it happens to be I think there's somebody at Celta Vigo or something somebody was because I was saying this on my post-match stream and um like all Peter was saying this back to me on twitter he was giving me a few different names of there's there's a there's there's this one german manager that everybody keeps talking about every or every single time we're linked with somebody who i think is another one of the next sort of big managers to come along but yeah i you know i don't i don't disagree with you but the thing is it's it's it's for me it's like

56:53Con:you know if we're faced with the idea of bringing in pochettino or you know we're scrabbling around

57:02Jack:in the mud for Igor Tudor or whoever else you know it's it's a no-brainer for me it's got to be potch look mate um the debate will rage and I'm sure that's not the last we've heard of that one just briefly um we do have a big game against Newcastle tomorrow evening I personally feel that it is a must-win game I think you know we're it's starting to it is starting to get dicey it's it's no longer a kind of protracted fear this is something that's on our doorstep now spurs have to start picking our points we have to start winning games at home and newcastle are in pig form at the moment they they are absolutely honking so there's no reason why we shouldn't be beating them right

57:46Con:no absolutely and they're i mean yeah in terms of especially since how joined it it's getting on five years now, four and a half years. This is the most split that fan base has ever been on him up until the last few months, at least. It's been pretty much sort of universal adoration, really. But I think the fan base is very split now on him. They haven't been good in the league this season. If we do beat them on Tuesday, we're one point behind them and we pull them into this. I think they've got one win in five. They've only won two away all season. You know, we've only won two at home all season.

58:26Con:So, I'm sure it'll be a great game. But yeah, they've only won two away all season. I think that was Burnley and Everton. They're in awful form. They've got some injuries. Obviously, not as many as us. I mean, nobody has. But they have got some big injuries. You know, Tina Livermento is one of their best players when he's fit and he's out. Joe Linton's been out for a while. They've obviously had defensive injuries. Febby and Shah's out, Sven Botman's been out Anthony Gordon's out now it is a really big opportunity for a home win, as I say against one of the worst away teams in the league you know, they're very low on confidence at the minute, their only win in the last few games was a mad game against Leeds at 4-3 where they sort of won a sort of yeah, they equalised sort of 90th minute with a penalty and then managed to get a very late winner so they are in awful form they have been for a while.

59:21Con:The fan base isn't happy. The players aren't confident. You know, the players were sort of rowing at the weekend after and during their loss to Brentford. So on paper, it's quite a sort of kind game for us, but that doesn't really tend to mean anything for us. But we do have to win that game. We have to win that game. Obviously, the next game after that is Arsenal. I'd really like us to go into that on the back of a win.

59:48Jack:Do you think we can beat him, Con?

59:51Con:Arsenal or Newcastle?

59:51Jack:No, Newcastle. Let's go. Yeah, well, we can. Don't deal with that one yet.

59:55Con:Yeah. No, no, I do think we can, as I say. They are one of the worst away teams in the league in terms of wins picked up. They're incredibly low on confidence. And yeah, things aren't going well for them. As I say, we'll be a point behind them if we can get three points. It's just really hard. I mean, we've got two wins in 16. You know, our last win was last year in December away at Palace. It's disgusting. It's disgusting. It's shocking. It's really hard to see us picking up three points, but if we are going to do it, then it's not a bad game to have.

1:00:32Jack:If we get done, if it's a 2-3-0 Newcastle do us, surely, surely he's gone. I mean, we were sort of saying it doesn't seem like there's any noises around it, but surely that's it. That has to be the straw that breaks the camel's back, isn't it?

1:00:49Con:I don't think it will be. I agree it should be, but I don't think it will be. I just don't think they'll get rid of him until we're in the bottom three. I just don't think they'll pull the trigger because I don't think they think there's anyone out there that isn't, you know, that isn't a risk, a massive risk at this point in time because of where they've let us get to in the league.

1:01:10Jack:Absolute stench of that. Yeah. Con, you decided to come down for Arsenal, Tom?

1:01:17Con:I think I might. I think I might. I mean, I've said to people, why the fuck? Like, it's going to be 90 quid for a ticket, you know, for a start. That's before travel or anything like that. But I just, I mean, I've been to every Arsenal home game since, I don't know, it's been a long time since I've missed a home North London derby anyway. And I've seen some absolute miserable performances the last few years, obviously. but that's just part of me that if we did somehow do it and I wasn't there, I'd be furious. So I think I might just, just for that reason.

1:01:59Jack:It's just that little taste, isn't it? On the back of your tongue, like, yeah, but if we do them, yeah, especially now,

1:02:05Con:obviously since cities win yesterday and the title race is very much alive. If we can, you know, just throw a spanner in the works there. I don't want to miss it.

1:02:17Jack:see a nice little repeat of Xavi Simmons mugging off Declan Rice and slapping one in from 30 odd yards you know a nice little bit of that please Tottenham Hotspur Con as ever mate it's been an absolute pleasure

1:02:31Con:thanks probably

1:02:35Jack:someone has to

1:03:03Jack:We'll see you next time. down.

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