Martin Jol managed Tottenham Hotspur from 2004 to 2007, so he knows quite a bit about how the Premier League club works. He almost got the club into the Champions League, but narrowly missed out after the famous final day food poisoning fiasco.
Juande Ramos took over from the Dutchman, and that potential switch was made public, by the Spaniard, whilst Jol was still in the White Hart Lane hot-seat.
Speaking to Voetbal International, the former Spurs boss talked about several of the clubs he’s played for or managed. When it came around to Tottenham he was clear that the club will struggle to kick on from their current level of success.
Jol believes that’s partly down to transfer budget and not really being able to improve the team enough to move further forward.
On Pochettino’s recent comments about winning a trophy not being the only measure of success, or ultra important, Jol said: “It is of course an attempt to take the pressure away, because supporters indeed expect that they will do better again than last season. But how realistic is that? The strength of Tottenham is in the spine and in the system.
“Will there be a better player than Moussa Dembélé, Kieran Trippier, Delli Alli or Christian Eriksen? Is Lucas much better than Heung-Min Son? Who should you buy now to improve? Tottenham pays up to €40m for a player, so that isn’t going to happen. They only make the step when they bring in top quality like Eden Hazard or when a top talent from their own ranks rises in the attack. They are now too dependent on the depth and passes that Eriksen sends. It is the best team in England when it comes to playing in the space behind the defence of the opposing team.”
Spurs not competing in the transfer market, at least with the bigger spenders, is always going to be an issue when it comes to Premier League success, but it’s not always the best squads which win the cups so that’s still an open route.
