EIGHT days ago, they were calling it the Week from Hell.
The three-game run that would finally see Spurs crumble, as their lack of signings finally came home to roost.
A spell which would see the first cracks in a stretched-to-the-limit squad as Premier League battles with Chelsea and Arsenal sandwiched a must-win Champions League game with Inter Milan.
Instead, they go into today’s North London derby with two wins in the bag already, spirits and confidence rarely higher and dreams starting to stretch simply beyond the top four.
It would have been a stunning start under normal circumstances.
Under the circumstances Mauricio Pochettino has had to contend with, it is truly remarkable.
That lack of signings, having nine senior stars involved for the duration of the World Cup and eight various injuries so far as a consequence.
Problems on and off the field for keeper Hugo Lloris and, of course, that ongoing stadium issue . . . put all that together and Pochettino is more miracle worker than manager.
And throughout it all the Argentine has handled himself with a dignity to put many of his peers to shame.
Yes, Jose, that most definitely does include you.
There have been no tantrums at how he has been let down by those above him, for all he would be well justified.
Even when he has had a little gripe — like how the recruitment policy affected his selection policy ahead of the Inter game — it has been done quietly.
Even then it was “It’s in the club’s hands, not only in mine, we share the responsibility.”
Even then he didn’t publicly take a pop at chairman Daniel Levy.
A far cry from one ex-Tottenham chief’s throw-Levy-under-the-bus condemnation a few years back when he didn’t get the players he wanted.
In January 2012, Harry Redknapp told the world he wanted Carlos Tevez and Gary Cahill but had to settle for Ryan Nelsen and Louis Saha. Five months later he was sacked.
There’s no danger of Levy taking aim at Poch. He should be giving him a medal for all he’s done and the fact he will never have a more loyal manager.
Two hallmarks of a top boss are whether he improves players and whether they enjoy playing for him.
On both counts the answer with Pochettino is a resounding yes.
The likes of Moussa Sissoko and Juan Foyth prove the former — and virtually the whole squad the latter.
Bookies rarely form a market on who will be Manager of the Year but if they did, Pep Guardiola would be hot favourite.
Unai Emery and Maurizio Sarri would be up there after their great starts, while Jurgen Klopp’s Prem run — despite his European flop — would also put him in the reckoning.
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Yet all of them are either working with already assembled all-star casts, or been given crazy money to recruit top-level players.
Poch has had none of that.
You could argue he’s not even really had a fair slice of luck.
It’s why he is the outstanding candidate as the Premier League’s Manager of the Year approaching the halfway stage.
And it’s why Levy must pray he doesn’t finally get sick of all the problems, should the likes of Manchester United come calling next summer.
KLOPP IS MYTH-ING THE BOAT
THREE away games, no points, five shots on target and one goal from open play.
The stats of a side in a relegation fight, stuck in a rut, with confidence at rock bottom?
Well, you would think so but this is Liverpool on the road in their Champions League group.
Wednesday’s defeat at Paris Saint-Germain has them needing to beat Napoli 1-0, or by two clear goals, or last term’s runners-up are out.
They may be unbeaten in the Prem — and are the likeliest to be second to Manchester City come May — but Europe has been a calamity.
Jurgen Klopp was right in pointing out PSG’s embarrassing play-acting, especially that from show-pony Neymar.
But it wasn’t why they lost. More relevant might be his odd decision to split the central defensive axis of Joe Gomez and Virgil van Dijk.
It might be why the midfield held off, rather than pressing high and creating chance after chance like last year.
Klopp has done much good in his three years, but Liverpool were hardly dull under Brendan Rodgers, who went closer than anyone to end a title wait that is now more than a quarter of a century.
The questions are no more than a whisper at the moment but another trophy-less season and those who reckon he’s more myth than hit may have a point after all.
RASH TO BLAST JOSE OVER MARCUS MISS
FEBRUARY: Raheem Sterling misses a sitter against Burnley. Pep Guardiola subs him minutes later.
SEPTEMBER: Jurgen Klopp berates Xherdan Shaqiri in front of the Anfield fans for not taking a late free-kick in a League Cup defeat to Chelsea.
NOVEMBER: Jose Mourinho spreads his arms and rolls his eyes as Marcus Rashford misses a sitter against Young Boys.
The difference? Guardiola and Klopp copped no more than the gentlest of flak while Mourinho had ex-players and amateur psychologists putting the boot in.
If Jose had sat down, he would have been slated for not caring enough.
His crate-throwing reaction was cringeworthy. His reaction to Rashford’s miss most definitely was not.
GEA CHANGE NOT ALWAYS NEEDED
MINUTES after David De Gea made an astonishing Champions League save on Tuesday, Liverpool’s keyboard warrior fans went into action.
Mocking his unsigned contract offer at Man Utd, they asked, ‘If you’re this good you’re not going to stay at a bad team, are you?’.
Just like Steven Gerrard did for all those years, you mean?
Linkhttps://textbacklinkexchanges.com/mauricio-pochettino-is-a-miracle-worker-and-puts-jose-mourinho-to-shame/
News Pictures Mauricio Pochettino is a miracle worker and puts Jose Mourinho to shame
You don’t have to pack away your bikini just because you’re the wrong side of 20. These body-beautiful stars reveal their secrets to staying in shape and prove you can smoulder in a two-piece, whatever your age. Read on and be bikini inspired!
TEENS
Hayden Panettiere
Size: 8
Age: 18
Height: 5ft 1in
Weight: 8st
To achieve her kick-ass figure, Hayden – who plays cheerleader Claire Bennet in Heroes – follows the ‘quartering’ rule. She eats only a quarter of the food on her plate, then waits 20 minutes before deciding whether she needs to eat again.
Hayden says: “I don’t have a model’s body, but I’m not one of those crazy girls who thinks that they’re fat. I’m OK with what I have.”
Nicollette says: “I don’t like diets – I see it, I eat it! I believe in eating healthily with lots of protein, vegetables and carbs to give you energy.”
kim cattrall
Size: 10-12
Age: 52
Height: 5ft 8in
Weight: 9st 4lb
SATC star Kim swears by gym sessions with Russian kettle bells (traditional cast-iron weights) and the South Beach Diet to give her the body she wants. To avoid overeating, Kim has a radical diet trick – squirting lemon juice on her leftovers – so she won’t carry on picking.
Kim says: “I am no super-thin Hollywood actress. I am built for men who like women to look like women.”
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