CityVP Manjit

5 years ago · 3 min. reading time · ~10 ·

Blogging
>
CityVP blog
>
Take A Break

Take A Break

@ TOTTENHAM ©...

 

Champions
hd Cup
ERT
8 FACups
EY
LE Ee

ERT YP
LTP PY

   

1,
SO.
fpf opypdeod
LOCATION Lonaon / England European ophy when they Med
Are
[PI
Beer Lr) A]
CAMCITY 90000 TL a
MANAGER Mauricio Pochetting COUNTRY England C) 4 $54u August 23 207

No matter how world class a player is, like the rest of us human beings, they need to take a break.  Hopefully Tottenham will see the wisdom of this because no sooner as the World Cup Finals are complete this weekend, Harry Kane and his Tottenham team are involved in some warm up games that are traditionally called "friendlies" - but for nearly all the Tottenham squad, how are they going to warm up for the new season, when they have barely cooled off from their individual World Cup exploits. 

Harry Kane will want to play on Saturday in the third-place game because he will want to make sure that one additional goal will win him the Golden Boot Award for the player who scored the most goals in this World Cup.  Assuming he will want to play on 14th July, only 11 days on he and his Tottenham team will be playing in San Diego against Roma (25th July), then they travel up to the Rose Bowl in LA to play Barcelona on the 28th July and then cross the United States to Minneapolis to play Milan on the 31st July.

Then a whole new Premier League season starts again as Spurs travel to Newcastle (in England that is a long journey!) 11 days after the so called friendlies, and then a week later it is back to Spurs temporary home at Wembley Stadium where they play new arrivals to the Premier League Fulham.  The irony of that game is that the Fulham chairman has put out a $1 Billion offer to buy Wembley Stadium. If the Football Association accept that bid, apart from the national outcry, such a purchase will really hurt Tottenham and their move into their new Stadium where on 15th September Liverpool will be the first Premier League visitors to Spurs new 62,000 state of the art stadium.  It will hurt because the Chairman of Spurs aims to make money by hosting NFL games - and he spent a massive amount of money installing a moveable pitch, so that the soccer pitch can be moved and the NFL pitch can be set up.  The reason the Fulham chairman wants Wembley is because he is the owner of an NFL franchise - the Jacksonville Jaguars and therefore has the option of bringing his franchise to London and creating an NFL team in Europe. 

With all that splash of cash and dreams of becoming a bigger club, the last thing Tottenham need is to have a team full of International players who have not had sufficient rest and thus start the season badly, as they have done in prior seasons because the Tottenham manager is one for physical discipline and hard training - and the price of Tottenham players engaging a grueling training regiment is not enough rest before the new league season starts and players getting jaded at the end of the season.  Like all things in life energy is best maintained when rest is best.

There is also another element about Tottenham.  It is now attracting a larger share of young kids who are finding new heroes like Harry Kane and other Tottenham players that have name recognition among the young.  Not having fresh and energetic players and developing an even higher win percentage means the chance of winning a title or a cup are reduced - and the opportunity for Spurs right now is building that new crop of young fans, who one day will become the next generation of Tottenham fans. 

How Spurs player will focus on using these friendlies as a warm up to the new season depends on their intent in how they want to expend their energies testing themselves with three of Europe's top clubs from Italy and Spain. Even the Spanish team look jaded in the World Cup and yet no one really keeps a track of just how much playing time the modern soccer player puts in and how much training is involved.  It is not a case of players working just 2 hours per week, the fitness regiment at the big clubs is extremely intense.

The chief reason Tottenham missed their chance to capture a League title a few years ago was a combination of a poor start, which meant the players were not re-energized but playing friendlies with competitive zeal !  In reality they do have to because the fan base of American fans is getting bigger and bigger.  The World Cup is no longer the only global competition though it is the most prestigious of all sports competition, and commands attention just like the Olympics. Harry Kane may end up winning the Golden Boot Award at this years World Cup - but hey! also give him a rest please !

To be fair Gareth Southgate did rest up Kane for the Belgium group game but Harry Kane may just be his own worst enemy as he is inspired by trying to break records and factor in the leading scorer charts.  Sometimes a manager needs to be cruel in order to be kind - but the pressure to play comes from sponsors and marketing factors where new fans equate with global merchandising and new money coming into the Premier League - after all this is not the romantic notion of the World Cup, this is a billion dollar and becoming an even bigger global business.


"
Comments

CityVP Manjit

5 years ago #2

Telegraph outline the problem for their squad players returning from the World Cup especially for Tottenham and Manchester City (if not Manchester United as well) https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2018/07/15/tottenham-manchester-city-have-reason-fear-world-cup-fatigue/

CityVP Manjit

5 years ago #1

#1
It is a brave manager who goes against the wishes of their star players. Kane has gone on record for tomorrows match by "declaring himself fit" - which is as loud as saying "you better play me" as one can get. The same is true with other players and in this case the big name such as Neymar who won't be sacrificed for the good of the team. When Neymar got injured, the overall team performance of Brazil improved before this World Cup. The much bigger managerial lesson from billion dollar professional soccer is confronting short-term thinking. There is a synergy between the club and country. That is why Mauricio Pochettino is praised in England because he is contributing greatly to the national team in England. What is the point of being the Champions of Europe when a particular team may have players from 11 different nations i.e. in that case having quota's from each European country make no sense at all. Why should four teams come from England and four from italy and four from Germany, and four from Spain, when these teams are a mix of players from different nations. The argument then is for creating one European Super League and have relegation and promotion from each national league. Football used to be a game for working class people whether they were poor in England or in Brazil, but now it is a rich man's sport and clubs have become toys to buy with extreme accumulation of wealth - at the expense of worker pay and wages. Yet the people who can afford football the least now, are the most passionate of fans spending money that they do not have, to follow teams that price a ticket that used to cost $10, now 10x and even 20x the price admission used to be - and that is not including the insane amount of profits made from merchandising. A manager who makes decisions, has to make them governed by these limitations.

Articles from CityVP Manjit

View blog
3 years ago · 4 min. reading time

If the season is decided today by a co-efficient performance based on points per games played, Spurs ...

3 years ago · 3 min. reading time

The Paradox Wisdom Collection: Over My Shoulder [Paradox #45] · Reference: Sam Demma Post : CHOOSE ...

3 years ago · 4 min. reading time

The Paradox Wisdom Collection: Poetic Clipboard [Paradox #46] · Reference: Ali Anani Post :A Wrong ...

You may be interested in these jobs

  • Canada Worker Trades

    Bodyman - Collision Auto Body Repair

    Found in: beBee S2 CA - 2 weeks ago


    Canada Worker Trades Hamilton, Canada Full time

    We are looking for experienced Auto-Body Technicians for a well-establish corporation with over 50 locations across Ontario. Become an imperative part of a thriving company leader in the auto collision repair industry. · What will you get? · Great opportunities of growth within ...

  • LIQUOR PLUS

    liquor store supervisor

    Found in: Talent CA 2 C2 - 5 days ago


    LIQUOR PLUS Calgary, Canada

    Education: Secondary (high) school graduation certificate · Experience: 7 months to less than 1 year · Work setting · Retail business · Tasks · Assign sales workers to duties · Hire and train or arrange for training of staff · Order merchandise · Authorize return of merchandise · ...

  • Pandora

    Part Time Sales Lead

    Found in: Talent CA C2 - 9 hours ago


    Pandora Abbotsford, Canada Part time

    As the largest jewellery company in the world, we give a voice to millions of people's love every day. Our beautiful products empower people all around the world to express themselves. We are proud to be part of their stories and the most important moments in their lives. · Where ...