Will Pochettino repeat Sherwood's mistake?
3 min read
We have been here before and we blew it so let's hope with a new manager he reacts differently and we reap the benefits.
What am I talking about, the confidence of Roberto Soldado.
Go back to last season ans Soldado was having a tough time, he couldn't hit a barn door and then against Cardiff he scored. The relief he showed that day demonstrated the weight that had been on his shoulders. He was mentally carrying the world and someone had temporarily taken it from him to hold for a moment.
The obvious thing to do was to get him out quick while his confidence was the highest it had been for probably 6 months and build on it. What did we do, we put the £26.4 million man on the bench and left him there.
He scored on Sunday 2nd March in the Premier League at White Hart Lane for Tim Sherwood who promptly dropped him, a 4-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday 8th March, gave him 18 minutes against Dnipro on Thursday 18th March in the UEFA Europa League and 8 minutes against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday 16th March.
Despite scoring and having a golden opportunity to build his confidence he basically said to the player, I don't think you're good enough and it would be understandable if his spirits sank.
If you look at the statistics above he has only really played 4 Premier League games, he has one goal and one assist to his name.
Mauricio Pochettino has been showing faith in players, he has picked a Premier League team and generally given them time while playing the rest in the UEFA Europa League. Against Manchester City Soldado looked as if he had done enough to warrant a starting berth for the next Premier League game against Newcastle United but his place was again taken by Emmanuel Adebayor, who put in another below par performance.
He then played against Aston Villa and was dropped for the game against Stoke City. Now he has had two Premier League starts on the trot for the first time this season and responded with a winning goal.
The chance to rebuild a fragile confidence is there and must be taken. I spoke during pre-season that for Soldado and Erik Lamela scoring goals would be vital to their well being. Their games depended upon being confident, Lamela scored in pre-season, boosted his confidence but he is struggling when he comes up against Premier League opposition, against weak European teams he is fine, otherwise it's all run infield and up blind alleys.
Soldado, while scoring a few, struggled pre-season. His goals were reaction goals, penalties or needed two attempts. For me his confidence would still have been fragile, they weren't performances that shouted I am quality. Thus he has struggled in front of goal again. In such instances you take the pluses and try to build on them.
Will Pochettino make the same mistake as Sherwood, I hope not and I suspect not either. Next week we'll see if he has lost faith in Adebayor, for Soldado's sake let's hope so. Adebayor's transfer value is not going to change but a Soldado who starts scoring goals suddenly becomes a more saleable asset at a higher price, unless of course he starts really banging in the goals, then he'll be the player we all thought we'd bought.
What am I talking about, the confidence of Roberto Soldado.
Go back to last season ans Soldado was having a tough time, he couldn't hit a barn door and then against Cardiff he scored. The relief he showed that day demonstrated the weight that had been on his shoulders. He was mentally carrying the world and someone had temporarily taken it from him to hold for a moment.
The obvious thing to do was to get him out quick while his confidence was the highest it had been for probably 6 months and build on it. What did we do, we put the £26.4 million man on the bench and left him there.
He scored on Sunday 2nd March in the Premier League at White Hart Lane for Tim Sherwood who promptly dropped him, a 4-0 loss to Chelsea in the Premier League on Saturday 8th March, gave him 18 minutes against Dnipro on Thursday 18th March in the UEFA Europa League and 8 minutes against Arsenal in the Premier League on Sunday 16th March.
Despite scoring and having a golden opportunity to build his confidence he basically said to the player, I don't think you're good enough and it would be understandable if his spirits sank.
| Competition | Apps |  |  | Minute per goal | Minutes | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Totals 2014/15: | 14 | 3 | 3 | 290 | 869 | |
 | Premier League | 7 | 1 | 1 | 387 | 387 |
 | Europa League | 5 | 1 | 1 | 308 | 308 |
 | League Cup | 2 | 1 | 1 | 174 | 174 |
| Match day | Home/Away | For club | vs. | Result | Pos. | ||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | A |  |  | West Ham Utd. | 0:1 | on the bench | |||||||||||
| 2 | H | |  | QPR (18.) | 4:0 | 10' | |||||||||||
| 3 | H | |  | Liverpool FC (9.) | 0:3 | not in the squad | |||||||||||
| 4 | A | |  | Sunderland AFC (13.) | 2:2 | not in the squad | |||||||||||
| 5 | H | |  | West Brom (19.) | 0:1 | 90' | 29' | ||||||||||
| 6 | A | |  | Arsenal FC (4.) | 1:1 | on the bench | |||||||||||
| 7 | H | |  | Southampton FC (2.) | 1:0 | on the bench | |||||||||||
| 8 | A | |  | Manchester City (2.) | 4:1 | CF | 1 | 90' | |||||||||
| 9 | H | |  | Newcastle Utd. (18.) | 1:2 | 7' | |||||||||||
| 10 | A | |  | Aston Villa (15.) | 1:2 | CF | 90' | ||||||||||
| 11 | H | |  | Stoke City (13.) | 1:2 | on the bench | |||||||||||
| 12 | A | |  | Hull City (15.) | 1:2 | CF | 79' | ||||||||||
| 13 | H | |  | Everton (9.) | 2:1 | CF | 1 | 81' | |||||||||
| Squad: 11, Starting eleven: 4, Substituted in: 3, On the bench: 4, Suspended: 0, Injured: 0 | |||||||||||||||||
If you look at the statistics above he has only really played 4 Premier League games, he has one goal and one assist to his name.
Mauricio Pochettino has been showing faith in players, he has picked a Premier League team and generally given them time while playing the rest in the UEFA Europa League. Against Manchester City Soldado looked as if he had done enough to warrant a starting berth for the next Premier League game against Newcastle United but his place was again taken by Emmanuel Adebayor, who put in another below par performance.
He then played against Aston Villa and was dropped for the game against Stoke City. Now he has had two Premier League starts on the trot for the first time this season and responded with a winning goal.
The chance to rebuild a fragile confidence is there and must be taken. I spoke during pre-season that for Soldado and Erik Lamela scoring goals would be vital to their well being. Their games depended upon being confident, Lamela scored in pre-season, boosted his confidence but he is struggling when he comes up against Premier League opposition, against weak European teams he is fine, otherwise it's all run infield and up blind alleys.
Soldado, while scoring a few, struggled pre-season. His goals were reaction goals, penalties or needed two attempts. For me his confidence would still have been fragile, they weren't performances that shouted I am quality. Thus he has struggled in front of goal again. In such instances you take the pluses and try to build on them.
Will Pochettino make the same mistake as Sherwood, I hope not and I suspect not either. Next week we'll see if he has lost faith in Adebayor, for Soldado's sake let's hope so. Adebayor's transfer value is not going to change but a Soldado who starts scoring goals suddenly becomes a more saleable asset at a higher price, unless of course he starts really banging in the goals, then he'll be the player we all thought we'd bought.
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