Premier League Weekend Review: New manager, same old Spurs?

The devil is in the detail for Mauricio Pochettino

Mauricio Pochettino is the latest manager to get the task of regaining Champions League football for Tottenham. Ralph Ellis fears there are already signs that he might simply be the next to miss out.

A lot of people thought that this season Liverpool might be the new Tottenham. You could get the comparisons: sold a world-class player, spent the money on a lot of others who were new to the Premier League, everything looking good on paper but not working out quite so well on the pitch.

The jury is out on that one. Losing at home to Aston Villa on Saturday night wasn't exactly the most convincing start and six points from four games doesn't immediately suggest that Brendan Rodgers is ready to pull up any big trees.

A very different concern, however, is that it appears that Spurs themselves will be - well, the same old Tottenham as they were last year.

At least Mauricio Pochettino can boast one more point from his first four games than Rodgers after Saturday's 2-2 draw at Sunderland. But looking at the story so far there's no real promise that the Argentinian who drew high praise at Southampton is really going to kick Spurs on to regain a place in the Champions League.

Spurs are already as long as 4.94/1 for a top four finish, and while they are looking good going forward there are already doubts about how well they can keep teams out at their own end of the pitch. The 3-0 home defeat to Liverpool before the international break didn't augur well - letting in two goals at The Stadium of Light in a game they had dominated from start to finish was even more worrying.

The season is a big test for Pochettino. After a transfer window in which all the other big clubs have spent massively - including Everton smashing their own transfer record for Romelu Lukaku - there's no guarantee that Tottenham can even land their odds of 1.51/2 for a top six finish, let alone reach the promised land of the Champions League again.

At St Mary's it was quite enough to serve up attractive football and a few exciting games against the big boys. But save for an early season 1-0 at home to Liverpool, Saints didn't beat any of the other top four finishers. That won't be good enough for Daniel Levy, already on his fourth head coach in the last two-and-a-bit years.

Does Pochettino have the ability to make sure the good days always end with three points. Something Gus Poyet said makes you wonder. "It comes down to details, like in the last minute Eriksen was not on the field to take a free kick," said the Black Cats boss, as he chewed over the way his side had salvaged some reward from a game in which they had been battered.

Throw in the demands of playing in the Europa League, which statistically damages the Sunday results of every side which plays on the Thursday. Add also to the mix the worries over the club's future, with ground redevelopment likely to mean a year spent playing at Milton Keynes, and it's hard to see what will make a big difference for Spurs between now and next May.