In Mauricio Pochettino’s native Argentina interest rates have been held at an emergency 40% since May and the plummeting peso recently led to the government receiving an emergency $50bn International Monetary Fund bailout. It makes the UK’s own travails seem rather tame but Tottenham’s manager has nevertheless said he feels “sorry for the English people” as Brexit looms. Moreover, Pochettino blames the Leave vote for the fall in the pound which prompted a rise in the costs of building the new White Hart Lane and, apparently, precipitated his club’s failure to buy a single player during the transfer window.
Even by football manager standards, it is a creative excuse but the good news is that Pochettino is infinitely more convincing as a coach than an economist, and his young squad were arguably not really in need of reinforcement anyway
Although Spurs were most definitely not at their best in the warm Tyneside sunshine they still enjoyed an opening-day victory, with Jan Vertonghen and the quietly impressive Dele Alli both scoring on an afternoon of excellent crosses, towering headers and dodgy defensive cameos.