Could Paul Clement be Mauricio Pochettino's successor?

Mauricio Pochettino has been confirmed as new Tottenham manager. Southampton could not convince their manager to stay instead of moving to Spurs. The Argentinian manager toke over Tim Sherwood’s reign after he were sacked at the end of the season. While Pochettino is now thinking on how to resurrect the Spurs this move leaves a vacant place at St Mary's Stadium. The Saints will be linked to a lot of options to pick Pochettino’s successor and rumors already claim that Southampton are considering Sunderland manager Gus Poyet, former team’s player Dan Petrescu and former Glasgow Celtic boss Neil Lennon as possible replacements. Could Paul Clement be one of those? Many clubs had been monitoring Carlo Ancelotti’s assistant coach progress recently and expressed their interest in him. The Englishman’s hype developed at a speed that recently made a comparison with Andre Villas-Boas’curve.  Clement told that he will begin his managing career at a lower level than Chelsea, Paris Saint-Germain and Real Madrid, the last three clubs at which he has worked. He has been linked to Brighton following Oscar García’s resignation and to West Bromwich Albion’s job but a place as Pochettino’s successor with the Saints could be more attractive to start building his own legacy. Clement doesn’t have first team coaching experience but worked alongside Carlo Ancelotti in the dugout at Parc des Princes, Stanford Bridge and Santiago Bernabeu. The former secondary school teacher is suited to work inside a big boys’ dressing room and dealing with lower egos as he could meet at Southampton should not be a total shock. He knows the importance of good communication while organisation and workout planning are not unknown to former Chelsea’s academy coach. The 42-year-old background makes him a head coach who trusts in youth, making him a perfect fit to succeed Pochettino, a man that has elevated several academy’s players as James Ward-Prowse into the first team. Clement could easily insert himself in a similar kind of philosophy. Obviously, there is a bit of risk to appoint a rookie with no previous managing experience but it would be the same level of risk Southampton already faced when they choose Nigel Adkins, a former physio became caretaker manager at Scunthorpe in November 2006, or when they replaced him with Pochettino. Furthmore, Clement could install the same high-tempo pressing style that was the centerpiece of Pochettino’s philosophy. The Argentinian’s approach were built to force opponents to concede possession in their own half of the pitch. Ancelotti too runs this way and Clement could easily have taken that into his coaching thoughts. “I've learned so much," he told about the experience to work alongside Ancelotti. Real Madrid was able both to play with pace and to keep the ball, depending on the situation. With the Merengues, Ancelotti started this season with a classic 4-2-3-1, similar to the shape they utilized last term under Jose Mourinho. Then, he played hybrid 4-3-3 in which he deployed Cristiano Ronaldo as second forward with no much defensive duties, moving the shape in a de facto 4-4-2 without possession. Ancelotti evolved and showed his versatility both at Chelsea and PSG. With the Blues, the Italian manager adapted the initial 4-3-3 into a 4-2-3-1 during the campaign there, while in Paris he started playing a Christmas tree that became an offensive 4-4-2 during the way. Clement would have no problems to made Southampton playing this way as the Saints were accustomed to favour a similar pattern under Pochettino. In fact, Pochettino's classic style of play shares traits with Ancelotti. Often regarded as a product of Marcelo Bielsa’s coaching three, Pochettino is a bit more pragmatist than his mentor as he showed making his side able to attack keeping possession but also pressing heavily in the middle with the pair of Morgan Schneiderlin and Victor Wanyama and counter-attacking quickly when they had chances in open play. At St Mary’s, Pochettino created a positive and attractive side playing a proactive kind of football, in a way Bielsa could like, sometimes deploying as many as four offensive players in the same pattern, but he also has been more conservative when it needed. Adaptability was the key factor once again and it is precisely what Clement learned under Ancelotti. Southampton’s board of directions will need to act quickly to hire a new manager. Poyet, Petrescu and Lennon all are proven veterans.  But picking Clement would represent a more interesting option. That fact that Saints are also expecting to lose Jesus Perez, Toni Jimenez and Miguel D’Agostino, Pochettino’s coaching staff members, who would join him at White Hart Lane, could made Clement able to hire his own staff, bringing on people loyal to him and up to allow him to make the transition more easily. At the end, Clement is far from a finished product but at Southampton he could have the time to raise up with no pressure on his side. Being suited to deal with big egos as Gareth Bale or Cristiano Ronaldo he could manage an awkward character as Dani Osvaldo – assuming he will be back from his loan to Juventus. Saints chairman Ralph Krueger should definitively take a look to Clement. He should write Clement’s name on top of his replacements’ list. Clement is young and ambitious and could match the club’s ambition that Pochettino revived just before he leaves out.

Postecoglou, Klinsmann, Prandelli...

So Ange Postecoglou joined the club of Jurgen Klinsmann and Cesare Prandelli. USMNT head coach shocked soccer World dropping Landon Donovan out from the final 23-man roster while Prandelli infuriated Italy’s fans after he left Giuseppe Rossi at home selecting the low-keyed Lorenzo Insigne in his final 23 for Brazil. Australia’s manager made similar, though decisions as he left out forward  Josh Kennedy, the man who certified Australia’s qualification for the World Cup, and promising attacking midfielder Tom Rogic, one of the most gifted players of this generation. Instead, Postecoglou has gone with an experimental Australian side, also cutting veteran midfielder Luke Wilkshire. As Prandelli, Postecoglou put physical shape as his No. 1 selection criteria. Kennedy has been troubled by a back injury while Rogic wasn't at 100 percent after he didn’t endure playing time during his spells at Celtic this season. He also struggled to regain his fitness despite a loan at Melbourne Victory. Since his appointment, Postecoglou never denied that he would have take a look to the domestic league in order to build his National team. And he did it as the Australia’s head coach selected a squad featuring 7 players performing for A-League clubs. Kennedy’s omission opened the doors for Newcastle Jets forward Adam Taggart. Wilkshire’s cut was also a surprising one as it left an inexperienced backline featuring only one defender, Matthew Spiranovic, with more than 10 caps under his belt. Postecoglou’s decision to don’t include Rogic in his final 23-man squad left a place for Swindon Town’s attacking midfielder Massimo Luongo. Luongo impressed playing in the middle of the field during Australia's warm-ups and his performances convinced Postecoglou to includ him in the final roster. Postecoglou has seen how hard both Kennedy and Rogic worked to get shaped in time for the World Cup but it wasn’t enough as both wasn’t able to recover their fit. So Postecoglou ended all the speculation cutting both players while veterans Mark Bresciano and Tim Cahill have been selected. One can argue if Postecoglou has made the right call but just the World Cup tournament can provide an answer to the question. The same will happen for Klinsmann and Prandelli. For sure, Postecoglou is in good company…

Australia's final 23-man World Cup squad

Goalkeepers Mat Ryan (Club Bruges), Mitchell Langerak (Borussia Dortmund), Eugene Galekovic (Adelaide United)
Defenders - Jason Davidson (Heracles Almelo), Matthew Spiranovic (Western Sydney Wanderers), Ivan Franjic (Brisbane Roar), Bailey Wright (Preston North End), Ryan McGowan (Shandong Luneng), Alex Wilkinson (Jeonbuk Hyundai Motors)
Midfielders Oliver Bozanic (Luzern), Mark Bresciano (Al Gharafa, Qatar), James Holland (Austria Vienna), Mile Jedinak (Crystal Palace), Mark Milligan (Melbourne Victory), Dario Vidosic (Sion), Matt McKay (Brisbane Roar), James Troisi (Atalanta), Massimo Luongo (Swindon)
Forwards Tim Cahill (New York Red Bulls), Matthew Leckie (FSV Frankfurt 1899), Tommy Oar (Utrecht), Ben Halloran (Fortuna Duesseldorf), Adam Taggart (Newcastle Jets).

About Michael Bradley position

The Yanks earned a 2-1 win after a though game against Turkey at Red Bull Arena in which UMSNT manager Jurgen Klinsmann made a tactical adjustment in the second half that made 4-4-2 diamond expendable. “What we needed to do earlier there was drop Michael Bradley there next to him in a flat four and not a diamond," Klinsmann told. That worked as Americans played better after the break. Is this the end of the diamond midfield experiment? Wait a moment. The diamond formation isn’t old enough to be already cut. It is still a work in progress with the Americans needing of time to make the adjustment. Sure, there are some issues with this formation as it allows opponent to give a lot of the pressure to a highly scrutinized defense. And a diamond midfield also showed a lack of sync in the middle of the pitch. But that which seemed to be really an issue here is the kind of player announced to play at the top of diamond. For the third consecutive game, Klinsmann opted for a 4-4-2 diamond midfield featuring Michael Bradley in the No. 10 spot. The actual problem is the conjunction between Bradley and the forwards, not to say about the lack of Bradley’s strong presence in front of the back four. Therefore, the bigger question is whether Bradley is suited for this position. Is TFC’s midfielder employed at his best playing behind the forwards? Former  USMNT defender Alexi Lalas said not. The experiment worked against Mexico but it doesn’t against Turkish. There is a feeling that putting Bradley over there is something the USMNT can do well sometimes but not a default they can employ effectively in every circumstances. A solution to maintain the 4-4-2 diamond could be to fill the playmaker spot with another player. Who? One between Brian Davis and Mix Diskerud. Specially Rosenborg’s midfielder could be an interesting option. The common sense is that Diskerud's value is as a key sub coming from the bench. But he looks ready for a major, key, role. Diskerud could become the man charged with the responsibility of the link play between midfield and attack. This is a role Diskerud played in the past. He could receive passes from the back to convert them into nice through, final balls, completing passes in the final third of the field. Diskerud’s insertion in the starting lineup could also allow to push Bradley down into a role that suits him better. At the end, USMNT manager didn’t give indications whether or not they will utilize the diamond again. I don’t know Klinsmann’s thoughts. But, for sure, between now and the Yanks' June 16 opener against Ghana Klinsmann has a lot to decide.

Australia fitness work is a key

When it comes to under dog teams entering into a World Cup tournament, fitness and tactics have to be the main points of concern. While tactical aspects of Ange Postecoglou’s team has been highly scrutinized, Australia’s physical condition is a point still needed to be stressed. Not that a correlation between them doesn’t exist. In fact, playing offensively  requires a lot of energy which means that team fitness needs to be at the top. This is the case for Postecoglou’s squad as the new head coach supplanted his predecessor obsession for two defensive banks of four with a more attacking-oriented 4-2-3-1 formation. Truth is that coach’s favorites playing guidelines will be hardly put on the pitch as will face three attacking, ball dominating teams as Chile, Holland and Spain into the group stage. So Australia is expected to defend strongly and play on the counter attack. The way in which they will do it would play a huge role in changing the expectations that predict Australians unable to progress from this group. Postecoglou's major adjustment will be to ask his side to don’t site too deep in their own final third of the pitch. The challenge for Australia is to close down their opponents as high as possible, in the way to break their buildup, denying them the chances to play easy passes and favoring Australian designed counterattacking play. Being proactive in reactive play should be Postecoglou’s approach. It doesn’t mean parking the bus but to build a defensive structure able to force other sides into ordinary and interceptable sideways passes. They need to put them under constantly pressure. And they need of a strong fitness base to do it. For Australia, have a chance at making a run into the World Cup means to be fit.  This is the reason why Postecoglou added fitness guru Andrew Young to his coaching staff. Young, a former conditioning coach in EPL, is an expert in sports science. Young’s methods are expected to have an impact on the players’ fitness and it could made the difference between to be competitive or to go down yielding. On the field, training sessions was pushed high with Postecoglou and Young often splitting the players into small areas to play extensive small sided games requiring heavy pressure and quick movements. This is the kind of work Australians are doing in the way to try to survive in a group where they will probably be without the ball for a long spell of time. Whether this will be enough to achieve team’s goals remains to be seen.