Performance Interventions

Since this paper was submitted on November 10, there have been a number of developments illustrating the validity of my recommendations. Spurs have won the first two matches of the period between November 24 and January 1 covered in the following recommendations due in part to the use of rotational squads and prioritizing fitness over status. (Although I have no influence over the club's decisions, it is still gratifying to think that I arrived at valid conclusions independently and early.) In an interview after the 3-1 dismantling of Chelsea, Dele Alli appraised Pochettino's management: "He's managing the squad well, rotating when he needs to, picking the players that he feels are best on that day. That's important for the team, to have players that are fresh and ready to go. Everyone knows their roles and responsibilities" (Veal, 2018). Pochettino is fortunate in that he has a deep bench and several key players are recovering from injuries, but it is still vital going forward that he continue to rotate the squad for different fixtures.

Spurs narrowly kept their hopes alive for escaping the UEFA Champions League with a 1-0 victory over Inter Milan, thanks to a late goal from sub Christian Eriksen. I had also used Eriksen as a substitution in my hypothetical roster against Inter Milan; his energy and creativity on the pitch are unparalleled, but he has suffered from an abdominal injury for much of the season, which has limited his starting appearances. Pochettino has acknowledged the need to manage the squad through careful analysis of fitness, injuries, and playing time: "To arrive at Barcelona and compete in our best we need to have fresh legs, fresh minds, no injuries. To arrive in that way in Barcelona we need to manage and we need to rotate the squad. If not, the demands of the Premier League are so tough. We're playing in the Champions League and the [Carabao] Cup against Arsenal at the Emirates. Playing games every three days is so tough -- so tough for us, and for our players it's so, so difficult. They're not going to have one day off until January" (Pearce, 2018). Pochettino also addressed the same league policies that I identified as detrimental to players' long-term health, namely the rules that limit squads to three substitutions per match. If the Premier League were to adopt substitution rules similar to basketball, players could sub in and sub out throughout the match with fewer restrictions.