Just before the October international break, Tottenham beat Manchester City 2-0 -- still their last win in all competitions -- but Mauricio Pochettino welcomed the time off.
"It's good, there's no problem, we're happy we have time to recover players," said the Spurs manager, who was without Mousa Dembele and Harry Kane against City. "We have a lot of games ahead. October and November are tough to compete. We need all [the players], so now it's good to rest."
Two weeks later, Pochettino had changed his tune. Speaking after the internationals and before Tottenham's trip to West Brom, he lamented a run of seven matches in 23 days.