Drama at the Lane
Wednesday the 20 November will forever live long in the memory of Tottenham supporters. It was the day Jose Mourinho (the self proclaimed special one) was officially unveiled as the new Head Coach at Tottenham after chairman Daniel Levy sacked long standing Mananger Mauricio Pochettino only a few hours earlier.
Everything felt like it happened so rapidly that Spurs fans weren’t even able to drown their sorrows in the disappointment of losing Pochettino. However, that’s the ruthlessness of Spurs’s chairman Levy (that man is ice cold). One thing I did know was that the Tottenham hierarchy aren’t one to make hasty and rash decisions and would have thought long and hard before going ahead with this surprising but decisive action.
When I found out Pochettino had been sacked I was in great shock and didn’t know what to say. My heart was skipping many beats (I started having flashbacks to the 90s). The news literally caught everyone by surprise and before I could dunk my hobnobs in my hot chocolate to console myself the unimaginable occurred……The special one was named as the man in charge of the mighty Spurs.
Where it went wrong for Poch
Now, Pochettino is and will always be loved at Spurs there’s no doubts about that but where did it all go wrong for the Argentine. Firstly, he deserves a lot of respect and credit for the great work he did with the club in helping them transition into a genuine top for team and also providing some of the greatest nights in the clubs history.
Many will argue that in his 5 years at Tottenham, whilst producing attractive attacking football, legacy is based on results and accolades. This is rather unfortunate because Spurs did not win any honours under Pochettino. Yes there’s great admiration for the style of play he embraced but trophies secure and build legacy. Till this day Juande Ramos has a better legacy (I’m just saying) having won the Football League cup in 2008 for Spurs and that’s football in nutshell.
Tottenham’s results in the league have been awful in the past few weeks and if you dig deeper into the rabbit hole you will find that the results have been poor sine January. The players should be made accountable but sometimes it doesn’t happen. Although they are only 3 points adrift from 5th placed Sheffield United whilst currently 14th in the table, I believe Pochettino had taken this crop of players as far as he could and changes needed to be made. I am certain that if Jose wasn’t lined up as his replacement that the board wouldn’t have sacked Pochettino.
The reality is that results matter and trophy cabinets need filling (there’s a lot of dust building up at the Tottenham Stadium too) one way or the other and he did not deliver this. He came close but never quite made it possible. No Premier League titles, no Champions League titles, no FA cups, no League cups, no Europa League cups, nothing absolutely nothing, nada. Adios Mauricio, thanks for the memories, our Champion League story of 2019 will be one to cherish for a life time.
Long live the special one
He slipped into the lane like a thief in the night. I’d rather see Jose at Spurs than at Arsenal. The man is an absolute legend and a proven winner. He doesn’t lose many finals either and I can guarantee you that had it been Mourinho managing Spurs in the champions league final, Tottenham would have bagged their first tropy and that’s a fact.
He has won silverware everywhere he’s been and although often criticised for his style of play and controversial demeanour, he is in no doubt one of the greatest managers of all time. His records speak great success and a trophy collection many admire. The man has won it all. He has 25 major trophies, including 3 Premier League titles, won league titles in 4 countries and 2 champions league trophies with two different clubs (need I say more).
Tottenham expect and Mourinho will deliver. Embrace yourself for what truly will be some amazing times ahead for Spurs (the football will be less attractive but the trophy cabinet will be pregnant).
Interesting times!!!
Interesting read I must say and you truly covered everything in what went wrong for Pochettino. I must admit, I was completely shock to hear the news he was sacked 2 days ago and replaced 24 hrs later.
Levy wants success and bringing in one of the most recognisable and successful manager in Mourinho is a good risk. I’m sure Spurs fans can be excited about the possibility of winning a trophy one day but they will have to wait to see.
One thing I must say though, which I had to question Pochettino mentality was his comments when Spurs got dumped out 2 domestic cups in a week (last season by the way)… Pochettino believed ‘winning trophies only serves to build ego and does not believe securing a trophy will take Spurs to the next level’. Now, I truly believe success is measured in your achievements (trophies) and this may have shown the lack of ambition Pochettino had to success at Tottenham.
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You are absolutely spot on. Pochettino’s comments could be viewed as being detrimental to his tenure at Spurs as it does show a lack of ambition or maybe he made those comments to deflect attention away from the players. Nevertheless if that’s what he deeply believes then Tottenham were right to sack him and employee a manager whose philosophy is to win at any cost.
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