Reaction after Jose Mourinho replaces Mauricio Pochettino at Tottenham
Tottenham Hotspur have appointed Jose Mourinho as their new head coach, less than 12 hours after sacking Mauricio Pochettino.
The club announced Pochettino’s dismissal in a shock announcement on Twitter, sparking a lot of mixed emotions from those with ties to the club. Gary Lineker responded to the news almost immediately, tweeting “Good luck with finding a better replacement... ain’t gonna happen.”
The end of an era
Fans took the news extremely hard, circulating an emotional video of Pochettino following Tottenham’s 3-2 comeback win over Ajax last season.
A large amount of supporters appeared furious that the Argentine “wasn’t backed” by the club, especially after leading Spurs to their first ever Champions League final earlier this year.
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Dele Alli tweeted a photo of him and Pochettino shaking hands during a match with the heartfelt caption: “I can’t thank this man enough. He’s taught me so much and I’m so grateful for everything he’s done for me. Good luck and hope to see you again my friend.”
Alli’s teammates joined him in wishing the 47-year-old the best of luck and expressed their gratitude towards the man who had been in charge for over five years. Harry Kane thanked Pochettino for helping him to “achieve his dreams” and reflects on the “amazing moments” they’ve shared.
Fans also expressed their emotions over their manager departing from the club. One spoke live on talkSPORT and announced he would “never go [to a game] again while that man [Daniel Levy] is in charge.”
The fan went on to say he hopes Pochettino will take a move to Arsenal and help them win the Premier League. “I really am that gutted,” he continued.
The right decision?
Pochettino – who had established himself as a fan favourite – has a lot of fans and professionals in his corner. OptaJoe posted a statistic this morning comparing Pochettino to his replacement, revealing that the two managers had an identical point-to-game ratio whilst Mourinho was still at Manchester United.
1.89 - Jose Mourinho’s points per game ratio at Manchester United (1.89) was exactly the same as Mauricio Pochettino’s at Tottenham Hotspur in the Premier League (1.89). Replacement. pic.twitter.com/HUrTkXf3ue
— OptaJoe (@OptaJoe) November 20, 2019
The original statement posted by Tottenham announcing Pochettino’s departure has over 129,000 engagements, including over 14,000 replies. The majority of these were unhappy and confused responses.
Pundit Jermaine Jenas tweeted his thoughts on the decision, targeting the Tottenham board. “Shoulda backed him not sacked him! Gutted for Mauricio.”
Even David Lammy, Tottenham’s Labour MP has spoken out about the club’s decision. “I am in shock,” he said.
Here’s what Jose Mourinho said about managing Tottenham in 2015. pic.twitter.com/EY3BmDEhSG
— ESPN FC (@ESPNFC) November 20, 2019
Lammy added that the Argentine was “on the brink of something special” and is “one of the best managers in the Premier League.”
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Former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp even suggested that Pochettino might not have to go too far for his next role. On talkSPORT, he said: “There are clubs in London who are having a terrible time. Why shouldn’t he go to Arsenal if he wants to? You think the Arsenal fans wouldn’t love him there?
An impressive pedigree
Despite those unhappy with Pochettino’s dismissal, it’s hard to ignore Mourinho’s success with his former clubs. During his two spells with Chelsea and his 2016-2018 tenure with Man United, the 56-year-old amassed nine trophies, including three Premier League titles.
Mourinho has also won silverware at the hilt of Porto, Inter Milan and Real Madrid, totalling 25 major trophies in his managerial career. The Portuguese is regarded as one of the best managers of all time, despite his more recent efforts coming under some scrutiny.
Mauricio Pochettino had a net spend of £109m over five-and-a-half years at Tottenham. Jose Mourinho almost matched that over a 12-week period in 2018. Extraordinary gamble from Daniel Levy.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) November 20, 2019
Jamie Carragher has backed Mourinho to succeed at Spurs, telling Sky Sports: “He’s been hugely successful and that is the one thing Tottenham lack at this moment, no matter how well Pochettino’s done.
“They haven’t quite got over the line in getting a trophy and normally that’s what Jose Mourinho does when he goes to a club.”
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