The sacking of Mauricio Pochettino came as a bit of a shock earlier on, but it looks like Spurs had a plan all along and now look set to announce Jose Mourinho as his replacement.
This could be a huge moment for Spurs when they look back on this in a few years. They’ve got a new ground and a lot of their best players will be out of contract in the Summer. Mourinho has failed at his last three jobs – Chelsea, Man United and Real Madrid – so it’s an almighty gamble to take.
Sky Sports News reporter Bryan Swanson has reported it looks like it will happen:
Tottenham in advanced talks with José Mourinho. Deal close. #THFC #SSN
— Bryan Swanson (@skysports_bryan) November 19, 2019
It will probably see an immediate shift in mentality on the pitch. Pochettino liked to use the width and have his full backs get forward as much as possible. Mourinho has shown he wants to control every single aspect that he can on the pitch and wants reliable players who won’t do anything unpredictable.
You also have to think this will be on a long term deal. There may have been some whispers about a possible caretaker role, but you can’t see Mourinho being happy to tide things over until somebody new takes over.
This could be a huge case of being careful what you wish for. Pochettino had some poor results lately, but Mourinho has proven he won’t set his teams out to play silky, attacking football.
You could even argue that Real, Chelsea and Man United are still recovering from the damage he caused during his reign which set them back a few years. It will certainly be interesting, but Spurs fans should be feeling a bit nervous about this one.