Mauricio Pochettino is out. Jose Mourinho is in. How did Tottenham Hotspur get to this place?
This is FTW Explains, where we try to dig in and understand what is going on in the world. Let’s dive in on the Tottenham Hotspur manager situation.
Early Wednesday, the unthinkable became real: Jose Mourinho had been named the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur, just hours after the club had announced the departure of Mauricio Pochettino.
It’s a stunning development for a club that seemed on the brink of becoming a world power in soccer, and has now stumbled out to a disappointing start to the season. It’s also a hire that, on the face of it, seems to represent a total abandonment of what Spurs had come to represent.
We’re getting ahead of ourselves, though. You might be wondering what, exactly, is going on, and how we got here. So let’s dive into it. Let’s catch you up on the great Spurs Manager Escapade of 2019.
Who is this now?
The club is Tottenham Hotspur F.C., which has traditionally been a decent-but-not-great club in the Premier League but, over the past few years, become one of the dominant forces in English football. They made the Champions League final last year, where they lost to Liverpool. This was a stunning achievement, and they did it all under their now former manager, Mauricio Pochettino.
And now Pochettino has been fired?
Precisely. He’s one of the three main people to know in all this, by the way, along with Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy and new Tottenham manager Jose Mourinho.
Mourinho. I know that name.
Yeah he’s the maniacal Portuguese manager who’s had a ton of success and also managed to destroy his relationship with just about every club he’s ever been at. But we’ll get to that. Let’s talk about what happened with Pochettino.
Let’s.
OK, so here’s the thing: Mauricio Pochettino did absolutely incredible things with Spurs. He took what was a middling Premier League side and turned them into one of the most entertaining, exciting, attacking young teams in the world. They routinely challenged for Premier League titles, and then made the Champions League final last year.
He never won a trophy, but for a club like Tottenham, he clearly had them punching above their weight. And now just months after he makes the European final, he’s out. That’s wild.
What happened to him?
Tottenham were losing games — lots of games — and it sure appeared like he lost the locker room.
According to The Athletic, Pochettino had always preached an incredibly demanding training schedule, and his team’s playing style demanded incredibly high fitness. When his players were young and eager, they bought in. After years of it, however, it understandably got old.
It also didn’t help that the squad hadn’t been replenished and almost all of the players were underpaid. They were just burned out.
Why were they underpaid?
Depending on who you ask, because Levy is either careful with his money or because he’s a cheapskate. This is why I think it’s all a bit harsh on Pochettino — Levy was extremely reticent to spend big money, either on new players or on bigger contracts for his stars.
So Pochettino, by all accounts, had to get guys to buy in on his system. It was described as cult-ish because that’s sort of what it was. Pochettino basically had to make the argument to his players: Buy into the system, believe in the system, sacrifice some money now, and we can do big things.
Eventually, the players got tired of it. Now they were working incredibly hard, they weren’t getting paid enough, and they weren’t winning anymore. They turned on him.
So … how is Mourinho going to fix any of this?
Super duper unclear!
Pochettino’s teams stressed high pressing, running like maniacs all over the field, creating havoc and turnovers and then capitalizing when they get the ball.
Mourinho’s teams … have not done that. His teams have traditionally been brutal, ugly things which defend with numbers and then score goals on set pieces and the occasional counter attack. He’s either practical or cynical, depending on how you view the world.
He’s also famously prickly, and can be awful to players who he thinks aren’t buying into his system.
Is giving an unhappy team of underpaid players a manager who’s hard to deal with the best recipe for success?
You wouldn’t think it, but who knows. Mourinho’s last few stops have ended in embarrassment, and maybe he can channel his drive to redeem himself into some patience and humility. Maybe he can clean them up defensively and get the guys to buy in.
Or it’ll be a train wreck.
Precisely. At least Amazon is filming their next documentary this season with Tottenham, so at the very least, that film will be incredible.
Are there any conspiracy theories that this has all been orchestrated to make for a better movie?
You bet there have been. You’re starting to get it. You’re really starting to get it.
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