London (AFP) – Tottenham Hotspur sacked manager Mauricio Pochettino on Tuesday following a miserable start to the season for last season’s Champions League finalists, with Jose Mourinho reportedly poised to replace the Argentine.
Mourinho is the favourite to take over with Sky Sports reporting that Spurs could close a deal with the Portuguese, who has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United 11 months ago, as soon as Wednesday morning.
Tottenham sit 14th in England’s top flight after picking up just three wins from their opening 12 games, and were eliminated from the League Cup in September by fourth-tier Colchester United.
“The club can today announce that Mauricio Pochettino and his coaching staff Jesus Perez, Miguel D’Agostino and Antoni Jimenez have been relieved of their duties,” Tottenham said in a statement.
Pochettino, 47, transformed Spurs’ fortunes since arriving from Southampton in 2014 despite failing to win a trophy in his five-and-a-half years in charge.
During his five full seasons in charge, Tottenham qualified for the Champions League four times, culminating in a dramatic run to the club’s first ever European Cup final in June, which they lost 2-0 to Liverpool in Madrid.
However, domestically results have been on the decline since February, with Spurs clinging onto a top-four finish last season despite winning just three of their final 12 league games.
That form has continued at the start of this season with Pochettino leaving the club already 11 points outside the Premier League top four and 20 behind leaders Liverpool.
Spurs also suffered an embarrassing 7-2 thrashing at home by Bayern Munich in the Champions League in September, but are well-placed to reach the last 16 behind the German giants in Group B.
“We were extremely reluctant to make this change and it is not a decision the board has taken lightly, nor in haste,” said Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy.
“Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.
“It falls to the board to make the difficult decisions — this one made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with Mauricio and his coaching staff — but we do so in the club’s best interests.”
– ‘Utmost admiration’ –
The job done by Pochettino was all the more remarkable given the tight budget he was afforded by Levy for transfers and wages in comparison to Tottenham’s Premier League rivals, as the club built a new stadium at a cost of over £1 billion ($1.3 billion).
Instead, much of Pochettino’s success came from nurturing a squad of young players into household names such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli and Christian Eriksen.
“I can’t thank this man enough,” Alli tweeted alongside a picture of Pochettino with the England international.
“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.”
Spurs were forced to play at temporary home Wembley for the entirety of the 2017/18 campaign and most of last season before moving into their new 62,000 capacity ground in April.
After 18 months without signing a single player, Levy finally loosened the purse strings to buy Tanguy Ndombele for a club record £63 million in July and added Giovani lo Celso on loan and Ryan Sessegnon in the summer transfer window.
However, injuries have prevented that trio making an instant impact, while Pochettino bemoaned the disruptive effect of Eriksen, Toby Alderweireld and Jan Vertonghen all entering the final year of their contracts.
“I have the utmost admiration for the manner in which he dealt with the difficult times away from a home ground whilst we built the new stadium and for the warmth and positivity he brought to us,” added Levy.
“We have a talented squad. We need to re-energise and look to deliver a positive season for our supporters.”
However, the Tottenham Hotspur Supporters’s Trust (THST) questioned Levy’s role in the diminishing results on the pitch.
“Is the manager solely accountable? How much has the board’s line on wages and transfers contributed to player unrest and disaffection?” The THST said in a statement.
“Poch gave us many of our best moments as supporters, made Tottenham Hotspur a force to be reckoned with again, and forged a strong link with the fans. We will never forget the joy he brought us.”
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Egad no! How in the world would that make any sense? The guy costs more money, demands a ridiculous purse to transfer players in, has a shelf life of no more than 2.5 seasons.
If they wouldn’t write the check for Pochettino, the guy who got Tottenham reliably into the Champions League, why in the world would they sign Mourinho as their manager?! That should be a crime!
According to Mr. Levy, they did give the manager the money. Levy felt the dressing room was toxic. Poch did seem to have a constant scowl. Goes with the gig, one assumes.
Excluding this season, about 50 million pounds net over five seasons. Tottenham finally spent money this year. Even with that, about 140 million pounds over six seasons, that is a very low average amount. And Pochettino did incredible things at Tottenham with such little investment.
To sack him and to officially hire a manager that might already be out of touch with football today seems ridiculous and completely inconsistent with the support provided to the guy that got Spurs into the Top four (including a second place finish) every year since 15/16.
I agree, this seems like a terrible mistake for Spurs. I can’t see it going well, and presume it will end soon, and badly.
I guess Mr. Levy feels the need for a quick fix. Jose has not demonstrated that he can manage long term. Those who refuse to acknowledge history are doomed to repeat it.