If you’re a fan of a sports team long enough, you’ll eventually witness a coaching change. It’s almost guaranteed, as coaching spells lasting a decade plus are the exception, not the norm. As a Tottenham fan it happened this week. Mauricio Pochettino was sacked by the Hotspur football club.
This has came after a 5 year spell, which saw steady improvement in the standings. In each of his complete seasons the North London side qualified for Europe. His 3rd season, he finished 2nd in the Premier League. Tottenham finished 2nd in both the League Cup and Champions League (the later happened last season in dramatic fashion).
Perhaps drunk from last seasons champion league excitement, the Argentinian manager didn’t start this season. He saw his side drop to 14th in the domestic table, eliminated from the League Cup, and faltering in Champions League Group play. (As of this writing, Tottenham is second in the group, however). His sacking came as unexpected, but none of us were surprised. Whatever the reason, in came José Mourinho the same day.
I’ve hated this man as a manager. It started with his introduction as Chelsea’s manager stating that he was “a special one”. Simultaneously, I found him arrogant, and laughed – reminding me of Chief Wiggum’s son. He won with the hated Chelsea. Then he was fired, followed by similar success across Europe. Lately, much to my joy, he was fired mid-season by Manchester United
Now that he’s at Tottenham, it reminds me of another time a coach I disliked was hired by a favorite team. Rex Ryan was hired by the Buffalo Bills in 2015. My disdain was more or less from the media circus that was Jets football. He wouldn’t be successful.
Now, Mourinho has had considerable success, though at clubs with large budgets. This would be his first club since his time at Porto were he wouldn’t have a seemingly unlimited budget. Tottenham has been quite conservative during transfer windows, unsure if that was a characteristic of the manager, or the chairman, Daniel Levy.
Mourinho can become problematic – he has essentially done so at every club. But he wins. His contract expires in 2022-2023 season – which might be his last. But hopefully he raises some Silverware along the way
Rustbelt Sports 