Tottenham Hotspur have become the latest Premier League team to become managerless after the Board of Directors decided to sack Mauricio Pochettino.
Some said Pochettino had an argument with chairman Daniel Levy over the team’s policies going forward. However, Levy made the decision based on the team’s poor run of results at the Premier League level. This should exclude the Champions League performances, where Tottenham were runner-ups last season.
It’s hard to deny what is happening with Tottenham if we look at their numbers. They currently sit in 14th place of the EPL standings with 14 points in 12 matches (W3, D5, L4). Plus, they are winless in their last five league outings (D3, L2). That’s a very poor record for a team featuring names such as Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Christian Eriksen, Davinson Sanchez and Son Heung-min on a weekly basis.
Why did Tottenham fire Pochettino now, and not later this season?
The timing of the firing, however, was a bit odd. The Spurs have a Premier League match against West Ham United on Saturday, and next week they play against Olympiakos (Tuesday) and Bournemouth (next Saturday). Why would they want to part ways with their long-tenured manager ahead of a three-games-in-10-days stretch?
It’s unclear who might replace the Argentinian, who carried the Spurs to the UEFA Champions League final last season. However, there are several top alternatives available on the market. Max Allegri and Jose Mourinho stand out as alternatives. Niko Kovac could be an option too after his Bayern Munich tenure. And several other high-profile managers have also been linked with the job.
Jose Mourinho, however, is the favourite to replace Pochettino. Mourinho has been out of work since being sacked by Manchester United in December 2018. If talks progress smoothly, then an announcement could come as soon as Wednesday or Thursday this week.
We might never understand why the Spurs decided to part ways with Pochettino the way they did it. But this feels like the right move going forward. The team was clearly underperforming and, considering how tight the Premier League standings are, maybe a new manager could revitalize the Spurs’ chances of fighting for a Champions League spot for the 2020-21 season. They need to bounce back sooner than later.
The Argentinian was clearly not performing as expected. Therefore, his tenure needed to end. Even if it didn’t happen like he would’ve wanted it.
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