TOTTENHAM last night sacked Mauricio Pochettino, who took them to the Champions League Final last season, after just over five years in charge of the London side.
Before the news broke of Poch’s sacking, someone on Twitter noted that punters in London were unable to get a bet on the Rangers manager Steven Gerrard being appointed as the new Tottenham manager. A strange tweet, I thought at the time, is something about to happen with Pochettino?
However unlikely that sounds Gerrard’s name did appear to be on the ‘bookies short-list’ alongside, you’ve guessed it, the former Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers, who us currently riding high in second spot in the English Premiership.
He was probably looking at himself in the mirror telling himself that first and second in the league in England are the sides he’s managed and if he thinks about it, the top of the league side in Scotland is also another one of his former clubs. Brendan, likes Brendan. He’ll take the credit for all three.
But if it was a straight choice between the two you would have to think that Tottenham would opt for Rodgers ahead of Gerrard who although he has had to work with a shoestring budget at Ibrox and has done quite well in the Europa League (a competition NOT highly regarded by the big clubs in the English leagues until the latter stages at least), Gerrard has still won nothing as a manager and failed to even reach a cup final in his first season, losing twice to Aberdeen.
Rodgers’ stock south of the border is very high once again, after the damage done through some dodgy transfer decisions at Anfield in the period after he nearly won the league.
Both men have never won the English Premier League yet but for Gerrard slipping in that decisive match that was lost to Chelsea at Anfield, that could have been a very different story indeed. At least Rodgers has 7 trophies won in Scotland on his CV, including two Premiership wins and of course two Trebles.
While many Leicester City fans will believe Rodgers when he talks about loving his job in the East Midlands and being fully committed to their club, the former Arsenal player, now a media pundit, Lee Dixon under the hashtag, ‘he has jumped before’ tweeted last night, joking that “Brendan is off the bench and doing his stretches”.
Brendan is off the bench and doing his stretches #hehasjumpedbefore 🤣
— Lee Dixon (@LeeDixon2) November 19, 2019
Rodgers walked out on Celtic at the end of February ahead of a huge week for the club with two tough away games in Edinburgh, at Hearts in the Premiership and Easter Road in the Scottish Cup. Defeats in those games would have ended the Treble Treble chances and could also have opened the door for Gerrard to win his first ever league title in his career as a player or manager.
Rodgers didn’t go alone. He cleared out most of the coaching and backroom staff, he even took a blogger and it was only the miraculously convenient availability of Neil Lennon – who had left Hibs ‘by mutual consent’ the month before that saved the day for Celtic.
Lenny won both those games and went on to secure the Treble Treble but the bad taste that BR-Exit left in the Celtic support’s mouths remains to this day.
So if Leicester City fans are under any illusions that Brendan Rodgers will not do another BR-Exit then they should think again. He’ll wait until its dark then disappear into the night. Just not this time, not now.
‘He has jumped before’ right enough.
When the Spurs board met there was no’Get BR-Exit Done’ outcome. Tottenham ignored The Irish Backstop.
Tottenham instead decided to look to Europe and our old friend Jose Mourinho.
You love to hate him.
But you hate that you love him.
Jose Mourinho is football’s GREATEST wind-up merchant 🤪pic.twitter.com/VyKZJ6LfEg
— Football on BT Sport (@btsportfootball) November 20, 2019
NO BREXIT!
Statement from Tottenham…
We are delighted to announce the appointment of Jose Mourinho as Head Coach on a contract that runs until the end of the 2022/23 season.
Jose is one of the world’s most accomplished managers having won 25 senior trophies. He is renowned for his tactical prowess and has managed FC Porto, Inter Milan, Chelsea, Real Madrid and Manchester United. He has won a domestic title in a record four different countries (Portugal, England, Italy and Spain) and is one of only three managers to have won the UEFA Champions League twice with two clubs, FC Porto in 2004 and Inter Milan in 2010. He is also a three-time Premier League Champion with Chelsea (2005, 2006, 2015).
Commenting on the appointment, Chairman Daniel Levy said: “In Jose we have one of the most successful managers in football. He has a wealth of experience, can inspire teams and is a great tactician. He has won honours at every club he has coached. We believe he will bring energy and belief to the dressing room.”
Speaking on his appointment, Jose said: “I am excited to be joining a Club with such a great heritage and such passionate supporters. The quality in both the squad and the academy excites me. Working with these players is what has attracted me.”
When Jose finishes you off for good. pic.twitter.com/1JYpKoShzz
— Pys (@CFCPys) November 20, 2019