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BREAKING NEWS: Jose Mourinho sacked as Tottenham Hotspur manager

By BBC
Football News Jose Mourinho
APR 19, 2021 LISTEN
Jose Mourinho

Jose Mourinho has been sacked by Tottenham after just 17 months in charge.

The Portuguese replaced Mauricio Pochettino as Spurs manager in November 2019 and guided the club to sixth in the Premier League last season.

They are currently seventh, having picked up two points from their past three league games, and were knocked out of the Europa League in March.

Spurs face Manchester City in the Carabao Cup final on Sunday.

This season, Mourinho suffered 10 league defeats in a single campaign for the first time in his managerial career.

No Premier League side has lost more points from winning positions this season than Spurs, who have dropped 20.

On Sunday, Tottenham were one of six Premier League clubs to announce they were joining a new European Super League.

Mourinho's last game in charge was a 2-2 league draw at Everton on Friday.

  • How has Mourinho performed at Tottenham?

Mourinho was brought in to take Tottenham to the next level, to do what Mauricio Pochettino could not do and win Tottenham a trophy.

But Spurs finished sixth in the league last year and are now seventh, with almost no chance of Champions League qualification for next season.

They are out of the Europa League and only have a Carabao Cup final on Sunday against Manchester City as a chance to win a trophy. They are further away from the elite than they were under Pochettino.

  • Why have they decided to get rid of the manager?

Tottenham saw Mourinho as their way to get back into the Champions League but now that is impossible, he was on borrowed time.

The club were also unhappy with Mourinho's constant criticism of the players in public, and very conscious of how the fans had turned on Mourinho.

They knew that if the fans came back to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium they would make their feelings on Mourinho very clear. That scenario has now been avoided.

  • How have Spurs played recently?

After their bright start to the season, which saw the north London club top the league in November, Spurs have struggled to find any sort of consistency this season.

Their form has nosedived particularly of late, with only one league win in their last five games. The run has included defeats against rivals Arsenal and Manchester United.

Spurs also crashed out of the Europa League round of 16 last month, following a humiliating 3-0 loss in the second leg at Dinamo Zagreb.

  • What will his legacy at Spurs be?

Mourinho provided some stability after the departure of Pochettino in November 2019 and did at least secure Europa League football for this season.

But his legacy has been to make no real progress while also creating friction between the players and fans, that will need to be fixed by the new manager.

NB: With additional information from theathletic.com

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