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While most soccer fans like to bet on the outcome of a big match, there are many who love to predict which Premier League manager will be the next to get the axe. This month has seen the Tottenham Hotspur manager Jose Mourinho quickly become the sportsbooks’ favourite to be sacked next. It would be another staggering fall from grace for the Portuguese manager who once declared himself to be ‘the special one’ after a remarkable run of success.
If you take a look at the best betting sites, then Mourinho is the clear favourite to be the next Premier League manager to leave their club. This is ahead of other under-fire managers like Newcastle United’s Steve Bruce and Roy Hodgson of Crystal Palace. So what is it that Mourinho has done to make himself such a likely candidate for getting the sack?
Tottenham have had a disastrous run in the Premier League over the past couple of months. It’s hard to believe that this is the same team that were at the top of the Premier League table at the start of December 2020. But Spurs have somehow managed to lose five of their last six Premier League games to find themselves slipping down to ninth place in the table.
While defeats against ‘big six’ teams like Liverpool, Manchester City and Chelsea were disappointing, they weren’t a huge shock. However, to see a team like Tottenham fall to defeats against the likes of Brighton and West Ham has meant that Spurs fans have been quick to turn on Mourinho.
Things got even worse when Tottenham were bumped out of the FA Cup by Everton. While the 5-4 defeat was an all-time FA Cup classic, it won’t have done Mourinho any favors. This is because he was brought to Tottenham in a bid to finally bring some silverware to the club. It’s been well over a decade since Spurs last won a trophy, and with both the FA Cup and Premier League title out of Mourinho’s grasp, he’s got two ways to redeem himself and keep his job.
The first of these is when Tottenham play Manchester City in the League Cup final on April 25. It will be a poignant moment seeing as the League Cup was the last trophy that Tottenham won back in 2008. But Tottenham will seriously have to raise their game if they have any hope of beating Manchester City. This is because Manchester City have won their last 18 games in a row, and it’s hard to see who is going to stop the side claiming the all-time winning record.
While Spurs were the last team to beat Manchester City back in November, it seems that both sides have experienced a rapid reversal of fortunes since then. Nowhere was this better seen than when City thumped Spurs 3-0 this February. All of which means that Tottenham are the clear underdogs to win this year’s League Cup final.
Mourinho’s other option to redeem himself is to win this year’s Europa League. The Portuguese manager has previously been fairly dismissive of the competition, but he’s starting to show signs of taking it more seriously. Spurs have managed to get past their opponents in the Europa League without too much difficulty so far. But with plenty of big names in the competition left like Manchester United, Arsenal, Ajax, AC Milan and Roma, it seems that Tottenham have their work cut out.
Even if Mourinho managed to claim one of these trophies, it’s difficult to see that such a result would be enough to save his job. Reports have claimed that Mounrinho’s future will be decided at the end of the season. If Spurs are still stuck in mid-table limbo, it’s clear that this will not be enough for a club of Tottenham’s size.
But it’s not just the results that have gone against Mourinho. Many Tottenham fans have expressed their dissatisfaction with the team’s overly defensive style of play. Such tactics initially worked well for Tottenham this season. The team had one of the best defensive records in the league and the counter-attacking pairing of Harry Kane and Son Heung-Min seemed unstoppable.
However the team’s current lack in form is indicating that Tottenham’s Premier League opponents may have figured them out. Plus it’s worth noting that Mourinho has never really settled how he wants his defensive unit to play. With players like Eric Dier and Davinson Sanchez looking weak in defense, it has meant that Mourinho’s tactics of ‘parking the bus’ simply won’t work.
Mourinho has a famously ‘unique’ personality that means that he might not always receive support from the fanbase. He’s already taken to publicly criticizing the performances of Spurs’ stars like Gareth Bale and Dele Alli, and it’s an approach that could easily backfire should the team’s run of form continue to deteriorate.
All of which has meant that there’s no shortage of speculation about who could replace Mourinho should he leave. Already there are rumors that Brendan Rodgers could be encouraged to leave Leicester City, while the ex-Bournemouth manager Eddie Howe is another favored candidate. Chances are that Tottenham boss Daniel Levy won’t make a decision until the end of the current Premier League campaign. All of which means that Mourinho has a matter of weeks to save his job.
