José Mourinho replaces Mauricio Pochettino as Tottenham manager as Spurs Specials open

In the modern age of the internet, it’s incredibly rare for big news to occur as swiftly as the recent events at the Tottenham Hotspur stadium.

At around 19:40 Tuesday evening, it was dramatically announced that Mauricio Pochettino had been sacked, bringing an end to five successful years at the club despite a slow start to the current campaign.

In an official club statement, Tottenham’s chairman, Daniel Levy, said:

“We were extremely reluctant to make this change and it is not a decision the Board has taken lightly, nor in haste.

“Regrettably domestic results at the end of last season and beginning of this season have been extremely disappointing.

“It falls to the Board to make the difficult decisions – this one made more so given the many memorable moments we have had with Mauricio and his coaching staff – but we do so in the Club’s best interests.”

José Mourinho, out of a job in management since being sacked by Manchester United last December, was strongly linked as his replacement.

Less than twelve hours after Pochettino was sacked, Mourinho has now been confirmed as Spurs’ new boss.

Levy is clearly not a man hanging around. On the appointment, he commented:

 “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.”

The bookmakers have been equally quick-fire, opening a range of Mourinho markets this morning.

With 25 trophies to his name as a manager, it’s perhaps unsurprising that you can only get 2/1 on him to add another with Spurs this season.

This seems paltry odds, though, given their only realistic chance lies in the FA Cup – unless they can miraculously go one step further than last campaign in the Champions League.

At twice the odds, 4/1 on a top-four finish looks better value. Spurs have not finished outside the top four since Pochettino’s first season in 2014/15.

But with them currently eleven points adrift of Manchester City in fourth, and Leicester City and Chelsea both looking strong a point ahead of City, it’s certainly not a bet I’d be rushing into making.

If you’re confident of the ‘new manager bounce’ being taken to the extreme, you can get odds of 200/1 for Tottenham to win the Champions League and FA Cup double this season.

On the flip-side, the same long-shot odds are available for them to be relegated.

Somehow, I think reality will play out somewhere in the middle. 11/1 for them to win the FA Cup, then, seems good value.

Above all, Mourinho prides himself on his trophy count – and Spurs are certainly a side lacking one in recent times, having not won one since the League Cup in 2008.

Pochettino, meanwhile, is 5/4 to become the next Bayern Munich manager – and belatedly be reunited with Philippe Coutinho after Spurs missed out on the Brazilian playmaker in the summer – after the German champions recently sacked Niko Kovac.