Jose leaps back into hot seat
What a start to the weekend with a likely R30-million TAB Soccer 13 pool and Jose Mourinho’s first match in charge of Spurs who clash with fellow under-achievers West Ham in a London derby.
The drama at Tottenham Hotspur in midweek adds a massive dollop of spice to the resumption of the Premier League at the weekend and to that you can add the chance to win life-changing amounts of cash in two Soccer 13 pools.
Both kick off with mega carryovers and tomorrow’s Soccer 13 pool is expected to total R30 million with Sunday set to hit R15 million.
Jose Mourinho took over immediately after the shock decision to sack Mauricio Pochettino less than six months on from the club’s first appearance in the Champions League final.
For Mourinho it is an opportunity to win more silverware at the highest level of the English and European game, and restore a reputation sullied by an unsuccessful spell at Manchester United and being sacked by Real Madrid and Chelsea before that.
He has been out of work for the past 11 months and will be eager to get back to the training field after flitting from one TV studio to the next in recent months looking forlorn and listless.
The 56-year-old has signed a deal until mid-2023 after several days of talks, apparently beginning before Pochettino was shown the door.
The immediate reaction from Spurs players after the sacking, mostly on social media, bore proof of a strong bond between Pochettino and his charges and immediately there will be questions about whether Mourinho, with his prickly personality, can engender the same loyalty.
Spurs sit in an unfamiliar 14th place with a paltry three wins from 12 Premier League matches played this season. They need a top-four finish to ensure Champions League football again, which will help pay for their glittering new stadium, and Mourinho’s mission will be to quickly return the team to winning ways.
That begins as early as tomorrow lunchtime, when Spurs travel across London to the Olympic Stadium to a meeting with West Ham United. It is now a match as intriguing and appealing as the clash later in the day when Manchester City host Chelsea.
The Blues are beginning to find their feet under rookie manager Frank Lampard and given that City have suffered a few surprise setbacks already this season, it is not hard to see the possibility of Chelsea coming away from their trip with something.
It is certainly will be a lot better than last season’s 6-0 hammering which effectively ended the tenure of another coach Maurizio Sarri.
To take a bet, go to www.soccer6.co.za