BIG SAM’S PALACE KING
THE season of goodwill is upon us... but Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino and Victor Wanyama know it will be in short supply on their return to former club Southampton.
Pochettino has copped plenty of flak on previous visits to his old stamping ground with Spurs.
And midfielder Wanyama, who followed his boss to north London in an £11million summer move, is sure to get the same toxic treatment during his first return on Boxing Day Monday.
Wanyama, though, will be hoping to silence the boo-boys with another impressive display and the fact that he will want to do well against his old club will be a factor in Pochettino’s mind when it comes to choosing his starting line-up.
The Argentine has an abundance of talent in central midfield, and, for much of the season, he has f avoured Wanyama (right, top) and Mousa THE King is dead, long live the King!
Sam Allardyce (right) has received the call to the Palace and will ascend the throne after Steve Parish decided the time had come to axe Alan Pardew.
Allardyce’s immediate task will be lifting a group off players gutted to see Pardew leave – it was evident they were Dembeleb l ini theh defensivedf i midfield roles.
Toby Alderweireld’s injury meant Eric Dier was used for a good spell in central defence, but the Belgian is fit again and returned to the heart of defence, meaning Wanyama, Dembele and Dier (right, second top) are all in competition for places.
Prospect
Pochettino will have to ensure he keeps all three happy, and Dier admitted, only a couple of weeks ago, that the pressure is on to keep a starting spot in the team after a slow start to the season.
Pochettino can also turn to young Harry Winks ( second bottom), who has emerged as a real prospect this season.
So much so, that the 20-yearold Winks has overtaken Tom Carroll in the pecking order, with the 24- year- old available to leave the club for £4million in “Winning the Premier League and bringing it to North London: A How To Guide” by Arsene Wenger still playing for him up to his final game in charge. Tha That 1-0 defeat at home to Ch Chelsea last Saturday, however, proved to be the f final straw for Chairman Parish and the club’s majority shareholders, Am Americans Joshua Harris andd DDavid Blitzer. And Pards was asked to step down on Thursday with a January. Winks has been told by Pochettino that he will be involved in every game now, ow, whether it is from the bench or as a starter.
The disappointment of last season – failing to beat Leicester to the title and then being pipped, dramatically, by y their north London rivalslsl Arsenal into second – t ook its t oll on Tottenham.
And Dier, Harry Kane (right, bottom), Dele Alli, Danny Rosee and Kyle Walker all found nd it tough to bounce back from their difficult summer with England.
But last season Spurs didn’t really spark until December and three wins in their last four ur Premier League out- ings – the other result was a 1-0 defeat by Manchester United – suggestst they are on the up again. Those victories were well needed, however, on £3million pay-off to soften the blow.
Allardyce is the man Palace have turned to – beating Swansea, who also wanted him, and convincing him to shun lucrative offers from China.
He and Parish are not a natural fit for each other, but Allardyce Original video copy of The Sting the back of one defeat and four draws in six top-flight matches saw them drop points on th their title rivals. And that run was compounded by a miserable couple of results in Europe, w which saw t hem re relegated f rom t he Ch Champions League to t the Europa League. Poch can at least f orget about t he travails of European f football until February an and concentrate on get getting his side back into th the title race. And the next couple of weeks will be crucial i n terms of them a aiming for top spot or justju for the top four. TheyT sit 10 points behindb leaders Chelsea i in fifth, but just four points behind secondplace Liverpool. And, with both C Chelsea and Ma Manchester City coming up next month, it could be a do-or-die month for Pochettino and Co. told pals he liked the look of the Palace squad in recent weeks and he is confident he can get the tune out of them that Pardew no longer could.
The former England manager will be in the stands on Boxing Day for the early kick-off at Watford.
And then he will be taking full charge of the Eagles for the trip to Arsenal on New Year’s Day.