Fulham manager Scott Parker and Tottenham Hotspur boss Jose Mourinho are clashing over the hastily rearranged game between their two sides that will now take place tomorrow. (Tottenham team news, starting XI prediction here)
Spurs had been scheduled to face Aston Villa on Wednesday, but a COVID-19 outbreak at the Midlands club, which forced the closure of their training ground, is wreaking havoc on their season. As for Fulham, they have recently suffered a COVID outbreak as well, as their Dec. 30 match against Spurs was postponed just two hours before kickoff.
While their had been chatter about rescheduling this game for Jan. 13 for awhile, the official announcement didn’t come down until Monday.
This has Parker fuming about having to play a league game on less than 48 hours notice.
“To confirm that on Monday morning is scandalous. You’re constantly working out well in advance,” he said to the media.
The Craven Cottagers last played on Saturday, where they beat Queens Park Rangers in the third round. Spurs last played on Sunday, in the same competition, beating Marine in the tournament’s most lopsided match-up in the tournament’s history. So it’s actually Spurs, not Fulham, who come into this match on less rest.
With that in mind, Mourinho had no sympathy at all for Parker when he gave his media briefing. “Are you serious? They had 48 hours to prepare for this game,” Mourinho said in response to the decision and Parker’s remarks.
“Look, I had the news that I wasn’t going to play them two hours before the game started.”
Tottenham head into this match 4th in the table with 29 points. Fulham come in 18th, three points below the safety zone, and currently in a relegation slot.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank, partnered with News Now. Banks, the author of “No, I Can’t Get You Free Tickets: Lessons Learned From a Life in the Sports Media Industry,” has regularly appeared in WGN, Sports Illustrated, Chicago Tribune and SB Nation. Follow him on Twitter and Instagram.