Like the name of that bizarre James Bond film that didn’t quite qualify for the 007 franchise, never say never again. Jose Mourinho, ahead of the 2015 League Cup final between Mauricio Pochettino’s Tottenham Hotspur and a Chelsea team then led by him said would never even consider managing Spurs.
Citing an exit clause that prohibited him from managing in England for two years, Mourinho also said that his love for Chelsea supporters would inhibit him from even contemplating the idea of leading one of the Blues’ London rivals. Yet here we are, life comes at you fast, and Mourinho has taken the gig, just hours after Pochettino was sacked.
— FootballJOE (@FootballJOE) November 19, 2019
It’s a really interesting development for United fans, on both ends. Their most recent ex-manager is now back in the Premier League, with Spurs and United facing each other in just two weeks from today. Additionally, one of the most rumored MUFC managerial targets in recent years is now available on the open market.
With the Red Devils off to a disappointing start this season, there could be some heat on current boss Ole Gunnar Solskjaer, and if the results continue to underwhelm, then chatter about potentially bringing Poch in could ramp up again.
It’s all made for a lot of Mourinho and Pochettino chatter on Twitter today, so with that in mind, here are some of the better, funnier and more thought-provoking tweets that we’ve seen on these topics.
Nemanja Matic waking up to hear Jose Mourinho is the new Spurs manager pic.twitter.com/m9mez7YLY5
— Ireland Simpsons Fans (@iresimpsonsfans) November 20, 2019
We certainly expected a tweet like the one above; especially so with Matic frozen out at United and likely to leave.
Mourinho working for Daniel Levy could bring a lot of unintentional comedy, as you have a manager who always demands a lot in player acquisition resources working for a guy who hates to spend money. Who knows, Mourinho might even get his notorious “third season syndrome” early in this setting.
Here are a few more tweets you should see ICYMI.
Mauricio Pochettino had a net spend of £109m over five-and-a-half years at Tottenham. Jose Mourinho almost matched that over a 12-week period in 2018. Extraordinary gamble from Daniel Levy.
— Daniel Storey (@danielstorey85) November 20, 2019
United fans were clamouring for Poch when Jose was destroying our club in his usual self-destruct mode. Nowhere close to the same feeling it seems from Spurs fans wanting Jose in over Poch. Premier League just became fascinating again, that’s one thing that’s for sure. #mufc
— Hesham Bilal-Hafiz (@hesham786) November 19, 2019
Red rover red rover, come on over…
What say you #MUFC fans?Ole to Director of Football…Poch to Manager? https://t.co/25woKLYNx1
— MUFChicago (@MUFChicago) November 19, 2019
Wrap him up and send him to Santa with a gift card that says Jose! Useless anyway but don't pick jokers like this who contribute nothing then banter our club pic.twitter.com/PB5heSI808
— The United Stand (@UnitedStandMUFC) November 20, 2019
It’s going to be fun to watch- that’s for sure.
Paul M. Banks runs The Sports Bank.net, which is 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,” regularly appears on WGN CLTV and co-hosts the “Let’s Get Weird, Sports” podcast on SB Nation.
You can follow Banks, a former writer for NBC Chicago.com and Chicago Tribune.com on Twitter here and his cat on Instagram at this link.