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Mourinho sacked due to palpable discord with players: Emenalo
London: English football club’s technical director Michael Emenalo today stated that Jose Mourinho was sacked as the Chelsea coach due to the fact that he had palpable discord with the players.
Chelsea parted company with Mourinho by “mutual consent” on Thursday.
His departure comes seven months after he led them to the Premier League title. It was the Portuguese coach’s second spell at the club, taking charge in June 2013. He was previously at the helm from 2004-07.
His exit was marred by reports that he has fallen out with several key players within the team.
“It’s very easy to make that inference but it is not one the club accepts. Whilst there is huge sentiment for the individual who has done so much for the club, the fact of the matter remains that Chelsea Football Club is in trouble,” Emenalo said to chelseafc.com on Thursday.
“Anyone who loves the club, who has any kind of affiliation to the club, can understand that this club is in trouble, and something needed to be done.”
Chelsea won the Premier League and the League Cup last season, but have lost nine of their 16 league games so far and are 16th on the table, one point above the relegation place.
Mourinho’s final match was Monday’s 1-2 defeat at leaders Leicester City on Monday.
“This is the same group of players who won the league and the League Cup last season, they did it by sweating tears and blood. They played to instruction, they adhered to everything the manager asked them to do. It’s very easy to make that kind of inference (about the players) but it’s not one that club accepts,” Emenalo said.
“We know the players have a responsibility to prove everyone wrong and to show a level of commitment to the decision that’s been made to try to get the club up the table. That’s what they are were supposed to do and I believe that’s what they’ve been trying to do.”
Several high profile names including Pep Guardiola, Brendan Rodgers and Juande Ramos have been touted as possible successors with Dutchman Guus Hiddink emerging as the frontrunner to take over.
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Sunil Gavaskar gives his opinion of GT allrounder Rahul Tewatia
The left-handed batsman from Haryana is garnering praise from all quarters for the way he’s finishing games regularly in the most exciting IPL season.
Gavaskar reckons Tewatia’s whirlwind knock in Sharjah (in IPL 2020) where he smashed West Indies pacer Sheldon Cottrell for five sixes in an over, gave him the confidence that he belongs to the big stage.
Speaking on Cricket Live on Star Sports, Gavaskar said, “That assault on Sheldon Cottrell in Sharjah gave him the belief to do the impossible and the confidence that he belongs here. We saw the impossible (he did with the bat) the other day as well. There’s no twitching or touching the pads (which shows a batter’s nervousness) when he bats in the death overs. He just waits for the ball to be delivered and plays his shots. He’s got all the shots in the book, but most importantly his temperament to stay cool in a crisis is brilliant.”
Gavaskar has also nicknamed the 28-year-old cricketer the ‘ice-man’ and lauded Tewatia’s ability to remain unruffled during the tense moments.