Battle of the Bosses: Jose Mourinho moans again; Mauricio Pochettino outwitted

Gareth Ainsworth may be diametrically opposed to Mauricio Pochettino in every way. While the Spurs boss is effortlessly continental, distinguished with flashes of South American flair, the Wycombe Wanderers manager is the epitome of lower league football. He probably had a Pukka Pie for his breakfast before Saturday’s FA Cup clash between the two clubs.

But for 90 minutes the two men were equals. Wycombe came within seconds of claiming a replay, and minutes of dumping out Spurs altogether. Pochettino might have got the better of Pep Guardiola this season, but Ainsworth presented a different kind of challenge. The kind of challenge that requires an analogue solution.

Late goals from Dele Alli and Son Heung-min saw Spurs over the line, but Pochettino had already been out-tacticked by his League Two counterpart by that point. Ainsworth might soon receive a few calls from some Premier League managers asking him how he did it.

There are certain things you can always count on Jose Mourinho to rail against, and fixture congestion is one of them. “I can imagine we're going to have some nice gifts, like Watford today, they had an amazing gift. They played today in the FA Cup and they play on Tuesday in the Premier League. It's a laugh,” he moaned after Man Utd’s win over Wigan.

“So many matches played yesterday, how is it possible a team plays today and plays Tuesday again? It's an absolute nonsense. This is not just for Watford. I know many of those surprises will be waiting for us. Compare it with other clubs. Liverpool will play 16 matches, Chelsea will play 16, plus some in the FA Cup, and we're in this really crazy situation.”

And so Mourinho will protest outside Wembley, because that’s how things work now. He already started his demonstration by shaving his head. What did you think that was all about?

Bastian Schweinsteiger and Mourinho don’t see eye to eye on a lot of things. The former is a Harry Potter fan, the latter prefers Lord of the Rings. One gets garlic bread with their chicken at Nando’s, the other peri-peri chips. On Sunday, however, the two men came together as one.

Handed his first start of the season, Schweinsteiger impressed in the 4-0 win over Wigan Athletic, assisting and even finding the back of the net. But was it all a Mourinho ploy? Did he hand the German a starting place in order to persuade him to stay at the club beyond January, with the sole intention of making him train with the kids again once February comes? Maybe by being kind Mourinho was actually being cruel. Will we ever see you again, Bastian?

Arsene Wenger, even after a 5-0 away win over Southampton, believes everyone is out to get him. Wenger versus The People. “Those who don’t like me, any sentence will be too lenient,” he pointed out, taking aim at those who believe he should have been handed more than just a four-match ban for pushing an official last week.

“They would like to put me in jail somewhere without anything in the middle of winter, and that will still be lenient.” At least Wenger would have his big zippy jacket to keep him warm in jail in the middle of winter. It would seem Arsenal are better with Steve Bould on the bench, anyway.

Jurgen Klopp is perhaps the only person on earth who misses 2016. Sure, the last 12 months might have witnessed a cultural and political apocalypse, but at least Liverpool were good. Now, however, in 2017, they are losing games quicker than Donald Trump can sign executive orders, the only difference being they can’t keep anything out, allowing everything in instead. Even against lower league opposition.

Liverpool have won just one of their eight games this year, losing three on the bounce at Anfield. Between Swansea, Southampton and Wolves, Klopp’s side have conceded six times in their last three home fixtures, with Saturday’s FA Cup exit the nadir of his time on Merseyside. The trademark grin is fast becoming a grimace.

When Pep Guardiola said he was going to experiment in Saturday’s FA Cup clash with Crystal Palace, the mind boggled. Playing Pablo Zabaleta as a central midfielder - that hadn’t been experimentation? Or using Kevin De Bruyne as a false nine? One half expected Manchester City to play with Yaya Toure at right-back at Selhurst Park, such is the Guardiola way.

Instead, City turned in one of their most complete performances of the season so far, winning 3-0. The frontline of David Silva, Raheem Sterling, Leroy Sane and Gabriel Jesus had the look of a Guardiola frontline, with every attacker sharing responsibilities, intertwined with each other. Experimentation, in this instance, worked. Next up, Fabian Delph as a sweeper keeper.