He's gone… Conte! Who will be next? I name a few possibilities… what do you think?
He's gone… Conte! Who will be next? I name a few possibilities… what do you think?
Well, well, well… is anybody really surprised
after his outbursts, criticising the players, structure and the board. Of
course not!
I was a staunch supporter of Conte (and Mourinho)
when he/ they came… but his erratic behaviour and the team's inconsistency made
me change my mind.
I also thought that Levy was changing his
position when he hired these two managers and might be thinking along the same
lines as Chelski, City, and United… instead, he preferred keeping the bulk of
his money under lock and key and fuck the squad.
Whoever we get, I wish them well and that they live
long and prosper at Tottenham… I also hope they can break through Levy's
stubbornness and iron fist control.
Anyway, Conte's stormy tenure has ended after 16
months in charge, but with none of the silverware we hoped for.
He took the job in November 2021, which he had
initially turned down in the summer; Conte did deliver us Champions League
football and was backed in the transfer market (to a point). But he eventually failed
in all cup competitions.
After his failures – in cup competitions and erratic
performances in the League – he moved beyond repair when he delivered a
remarkable outburst following the draw at Southampton, in which he branded his
players "selfish" and criticised the Club's culture over the past 20
years.
Who
next…
Conte left the role by mutual consent after
being appointed in November 2021, with his assistant Cristian Stellini stepping
up as head coach with Ryan Mason, as his assistant, for the rest of the season.
But what next for us poor sods who have been
following the Club all our lives? Who will manage to end our trophy drought
that dates back to 2008?
I looked at some of the names already being
linked as our possible new manager…
Luis
Enrique
Age:
52 Nationality: Spanish. Club: out of work
He left his role as Spain boss after being
knocked out of the World Cup by Morocco in the last 16 in December, having
previously guided his country to the Euro 2020 semi-finals.
His most successful period as manager at the club
level came with Barcelona. Between 2014 and 2017, he won the Champions League
and guided them to two La Liga titles, three Copa del Reys, the Super Cup, the
Club World Cup and Spanish Super Cup.
My
Verdict; Better than some, but I don't fancy him.
Thomas
Frank
Age:
49 Nationality: Danish. Club: Brentford
Thomas Frank took Brentford into the Premier
League for the first time in their history and helped them to a creditable
13th-place finish last season. He has brought the Bees to the verge of a
European place this season, with the Club eighth in the Premier League. He has
worked wonders on an extremely limited budget and resources (Levy will like that
very much… I can imagine his mouth watering at hiring someone who can handle a
limited budget and resources).
My
Verdict: he hasn't had the experience managing a top club
like Tottenham. Yes, he has done wonders for a lowly team… but that differs
greatly from managing one of England's top six big clubs.
Oliver
Glasner
Age:
48 Nationality: Austrian' Club: Eintracht Frankfurt
The Eintracht Frankfurt boss is one of the
lesser-known managers. Glasner, whose contract expires in 2024, took Frankfurt
to an impressive Europa League win last season in their first European final
since 1980.
He previously led Wolfsburg into the Champions
League, having already impressed at Austrian side LASK.
Verdict:
his record doesn't scream success to me.
Ryan
Mason
Age:
31 Nationality: English. Club: Tottenham
He is a former Spurs midfielder. He was a member
of Conte's coaching staff and will be Stellini's assistant until the end of the
season.
He was the Club's interim boss in 2021 after the
sacking of Jose Mourinho and could fancy the job on a more permanent basis.
Verdict:
God, no! He has no top-flight experience managing such a big club, besides
relieving Mourinho… and that phase wasn't that brilliant. To appoint him would
set the Club back years. For me, if Levy appointed him, then it is to do with saving
money and somebody easy to manipulate. Which sounds right up Levy's street. Definitely
no!
Julian
Nagelsmann
Age:
35 Nationality: German. Club: Unattached
Has Nagelsmann's sacking from Bayern Munich presented us with an opportunity? He was replaced by Thomas Tuchel on Friday, despite having won the Bundesliga in his first season in charge and losing just three games this season to trail Dortmund by a point.
The former RB Leipzig boss had also guided
Bayern to the quarter-finals of the Champions League, with eight wins from
eight and seven clean sheets.
Verdict:
good credentials… Yes, for me. He also seems to be a fan of Tottenham.
Mauricio
Pochettino
Age:
50 Nationality: Argentine. Club: not at a club.
Pochettino was dismissed months later from Spurs
after getting us to the Champions League Cup final and went on to manage Ligue
1 giants Paris St-Germain, claiming the league title and cup in France before
leaving last summer.
Verdict:
for me, he is a step backwards. Definitely better than Child-Mason and a few
others… but a step back nevertheless.
Marco
Silva
Age:
45 Nationality: Portuguese. Club: Fulham
He guided Fulham to automatic promotion back
into the Premier League in May and, this season, has overseen a strong campaign
that sees them ninth in the table.
Silva first came to England to manage Hull City
in January 2017 and has also had spells in charge at Everton, Sporting Lisbon
and Olympiakos.
Verdict:
no,
again, not enough experience or no experience running a big club.
Cristian
Stellini
Age:
48 Nationality: Italian. Club: Tottenham
Stellin was Conte's assistant coach at Spurs and will step up as interim boss until the end of the season.
Conte appointed Stellini at Tottenham in
September 2021, but the Italian also worked under him at Juventus in 2012 and
at Inter Milan in 2019.
Verdict:
no, he is a Conte man. Nothing wrong with that, and he did a reasonable job
managing us in Conte's absence, but it would be a step backwards/ or staying
still.
Could he be offered a permanent job if the results
go his way? Hope not.
Roberto
de Zerbi
Age:
43 Nationality: Italian. Club: Brighton
De Zerbi has impressed hugely since being
appointed Brighton manager in September.
Verdict;
no, for the same reasons as given for Marco Silva & Thomas Frank
Zinedine
Zidane
Age:
50 Nationality: French. Club: no club at the moment.
Zidane is another high-profile manager out of
work.
A World Cup and European Championship winner
with France as a player, he won the Champions League three times and La Liga
twice as Real Madrid's boss.
Verdict:
no. I don't think he has the right temperament. Apart from that, I am not sure
he is the right fit.
I've recently heard (press inside knowledge…if
you can believe it!) Levy has four names on his shortlist: Brighton's Roberto
De Zerbi, Celtic's Ange Postecoglou and Luis Enrique, as well as my favourite, Julian
Nagelsmann. A Celtic manager, seriously? For fuck sake… bring back Conte, Mourinho
or Pochettino… anything that comes from a Scottish fishbowl-football has to be
a joke (only two teams are capable of winning something in that fishbowl). But
you never know with Levy… just look what he has achieved so far… one League cup
trophy in 22 years in charge of a Glories football team… now a butt of jokes. Putting that to one side…
…Thoughts…
Above are a few the press have been shouting
about… but what about Pep Guardiola? Ok, only joking (not as funny as the Scottish
one)… why would he come to Spurs and leave a successful club to work under Levy?
He's not nuts… No doubt you are thinking that the same could apply to the rest
of the managers I highlighted, true. But the others are not as high profile as Pep…
those that were (Conte/ Mourinho) thought they could change things and Levy's
mind and quickly fell on their backsides. Success for the pair everywhere else
apart from jinxed/ Spursey Tottenham/ Levy. Of course, I hope things change
when Levy appoints our next successor to Conte, and he suddenly wakes up and
smells the coffee… I also hope pigs will fly… but then again, Arsenic do when
they travel to competitions (by plane)… so I suppose anything is possible.
What do you think? Or do you have other names
that I haven't mentioned?
All the best, Glenn
COYS!
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