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!