In the days that have followed Jose Mourinho’s sacking by Tottenham Hotspur, the Portuguese has taken to posting memories of happier times on Instagram.
Winning the Copa del Rey with Real Madrid, dashing Liverpool’s hopes of the title, and best of all, the pinnacle of his career embodied into that frantic dash onto the pitch after Inter Milan outwitted Barcelona in arguably his greatest tactical victory.
Since Spurs swallowed up and spat out this once-special mastermind, they have subsequently fallen at the first hurdle in a quest to create some modern glory of their own.
Ryan Mason was denied a fairytale triumph at Wembley, despite opting for a gameplan that was straight out of his predecessor’s textbook. It confirmed, in the interim manager’s words, that the north Londoners remain “four or five years” behind Manchester City, and all but ensured he will remain an interim coach and nothing more for now.
Then came more misery for Daniel Levy. His first choice candidate for the vacant managerial role, Julian Nagelsmann, had agreed to take over at Bayern Munich. Whatever that says about the state of the Bundesliga, that the manager of second-placed RB Leipzig should lose all pretence of competition and go to their nearest rivals in the table, it says a lot about the task ahead of Levy, too.
At least Brendan Rodgers might have been considered pliable, until anybody actually asked him.
“Tottenham is a fantastic club, it’s one of the big clubs in this country, it’s a huge club,” the Leicester boss said. Then, with the necessary niceties out of the way: “My focus is purely here. I’m at a world-class training facility, the project we’re in here, we still want to develop, we still have a lot of work to do here.
“I have a great connection with the players and the board, and we have plans to keep progressing.”
While Rodgers is clear about where he’ll be next season, his suitors remain in quandary. And so the job which may have finally reduced the once-great Mourinho to the scrapheap doesn’t seem to be tempting many of Europe’s current crop of elite managers either.
That comes in spite of a £1billion stadium and a squad boasting Harry Kane and Son Heung-min, one which has qualified for the Champions League in four of the last five seasons. It is also a club full of untapped potential, from promising defenders Japhet Tanganga and Joe Rodon to fully-fledged but underperforming internationals like Steven Bergwijn and Harry Winks. That ought to incentivise any ambitious young coach.
Levy has been here before, at least. When Glenn Hoddle was sacked in 2003, he suggested the job would be unattractive to top candidates so long as David Pleat was in charge as director of football. So it proved, with Pleat staying on as caretaker manager for the entire season.
Odds on next Spurs manager
*All odds via Betfair and correct at the time of writing
- Erik ten Hag 21-10 (was 4-1)
- Maurizio Sarri 4-1 (was 7-2)
- Brendan Rodgers 13-2
- Oliver Glasner 10-1
- Rafa Benitez 14-1
- Massimiliano Allegri 14-1
- Eddie Howe 14-1
- Scott Parker 14-1
- Nuno Espirito Santo 14-1
- Roberto Martinez 14-1
- Ryan Mason 14-1
- Graham Potter 16-1
- Jurgen Klinsmann 16-1
- Ralf Rangnick 16-1
- Marcelino 18-1
- Gareth Southgate 20-1
- Steven Gerrard 20-1
- Ledley King 20-1
- Daniel Farke 25-1
- Jesse Marsch 25-1
The Spurs post ought to be a far more enticing proposition now, but there are a number of challenges lying ahead this summer which might be making coaches think twice.
Is Harry Kane staying?
Kane’s future remains in the balance and in an interview with Sky Sports released on Wednesday, he reiterated his frustration at not winning silverware. “I want to be winning the biggest prizes as a team and we are not quite doing that,” he said.
A Carabao Cup would arguably have done little to appease the England captain at any rate, but a third runners-up medal in six years certainly won’t take pride of place on his mantlepiece.
The ‘painful rebuild’
Mauricio Pochettino warned it would be painful to overhaul Tottenham’s squad. So many of the key cogs of the Argentine’s title-challenging machine have now moved on, from Mousa Dembele and Christian Eriksen to Jan Vertonghen and Kyle Walker.
There is also a question mark over Hugo Lloris and Dele Alli’s long-term commitment. There were elements of the current Spurs team which hinted at Mourinho’s own stamp. Pierre-Emile Hojbjerg, Sergio Reguilon and Gareth Bale were all his signings, but more will be needed to address the gulf that has emerged between Tottenham and the Premier League’s top sides.
The spending (or lack of it)
Indeed, it is not entirely clear how many of Mourinho’s signings reflected his own wishes. It is plausible that he demanded another centre-back, but a 23-year-old from the Championship? Likewise, if Spurs were looking for a right-back to swap in and out of a stationary back four, did Matt Doherty really fit the bill?
The purse strings are expected to be tighter than ever, too, after a year without gate receipts and the costly consequences of withdrawing from the European Super League.
The weight of expectation
In spite of everything that has gone wrong at Tottenham since the 2019 Champions League final, there is still a sense that this is a club that should be winning things.
The trophy drought will now extend into its 14th year after the Carabao Cup final defeat and even the old superstition of the year ending in a one wasn’t powerful enough to attract even one of the less glamorous domestic honours.
Spurs are still optimistic of making an appointment soon – though the odds aren’t exactly illuminative as to who it will be, or how they are going to tempt them.
More on Tottenham
- Daniel Storey: Loyalty the only logical reason for Kane to stay at declining Spurs
- Tottenham have finally found their front four – what was Mourinho waiting for?
- Revealed: Spurs overtake Man City as the Premier League’s ‘most valuable club’
- Pep vs Jose isn’t just about contrasting visions – it’s a meeting of hope vs dread
- Winks exclusive: ‘Xavi and Iniesta comparisons are nice – but I need to improve’
from Football – inews.co.uk https://ift.tt/3eGQkqs
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