Next Manager Watch

[Harrier]

Well, he's coached in the Australian League (to great success), the Japanese League (to great success), the Australian National Team (with relative success) and most recently, Celtic with success. At Celtic he brought in a group of japanese players, something no European manager would ever consider because the Asian Leagues are generally looked down upon as inferior. This proved to be a hugely successful point of difference.

I'm not saying Postecoglou is a guaranteed success at Tottenham, but at the very least he should be strongly preferred to the "been there, done thats" like Brendan Rodgers and co.

None of which that are even remotely comparable to the Premier League.

Still to be convinced.

 

[SUIYHA]

 

[Tucker]

We did have ITK in here a couple months ago saying the names that were shortlisted were done mainly through data analysis of coaches that had overachieved and played attacking football etc... I'm pretty sure Ange was part of that original longlist.

We did? I don’t remember that at all.

 

[mil1lion]

Still absolute crickets on Nagelsmann's future from anywhere as far as I've seen. I still think we could be in for him, personally, if largely due to a lack of other options for him elsewhere. The word put out by the club has always been us distancing ourselves for legal reasons imo.

The whole situation the past few weeks feels like a protracted courting of the bloke to me, leveraging interest in other managers along he way, as while other managers are touting themselves to available jobs Nagelsmann has but a tentative link to Napoli from all of today.

Just seems off considering the position he finds himself in.

That said, I would be happy with Ange, Mason, or whoever is willing to get the ball down and play the Tottenham way. It's been too, too long, and for me that's what I care about above all else. Fuck all this nonsense about "accepting mediocrity". It's a fucking game, and I want to enjoy watching the football. I don't want to win anything playing some dire old shite and never did. I'd rather us play nice football that I care about but win nothing as far as I'm concerned.

Only silent on Nagelsmann because there's nothing available for him. I reckon he'll take time off like Poch did and wait for the next big job. Maybe Real Madrid next summer.

 

[Whitey]

I think your second point is actually why I am happy with his potential selection. I think he has the personality and strength of character to not be deterred by the potential pressure from fans of steady progress. To build belief and confidence amongst the squad and to handle his fan relationships in a way that keeps us bought in and patient. He’s lovable and passionate.

I also get the impression he will work with the football operation rather than be distant and flippant of them.

Agree, We need character in who ever manages this project.... We had character in Conte but he was never backed to overhaul the squads character which is essentially what his final rant was about.. I'm not fussed who gets the job... as long as Levy still has final say on any re-build/project it will be a lottery, £2 stake 45.000.000 to 1.... I think that's Levy's favourite gamble, low risk high reward.

 

[bridgman]

I was sceptical about Slot initially, but with further digging I could see the reasoning behind going for him - over performing, winning the league in a traditional two horse race as the outsider, rebuilding a team to a higher level after losing your best players, going toe to toe with teams from other European leagues etc.

Other than an attacking brand of football and being a good orator I see far less to convince me that Postecoglou is the answer.

I’m very open to being convinced as I was with Slot, but so far I’m not.

I cannot comment on someone like Slot because I am not familiar with him.

My support for Ange is relative to alternatives like Rodgers and Potter (who I am familiar with), along with the idea that we "must" hire someone with high stature when past examples prove that isn't always the best choice.

I like the idea of appointing Ange because it defies convention, he has a good track record of turning things around, he plays an attacking brand of football and always seems to get all his players on-board and driven to succeed.

@bridgman I notice you’ve joined today and are straight into vehemently championing the Postecoglou cause.

Are you part of the recently rumoured THFC social media manager acceptance mission?!

I joined because I came across a daily mail article about some clown making a dumb tweet: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...gn-stop-Ange-Postecoglou-Spurs-EPL-coach.html

and it made me really feel like making a case for Postecoglou.

 

[Phil_2.0]

I don't think you can compare much of what Ange has done at Celtic to what he could do at Spurs. In Scotland he has huge budget relative to most of the league and gets to bring in who he wants relative to that.

Coming to Spurs he will be coming to a team that finished rightfully 8th and won't get to bring in exactly who he wants.

Would be interested to know the budgets of other teams he's coached and whether he outperformed expectations. Whether he also spent a lot of money to do it because what Spurs need right now is a smart tactician to keep our heads above water, implement a style whilst we clear out a lot of junk which will take 3 windows.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

We did? I don’t remember that at all.

Yeah, it was by someone who ended up deleting it in the end because he said "too much". It was a series of pretty comprehensive posts though. Even naming the person on the board(I had to Google them) who was conducting the initial interviews.

I can't remember the name of the poster but they are on here pretty regularly so i'm sure it wasn't BS.

 

[Trix]

Even if you argue we didn't back those managers sufficiently enough, that doesn't mean they couldn't have done better with what they had, or that it made sense to hire them in the first place. Pochettino had this squad making top 4 consistently, including an 87 point season in 2016-2017. Even when things started going bad in 2019, our squad was still built for attacking, high-pressure football. It did not make sense to hire a manager renown for defensive/negative football. The two most successful teams for the past half a decade have been Manchester City and Liverpool; what kind of football have they been playing?

Leicester proved you can win the Premier League with a vastly inferior squad without any kind of complex, long-term plan. Sure, it's not as simple this time around with Man City finishing on 90+ points regularly, but at the end of the day, it makes far more sense to pick a wildcard option like Ange Postecoglou than a crab like Brendan Rodgers or Graham Potter.

Completely agree. Any good skilled person in any field will tell you though it doesn't take long for you to lose focus and pride in what you are doing if you are being asked to achieve something special and half way through they half your funding or start giving you substandard/alternate materials to what you require. I'm not making excuses for either JM or AC they could/should have done better, and as you say they should never have been appointed in the first place if they were never going to be given what they would inevitably required. We 100% can not make this mistake again on the next guy. If JN wants what the the board aren't prepared to give he should be off the table.

At the same time the board should be giving everything they can give within their power to whoever it is regardless of whether they are a demanding coach or someone who will make do with what they are given. This is where I think we fall down every single time. IMO we have given the minimum we can get away with in most instances over the years, and ended up spending on panic buys to rectify situations that should never have occurred.

 

[Whitey]

But that's not really the point.

There are some more experienced managers we could have appointed who are far less risk.

We are suppose to be a Top club, but we aren't acting like one.

It's similar to when we need a quality player to take us to the next level but end up taking a punt on the 3rd or 4th choice player instead because they are far cheaper. We end up with far more misses than hits and the team suffers.

After the Nuno experience, you'd have thought we had learned, but we haven't.

To not talk to JN and to ignore Poch to take a punt on Ange is inexcusable, especially when our world class striker who has just a year left on his contract and has spent the last 4 years asking for us to show some ambition.

Ahhhh I'd say were a Top Business FC.....not a Top Football Club nowadays...

 

[bridgman]

None of which that are even remotely comparable to the Premier League.

Still to be convinced.

By that measure, I suppose you would've dismissed Alex Fergusen as an acceptable candidate back in the 80s? After all, coaching Aberdeen in Scotland simply isn't "comparable" to the Premier League.

I don't know, you seem to like Slot. What makes the Eredivisie "comparable" to the Premier League? It depends on how you're going to define comparable.

 

[Harrier]

I joined because I came across a daily mail article about some clown making a dumb tweet: https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/f...gn-stop-Ange-Postecoglou-Spurs-EPL-coach.html

and it made me really feel like making a case for Postecoglou.

Not that Spurs Community was next on the PR dept’s list then?!

 

[spursfan77]

We did have ITK in here a couple months ago saying the names that were shortlisted were done mainly through data analysis of coaches that had overachieved and played attacking football etc... I'm pretty sure Ange was part of that original longlist. The only person that was added to the list due to recommendation was Enrique (who Paratici has pushed for).

I think it all has been a longer drawn out process than we would have all liked. Especially with how the season ended up becoming a complete car crash. However I wouldn't call the recruitment a 'mess'. It seems to me we compiled a long list, made some enquiries, cut that to a shortlist of Ange, Amorim, Enrique, Slot and had initial conversations with each of them. At this point Amorim and Slot were both frontrunners but for whatever reason Slot decided he wanted to stay at Feyonoord and signed a new contract. Reading between the lines it seems we are now waiting to give Ange a second interview but can't yet until he's finished the season with Celtic.

If you believe every bit of ITK, journo tweet, blog post etc... it will seem like a complete mess but I think it's more long and drawn out than just a mess.

Where I do agree with you is that we definitely should have sorted a DOF by now. I can only think it is due to us looking for a specific skillset if we're aiming to take a data-led approach. It needs to be sorted ASAP though as we have so much to do to reshape our squad. And as much as i'm sure work is already being done by our existing recruitment team that strategic lead needs to be in place so we can make meaningful progress ahead of next season.

Ok cool, I missed that. Agree with your post entirely btw. I still think there’s a good week or so to run and I wouldn’t be surprised if we go through all this again with a couple of other candidates again before it reaches a climax. Just not to got to live through every twist and turn during that time, it’s pointless.

There’s a huge piece in the athletic today about slot and him not actually wanting to come because he was comfortable where he is. It’s going to be spun massively negatively against us. Going to be a day to miss twitter etc!

 

[Sp3akerboxxx]

By that measure, I suppose you would've dismissed Alex Fergusen as an acceptable candidate back in the 80s? After all, coaching Aberdeen in Scotland simply isn't "comparable" to the Premier League.

I don't know, you seem to like Slot. What makes the Eredivisie "comparable" to the Premier League? It depends on how you're going to define comparable.

Any of the top 5 in the Eredivisie would walk the SPL.

Also, if your most recent example of a successful transition from SPL to EPL is Alex Ferguson, then I think you are supporting the person you replied to.

 

[Harrier]

By that measure, I suppose you would've dismissed Alex Fergusen as an acceptable candidate back in the 80s? After all, coaching Aberdeen in Scotland simply isn't "comparable" to the Premier League.

I don't know, you seem to like Slot. What makes the Eredivisie "comparable" to the Premier League? It depends on how you're going to define comparable.

Alex Ferguson won it by breaking the monopoly of the old firm in much the same way Slot has just done. He also proved himself in Europe.

Not in the slightest bit comparable to the Postecoglou circumstances IMHO.

 

[glacierSpurs]

I highly suspect Levy and the board members are spending their time in board meetings laughing and being entertained at our eternal loop of discussions. There really is no reason for them to be doing this a 2nd time.

 

[RobjDerby]

Completely agree. Any good skilled person in any field will tell you though it doesn't take long for you to lose focus and pride in what you are doing if you are being asked to achieve something special and half way through they half your funding or start giving you substandard/alternate materials to what you require. I'm not making excuses for either JM or AC they could/should have done better, and as you say they should never have been appointed in the first place if they were never going to be given what they would inevitably required. We 100% can not make this mistake again on the next guy. If JN wants what the the board aren't prepared to give he should be off the table.

At the same time the board should be giving everything they can give within their power to whoever it is regardless of whether they are a demanding coach or someone who will make do with what they are given. This is where I think we fall down every single time. IMO we have given the minimum we can get away with in most instances over the years, and ended up spending on panic buys to rectify situations that should never have occurred.

Making compromises means nobody is happy....

 

[chas vs dave]

We are not that far off a relegation battle. I am not saying we will be in one but appoint the wrong coach and it is possible.

We are just as close to the title, in terms of points, and thats nowhere near. So hardly not far off a relegation battle.

 

[bridgman]

Any of the top 5 in the Eredivisie would walk the SPL.

Also, if your most recent example of a successful transition from SPL to EPL is Alex Ferguson, then I think you are supporting the person you replied to.

...people like you continue to miss the point.

I wish people would stop hyperfocusing on this "he only won the title with Celtic", completely turning a blind eye to the bigger picture, or better yet, his past jobs.

 

[Whitey]

Can't we sign Mason to a 3 year deal and loan him out to like a Leicester or a team with a chance at Championship Promotion to see if he can get good experience. We can do it with players, let's try doing it with a manager

Interesting idea.... I think you'd have to go down lower in the league. But would Mason like/trust Levy having that much control over his progress/career? Just in off chance he might get a crack at managing our 1st team permanently...