- Aug 30, 2010
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By sacking Harry after he finished fourth, Levy basically set the criteria for Spurs managers: you must finish 4th or better by playing good Spurs-style football. I think the pressure on this next appointment working out will be pretty intense. And some of that is Levy's own making. His statements, using the terms "head coach" and 'winning some matches but not in the style we're accustomed to' point to his criteria for the new man. And the fans obsession with interviews and how the manager comes across seems to also be a baffling component of Levy's thinking.
So AVB was given a little lee-way after only finishing fifth, but lost that lee-way with turgid footy the season after. Sherwood had us playing more watchable footy with decent results, but ultimately fell short of the 4th place criterion and sin't liked for being an honest and outspoken interviewee.
The suggestion that the new man will be given lots of time to finish 6th or 7th seems unrealistic. Levy has chosen to back his DoF structure; he and Baldini will appoint a new head-coach. And that head-coach will be sacked if he doesn't attain Harry's level of performance and a 4th place finish. Great if it works. If it doesn't, then it's a question of whether Levy will again dismantle the DoF structure, or just replace Baldini and the coach.
If 5th/6th is our glass ceiling, we'll continue to have a 9 manager in 13 years rate of replacement.
I don't think 4th place is compulsory. I think playing watchable football is, and that was AVB's downfall. Sherwood on the other hand, put his own agenda first and promoted his own protégés, alienating some very good/expensive players in the process. Both failed badly at man management and I personally didn't think Sherwood's football was much better than AVB's, unless you enjoy watching a potential train wreck every week.