Where next for Levy’s Tottenham Hotspur?
Tottenham Hotspur continue to fight against the depths of mediocrity, but time and time again fail to complete the process in order to join Europe’s elite. Daniel Levy’s pride and joy have overseen attempted tenures of Managers who regard themselves as some of the best, Antonio Conte and Jose Mourinho, but both have failed to captivate fans and take the club to the brink of trophies.
Since Mauricio Pochettino successfully guided Spurs to a Champions League Final in 2019, the side has continuously fallen behind it’s competitors and looks a stagnant club playing in a behemoth of a Stadium.
Despite his successes, Pochettino would be removed in the following campaign, with Levy leaning on the idea that former Premier League maverick, Mourinho could take them over the line to a title. In the end Mourinho, would be branded a failure, and pressure would continue to build on Levy’s decision making.
In order to insight change, Levy would employ former Juventus Sporting Director, Fabio Paritici in 2021, to take up the same role at the club. Paritici would come in off the back of a record breaking nine consecutive Scudetto’s and one treble. Perfect, right? Not quite.
Paritici’s first move after one season was to bring in Antonio Conte, a Premier League winner with Chelsea and former colleague at Juventus. Only problem being was that Conte was known for being a Firestarter, after publicly leaving his last club, Inter Milan, due to their poor financial situation. And, that is exactly what Conte did, publicly slating Levy and his player’s, whilst Patrici was banned from all football for 30-months, due to his ongoings with finances at Juventus. Patrici later resigned.
All of this leaves Spurs without a Director of Football and a Manager, so where to look now?
Pochettino appears to be on his way to London rivals, Chelsea, so that rules him out. The apparent hottest young Manager in the world, Julian Nagelsmann is available after his dismissal from Bayern Munich, but seems a long shot as things stand.
Luis Enrique
Arguably the current favourite, now that Pochettino is seemingly going to the blue side, the former Barcelona and Spain boss certainly has the credibility to do the job. A Champions League winner and two-time La Liga winner, boasts a high-end CV, but the Spurs job would be a huge task.
Enrique likes a fluid style of football, focusing on passing movements, often playing without a recognized number nine, but can involve one, as he did with Alvaro Morata and Spain. Tottenham, having a number of high, attacking fullbacks, suits his style, but they would have to adapt to playing in a back four. Harry Kane, should he stay, would fit the character of a forward that Enrique likes, and the club does have ideal wide men that like the ball to feet.
Enrique’s biggest problem would be finding a cohesive side that can really push to the top, along with having communication that is seamless with Levy without a director, something he is not used to and which appeared to be a huge problem for Conte.
Vincent Kompany
The former Manchester City Captain is young in his managerial career, but has just led Burnley to an impressive campaign, as they returned to the Premier League, securing promotion with eight games left in the season.
Kompany began his managerial story at boyhood club Anderlecht, in Belgium and after two fairly successful years, Burnley took a chance on him as they attempted to return to the topflight at the first time of asking.
The appointment worked, as he won EFL Manager of the year as his team played some scintillating, fast flowing football, incorporating the club’s choice to target young players from England and around Europe.
Kompany, though he has played at the top, is hugely inexperienced and though there is a lot to take from his first year in English Football as a manager, it would be a huge ask for him to walk into the Spurs job. A project option, one that could work out indefinitely, but too early? Most likely.
Graham Potter
A full wildcard at this moment, but Potter could be a dark horse. Though his failed stint at Chelsea would make you believe he can’t handle the pressure, and the fact his pay-out would leave him not needing to work for a long time, this project could be ideal for both sides.
At Brighton, Potter created a fluid team, that could play several formations, and work with or without a target man. He also helped create a backroom infrastructure, that is now know for its technical ability withing scouting and player health and fitness. His work at Brighton, speaks for itself, and though his Chelsea tenure was deep rooted in problems, mainly being goalscoring without a forward, the underlining play and recruitment was there.
Potter would be a project manager, and would require long term support and transparency, whether a character like Levy would be willing to do that, is yet to be seen.
Tottenham continue to be somewhat of an experiment, since the highs of 2019, every decision made has seemed to go wrong one way or another. The next appointment at Spurs will no doubt be a huge one for Levy, with most believing it could be the be all or end all, of his tenure.
