Tottenham Hotspur beat Newcastle United 6-1 on Sunday. This defeat reduces their chances of qualifying for the Champions League. .
There is a chance this week could get even worse, with games ahead of Manchester United and Liverpool after the club sacked interim manager Christian Stellini on Monday night.
Longer-term issues need to be resolved after the season ends, such as the appointment of a manager and the future of Harry Kane.
Chief football correspondent Jason Burt talks about the challenges the Spurs must overcome to return to where chairman Daniel Levy believes the club belongs.
Choose the right manager
Sacking Stellini was the right decision. Now what? Julian Nagelsmann's withdrawal from the competition to become Chelsea's new manager gives Tottenham a new opportunity.
Nagelsmann felt he didn't need to be involved in the interview process, so if the Spurs want him and think he's right for the job, the strategy is clear: offer it to the 35-year-old German now. They were interested before and now they know they are.
The impressive work Nagelsmann did at Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig should inspire Spurs more than what happened at Bayern Munich, where he was accused of not entering the field. work. However, as Thomas Tuchel quickly discovers Bayern's problems — a very political club — they run deeper than the manager.
Tottenham's decline under Stellini
The Spurs approach should be to hire a project manager. In fact, to go back to 2014 when they hired Mauricio Pochettino, who has been open for a return now but has not been contacted, from Southampton. Now he looks set for Chelsea. After the departure of Pochettino, they tried to shorten the system with a succession of coaches — José Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Antonio Conte — who were supposed to bring immediate success, but this failed.
Now they need a reboot, and whoever needs time. Nagelsmann may fit the bill, but a manager like Arne Sloot, who worked wonders at Feyenoord and plays exciting, attacking football, would also fit. Roberto De Zerbi from Brighton would be ideal but probably not available. Similar to Luis Enrique.
Whoever comes in will be the 13th permanent manager Levy has hired in 22 years and has never been consistent in the types of coaches he has approached. This must also change. The Spurs need to decide who they want to be and then who can do it for them. They need to understand that their supporters are more patient than management.
Club structure
Cristian Stellini's sacking after a horrendous 6-1 defeat to Newcastle United was clearly at fault. “Ultimately, the responsibility lies with me,” said Levy, and partly admitted that failure is not only about hiring the best, but also about reorganization.
Joe Willock Season Assistant ? 🤤👌 pic.twitter.com/nhrghPuI4h
— Sky Sports Premier League (@SkySportsPL) April 24, 2023
More than Stellini's appointment, Fabio Paratici's case sums up Spurs' malaise. The Italian did the right thing by resigning after his 30-month worldwide suspension was upheld, but not before more damage was done.
Another error in Levy's judgment led the football club's managing director to hand over an encouraging message (oddly filmed with an iPhone) after Antonio Conte's sacking — only to have FIFA extend his ban less than 24 hours later. The Spurs were stunned and didn't seem to be in control.
The club has always known that Paratici could be banned ever since his time at Juventus, when they hired him anyway and paid the price in damage to their reputation and the way the club's football side works. What a monumental mistake this was, not least because it also eventually led to the departure of technical performance director Steve Hitchen, whose role was cut as he was marginalized. from a chaotic management hiring to a slew of questionable signings, and Levy must try to sort out this mess and move forward.
Paratici left with the Spurs in the same condition he found them in, if not worse: the hunt for the manager and Kane's future is in doubt.
Levi offers Scott Mann another new role — chief football officer . But it remains to be seen exactly what duties the Australian, who was the chief executive of City Football Group China and will take over on July 1, will have.
Mann will be in charge of all football departments and will effectively be Levi's number two and must decide if he will replace Paratici, which is considered likely. However, do Levy and Mann appoint this person first and then the manager, as is usually the case, or vice versa?
The Spurs have tried this structure before, when Trevor Burch was appointed director of football operations. He quit after three months. It looks like Mann will have more power, but with Levy it's always a moot point. As always with Spurs, it's up to Levi what he wants and what he allows. He's made so many mistakes that he really should either go and sell out or find the best people around him.
Sell or keep: what to do with Kane?
Despite only having one year left on his contract, the Spurs must fight tooth and nail to keep Kane. They will have a battle, maybe even more so than two years ago when he tried to get him to leave to join Manchester City. This time, the most likely suitors will be Manchester United, a club that Kane has long been interested in. He gets along well with their English contingent and will see himself as a striker who can make a difference and get them back to greater success.
Is it any wonder that Harry Kane might run out of patience with the Spurs? Photo: Getty Images/Robbie Jay Barratt.
While the Spurs fans would not object to the striker's move, it would have caused enormous damage to the club. He is the only one providing glue at the moment in a fracture situation; the only one disappointed fans can pin their hopes on when hope seems lost.
Once a replacement for goaltender Hugo Lloris is finally signed, then the Spurs will apparently offer Kane the captaincy. Not that that was enough to calm him down.
Selling Kane now doesn't make sense for the Spurs, who should instead hope they can turn the tide and convince him to sign a new contract or risk losing him for free next year.
It's a dilemma, but the Spurs need to be ready to take the hit, though Levy didn't help last week with his comments about erecting a statue of one of the players. Instead, he should address his other remark to the Cambridge Union when it acknowledged that the «spurs» are not «where they should be». He tests the patience of Kane once again, as well as the beleaguered fans.
Hold or turn formation
What should the (second) caretaker of the season, Ryan Mason, do? The 3-4-3 scheme is classic, Conte by default. He has used it with great success — not least at Chelsea — wherever he is and won't budge. It hasn't worked out for the Spurs this season in part because they haven't been able to stick to the principles he claims underlie it: press high and defend deep. For example, Milan were shocked by how little pressure Spurs put on them during the Champions League round of 16 match. Spurs stuck with it after Conte before suddenly moving to four back in a disastrous move against Newcastle United.
So what now? An injury to Rodrigo Bentancur affected their midfield a lot, while Yves Bissouma was also out, reducing their chances of making a difference. This means that the Spurs simply do not have the frames to play 4-3-3 effectively. They were left with three defensive midfielders against Newcastle and Ivan Perisic as an orthodox left-back. It will never work.
Perhaps using Ben Davis and soon-to-be-fit Emerson Royal could help, but Spurs still lack midfield.
they may not have a choice, but for now, stick to the 3-4-3 formation, because the team's balance — too many defenders and attackers — is completely wrong. Was £40m really worth spending on right winger Pedro Porro? It has to do with Conte, his recruiting, his historical failures in buying and selling players, and not having enough changes.
Свежие комментарии