Tottenham manager odds: Igor Tudor, Julian Nagelsmann and Ange Postecoglou should be on Spurs shortlist

By Ninad Barbadikar

Football

Fri June 16, 2023 · 1y ago

In the aftermath of Antonio Conte's sacking, I assessed who looked most suitable for Spurs as a long-term successor. A lot can happen in a month...

Published before Tottenham 1-0 Palace and Tottenham 1-3 Brentford

Aside from a hugely fortunate home win over Brighton (xG: TOT 0.50-1.67 BHA) which saw Albion receive an apology from referees boss Howard Webb after a series of baffling decisions ultimately cost them the match, Tottenham have taken two points from a possible 15.

But the situation has been about much more than points per game.

Spurs reached a new nadir when they trailed Newcastle 5-0 after 21 minutes in late April. Within 24 hours, interim boss Cristian Stellini had been sacked. Director of football Fabio Paratici, banned for two and half years by FIFA, left the club the same weekend.

New caretaker Ryan Mason has since overseen roaring comebacks from 2-0 down at home to Manchester United (to draw 2-2) and from 3-0 down after 15 minutes at Anfield to 3-3 in the 93rd minute, only for Lucas Moura to gift Diogo Jota a Liverpool winner straight from kick-off.

Chaos both on and off the pitch, at times overwhelming so, but Spurs' fundamental issues remain.

And who is the best man to solve them?

New Tottenham manager odds (via Sky Bet)

Arne Slot - 4/9
Julian Nagelsmann - 5/1
Luis Enrique - 8/1
Brendan Rodgers - 12/1
Luciano Spalletti - 14/1
Vincent Kompany - 16/1
18/1 - Bar

Odds correct at 1225 BST (22/05/2023)

We need to talk about Harry Kane

Erik ten Hag's Man Utd are being linked with Harry Kane

Any possible future for the club cannot be discussed without focusing on Harry Kane's future first.

The 29 year old is out of contract in the summer of 2024 and looks unlikely to sign a new deal.

Interest from Manchester United has been long-standing and manager Erik ten Hag is said to be a huge admirer.

Spurs fans won't like it, but to fully rebuild they should sell Kane this summer.

But recruiting an elite manager under that reality may prove tough. Take a job and immediately be forced to sell of one of the best players in the world with a unique profile and incredible track record for both creating and scoring goals

This season Tottenham have become more reliant than ever on the England captain, so unpicking how the entire team operates would be no small task.

But it's a necessary one.

...and Daniel Levy

Daniel Levy has undoubtedly driven Tottenham forwards off the pitch, future-proofing them in a way other Premier League clubs could only dream of as commercial deals continue to roll in thanks to their new, state of the art, world leading stadium.

But his footballing decisions have not gone so well in recent years, culminating in the current mess.

Failure to act on Mauricio Pochettino's desire for squad strengthening, and then failure to identify a suitable replacement for the Argentine has seen the club jerk from club building to 'win now' mode, lighting the spark for chaos.

Jose Mourinho, Nuno and Antonio Conte were never the right men for Spurs, despite glimmers of success for the former and latter.

Following Paratici's departure a new sporting director is just as important for Tottenham as a new manager.

Who should be the new Spurs manager?

Ryan Mason has given Tottenham life again

Ryan Mason, who undoubtedly ought to have been installed as caretaker immediately, has had a positive impact but is not the man for the long-term.

Arne Slot has held favouritism in recent days, with the future of the Feyenoord head coach unclear at his current club.

Instead there are three that I would peg as the outstanding, and realistic, candidates.

Julian Nagelsmann

(Has since withdrawn himself from the running)

Former Bayern boss Julian Nagelsmann has to be the number one choice.

The 34 year old was appointed by Bayern in the summer of 2021 having forged his reputation at Hoffenheim and RB Leipzig.

He took the former from the brink of relegation to back-to-back Champions League qualifications and Leipzig all the way to the 2019/20 Champions League semi-finals, becoming the youngest manager to do so aged just 32.

Nagelsmann brought the best out of several notable players including Timo Werner, Christopher Nkunku, Dayot Upamecano and Marcel Sabitzer with a mix of young and experienced players alike, building an exciting team to watch.

At Bayern he completed the domestic double in his first season and improved the team's underlying numbers drastically.

But things unravelled this term, and he was sacked in March amid reported discord at both boardroom and dressing room level, with Dortmund breathing down their necks in the Bundesliga and threatening to end Bayern's 10-season title-winning streak.

Nagelsmann was reportedly close to being appointed by Chelsea, who look to have settled on former Spurs manager Pochettino.

Given the profile of players Spurs currently have, Nagelsmann makes a lot of sense to go for.

Tactically flexible, acclaimed for his work with young players and someone who wants to play attractive football, he ticks all the right boxes.

Ange Postecoglou

Celtic fans will sing endless praises of Postecoglou's football and they have every reason to.

Since taking over in the summer of 2021 he has successfully imposed a brand of exciting, fast, dominant attacking football. There is an emphasis on keeping possession and overwhelming the opposition off the ball with excellent counter-pressing.

Another man who is a tactician first, Postecoglou has amassed a great deal of experience across Australian and Japanese football.

Experience that has helped him gain an edge in terms of recruitment as well.

Kyogo Furuhashi and Daizen Maeda are just two examples of great recruitment that could benefit Spurs as they set about a major rebuild.

It must be acknowledged however that translating dominance in the Scottish Premiership to success in the Premier League is another matter, as Steven Gerrard (world's away from Postecoglou in terms of tactical acumen) proved at Aston Villa.

Valid concerns exist about a lack of top level experience but nevertheless the Australian would be a superb choice.

Igor Tudor

One name that has not been mentioned in Spurs discussions at all is Igor Tudor, to the point that you would be hard pressed to find many Tottenham fans who'd even heard of him.

Marseille are currently second in Ligue 1, five points behind leaders PSG. They have already reached their points tally from last season under Jorge Sampaoli and there are five games still to play.

Marseille are by far the most interesting team to watch in France from a tactical standpoint and that is all thanks to Tudor's coaching and ability to extract value from players in different roles.

At Marseille, he uses a back three where the wing-backs are vital to offensive sequences, whether it be creating shots or taking them themselves.

There are many similarities between the squad profiles of Spurs and Marseille, making Tudor all the more intriguing as a potential appointment.

Matteo Guendouzi, Sead Kolasinac and Alexis Sanchez's careers have been revived under the Croat's tutelage and yet it seems to have gone largely unnoticed.

It's just a matter of time before someone picks up on it. Why not Spurs?

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