OK, I’m going to start with a disclaimer: you should take whatever you read here with an entire salt mine, because not only is it super early for this kind of speculation, but we’ve also already established that Tottenham Hotspur did not have a succession plan in place for who would succeed Thomas Frank before they fired him this morning. So consider everything below this paragraph as rank speculation.
But with that in mind, we do have said speculation that we can pass on. And of course, that speculation comes courtesy of our good friend Matt Law, writing for the Daily Telegraph. Law writes that while the club decides what it wants to do (sidebar: hnnnnnnnnnnnnngggggggggggggggggg) there are names that are emerging on a potential managerial shortlist. Those names include former Brighton and Marseille manager Roberto De Zerbi, former Spurs and current USMNT head coach Mauricio Pochettino, and former Tottenham striker and current Ferencvaros head coach Robbie Keane.
Now, before we get into any of the specifics, Law makes it clear that the club doesn’t really know what it wants at the moment, or whether they’d be open to a permanent replacement now, or an interim with a permanent hire after this summer’s World Cup. That makes these three names extremely interesting, but for different reasons.
Let’s start with De Zerbi, which if you are a correct-thinking Tottenham fan, the idea should be chucked in the bin immediately. De Zerbi recently stepped down from a disastrous stint at Marseille as manager where he managed to both piss everybody off including his players and also somehow both sign and defend Mason Greenwood who was credibly accused of sexual assault while at Manchester United. I will go out on a limb here and say that there are plenty of non-footballing reasons why De Zerbi should be nowhere near a Spurs managerial shortlist, but also the football hasn’t exactly been stellar either. Also, I can’t see him agreeing to come in as an interim so that appointment should be considered a full time hire, and if there’s serious interest here I will be the first person to start an online #NoToDeZerbi campaign. It’s a no for me, Clive. The hardest of passes.
Pochettino is the fan’s favorite for permanent manager, but considering he’s about to lead the USA to a World Cup on home soil there doesn’t appear to be any chance he’d be willing to break his contract to come save a damaged Spurs from relegation. Spurs very well might end up rolling back the clock and getting the band together under Pochettino, but it won’t be before Spurs take the pitch against Arsenal.
Robbie Keane is an interesting choice in the Michael Carrick mode. I don’t have any opinions (yet) on Keane’s suitability but he currently has them top of the table in the Hungarian league and led them to a respectable 12th and the playoffs of the Champions League this season. Again, it’s not clear he’d be interested in leaving a pretty good job for an interim position at his old club, or whether Spurs would be prepared to offer him the job permanently if he does a good enough job in what remains of the Premier League season, but he’s also Robbie Keane, so ¯\_(ツ)_/¯
The final option would be an internal hire, and Law suggests if Spurs promote an interim from within it’ll be Johnny Heitinga, who Spurs just appointed in the last month to replace Matt Wells, who left for a head coaching position in MLS. Heitinga flamed out at Ajax in what should be a one horse league and there are suggestions he might not be up for a head coaching job in the Premier League, but if the remit is “not get relegated” then there are probably any number of guys who could do the job and Heitinga is one of them. I’m not necessarily opposed to Johnny Heitinga if the end result is Premier League safety and a firm handshake/farewell at the end of the season, but it doesn’t exactly scream confidence in the club’s ability to form a succession plan. (Also — Justin Cochrane exists?)
Looking to a summer appointment, Law also notes that Fulham manager Marco Silva and Bournemouth’s Andoni Iraola are both out of contract this summer, and there will likely be other managerial possibilities after the World Cup, should Spurs want to lay track with someone ahead of time. Other names mentioned included Martin Jol, Harry Redknapp, and Edin Terzic, late of Dortmund.
Personally, I feel like the club is floundering and that despite publicly printed “shortlists” we really have no idea what the club wants to do. But if you’re looking for possibilities to think about or even, dare I say it, dream on, now you have a few. Tottenham’s players have the full week off this week as Spurs are already out of the FA Cup, so I’d expect we’ll know before the weekend.