Thomas Frank is already under pressure at Tottenham having taken charge in the summer after a run of one win in five in the Premier League which has featured two of the most insipid displays imaginable against their most bitter rivals, Chelsea and Arsenal.
The fans already being sick of his style of football suggests there’s a style to speak of, but that was obvious to no-one in those harrowing defeats, or indeed in most of the games we’ve seen from Spurs this season.
Frank can afford a midweek defeat in Paris, but the same does not apply to Fulham’s visit on Sunday. In preparation for the aftermath of that game, we bring you the top 10 candidates to replace him at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium, as per Sportscasting
There’s little doubt in our minds that he will at some point return to the Premier League, and we imagine a Jose Mourinho-like press conference upon his return after a period in France when the already eccentric and outspoken manager has gone up a couple of sound-bite gears.
While most wouldn’t dream of leaving Marseille in the lurch in what looks as though it could be a genuine title race with PSG, De Zerbi isn’t a typical manager and strikes us as the sort of guy who wouldn’t just leave, but do so noisily, leaving as much chaos in his wake as possible.
You’re always likely to find him on these lists as an available former Premier League manager, but the 62-day stint at Bayer Leverkusen during which staff openly discussed whether he might be “the worst coach in the club’s history” is going to be an awfully difficult blot on his copybook to ignore.
We want him back no matter where he goes – he’s near the top of the Leeds list – but Tottenham would be ideal. There could be no greater test of the man’s astonishing vanity than self-deprecation in football club form. It’s like David Brent meeting Millhouse and acknowledging after half-a-season of work with him on a more global scale that he too is a loser.
Aston Villa have snuck up to fourth without anyone noticing after some frankly bizarre easy-season doubts over his future at a club which has had a negative net spend since he took over. Tottenham would love a bit of that frugal brilliance.
The former Barcelona coach has been out of work since leaving Barcelona at the end of the 23/24 season, when it was reported that he was eyeing an ‘interesting’ club in the Premier League. There is no chance his use of the word aligns with what makes Tottenham ‘interesting’.
Heavily linked with Manchester United and Chelsea in the summer of 2024 having taken Ipswich up, McKenna’s surely missed his chance of a direct route to one of the Big Six unless he brings the Tractor Boys straight back up again.
It would be very Tottenham to hire a manager recently under pressure in his current job, though an impressive win over Sunderland keeps the wolves from Silva’s door at Fulham for the time being.
The clash against Tottenham on Sunday offers a neat opportunity for Silva to show the Spurs hierarchy what he’s made of.
After two defeats and a draw followed eight games unbeaten, we’re evidently at the start of a Bournemouth trough typical of their wild swings in form under Andoni Iraola. Just at the point where we start to wonder whether he’s in fact already too good for Tottenham, he slumps to a realistic candidate equilibrium.
Crystal Palace are desperately trying to tie him down to a new deal as Glasner continues to work wonders at Selhurst Park, building on the FA Cup success despite losing Eberechi Eze in the summer, having lost Michael Olise the summer before.
The Eagles are a realistic bet to qualify for European competition through the Premier League and are the favourites to win the Conference League. Success with Frankfurt and now Palace does raise the question as to whether he’s an underdog manager. But that could work.
Any time we see a clip of Pochettino in a USMNT press conference or interview he looks like he’s having the worst time, but the results of late have been really very good, with his zenith coming in a 5-1 victory over Uruguay last time out.
He will presumably be very available immediately after the World Cup but not before.