Tottenham Hotspur are clearly focused on bringing in Roberto De Zerbi as soon as possible to be both the long term manager hire and the one who potentially saves them from relegation with just one point separating them from rivals West Ham United in the drop zone.
De Zerbi is far from the most popular option for Spurs fans, but Johan Lange and Vinai Venkatesham are smitten with him. And though, like the other proven hires, he was initially uninterested in taking the job immediately, Spurs appear to be throwing as much money as possible to convince him to join.
At this point, De Zerbi to Spurs is close, but if he doesn't end up coming back and talks fall through, the the field of candidates is very slim. Mauricio Pochettino is the clear dream choice for the fans, but he can't go to Spurs until after the World Cup ends. The rest of the linked names are people who haven't coached in ages like Tim Sherwood and Glen Hoddle; even Ben Davies made it on the list.
Go back to Thomas Frank?
Former Arsenal defender Martin Keown is, like Sherwood, a notorious gum flapper on the air waves, and he said on talkSPORT's White and Jordan show that he thinks Tottenham Hotspur should go back to Thomas Frank, "Look... I know people say you should never go back, but Thomas Frank might be allowed back in the building to actually say, 'Okay, let's try and pick up where we left off'. I know that they lost a few games, but it was certainly a lot better than we saw from recent games."
No. Just no. Under no circumstances do Spurs need Frank back, and while Roberto De Zerbi has serious concerns regarding the people he brought in to Marsielle and is a volatile personality who is set to make (probably) way too much money, he might still be a better hire than going back to Frank.
Keown is totally off base here. Although Tottenham were not much better under Igor Tudor, they were clearly more organized and started playing better the longer they were away from Frank, though obviously the 3-0 loss to Nottingham Forest damages that perception.
But Frank is the reason behind this mess. The team started to play worse and worse under him than they were under Ange Postecoglou or even to start the season under his ideas. Going back to Thomas Frank is unconsciable, and the only way it makes sense for Martin Keown to suggest it is that he is a former Arsenal player and wants to sabotage Spurs. Because there is no realistic intellectual argument in which this makes sense. Sadly, you can't put it past Vinai Venkatesham to think along those lines, given he used to work for the Gunners. (I kid, kid...sort of.)