Are Tottenham Hotspur Making The Same Mistakes All Over Again In Managerial Search?

Tottenham Hotspur sacked Antonio Conte without much of a plan on how to replace the Italian. Conte’s assistant Cristian Stellini was hired on an interim basis, but dismissed after only a handful of matches in charge. Now, it is Ryan Mason’s job to take the club to the end of the season when a permanent appointment will be made.

A number of high-calibre candidates have been linked with the job. First, Mauricio Pochettino was the favourite to be re-hired three years after he was sacked by Tottenham. Then Julian Nagelsmann was strongly linked, but recent reports claim the German is no longer being considered for the position.

This begs the question – what sort of manager are Spurs looking for? Under Pochettino, they had an identity as a team and a club. Since then, though, Tottenham have lost their way. Conservative coaches like Jose Mourinho, Nuno Espirito Santo and Conte have been hired without the underlying strategy to set them up for success.

That Nagelsmann was on Tottenham’s initial shortlist says they want to become a modern, expansive team again, but there aren’t many available managers who are capable of implementing such a style of play. Spurs don’t appear to know what they want from their next managerial appointment.

Fans will remember how the North London club scrambled through the summer of 2021 to find a new manager. Spurs similarly sacked a manager – Mourinho, in this case – before the end of the season and took their time to hire his successor. The whole process, though, was shambolic and Nuno lasted just a few months in the job.

It’s only a month-and-a-half since Conte was sacked as Spurs boss and so there’s still time for the club to nail their search for a replacement. But Tottenham’s biggest problem is they lack direction at executive level. They also lack the sort of sporting structure that is now common at most elite level clubs.

Daniel Levy has faced widespread criticism for a lot of the decisions he has made in recent times. Once credited with taking Spurs and turning them into a regular fixture in the Champions League, he now appears to be out of ideas on how to carry the club any further. Supporters are entitled to be concerned by the thought of Levy making another managerial hire.

So while some supporters might regard the removal of Nagelsmann from the shortlist as a blow, there are greater worries about the direction of Tottenham Hotspur as a whole. The next manager in line might be the right person, but it may not matter if the correct decisions aren’t made above his pay grade.