The importance of Daniel Levy's next Tottenham manager decision cannot be overlooked. If the wrong appointment is made, Spurs could find themselves on a downward spiral out of any conversations for trophy success or European spots with several teams, including Brighton, Aston Villa and Brentford, on the rise.
In hindsight, the last three choices made by Levy in the managerial department have all been wrong. Jose Mourinho and Antonio Conte were known for delivering immediate success with transfer war chests, but neither of those things ended up happening in north London.
It's not like Spurs didn't spend money under both managers, it's just second-choice options were often bought over primary targets - case in point, Conte wanted Alessandro Bastoni and got Clement Lenglet on loan. The man between those two coaching titans was Nuno Espirito Santo, fresh from not being offered a new contract at Wolves and likely not even being in the top ten names Tottenham wanted for the job in the summer of 2021 before he was sacked just a few months later.
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Nonetheless, Tottenham are back where they were two years ago and this time the main reason why this appointment is so important is because of one particular player. Harry Kane will see his contract expire at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium in 2024 and ultimately his seemingly inevitable departure will see the end of an era at the club.
Kane wants to win trophies and at 29, time is running out and his patience is likely wearing thin. Levy's methods to bring in managers with a winning mentality has not worked and that is why Spurs must move away from that plan and attempt to recreate the magic achieved under Mauricio Pochettino.
The Argentine's five-and-a-half years at the club helped many Tottenham supporters fall back in love with football and while a reunion now looks unlikely with Pochettino poised to join Chelsea, Spurs have to look elsewhere. The main name linked with the job is Julian Nagelsmann and while he is only 35, the German has already managed Bayern Munich.
Of course, he is of a different pedigree to Conte and Mourinho, but he is still considered a big name and with that will come big expectations. Spurs need to understand what got them into the position to be able to appoint these kind of names and that is why going for someone who has managed in the Premier League that not many are talking about has to be the way forward.
Forgetting his shocking spell at Chelsea, Graham Potter could be the perfect man for the job. At Brighton, Potter oversaw a major shift in what the club deemed as success by making smart bargain transfers and then selling those players for maximum profit. It is an extremely smart model and one that is continuing on the south coast under Roberto De Zerbi, despite the Blues also poaching most of their backroom staff.
As Tottenham search for a new manager, the topic was mentioned following the 4-3 defeat to Liverpool where Jamie Redknapp admitted Spurs can't go for "damaged" Potter.
"Football management, it’s so precarious now," he said. "As an example, if Graham Potter was still at Brighton doing the job that he was doing, there’s no doubt Tottenham would be in for him. But, because he’s gone to Chelsea and it obviously didn’t work out - saying it’s a very difficult job - he’s damaged.
"Does that make him a bad manager? Of course it doesn’t. What you remember is what they did at the end, it’s a bit like Pochettino. We forget what he did in that spell when Spurs were fantastic to watch and then you only remember the end because it’s disappointing - it’s damaging for you.
"Same with Graham Potter, has he become a bad manager overnight? Of course he hasn’t, but Spurs can’t go for him because of how bad what happened to him at Chelsea was, which is so unfair in a lot of ways."
A bad spell at a team going through a major transitional phase should not put Tottenham off though. A good coach doesn't suddenly became bad overnight, If it was a prolonged spell of disappointment then that is different but it was a six-month stint under extremely tough conditions.
The pressure was significantly on in west London. At Tottenham, the demand for immediate success and the funds forked out by Chelsea is unlikely to be seen. After the last few years, Spurs are better off hitting the hard reset button now to avoid a detrimental collapse in the future with a long-term vision in place under a manager who can oversee that and Potter is the man best-suited to achieve that.
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