I have held back since hearing about Harry's departure, waiting to hear some news that would be the sugar to this bitter pill. So far, none is forthcoming. I thought Jol's sacking was premature and did not sit well with me. Then we bring in someone who does not know the premiership and struggles. Harry's arrival appeared to be a master stroke, the way the team responded was fantastic, however, I now believe that appointment was more luck than judgement on Levy's part.
Everyone thought Harry would get the England job. So what? The reasons for those thoughts were because of how he had pulled Spurs from mediocrity to the sublime (at times). He created a squad that was able to challenge for the Champion's leagues spots with a style of football everyone enjoyed watching. Of course he was the number 1 public choice, he deserved to be. This does not take away from Hodgson's abilities, he was simply more of an FA man. The fact that Harry did not distance himself from the England job, is not, I repeat not, a slant on his loyalty to Spurs. Every single one of us would love the opportunity to manage England. I believe that playing or managing England should rightfully be above club football. So he should be applauded for wanting to take on that role. The fact that this fiasco affected the way the team was playing, was down to the players. We were still playing good football, creating chances, but failed to make those chances count. Harry's fault? I think not. (Levy's fault, for not buying a decent striker when asked? Probably)
So who do we have next? Someone for the long term, or are we going to have to watch Levy mess it up and hope he flukes another good manager?
Had HR gone to England AVB would have been an acceptable move. Yes, he did not do that well at Chelsea, but the personalities there made it impossible. He should have been given more time, but the Russian is impatient and rightly so it turns out. But for Spurs, the evolution from HR to AVB could have been gradual. We would have given him time to grow and develop, with the hope that he would prove the Russian wrong.
Unfortunately, now HR has been sacked, against the will of most of the supporters, AVB is now not a viable option. Unless it goes really well from the start, the patience of the supporters for AVB will be remarkably less than that of the Russian. It is destined to end in misery and AVB will look like a failure yet again which would be a shame, because he may turn out to be a great manager in the future if given the chance. Spurs is not a good place for him to make his comeback.
Moyes? He is a good manager, but not a step forward. Good at what he does, but not a title challenging manager. Martinez? Young, bright intelligent but a step backwards. He needs to manage a team like Everton, Newcastle or Fulham first, before going for a higher job role. Mark Hughes? did well at Blackburn and Man City but not doing so well at QPR (yet), but does not seem like a Spurs kind of person. Capello? Did not like him as England manager and his lack of English a huge problem for me, a good choice technically though, but I think it would end badly.
Of course we would all want to see someone like Guardiola, Mourinho, Hiddink or Ancellotti but they will not come without champions league football or without cash to burn.
So who is left out there?
For me there are only two choices that are viable Benitez and Pardew.
Benitez has experience at the highest level, is a champion's league winner, speaks excellent English, and did well at Liverpool before the owners changed and there were problems at the club. (occasionally has some strange transfer choices though!) But Levy would not spend money on a player that was completely duff.
Pardew has done extremely well at Newcastle. Works well under a budget. Transfers very good finds who have done well in the prem this year. Ba, Cisse, Cabaye etc. More of a sideways step, rather than a backwards one and plays good attractive football. Probably my number 1 choice with Benitez a close second.
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