Spurs need someone with the X-Factor
Determining what *It* is and who might have *It* for Tottenham Hotspur
If you don’t remember The X Factor, it was one of those singing talent shows that Simon Cowell somehow made a million of across the 2000’s and 2010’s. My mam and every other mam across the UK and Ireland used to watch it every Saturday night.
Controversy followed the show through basically its entire run, as is usual with reality TV shows. Contestants made claims that decisions were made for them, that they weren’t given the proper chance to show themselves at their best, that they were limited by showrunners, and that the show gave them memories of some major highs, but also some horribly depressing lows.
Fan, player, or manager, if you’ve ever held any love for this Tottenham Hotspur team, you’ll pretty much know how they felt.
While iconic boyband One Direction got their fame from the show, the current Spurs team is a group with seemingly No Direction. Their second-half demolition at the hands of Manchester City, alongside their horrendous recent form, has yet again raised alarm bells about the direction the club is heading in under manager Antonio Conte. It wasn't just the scoreline either. Spurs were awful in every area of the pitch, and while every team can have an off day, a big concern is that even at 2-0 up, they never actually looked like they were going to win the game.
Spurs have been in a mess for some time now under the ownership of ENIC Group. They have tried every conceivable manager and style possible. First was former England manager and club legend in Glenn Hoddle who barely lasted two years before he was axed. Foreign managers with impressive standing in the international game followed him up. Jacques Santini lasted only a few months. He was replaced by his assistant Martin Jol who turned Spurs into European contenders. Juande Ramos's European success with Sevilla could not be transformed to north London with some truly horrendous league form towards the end of his tenure, but he has won the only trophy at Spurs under ENIC ownership, winning the 2008 Carling Cup (Carabao Cup now).
Harry Redknapp was appointed in 2008 to stop Spurs getting relegated - but took the club to greater heights than even Jol with Champions League qualification. Andre Villas-Boas was the young, analytical boss with fresh modern approaches who really should have taken Spurs to the levels they’re at now, but the sale of Gareth Bale to Real Madrid and inadequate replacements that came along to replace him clipped his wings.
Tim Sherwood then did some pretty inconsequential stuff before Mauricio Pochettino was appointed. He ended up being the man to take them to that next level, nearly taking the club to remarkable league title and Champions League successes. But after 5 years of great performances considering the funds made available to him and the quality of the players brought in, his players basically downed tools on him. A poor string of results brought Spurs back into turmoil. Jose Mourinho was 'the winner' brought in to win trophies and sacked just days before a cup final. Nuno Espirito Santo was an ill-conceived panic appointment at the start of pre-season in 2021 after no one else wanted the job. Now with Conte, Spurs are remarkably back to just where they started when ENIC took over in 2001, when Arsenal legend George Graham was in charge at White Hart Lane. They have a coach who has won the league at a London rival, but they’re playing with a defensive system unfavoured by supporters and struggling to bring success back to the club.
So many mistakes, so little patience. With recent poor results and Conte clearly making eyes at the exit door, Tottenham Hotspur need to be starting their search for a new manager now. But as The Athletic’s Carl Anka recently queried in a tweet, “What qualities does someone need to be The Guy for the Spurs job?”
Working under complacent ownership
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and ENIC deserve credit for delivering a world-class stadium and facilities including a brand new training ground to Spurs and have at least got a level of ambition with budgets and targets to achieve top four finishes and Champions League places that come with it. Spurs have all the hallmarks of being a club with the tools in place to push for major honours and they have now begun charging supporters sky high prices for that privilege. The reality though is much different. Spurs have only ever looked like challenging for the title twice under ENIC, between 2015 and 2017, and in neither season did they top the league for a single day.
The joke about their trophy cabinet being tiny and filled with dust is an old and tired one, but it’s probably true. Their trophy count is horrendous. Spurs may be considered one of the big six but their record of one League Cup in nearly 24 years in relation to those teams is embarrassing. To put that into perspective, Portsmouth, Wigan Athletic, Birmingham City, and Swansea City have all won major domestic silverware since Spurs beat Chelsea at Wembley to lift the League Cup in February 2008. None of them play in the Premier League anymore.
The new academy and facilities have not produced any first-team stars, with Harry Kane making his Spurs debut long before they left Chigwell. Harry Winks has come closest as a squad regular but even he has fallen out of favour at the club having failed to kick on. He’s out on an uninspiring loan with Sampdoria currently. Oliver Skipp looks like he could be a major talent, but he’s still a ways away from ousting any starter from their positions. It has left fans frustrated at just having to make up the numbers among the top six and even in the Champions League where, outside of their incredible run to the 2019 final, they rarely look like they belong.
A long running problem is dreadful investment. To Levy's credit, money has been spent on signings but Tottenham's transfer record has been awful for well over a decade now. It seems as if transfer decisions are made on a whim rather than having proper planning in mind. A tendency to opt for punts on rising stars few people have heard of over established or even globally known players again indicates a lack of ambition to challenge for major honours in line with their rivals. The club's desire to shop in the bargain bins means that for every Son Heung-min they find, they often end up with 2 or 3 flops that they struggle to offload for several seasons. Current record transfer Tanguy Ndombele, who moved for £63million, is currently out on loan at Napoli with a wage no team willing to buy him can afford.
Former left-back Danny Rose was one of the most outspoken players against the club's recruitment strategy, which has changed little since he was left frustrated at the lack of ambition after finishing second in the Premier League in 2017.
'I am not saying buy 10 players, I'd love to see two or three — and not players you have to Google and say, "Who's that?" I mean well-known players. As a Tottenham player I'd love to see more signings. It would lift me seeing a top player come through the door.'
It's been 12 years since Spurs last made a purchase that showed their intent to grow - or as Rose might say, signed a player you didn’t ‘have to Google' - when Rafael van der Vaart joined from Real Madrid. Their only well advised signing in recent years has been Argentinian defender and now World Cup winner, Cristian Romero, but they’ve partnered him up with an increasingly average Eric Dier and a substandard converted left back in Ben Davies. Don’t expect this to change any time soon too. What Spurs need is a manager who can work with his scouting department and find creative, cheap solutions to their problems.
Strong focus on attacking & dominating games
After their best ever start to a Premier League season, some tipped Tottenham to be in the title race. Yes, they were playing terribly, but that’s the sign of a champion, is it not? Being able to win, even while you’re playing awfully? Not on this occasion. Spurs aren’t now winning and playing better, they’re losing and playing worse.
Tottenham are a tough watch. There doesn’t seem to be a lot going on most of the time. They don’t really press, they don’t really run in behind, any link-up between the forwards is slow, or predictable, or both. It’s as though the players need reminding that the 60,000 people in the stadium are actually paying to watch them. It’s baffling as it is that they’re even choosing to.
The only regular bits of entertainment from Spurs come courtesy of Ivan Perisic (that is if you find getting into a crossing position and then crossing it as exciting) and Cristian Romero, who at times can be the epitome of that Roy Keane "I've often had it when I've not been at the races in a game and I go 'you know what, what I might do is, I might go and smash into somebody’” quote. Even Roy himself has weighed in here. “Spurs are boring to watch. Really boring.”
This isn’t an issue that only Tottenham have dealt with in recent years though. North London rivals Arsenal have faced similar problems under the reign of negative managers, as have Manchester United. The solution? Very simple.
STOP SIGNING NEGATIVE MANAGERS.
Their styles don’t suit top clubs in this league anymore. Both Arsenal and United have move on and are having major success under managers who at the core of their philosophies, want to dominate and dismantle their opposition with the ball at their own feet.
You have the players to play positively, you have a stadium built to accentuate the atmosphere that comes with being a positive, dominant side. Take advantage of it! Bring in a manager that uses the best parts of your team in the best possible ways. Spurs should be consistently playing some variation of a 4-3-3, with one of Son or Richarlison on the left, Kane central, and Kulusevski on the right (And they’re adding Danjuma now as an option too). They should be attacking with the pace and power that their players are capable of. Not grinding out 1-0 wins against mid-level competition. Even if they were losing each week, at least they’d be playing as if they were trying to win. Under current management, they look like they’re just trying not to lose.
Must to be committed to long-term project
Conte is not a manager for the long haul, even at the biggest clubs.
Conte has enjoyed transfer-market backing beyond that of any other Spurs manager during the ENIC era. It’s not been flawlessly spent and many of Conte’s grievances about the remaining holes and gaps in a patchwork squad are more than valid, but Spurs were never going to be spending huge money, and Conte should’ve known that coming into the club. Why would they make major investments after taking out a massive loan for the building of their stadium, especially for a manager who won’t commit to the club beyond next summer. That would inevitably factor into the club’s ability to convince any potential new arrivals anyway.
It hasn’t been a catastrophe, and if he were a manager Spurs could realistically expect to remain in post for five years then there wouldn’t be a major problem. Given where he found them in November 2021, they had no business being in Champions League contention so quickly. Even this year’s wobble has only seen them fall down to fifth, thanks to the disastrous seasons of other Top 6 rivals. If this were the start of a new 5-year plan, they’d likely be ahead of their own expectations.
But with Conte, Spurs are always playing against the clock. His contract runs only to the end of this season and there is no escaping the sense that however things are currently going in what has been an up-and-down reign he has always had and will always have one eye on the exit door.
He was never going to turn them instantly into top-level contenders again because nobody could, but what he can achieve is caveated into oblivion by the near-certain knowledge that he won’t be around to finish what he starts. It all feels oddly directionless and increasingly pointless. He is laying expensive foundations for a palace that will never be built.
The manager that replaces Conte will be taking over a seriously bloated squad. Even moreso with the imminent signings of Arnaut Danjuma and Pedro Porro (Two players that do look like excellent signings). This summer, with players returning from loan, Spurs will have 5 players bought to be starting Right Backs, with Porro, Doherty, Reguilon, Royal, and Spence (That’s not counting Tanganga who can also play there). The new manager will also have to deal with the returning Tanguy Ndombele and Giovanni Lo Celso, and come to a decision on where their respective futures lie. The next person up needs to be ruthless, and needs to be comfortable in their position immediately, so they can start planning for the long run.
Player improvement
At any club, no matter how wealthy, you’re going to have to work with some players you inherit. Which of those players at Spurs has Conte actually improved? It’s none of them, isn’t it? Without the brilliant yet opportunistic grabbing of Dejan Kulusevski and Rodrigo Bentancur from Juventus, it’s wildly unlikely Conte would have delivered a top-four finish and even less likely that he would still be in his job. All that he’s actually done during his reign is ruin his players confidence, happiness, and make the team as a whole much harder to watch.
Bryan Gil plays as though he’s only just strapped his big boy boots on. Yves Bissouma looks like he’s being let out for yard time from Azkaban, such is the soullessness of his football compared to his Brighton days. But the dearth of excitement in this team is most evident, and disheartening, in the demise of Son Heung-min. Son has scored in just three of his 26 games for Tottenham this season.
Spurs have plenty to look forward to in terms of young players coming through. Oliver Skipp is an excellent homegrown prospect in midfield. Destiny Udogie (on loan at Udinese) could be the answer to future needs at left back. Pape Matar Sarr has got everything it takes to become an excellent midfielder. Ryan Sessegnon is still only 22 and with the right focus still has the potential to be a very good player, as does Djed Spence who has had a miserable year under Conte after signing in the summer. That’s not even to mention the slightly older lads like Emerson Royal and Japhet Tanganga, who still have room to grow, or the promising Irishman Troy Parrott, who’s never had much of a chance to grow alongside his parent club teammates.
They all need someone to turn this club’s fortunes around and grow the confidence of each individual playing and working there. A new manager isn’t going to be able to spend their way into trophies. Spurs need coaching. They need someone heavily involved in daily planning and training for the team. While they may not be able to rely on monetary investment, they should absolutely be able to rely on emotional investment and passion from their coaching team.
That’s what Tottenham Hotspur clearly need. Who best fits these points though?
Well there’s not many options out there who have the X-Factor for a team of Spurs’ size. But I do know someone with a certain Ex-Factor…
What about a return to Mauricio Pochettino…?
Now hang on before you get the pitchforks out.
I realise that bringing back your old, successful manager doesn’t have a long history of really working out all that well. Mourinho’s second spell at Chelsea started well but ended in disaster. Kevin Keegan revitalised Newcastle as manager in the 90s, but a decade after he first left them, the king returned home and didn’t quite have the same touch, resigning after just 5 months. So Spurs would be idiots to go through with the idea, surely. Or would they? Could it work out? As the great Tobias Onyango Fünke once said “No, it never does. I mean, these people somehow delude themselves into thinking it might, but... but it might work for us.”
At the very, very least it might provide an instant lift to the mood around White Hart Lane. He ticks all the boxes for Spurs. He’s had success under this exact model before. He’s a manager who might still be around to finish the job in the unlikely event that things suddenly all go to plan. And even if it did go horribly wrong, the closure that move would provide to the fans, the manager, and the club – even if it ended in pain – is something they all need to go through so that everyone can move on. Also key… He’s available? He can start right away!
So why wait? If Pochettino truly is as willing as he is available, then there seems vanishingly little to lose by giving him six months to assess a squad that is currently receding further and further from the Champions League picture with every game under a manager who has never really looked like he wants to be there. Starting again would be frustrating for Spurs, but whether it’s with Pochettino or anyone else it feels less wasteful than spending the next six months going through the motions of something already doomed.
In an interview with BT Sport back in 2020, Mauricio Pochettino said:
“From the day that I left the club, my dream is to be back and to try to finish the work that we didn’t finish. Maybe in five years, maybe in 10 years, and now I’m going to conspire with the universe and to throw out the idea that before I die, I want to manage Tottenham again and try if possible to win one title.”
Well, how about three?