Will it though? Plenty of fans, myself included (ironic given my avatar) think it would be a huge mistake. At this point, going back for Poch would smack of sheer desperation and an admission that Levy has snookered himself. Again.
Steven Gerrard linked this morning. Wouldn't be against him tbh. Ok he lacks managerial experience and we know Liverpool are in his hearts but he could be the man to kickstart this rebuild for us. He knows the premier league inside out, how yo deal with the modern day player and I could see him creating a high energy young Spurs side.
Could work in that he will be using us to get the Liverpool job and we would use him until Poch is available. Haven't watched much SPL, but if his team plays in the style he did, then I'd enjoy the football at least.
Done really well with Rangers but the problem with someone like him is that he’d absolutely jump ship if the Liverpool job ever became available. Don’t think he could guarantee that stability we’re in need of for the next few years. As you’ve said as well I think he’s also a bit too inexperienced for the role. Plus, he loves Pool so much he’d probably start Winks and Sissoko whenever we play them and chuck Kane in defence.
So here's the obvious point that needs discussing At the end of last season Steve Hitchen drew up a list that included ten Hag, Potter, Flick and Poch Since agreeing a contract, Paratici has gone for Fonseca, changed his mind and went for Gatusso, and made an approach for Lopetegui (which means that, for once, Duncan Castles isn't full of ****) Now here's the thing: while Fonseca did strike me as a Jol-type manager to start a rebuild, and obviously Lopetegui would be quality (and hopefully an improvement over the last coach we brought in from Sevilla...) is there any point where Hitchen's list doesn't look like the better fit?
Simple: people have heard of him, which apparently means more than things such as "competence" Look at the moaning that greeted Fonseca becoming our top candidate, as if we haven't endured eighteen months of tedious football that didn't have the courtesy of grinding out undeserved wins coupled with having a manager so divisive we may as well have appointed Malcolm Rifkind...but at least we'd heard of the manager! There's also the obvious point that Potter's seen as not being "big" enough because he's managing Brighton having previously been at Swansea and Ostersund, yet apparently managing in the SPL makes somebody "big" enough even though the reality is his experience in the SPL essentially boils down to being in a two-team league where one of the teams had the year off So, anyone else out of a job in Serie A this week for our new DoF to make a play for?
I would not want Slipper Gerrard anywhere near Spurs, he is an absolute Pool die hard and would drop us at the drop of a hat as soon as Pool came calling. He would also be massively conflicted every time we faced Pool, imagine Spurs v Pool in a cup final with Gerrard managing Spurs. Add to that, his only managerial experience is in a mickey mouse league, the SPL is no place to gauge a manager`s ability. All we would be doing is auditioning and training up Pool`s next manager for them, why should we be the club to waste time and money finding out whether Gerrard is a good enough manager for the PL and subsequently Pool (or not). We would essentially be offering Gerrard a training scheme before he moves onto his boyhood club, that would be wholly embarrassing for Spurs and would sink Levy and ENIC to all new low levels of incompetence.
The only way to even consider bringing in somebody with obvious designs on a job at their former club, be it Gerrard at Rangers or Lampard when he was at Derby (and probably Hoddle at Southampton) is to insert a clause in his contract saying he can only take that job if they pay £x Or, and here's another suggestion...look elsewhere? That would save having to go through that rigmarole
The obvious issue with the eye test is that can also be misleading For one obvious example, the eye test said that Ndombele would be perfect for us as he had Dembele's control and dribbling ability coupled with vastly superior passing, yet in practice while he may look the ideal Dembele replacement on the ball he absolutely isn't off the ball as he becomes a passenger - which is why Lo Celso and Hojbjerg can both be claimed to be far closer to what the Dembele role requires, even though one was signed to replace Eriksen and the other signed to add bite to our porous midfield
Which is why you have to marry the eye test with stats and research into a player's fitness, attitude, training habits etc. The main application of the eye test IMO is scouting teenagers into the academy because that's when the intangibles can outweigh the available numbers. It's also a low-risk investment. Beyond that age range you have to look at more than just video footage. If we're going to spend millions of pounds on a player, plus wages, then you absolutely must look at video (and watch in person if possible) but also stats, research the player in depth in terms of how he trains, what systems and formations and roles has he played and thrived in (and what hasn't he), how he looks after his body, what does he eat, what's he like mentally and what's his personality. There's probably more I'm not thinking of.
You have to see them in person or at least watch footage that shows the whole pitch for 90 minutes. Some players are defined by their activity levels when the ball's nowhere near them. A lot of modern forwards make life hell for defenders, while some of their rivals are utterly static.
Absolutely. I like to watch YouTube videos of new signings and get excited as much as anyone but it's not an accurate representation of what players do during a game
See below. "How do you measure the ability to find space or dictate the pace of the game?" By defining them qualitatively/quantitavely..
Which is tricky but not impossible so therefore exactly where an ambitious club should be looking to create an edge. Probably needs a lot of investment in quants taking to coaches and scouts though.