Super Spurs? Oh, get Real
THE chances of one of the Big Six employing a British manager in the near future are slim and none.
If any of those posts became available tomorrow, there would not be a home candidate on the shortlist.
Not even Sean Dyche, whose work at Burnley has been excellent.
There is a glass ceiling for British managers and the Big Six sit above it.
Which is why Dyche’s reported interest in the Leicester City job is understandable.
It would carry greater remuneration, offer a fresh challenge and Leicester were Premier League champions the season before last.
Dyche has been at Burnley for five years, doing a great job on limited resources and would get more financial backing at the King Power.
But he should not touch the Leicester job with a bargepole and not just because, currently, Burnley sit 11 places higher.
Sympathy for Craig Shakespeare is limited.
He stepped into Claudio Ranieri’s shoes, earned a lengthy contract and will be very decently compensated for his dismissal.
An awful lot of people have done exceptionally well out of Ranieri’s incredible success and Shakespeare (below) is one of them.
He has a lot of friends and contacts in the game and offers will soon arrive, if not for No.1 jobs.
Yet, his sacking remains an insult.
As caretaker and permanent manager, he has been in charge for
21 Premier League games, won eight, lost eight and drawn five.
The eight losses were inflicted by Manchester City (twice), Arsenal (twice), Manchester United, Chelsea, Liverpool and Everton.
“The Board feels that, regrettably, a change is necessary to keep the club moving forward – consistent with the long-term expectations of our supporters, board and owners,” said vice-chairman Aiyawatt Srivaddhanaprabha.
Moving forward? The club took the giant step back and returned to being just another Premier League struggler, when it canned Ranieri.
Shakespeare has been sacked, just as Ranieri was,
CLASSIC Jose Mourinho, who clearly wants to moan about Manchester United’s injury situation.
Best way to do it? Tell everyone he’s not going to moan about Manchester United’s injury situation, even list a few he’s NOT going to moan about.
It is like when he says he doesn’t have to boast about the 25 trophies he has won – just in case you had forgotten he has won 25 trophies.
He’s nothing if not predictable. ON Wednesday morning I returned from Madrid, where, according to David Ginola, there had been a “great display that sent a message to the world.” Unfortunately, I had been at Real versus Spurs. Sometimes you see a match differently from the vast majority – it is a game of opinions, and all that. Tottenham were good. Harry Winks was tidy, Harry Kane put himself about, while Hugo Lloris was excellent.
But the game I watched featured two shocking misses and one bad one, all from Karim Benzema, and two chances for Cristiano Ronaldo that would normally have been buried. Ronaldo also hit the post with a header while Spurs benefited from a very fortunate own goal.
Both teams were without key players, incidentally, and Real have been indifferent at the Bernabeu this season. Valencia and Levante have both drawn there and Real Betis won there. It was a significant result for Tottenham but hardly a landmark one.