Who will replace the ‘Special One’ at Spurs?
TOTTENHAM Hotspur confirmed the appointment of Ryan Mason as its interim head coach for the remainder of the 2020-21 season yesterday.
The club had sacked manager Jose Mourinho on Monday following a string of poor results in the ongoing season.
"Following the departure of Jose Mourinho, we can now confirm that Ryan Mason will take charge as interim head coach for the remainder of the season," said Tottenham in an official statement.
“Ryan will be joined by Chris Powell and Nigel Gibbs as interim assistant head coaches and Michel Vorm as interim goalkeeping coach. Ledley King will continue in his role as first team assistant," it added.
Mourinho’s departure has fuelled speculation on who the next boss could be after the Mason interim arrangement:
Julian Nagelsmann
The 33-year-old German is the early favourite and would be a popular choice with fans, the majority of whom never warmed to Mourinho.
Nagelsmann has done an impressive job with RB Leipzig (including knocking Spurs out of European competition last season) and favours an attacking, exciting style of play.
The big competition is likely to be from Bayern Munich, who apparently want Nagelsmann to replace outgoing boss Hansi Flick.
Brendan Rodgers
Spurs would love to swap places with Leicester City at the moment – the Foxes are third in the Premier League table and have an FA Cup final to look forward to.
Rodgers deserves plenty of credit for that and is another who likes his teams to play flowing soccer.
However, he has a contract until 2025 and, even if Spurs want him, would he want to leave?
Scott Parker
The former Spurs player guided Fulham to promotion to the Premier League last season but is struggling to keep them in it. With only 100 matches as a first team manager under his belt, appointing him to Spurs' top job would be a big gamble.
Ledley King
King would be a popular – if highly risky – pick as manager.
The former central defender is one of Spurs' best players in recent history and was made assistant first team coach under Mourinho.
However, with no experience as a manager, he is more likely to be given another role under the next manager than the job itself.
Mauricio Pochettino
Huh? How? Pochettino is a romantic, but very unlikely, option.
He took Spurs to the Champions League final and had the club regularly finishing in the top four during his time in charge.
He was sacked in favour of Mourinho after a poor run and is currently manager of Paris Saint-Germain. And he has taken PSG to the semi-finals of the Champions League.
Pochettino, reportedly, still has a good relationship with the club management and has spoken of his desire to one day return to Spurs.
If he wins the league and Champions League in his first season in Paris, could he be persuaded to make an earlier return than expected?
Probably not, but stranger things have happened in the beautiful game. |