Next Spurs Manager and why Graham Potter is the best candidate for the job

Alex Keble examines the six possibilities for the future Spurs manager and selects Graham Potter as the best…
Tottenham Hotspur is once again in crisis mode. There’s no denying Daniel Levy’s manager search has been a shambles, and whoever gets the position will be put under immediate pressure.
It’s frighteningly reminiscent of the disaster that followed Nuno Espirito Santo’s catastrophic 17-game reign.

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Spurs are confident of signing a more intriguing name than Nuno, and supposedly Levy is still looking for an attack-minded coach, but we are back to square one two months into his search.
Mauricio Pochettino was passed over; Julien Nagelsmann was reportedly denied an interview (though it is unclear whether he would have sought the job); and now Arne Slot has turned down Tottenham.
Options are becoming scarce. With ENIC under significant pressure after another poor season, Levy simply has to get this one right. However, with Harry Kane’s future uncertain and Spurs unlikely to be in European competition next season, the stench of crisis emanating from the club will likely put off many of the most appealing candidates.
Here are the six favorites, along with what each would bring:
Postecoglou, Ange 7/2
Ange Postecoglou is the new 7/2 favorite, and as a popular character at Celtic, more and more Spurs fans are enthused about the possibility of the 57-year-old Australian joining the club. However, there is a real issue here that has not been adequately addressed.
Somewhat unknown managers (at least to Premier League supporters) are fascinating because we can project whatever we want onto them, filling in the blanks to fit our expectations.
Postecoglou has revived Celtic from a poor base by bringing innovative attacking tactics to the team. He has also won the Asia Cup with Australia, as well as league titles with Melbourne Victory and Yokohama F. Marinos.
He has had regular success, but he is, to be honest, utterly untested at the club level.
The tactical contrasts between Japanese, Australian, and Scottish football and the Premier League are enormous, and it would be extremely hazardous for Levy to choose someone with no prior experience in such a high-quality competition.
He would almost probably accept the position, and there is a lot of buzz in Europe about the way his teams play.
And yet, Celtic were annihilated in the Champions League group stages this year, failing to win a single game, implying that either they were poorly coached or the competition is simply far too high for them – in which case, Postecoglou is too inexperienced for the Tottenham position.
Brendan Rodgers’s 4/1
The timing is awful for Brendan Rodgers 4/1, but he has delivered numerous times and, having twice brought Leicester City to within one game of the Champions League, he would be a fairly shrewd signing.
Rodgers understands how to build for the long term and play progressive football, and he led a Liverpool squad of comparable quality to the league title in 2014.
However, Levy is looking for two things: a young up-and-comer like Pochettino, so that he may capture a manager in their prime, and a name that would thrill the supporters.
Rodgers checks neither box, and it may be difficult to win over fans given how bad things were at Leicester after two bad seasons.
Rodgers, on the other hand, is cheap, and if the hunt continues into the summer, he will become an enticing possibility.
Nagelsmann, Julian 11/2
Because of recent rumors that discussions have resumed, the former Bayern Munich manager is still the third favorite for the position, but it always felt like Spurs were stretching, and Nagelsmann 11/2 would be even more uncertain after Slot turned them down.
Nagelsmann is still regarded as one of the best in the business, so he can wait for something more obviously appealing to emerge rather than engage in a long-term project in a league with multiple wealthy clubs.
He won’t take any offer, assuming Levy has the humility to go back – which he surely doesn’t.
15/2 Luis Enrique
We know Levy is attempting to avoid a superstar hire, which is why Luis Enrique 15/2 is frequently on bookies’ shortlists but never really considered for the job.
That might change as Levy becomes more desperate and Enrique, as an unattached former Champions League winner, becomes more tempting.
However, he is not the best choice. Apart from two fantastic seasons at Barcelona, where he built on Pep Guardiola’s foundations and had the easy pleasure of Lionel Messi, Neymar, and Luis Suarez up front, Enrique has struggled as a manager. He underperformed at both AS Roma and Celta Vigo, playing boring, unfocused football. He is someone to avoid.
Mr. Ruben Amorim 11/1
Ruben Amorim (11/1) sounds made up to many Premier League viewers: a phony name to add to any shortlist for managerial openings.
Amorim’s name appears so high on the rumored list of candidates only now that the Spurs have exhausted their first, second, and third selections.
He’s not the one. Amorim rose to prominence after leading Sporting CP to their first league title in 19 years in 2020/21 and then defeating Tottenham 2-0 in the Champions League this season.
Naturally, that piqued Levy’s interest, but the football style is too formidable an impediment. In his approach to the game, he is a reactive and cautious coach who is way too close to Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte. That will not be tolerated by Spurs fans.
Mr. Graham Potter 11/1
It was eight months ago. Mr. Graham Potter After his fantastic job growing Brighton from a defensive side under Chris Hughton to the team they are now, 11/1 was the ideal pick for Tottenham, or indeed virtually any of the ‘Big Six’ clubs. What exactly has changed since September?

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Potter’s reputation has taken a knock as a result of the Chelsea disaster, but comparing that situation – a mid-season appointment into a 30-man squad – to Tottenham’s is naive.
Potter would have the time and space in north London to work on a long-term project, as he has done before.
Furthermore, he is a forward-thinking possession coach who is now unemployed.
The fact that he is a Chelsea reject should not prevent him from being appointed to the correct post. Hopefully, Levy is astute enough to recognize that the man he would have chosen as the next Pochettino late last year is still here and the same person.