Tottenham news – LIVE: Nagelsmann and Enrique lead next Spurs manager chase
Tottenham Hotspur begin their search for a new manager after Antonio Conte was sacked.
Daniel Levy has opted to wield the axe once more despite Spurs sitting fourth in the Premier League and primed for a place in next season’s Champions League. But with the atmosphere in this particular corner of north London turning sour, Levy has been ruthless.
Cristian Stellini has been installed as Acting Head Coach and will be joined by Ryan Mason as Assistant Head Coach. Julian Nagelsmann, after his sacking at Bayern Munich, and Mauricio Pochettino have already been linked and coud succeed the Italian, with the chasing pack of Newcastle, Liverpool and Brighton looking to overhaul the deficit. Follow the latest updates as Levy looks for his next manager:
Next Tottenham manager latest
Next Spurs manager candidates as Julian Nagelsmann emerges as favourite
Antonio Conte has left a trail of destruction at Tottenham - where will he cause chaos next?
The candidates to replace Antonio Conte
12:05 , Michael Jones
Roberto De Zerbi
Will Spurs be thinking of poaching a manager from an over-achieving Premier League team, again?
They’ve already done so twice by taking Mauricio Pochettino from Southampton and Nuno Espirito Santo from Wolves. Those appointment’s yielded vastly different results for the club but the signs are there that De Zerbi would align closer to Pochettino’s tenure than Santo’s.
The candidates to replace Antonio Conte
11:56 , Michael Jones
Julian Nagelsmann
Fresh off his firing from Bayern Munich, 35-year-old Julian Nagelsmann has jumped to the top of the betting markets to take on the job at Spurs.
His fast-paced style of play would appease fans and whilst at RB Leipzig the German has already proved himself at a club wanting to challenge the elite.
Would he get the backing to take Spurs to the next level though?
5 matches that contributed to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit after 16 months
11:44 , Michael Jones
Sheffield United 1 Tottenham 0 (March 1, 2023)
A year on from losing in the FA Cup fifth round to a Sky Bet Championship play-off hopeful in Middlesbrough, history repeated itself for Tottenham with a late capitulation at Sheffield United. Conte was absent while recovering from gallbladder surgery but was a key figure in the decision to rest Harry Kane and make five other changes from the weekend win over Chelsea.
The end result was a disjointed display where the Premier League outfit were toothless in attack and cut open with 11 minutes left when Iliman Ndiaye embarked on a mazy dribble before firing home the winner.
To add insult to injury, Sheffield United had made more changes than their opponents and this embarrassing exit virtually guaranteed another trophyless season.
How will Stellini fare?
11:34 , Michael Jones
Christian Stellini took temporary charge of the Tottenham team when Antonio Conte was recovering from gallbladder surgery earlier this season and did an admirable job.
He helped the club beat Manchester City, West Ham United and Chelsea all difficult fixtures. However, during his time in charge Spurs were defeated by Sheffield United in the FA Cup and Wolverhampton Wanderers in the league, games they would have expected to win.
What does that say about Stellini’s prowess going forward? At the very least it shows that he can motivate the squad for big games but my struggle to keep the lackadaisical tendancies in check against the perceived weaker opponents.
Do Spurs’ players have too much power?
11:28 , Michael Jones
“I have seen the managers that Tottenham had,” Conte said in his last press conference as Tottenham Hotspur manager. “You risk disrupting the figure of the manager, to protect the other situation [the players], in every moment.”
Conte was alluding to a typical problem at Spurs in that the board backs the clubs players over the manager whenever pressure - from bad results and performances - begins to mount.
The clearest example of this is the sacking of Mauricio Pochettino. Pochettino had been Spurs’ best manager for an age, consistently getting them into the top four and even leading them to a Champions League final.
When results started to turn poor instead of backing Pochettino in the transfer market, both by bringing in new players but also offloading the ones he didn’t want, the Tottenham board gave the manager the boot, effectively telling the players that they are more important than the manager.
That same situation happened to Nuno Espirito Santo, Jose Mourinho and now Antonio Conte too. Will the Tottenham board recognise this fallacy with their next appointment or are Spurs stuck in the same cycle?
5 matches that contributed to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit after 16 months
11:17 , Michael Jones
Burnley 1 Tottenham 0 (February 23, 2022)
Conte threatened to quit after he watched Tottenham’s inconsistent form continue during the first few months of his tenure with a painful loss at Turf Moor.
In an extraordinary post-match press conference, the former Chelsea boss insisted his team needed to “pay attention to the relegation zone”.
He conceded the challenge at the north London club may be even too great for him, but months later he hinted this performance in front of the media was planned to get a reaction from the squad.
While it worked as Spurs pipped Arsenal to fourth place come May, it would prove a false dawn.
Levy on Conte’s departure
11:08 , Michael Jones
Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy made the decision to part ways with Antonio Conte but his assistant, Cristian Stellini, will step up as head coach for the rest of the season, and Spurs crisis man, Ryan Mason, will be his deputy.
Levy decided to focus on the job at hand which is to ensure Tottenham earn Champions League football next season. They are currently fourth in the table but their immediate rivals, Newcastle and Liverpool, both have two games in hand on the London side.
“We have 10 Premier League games remaining and we have a fight on our hands for a Champions League place,” Levy said.
“We all need to pull together. Everyone has to step up to ensure the highest possible finish for our club and amazing, loyal supporters.”
Steven Gerrard says Harry Kane will be considering Tottenham future ‘every single day’
11:00 , Michael Jones
Steven Gerrard has said that Harry Kane will be thinking about his future at Tottenham Hotspur “every single day” as the striker plots how best to progress his career.
Kane, now the leading goalscorer for both Spurs and England, has enjoyed a standout individual career since breaking through in 2014, but the club are yet to win a trophy with him in the side.
The 29-year-old has been heavily linked with a move away in the past, angling for a move to Manchester City during the summer of 2021, with many of Europe’s biggest clubs reportedly interested.
Comparisons have been made between Kane’s current situation and that of Gerrard during his time at Liverpool, when the midfielder endured a significant trophy drought while still performing at somewhere near his best towards the end of his career.
Gerrard does not believe the situations are totally comparable, but believes that thoughts on a potential move are sure to be on Kane’s mind.
Steven Gerrard says Harry Kane will be considering Spurs future ‘every single day’
Lift morale and attack the day – tasks facing Cristian Stellini at Tottenham
10:45 , Jack Rathborn
Lift squad morale
Squad morale will understandably be low after Conte’s tirade against “selfish players” that “play for themselves” last weekend. It was not the first time the Italian had turned on the group and while some of the passionate monologue hit the nail on the head, it made his position untenable. The majority of Spurs’ players departed for international duty immediately after their collapse at St Mary’s and new surroundings may have helped them forget the explosive scenes on the south coast, but it has ensured all eyes remain on a squad that has underachieved this season. A flurry of summer activity was expected to translate into more consistency. Instead, the opposite happened and even though a change of manager has occurred, bruised egos remain.
Lift morale and attack the day – tasks facing Cristian Stellini at Tottenham
Where next for Antonio Conte?
10:30 , Jack Rathborn
Conte’s next job will be fascinating with his options slimmed down given his unique personality and demands to succeed.
It would be a surprise if Inter or Juventus call again, while AC Milan is not modelled to his ideal conditions. Roma must also adhere to stricter financial limits, even if Jose Mourinho does depart.
A period away from the game might be best for Conte to consider his next step in what has been a remarkable coaching journey so far.
5 matches that contributed to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit after 16 months
10:15 , Jack Rathborn
Mura 2 Tottenham 1 (November 25, 2021)
Three weeks into his reign, Conte truly grasped the size of the task at hand when Spurs collapsed to lose in stoppage time away to the Slovenian minnows. Mura, who were the lowest-ranked team in the Europa Conference League, had lost all four of their matches in the tournament but stunned 10-man Tottenham despite a Harry Kane goal. Conte afterwards admitted: “At this moment the level at Tottenham is not so high.” He went on to insist he was not a “magician” and perhaps as early as this the writing was on the wall that this marriage of convenience would not last long.
5 matches that contributed to Antonio Conte’s Tottenham exit after 16 months
Tottenham manager for first game of 2023/24 Premier League season
10:00 , Jack Rathborn
Via Betfair
Julian Nagelsmann: 15/8
Mauricio Pochettino: 3/1
Oliver Glasner: 5/1
Luis Enrique: 9/1
Zinedine Zidane: 11/1
Thomas Frank: 12/1
Ruben Amorim: 14/1
Roberto De Zerbi: 14/1
Massimiliano Allegri: 18/1
Ange Postecoglou: 18/1
Next Tottenham manager odds
09:50 , Jack Rathborn
Antonio Conte has left Tottenham after only 16 months in charge. Spurs announced they had parted company with their manager late on Sunday evening.
Cristian Stellini has been placed in charge for the remainder of the season, but who is in the running for the permanent post this summer?
Here is a look at the contenders to replace the Italian.
Mauricio Pochettino (5-1)
The former Spurs boss remains out of work after he left his position at Paris St Germain at the end of last season. He insisted not long after his departure from Tottenham in 2019 that he had unfinished business after failing to win a trophy during his memorable five-and-a-half-year spell. A remarkable run to the Champions League final proved the pinnacle but he was sacked months later after a poor start to the 2019-20 season. The uncertainty over the Real Madrid managerial role and any reluctance from the Spurs board to admit his sacking was a mistake could prove a stumbling block.
The favourite to be next Tottenham manager is not Mauricio Pochettino
Antonio Conte has left a trail of destruction at Tottenham - where will he cause chaos next?
09:40 , Jack Rathborn
One of football’s finest tactical brains has been finessing a unique strategy for a while now. It seems forever on the brink of succeeding. And yet, however often or vituperatively Antonio Conte criticises Tottenham, they refuse to sack him and pretend none of his comments are about Daniel Levy and the board.
Perhaps it is an approach born of a mixture of pragmatism and desperation, rationalising their chances of a top-four finish are higher even with Conte setting fire to the building on his way out than without him. Or maybe Tottenham simply think the greatest punishment they can give him is to force him to manage Tottenham for the rest of the season.
Whichever, Conte’s exit plan seems a little needless, given he is leaving when his contract expires anyway; not so much by mutual consent as mutual discontent. But part two of his gameplan always promised to be harder, and Conte is making it tougher again. He has to find another club and one more suited to his particular demands and the danger is that he is making himself the best unemployable manager in football.
Conte has left a trail of destruction at Spurs - where will he cause chaos next?
Tottenham sack Antonio Conte after 16 months
09:21 , Jack Rathborn
Antonio Conte has been sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.
Conte was out of contract at the end of the season but Spurs have decided to part ways with 10 games of the campaign remaining following the Italian’s extraordinary outburst in the aftermath of the 3-3 draw against Southampton last weekend.
Conte attacked his own players and questioned Tottenham’s mentality in an astonishing 10-minute rant, which was the latest of a series of incidents in which the manager criticised Spurs in public during his spell at the club.
Antonio Conte leaves Tottenham by mutual consent days after outburst
