I would be delighted with De Zerbi but it sounds like he is not prepared to take it before the summer - which is obv too late.
I’m unconvinced by the ‘Spurs DNA’ argument when it comes to Mason, Redknapp, Sherwood etc. Redknapp & Sherwood have been out of the Prem too long now and the game has changed too much since they last managed.
The unique beast that is the Prem is the reason I wouldn’t go for a Hutter or similar now too. The standard and intensity of the Prem is too big a shock for coaches without experience of the league, as we’ve seen with Tudor. And we don’t have time to ‘bed in’ anyone new.
By a process of elimination therefore, I’ve been reconciling myself to Dyche. Not a coach we would ever appoint in normal times maybe, but someone who knows the Prem and its lower reaches very well and is capable of motivating players and grinding out results. He might be the most rational and achievable appointment for these 7 games.
I wonder if this international break throws up some interesting alternatives too though. Craig Bellamy, a fine and modern coach who knows the Prem, now has no World Cup to prepare for and nothing meaningful to do between Tuesday night and June. Would the Welsh FA be open to him helping us out for 2 months, maybe with his Welsh stalwart Ben Davies as his assistant? Bellamy knows the Prem and its players and standards and looks to me like an excellent motivator and preparer of teams.
There’s every chance Graham Potter will be finished with the Swedes from Tuesday night too, if they fail to qualify for the World Cup. He knows the league too.
Finally - and hear me out! - I know no-one would welcome Southgate as a permanent appointment. But as a man-motivator and a cajoler of talented misfits into a coherent team capable of grinding out narrow wins - are there many better options out there? He is used to taking players for short stretches of games like the one we have ahead of us and is expert in impacting the psychology of a playing squad. And while he may be reluctant, who’s to say an offer of £15-20m for getting 8-10 points from 7 games - a life-changing offer - wouldn’t change his mind?
Anyway, just options - we have some, at least - money buys us those.