Eurgh, I can't believe I'm considering this but perhaps keeping Sherwood for next season might not be so disastrous....
I've been heavily critical of the bloke but most of that stems more from his personality and his (apparent) off the field politics, but is there an argument for 'better the devil you know'. He has got some some decent results, I actually like his approach to selecting players based on training performance, I like his attitude towards the youth, and if he manages to control his mouth a little is he anymore dislikable that Harry? His reign so far has been tumultuous but it's worth considering if keeping him cause any less upheaval than yet another new manager for the players to get used to.
As it stands, bar LVG, I can't see any outstanding potential candidates. Every single one of them presents a risk, and I'm uncertain whether any options really fit Spurs and our requirements.
That's pretty much exactly how I see it. And I think there's a very good chance it's the way Levy and the board will see it too.
> Do Levy and the board
really have the stomach to hand Spaletti or Pochettino their full faith, emotional commitment and transfer kitty, knowing in their hearts that he's their 3rd or 4th choice behind LvG, FdB, Rafa, Ancelotti etc.? Why should any of them or any of us find that acceptable?
> Can Levy bear the thought of the press release he'd have to write, release and stand over:
- "The entire board unanimously and wholeheartedly decided that Massimo Allegri is the right man for the job."
- "Spurs couldn't hope to find a better man than Laudrup".
- "We have 100% faith and confidence in David Moyes".
- "Mancini brings exactly the qualities we at Spurs cherish".
There's no press release you could write about any of them that would be wholly true (unlike the press release when AVB arrived, which would have been 100% honest that he was top choice and we all genuinely had high hopes for him). With poor old Tactical Timbo though you wouldn't even need a press release - just let him get on with it as per his existing contract.
> Do Levy and the board have the stomach to raid SCBC again? Or to launch an all-out assault on Napoli for FSW? Or embarrass themselves by getting rejected by Simeone or Conte and then have to pick someone else when they say no?
> Can Levy and the board bear the nightmare of us being 2 from 8, or 15th at Christmas as some new guy, who they only half believed in to begin with, tries to implement his ideas? What the hell do they do then? Total nightmare.
> What if we appoint some lesser choice, and then FdB or CA becomes available next summer? Easy to sack Sherwood in that instance, not so easy to sack an outsider who's only 1 year into a 3/4 year contract/"project". We'd then have to watch de Boer head off to some other club knowing that he could have been ours if we didn't have the other guy.
............
It's not that Levy and the board would rejoice at appointing Sherwood, it's simply that there's a weird combination of circumstances at this particular moment in time that is pushing them that way.