I awoke early and took the dog out into England’s green and pleasant land, 400 acres of somebody else’s countryside to choose from, but today we opted to head up to the orchard as this now home to dozens of sheep. The dog and the sheep appear to enjoy the stand-off on either side of the gate.
Returning home and Spurs news has gone from an endless back and forth of speculation about managers we’ve all heard of, to a photo of some guy in a Zorro outfit.
Then we have those fans who believe that a Director of Football at Spurs means something.
Which stance reminds me so much of this sketch.
Fonseca is a man that would, should he sign for Tottenham, be on his 12th appointment as a coach. To date, his biggest successes have been in Ukraine Ukraine, where his side Shakhtar Donetsk swept the board under his guidance, winning the Ukrainian Premier League: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19; the Ukrainian Super Cup: 2017 and the Ukrainian Cup: 2016–17, 2017–18, 2018–19.
To me, Fonseca does not look like the man to get a tune out of our existing stars, nor does he look like a man to keep Harry Kane at Tottenham.
If Conte’s polite refusal has told us much, then it was nothing that we didn’t already know. Under ENIC, Spurs are simply looking to harvest top four and broadcasting monies. Forever.
Sacked at the end of his contract, how does that work?
I agree.
Fabs gotta be trusted. If he believes the fons can do a job I’m gonna trust him and believe that too.
If I could get behind poch who came with nothing medals wise I can certainly get behind this guy who comes with something medals wise.
Sacked or his contract ran out and Roma wanted Jose?
Yes and the great freedom day looks like being put on the backburner.Covid passports to be used for the Euros in the UK.Say goodbye to your freedom now.
I feared mentioning Benitez on here and was a little worried he may be passed it but seeing we are at Fonseca id take Benitez in a heartbeat
You’ve answered your own question there are loads.. even ok fit is better than Fonseca. Fonseca + our defenders = car crash
I can see him lasting under half a season
‘ Under ENIC, Spurs are simply looking to harvest top four and broadcasting monies. Forever.’
Even that is just a dream now in my opinion. We ain’t getting top 4 under this guy and probably not for many years at all. I doubt he will last the season.
You may not agree but purely judging by the responses on here who do you think might be closer to the truth 😂
Christoph Galtier?… Benitez is the best out of your list… Zidane is no idiot, as long as no one mentions his sister!
In your words, “he should know how to operate in Italy”, says it all for me. Could he not have found somebody more inspiring than Fonseca if that really was his choice?
Indeed.. Did a good job there considering Ashley, the Toon faithful love him.. Or Galtier from Lille would be a better choice.
In other news they are testing Universal basic income in Wales. Yes folks the ‘conspiracy theory’ is real.
Aye Fab knows his players he’s signed young and old for Juve, a good mix which is a perfect football structure.. Between 2010 and 2020 Juve won NINE consecutive titles. Only Contes Inter stopping the domination.
Benitez would have been the best choice under the circumstances. Perhaps he’s even swerving it….and he worked for Ashley?!
Not relegation. But maybe another terrible league/cup run, low attendances, on going protests, low sales. Maybe just maybe that would be the final nail on the coffin.
You usually talk sense mate? You want us to be relegated next year? Cutting off the nose to spite the face.. I’ve been a fan all my life too, never have I or will I wish for us to lose… We are in trouble, but relegation would not help.
There is no chance of us getting an elite manager now.. I would rather the likes of Parker, Potter or Howe than Paulo.. Or Benitez. At least Benitez has won stuff at the top level.
Former Roma boss Paulo Fonseca is closing in on a move to Tottenham Hotspur, with a three-year contract already agreed and official announcement planned.
Oh boy… Time to get the popcorn ready and watch the drama unfold
without shareholders, they have no one to answer to though. They have shown nothing but contempt for us fans. This is a closed shop. Ultimately the only way we see change if if they sell or we start really losing money. I hope we sell and fast!
10 years ago were enjoying some good stuff under Redknapp and we qualified once for CL, also another time but it was cruelly taken away by Chelsea winning the CL.
Big fan protests will be key. If they are going to be plentiful and large in numbers they MIGHT just be forced into finally selling up and s*dding off. I filled in a survey today the club kept badgering me to complete. I went into to it thinking it might be about how the club is run. Silly me, it was all about the sponsors of the club. Levy doesn’t want to hear what the fans really think.
He was sacked for failing at roma in Italy. The premiership should be a breeze for him. Yeah your right of course.
Yep, being in the Champions League now seems as distant as it was 10 years ago. I’d take top 4 for a season or two and then start morning about the complacencies around it. Right now we are going nowhere fast…
As a 45+ yr fan it pains me to say this but please let it be relegation next year.
Not seeing the comparisons made there but each to our own!
I tend to agree, this whole thing is going to get a lot worse before it gets better. Perhaps we just need to accept this uncomfortable truth? 🤔
The only silver lining from this could be that it’s accelerationist, in that it is going from bad to worse rather quickly and Levy (and ENIC as owners) will have nowhere to hide in terms of culpability.
“Under ENIC, Spurs are simply looking to harvest top four and broadcasting monies.”
If only. Next season, expect mid-table mediocrity.
I agree with this 100% If he is appointed, I hope we direct our ire at Levy and ENIC and get behind him or which other poor soul gets the nod. Its a f-ing circus and the ring master is a bald accountant with a phobia for silverware!
Who then?
Conte is available, is not a fool.
Benetiz is available, think this forum would go nuts at him signing.
Redknapp is available, obviously a joke.
Zidane is available, he’s not an idiot.
Who else is available?
Every manager “better fit” actually has a job that doesn’t involve Levy and is supported. Or has a contract Levy won’t buy up.
Personally would prefer Ange from Celtic. But that train is gone too
Yes. He’s a patsy and the manager will be another yes man.
It is, and the straws im clutching at are feeling like stinging nettles..!
A hugely underwhelming impending appointment. How depressingly predictable, after the Conte, season-ticket deadline day, PR con-job, that we ultimately hire a cheap ‘yes-man’, who will be indebted to Levy and Paratici for his job and won’t rock the boat or demand transfer funds, like Pochettino at the beginning of his tenure.
This managerial search fiasco, is just a further damning indictment of ENIC’s staggering lack of ambition and Levy’s executive ineptitude. A world class manager (Conte), with a winning pedigree, being eschewed in favour of an unproven journeyman, because the latter is cheap and malleable. The sooner these parasites are removed from our club the better. ENIC out!
More Smoke and Mirrors by Levy
Levy has one foot back in the shadows with the appointment of Fabio Paratici as a DOF. He now has a buffer between himself and the clubs supporters as he attempts to put space between himself and the spotlight that has been increasingly scrutinising his 20 year tenure of failure as Chairman of THFC. Levy like ENIC like to dwell in those less public domains of spreadsheets and fiscal performance, I am hearing already the narrative that football matters are being handed over to Paratici and that he will now be responsible for selecting the new manager. In other words the buck will stop with him. Suddenly after his incoming and out of the ether emerged Paulo Fonseca as Paratici’s first choice as the manager to take THFC back towards the elite clubs that have left them rapidly disappearing in the rear view mirror. We are to assume that suddenly Fonseca ticks all the right boxes and was there all along just waiting for us to appoint Paratici. So we are to believe that all the media pundits missed out on Fonseca for 60 days as the clear and obvious candidate whilst the club made itself look foolish pretending to court the likes of Naglesman, Ten Hag, Rogers, Hansi Flick et al and the last grandstanding season ticket sales promotion of Conte joining. Let us cast our minds back to the announcements by the club a few weeks ago that Levy wanted a softer manager who could be managed easier and who would use the younger players. Translated into plain English, a manager who would spin the ENIC pr, not demand money for quality players, be happy to work on a “ project of jam tomorrow and with Kane leaving look to uncover another nugget of gold for ENIC from our Academy. An academy structure that has failed to produce any consistent quality apart from Kane for nearly two decades. So whilst the narrative slides towards Paratici now making all the football decisions whilst Levy steps back let us consider that when Paratici joined he was tasked with finding a new manager that perhaps was far from the right choice to bring success to the club but someone who ticked the boxes of the preferred list of attributes Levy wanted but was not willing to front with an increasingly hostile fanbase. This is Pooch MK11. Another push for the top four as a metric of success. This is a manager who will be expected to work with the turds he inherits and the new turds he will be given who will tell the world and its media how very appy he is to be at a club with a world class stadium and training facility and how he believes in the squad. Levy is reverting back to modus operandi Pochettino pulling all the strings in the dark recesses of THFC and allowing the brown and sticky stuff to fall squarely on the shoulders and in the faces of the latest cannon fodder to be recruited as his and ENIC’s buffers. The loudest noise though is not the arrival of these new faces but the sound of the door at THFC slamming shut as Conte walks away claiming that behind that door lies, no ambition, no vision, no principles and no opportunity for real success. That is the reality of THFC for the past twenty years and the foreseeable future
There’s apologists out already.
This isn’t good enough. Period.
It’s clear by now that this Italian “DOF” is just a patsy to take the blame for the coming collapse of the football club. Dirty underhand move from Levy. It’s inevitable, no matter who comes in that there will be real problems ahead. No money, no Kane, No crowds, no squad, no soul…it’s going to go down very quickly, like a ship after the initial impact, it disappears rapidly beneath the water. Levy knows this, and has acted accordingly to put someone in the line of the bullet.
It won’t work on me, I know there are others who see this too. Remember who did all this. Never forget.
De Ligt, Chiesa, Betancur and Kulusevski are all fairly young. He signed Coman as well but for some reason then sold him to Bayern.
Juventus can attract the likes of Ronaldo and Vidal so he didn’t need to shop at around so much.
I get the feeling that Paratici is very well connected and liked in the football world. Juve gave him a farewell party, so hopefully that bodes well. He should know how to operate in Italy where Spurs have come unstuck before i.e. Dybala fiasco.
Slight concern is he has no experience of Premier League and it appears Fonseca is his choice who also has no experience in English football. Having said that Wenger, Ancelotti, Conte and Sarri did ok.
very little backing and terrible injuries……………. thats most probably what he’ll get here too.
I admire your optimism OP, but all this is a million miles away from the Premier League…
Forseca, cannot see this happening surely no logic at all, i will eat my hat if he gets the job
anyone got a rice paper hat i can borrow please
By your comments I suspect I know a little more than you….hence why I don’t share your optimism…I guess ignorance is bliss 😂
Trying to be neutral on this (maybe Para knows Fonseca was very unlucky at Roma) but taking my Spurs goggles off he looks to me as the bloke who is standing on the touchline managing Watford a few years ago whose name no-one can remember now.
In fact I read he was in the frame to replace Bruce at Barcode land.
thank you
And I doubt you do either. All I’m saying is wait and see. Also doubt that getting a winning manager without money is easy to find. But Spurs fans like us get what we’re given. Enjoy.
Isn’t it somewhat ironic that we have swapped a serial winner with a manager who was just sacked by the club that has employed our most recent manager? Just for the record, Paratici has no proven track record in finding and developing young talent, rather the reverse as he modus operandi is signing older players heading towards the end of their careers.
Exactly 😀
Prediction for when the club’s financials are announced:
1) Levy paints a sob story that his plans have been derailed purely because of COVID.
2) For this reason the club cannot compete on the same financial footing as the Premiership elite and painful decisions will need to be made in the short term.
3) They are investing heavily in infrastructure for the future.
4) Fans should be patient for these long term gains and continue to show loyalty and support the club (paying for the most expensive tickets in Europe).
5 we ain`t got one
Southgate will think twice about joining us. His top priority would be the lack of 5 right backs.
I agree to a point but still feel there are much better fit managers available, even bargain basement ones.
Levy is a conman. Now after 20 years of the same scam, no manager or player of real quality and ambition is lulled in.
The new DoF is in place to sniff out bargains that can later flip a profit and Fonseca is the only calibre of manager that the club can now attract.
I still reckon we end up going for Southgate after he fails in the Euros. Or, failing that, some other Euro manager who fails.
But Southgate’s readiness to do what those above tell him to do will be a big plus in Levy’s eyes…
Like previously said he has a similar make up to Martinez and De Boer so I think he is a terrible fit….Lennon was pretty successful at Celtic….
I’ll be round with the Jerry Cans !
The reason it is receiving such a negative response is because there are literally loads of better fit managers available and it only seems the ones that know nothing about the guy think it is a good idea and give him a go.
He performed well all things considered. Roma have a terrible squad and were going through a change of ownership during which he had very little backing, not to mention all the injuries he had to contend with. Is he good enough for Spurs? Hard to judge as the Roma job is not a good indicator, but I certainly think he is a better option than Ten Hag due to being more experienced and having coached in different leagues.
Also, even despite heavy losses, a relatively poor record against the bigger clubs, Roma fans still seem to like the guy and appreciate him.
This is a Paratici appointment, let’s see how the two work together before jumping to conclusions.
why was my reply removed ???? please explain
All true, but you cant knock him when he won back to back doubles. Im no knocking Poch either, just pointing out that this guy has a track record and we are not in a position to expect we can attract managers with proven top league honours. He has enough behind him to not be a total waste of time and potentially could be a good appointment.
Being a Businessman I can’t believe Levy would want to fail but it kinda feels like he’s setting him self up to be a hero…you wanted Dof, you wanted to play attacking football.. now I’m picking up the peices or could just be another smoke screen so that a Potter feels like a Conte
He managed Shakthar Poch managed Espanyol…..
Top 4 😂 good one ☝️
The question is, if not Fonzie, then who? The pool of interested candidates is not exactly overflowing. Better to get it done and get started on work. This guy seems to have a commitment to possession based attacking football and is the DoF’s choice so lets just get on with it and start sorting the squad out.
If we force him to stay, there’s a chance that next year his value will be a lot lower I would assume. Damned if he goes, damned if he stays, on the financial front.
Levy has appointed his latest patsy – why did anyone think anything else would happen? If Paratici doesn’t toe the party line he will be out, same as Mitchell, Commoli, Baldini… I’d love to know where we would be now if Mitchell had stayed at Spurs to get the kinds of players Poch wanted when he wanted them. Daniel knows better of course.
Not inspiring, however I’m cautiously optimistic about this guy. He has a better win % than Poch with a comparable number of games managed and he has won multiple and successive honours (yes, in Ukraine but thats still an achievement to win back to back domestic doubles). His record in Portugal was decent and decorated with promotions and cup wins.
There are obvious worries, I don’t deny that he is a risk still and far from anyone’s number 1 choice. His record against top 6 clubs in Italy is a particular stat that makes me wince.
I take the view that this guy is probably the right level we can expect right now and he has enough of a track record to offer some hope that he can make a success of it.
Look at how Poch’s Spurs did, in one home match, against Bayern Munich in the Champions League. I get that Fonseca is not what we had in mind, but we can’t pretend that we’ve never had crap results just to push the narrative of Fonseca’s supposed incompetence. And no, I’m no Levy apologist in any way.
If only someone did those camps for Tottenham fans
Harry Kane looks happy as Larry with the England group.
Reminds me of those pics you see of abused inner city ghetto kids that get to go ride horses in the countryside over summer
This is not an appointment for top 4
The money required for spurs to get to city, Liverpool or Chelsea level were we are in a real chance of the league now is vast. We would have to sell Kane, aurier, Doherty, Sanchez, Toby, dier, winks, sissoko, foyth, lamela, ccv and alli. I make that in the 300 million range maybe a bit more. That would require a chairman who is brave and one who wants to really win the league and the cl. That is not the case with our chairman and the board. Top four is enough for them because the stadium makes enough money when full of fools cheering on the team and spending money. This is the Enic brand of success. Let the poor and the fools pay for the rich to get richer while laughing at how gullible fans are. The new muppet in charge will have a clear message from above, get us top 4 nothing more that’s all we ask. That’s the real reason conte did not get the job not about the spend its about different expectations.
Evidence speaks for itself . They finished 7th in the most one horsed Serie A game ever, conceded lots of goals in his 2 seasons , as has all of his big teams, they were appalling against United at Old Trafford , leading but lost 6-2, Roma’s record against their main rivals (the bigger teams) in his time reads 4 wins from 24 games. Seriously , a few days ago I was moaning about Rafa or Martinez but I’d gladly have either of them over Fonseca. So if Roma are watching our results and see us capitulate to Zagreb whilst they get to the Semi’s , but decide to get rid of this guy to bring in Mourinho to replace this guy, I think that tells us all that we need to know.
Disagree, there still has to be logic he’s selling point is playing good football at Shakthar where he had the best team in the league so probably a good comparison would be De Boer; how did that go
Dinamo Zagreb 2-0 up first leg 3-0 loss second leg and they were poor, please lets not make out Mourinho to be what he no longer is
The point was made last night that Roma conceded 58 this year and he finished 7th, it’s basically Martinez with out the Prem experience. It looks a disaster on paper.
Fair point.
I think we should all relax a bit. Fonseca is one of the coaches who are in the mix.The club is in a stage now where they have talked to different managers, and they will decide shortly. Fonseca would be a huge gamble, and I don’t think Levy will take this gamble. There have also been talks with Galtier and ten Hag last week. I prefer ten Hag as I know him from his time in Munich, and he is a nice and no-bullshit guy who plays attractive football.
You’ve just admitted to knowing nothing about the guy….
Look at how Man Utd did against Fonseca’s Roma, on aggregate, during the Ropey this year.
After Tottenham v Roma match where Roma win 6-0
.
Mourinho: “Hard Cheese. oh Hard Cheese”
.
Fonseca: “Nice movement of the attackers you had there”
.
Mourinho: “Not really, they were just chasing the ball”
.
Fonseca: “We had a good go”
.
Mourinho: “Shame the sun was in your teams’s eyes. For both halves, apparently”
.
Im amazed anyone thinks Kane wants to stay….it will only be the case if he is forced which means we have no money but with this appointment it will probably be wasted anyway.
The thing is, we expect to hire a top-notch manager because we are Tottenham. Unfortunately, we are a poisoned club & we had a top-notch manager in Jose & even he couldn’t get a tune out our of our pampered pussycats & was forced to take on Bale. Therein lies the problem – the manager isn’t in charge. If a top manager can’t do anything, we might as well have someone we don’t want.
Not sure I understand all the despondency before a deals done or a ball kicked.
I had to Google Poch before he came. This Fontesa guy seems to like to play in a similar style to Poch.
We all knew Mourinho but in the end it meant half a cup.
A Spurs fan needs hope and optimism , never works out but that’s the joy of it.
Give the guy a chance.
I tell you what the running joke is, Spurs. Levy has turned us into a laughing stock.
I feel like we have turned into Woolwich overnight…
Agreed it makes no sense whatsoever I would rather have given Parker the job
Just what I was thinking, can’t see him getting this lot going and Kane will feel completely unmoved.
This DOF, as good as a job he may have done at Juventus, he’s never worked in this country before. Is this the blind now leading the incompetent? 🤔