Alasdair Gold believes a ‘fascinating choice’ in the managerial race to fill Antonio Conte’s role at Tottenham Hotspur is ‘loved’ by the club’s director of football, Fabio Paratici. The only problem here is that the man with the name in the frame has been out of top-flight domestic for some time.
Luis Enrique was at the helm of Barcelona from 2014 to 2017, with a win rate of 76.24%, winning significant silverware including La Liga twice, 2014–15, 2015–16, the Copa del Rey three times 2014–15, 2015–16, 2016–17, not to mention the UEFA Champions League in 2014–15.
Since then, Enrique has stepped back from the limelight somewhat, and in some quarters was said to have effectively ‘retired from football’, although the 52-year-old did step forward to manage Spain for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, which ended in a penalty shoot-out loss to Morocco.
During his Q&A on Football.London Gold said, “Luis Enrique would be a fascinating choice, and he’s someone Fabio Paratici loves, along with Porto boss Sergio Conceicao, who is reportedly considering stepping down at the Portuguese side. Enrique’s football is very different to Conte’s and would require a revamping of the squad, which might be no bad thing.”
Could Daniel Levy tempt such a figure to come to North London?
Therein lies the trouble with Spurs, the honeymoon period in respect of the stadium and the training facilities has worn off, and even former interim coach Tim Sherwood went public this week, making scathing remarks about the club’s business model and the commitment of the players.
For me, the situation is going to require a coach that can stay in office for a while (Spurs haven’t had a manager see out an entire season since 2019) in order to effect the kind of gradual change that Daniel Levy is likely to allow.
Another issue is the £200 million worth of playing talent currently on loan. This is a big job, but equally, it’s an extremely over-complicated one, and that is not going to set many pulses racing.
