The Managerial Hot Seat

I wrote a post at the beginning of the year, discussing which managers would be next to get the sack. Out of the four managers I mentioned, three since been sacked: Graham Potter, Frank Lampard, and Brendan Rodgers. The other one (David Moyes) is likely to either be relieved of his duties or leave on his own accord. It’s funny how things play out isn’t it? Fast forward, there are quite a few clubs are on the lookout for a new manager. Let’s chat about what the right manager is for those clubs that need one.

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Chelsea

Let’s paint a picture of the situation in West London. They started the campaign with Thomas Tuchel who won the Champions League with them and was stupidly sacked just over a month into the season. Bear in mind they spent around £275m that summer to improve the squad. That was Chelsea’s first howler. Who sacks a manager no less than a week of spending a stupid amount of money? They then hired Graham Potter, someone who has developed a reputation for improving players. At the time, people questioned the move as Potter seemed to be the opposite of what Chelsea have looked for in the past and they were proven right. He was sacked at the beginning of the month with Chelsea way off the European places, having spent a further £300m in the January window and with no chance of winning silverware. Howler number two. Then to top it all off, they bring in Frank Lampard until the end of the season, someone who was previously sacked two years ago and has lost all four games since he’s taken charge. That’s three of a kind.

The question is, who would dare step into that hot seat? Every Tom, Dick and Harry has been linked with the jobs. I thought Nagelsmann would be the favourite, but he’s no longer being considered for the role due to his lack of experience. The connection that Poch has with Spurs might make it hard for him to make the move to West London, but I actually think he’ll be their next coach. He probably won’t demand more money to spend on the squad and with his experience in the Premier League previously, he could be the exact kind of manager that Chelsea are after.

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Spurs

Spurs are another club that are in a bit of a mess. While Conte’s track record is impressive, he is a very erratic figure and seems to get on the wrong side of the board/players at every club he’s been at it. The way he’s able to grind those around him the wrong way is one of the reasons that led to this sacking. The real nail in the coffin was the extraordinary interview he did when Spurs were pegged back to 3-3 against Southampton after being 3-1 with 15 minutes to go. In his post-match interview, he fully threw his players and the board under the bus in what was his last act as Spurs coach.

I feel like the shortlist for the Spurs job has some overlap with the Chelsea job and what happens at one of the clubs will have a direct impact on the other. If you want to look at it from a sort of romantic perspective, Mauricio Pochettino would make sense. They never won a trophy during his time there, he was beloved by the fans and Spurs were one of the most exciting teams in the league to watch. Getting someone like him might be crucial in convincing Harry Kane that his future doesn’t lie away from North London. Again, Luis Enrique has been touted as a possible replacement for Conte, but again, I don’t think the fit is there. I think Julian Nagelsmann will be their next coach. He’s said he wants to manage in the Premier League, and after no longer being considered for the Chelsea job, Spurs represent the next best alternative in terms of teams in England. He’s an exciting young coach who had great success at RB Leipzig. Given the right support and backing, he may be able to work wonders at Spurs and get them to where they want to be.

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Leicester

It’s a shame that Leicester are in their current predicament. Prior to this season, they finished eighth, fifth and fifth, and those two times where they finished fifth, they had a great chance of qualifying for the Champions League. However, the way the season started, you could start to see that things were beginning to unravel. They lost their no.1 Kasper Schmeichel, who made the move to Nice, and they spent the least amount of money out of all the teams in the league (a measly £15m). With the lack of investment and the loss of such a vital component of their team (without adding a suitable replacement), their season thus far has been a nightmare, culminating in the firing of Brendan Rodgers and the club lying perilously in the relegation zone.

In the interim, Dean Smith has taken charge until the end of the season but he’s not the man for the job long-term. I’m unsure who will take the reins at Leicester come the start of the 2023/24 season, but I’d like to see Graham Potter get the job. Despite what happened at Chelsea, I believe he’s still a good manager, we’ve seen it when he was Brighton. In truth, he was done dirty at Chelsea. Most of the players they brought weren’t his choices, they were who Todd Boehly wanted. Trying to manage a squad of 30+ players is near impossible, and most would have failed. However, at Leicester, he’d be able to improve some of their young talent, get the team playing progressive, attacking football once again.

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This Week’s Hot Take

There should be a limit on how many coaches a club can have in any one season. Look at the Champions League and the Europa League. A player can only play for a maximum of two teams in a single campaign. Why not have something similar for managers? Some clubs go a season having three permanent coaches and I think that’s ridiculous, especially when a manager is sacked when the season is basically over. This trend of sacking managers like it’s no man’s business needs to stop.