Who’s next for Spurs?

After finishing fourth in the Premier League for the second time in three seasons, a position the club have only ever graced under Harry Redknapp, it would appear on the surface as bewildering that Tottenham Hotspur would even consider sacking their manager.

Now, with some pointing to Redknapp’s failure to commit to North London amid speculation that he would be offered the England job and others sensing a clash of personalities between the former Portsmouth boss and Spurs chairman Daniel Levy, the club are in the hunt for a new boss who Levy will hope can take them on to the next level and challenge for the title.

Since the decision to remove Redknapp was made, speculation amongst journalists has been rife with bookmakers rotating a number of favourites for the open vacancy at White Hart Lane. For Levy’s part, he has said that the club will not rush to appoint a successor as he knows the wrong man could turn Tottenham’s fortunes back to mid-table mediocrity.

Current Everton boss, David Moyes became the early favourite even before Redknapp’s sacking had been confirmed. Moyes is highly regarded for the work he has done at Goodison Park, consistently achieving top half finishes and pushing the nations elite with a club severely lacking in resources. A disciplinarian, Moyes always seems to get the best from his players at Everton, although some Spurs supporters may point this style of football has not always been welcome at the Lane over the years. Tottenham fans are famed for their love of passing football, a club tradition started back in the push and run days of Arthur Rowe in the 1950s.

If this is what the supporters want, then many of them may be keen on the bookmakers other early favourite, Roberto Martinez, whose style of football with Wigan Athletic has been well received and applauded. Though Wigan have successively avoided relegation with an attractive brand of football, it has been without the sometimes difficult to manage “big name” players that are needed when challenging at the opposite end of the table, and doubts will lie as to how Martinez will handle this kind of scenario.

Currently at the top of the bookies shortlist is former Chelsea boss Andre Villas-Boas who has publicly declared his interest in the job. AVB is still a bit of an unknown in England after lasting less than a season in West London – a spell where he didn’t show much of the talent that had brought him so much success at FC Porto. These three managers are far and away the favourites at the moment, but with other names such as Laurent Blanc of France, former Barcelona coach Pep Guardiola and current Spurs development coach Tim Sherwood being mooted about North London, it will be interesting to see who the new man will be to take Tottenham forward.

Arash Kowkabzadeh