Is it time to give Hod the nod?

Hunting for new managers is certainly nothing new for Tottenham Hotspur football club. In the last 20 years, the club has averaged a new full time manager every two years. That’s a ratio that speaks for itself, and it seems it’s a fact that has not gone unnoticed by some of the names being linked as possible candidates for the top job at White Hart Lane.

Obviously no one knows exactly what happens inside Mr. Daniel Levy’s mind when it comes to hiring and firing, we humble supporters can only digest and dissect what we are fed by a media that may or may not have an agenda against one of England’s greatest ever football clubs.

So what have we been fed lately? Well today it was reported that “Frank De Boer is not interested in the Tottenham job” maybe he heard about that 1 manager every 2 years thing. Yesterday we were treated to some truly inspirational quotes from the Liverpool manager.

I personally enjoyed the Telegraphs headline “Brendan Rodgers reveals his relief at rejecting manager’s job at ‘sacking club’ Spurs”. With numerous other stories coming out of managers steering clear of the cursed role at Spurs, including former bookies favourite Michael Laudrup do we need to face up to some realities?

Even the candidates who have stayed quiet might have some baggage to shed before they could step into the hot seat. That baggage mainly being the hopes of the nations they are contracted to take to the world’s biggest football competition next year.

[authquoteleft text=”no one knows exactly what happens inside Mr. Daniel Levy’s mind when it comes to hiring and firing[/linequote]

Fabio Capello might well be ill advised to break a contract with the Russian people who are counting on him, and Jürgen Klinsmann is the face of a resurging ‘soccer’ movement in the United States at the moment. The US men’s national team have finally over taken there noisy Mexican neighbours in footballing terms and Klinsmann was rewarded for that with a new 4 year contract just last week.

So where does that leave Spurs? Well, there is one brave man who has outwardly said that he actually wants the job, is it time for Daniel Levy to give Hod the nod? Glenn Hoddle reportedly stated he would be interested in the position on either a short term or long term basis. Could this actually make some sense?

Tim Sherwood who is currently in temporary charge has also stated he would like the job, but compared to Hoddle, he really has no comparable managerial record or experience and surely Tottenham are too big of a club to start your managerial career at?

So even for the short term, could Hoddle could be the answer, at least till those other guys can shed their national team baggage after next summer. Who knows, Hoddle might even be successful?

You could be forgiven for having awful flashbacks to Hoddle’s last spell as manager at Tottenham in 2001. But was his managerial career really that bad? He got Swindon Town promoted to the Premier League in his first managerial role in 1993.

The Chelsea team he took charge of in the nineties was a different beast than the Chelsea we know today. Hoddle took a struggling team and made them into a much bigger force, attracting bigger names to that club such as Ruud Gullit. He took Chelsea to two FA Cup semifinals and a final only losing to the double winning Manchester United side of the mid-nineties.

[linequote]Hoddle could be the answer, at least till those other guys can shed their national team baggage after next summer[/linequote]

I’m sure most of us remember Hoddle in charge of England in 1998. Unlike more recent times, it was almost a pleasurable experience to watch England play football back then. At times the football was attractive and very attacking, something all Spurs fans expect at their teams.

In case you needed reminding, Hoddle’s England were knocked out of the 98 World Cup by Argentina only on penalties. Hoddle was ousted from the job a year or so later after some controversial comments he made in the press. Currently he holds the 3rd best win percentage of any England manager behind Fabio Capello and Sir Alf Ramsey.

Before being appointed at Spurs in 2001, Hoddle had a quick spell at Southampton. He saved what many people thought was a doomed Saints team from relegation before he moved to Spurs. He came into a Tottenham set up that had one the league cup in 1999 but hadn’t finished in the top 5 of the league for 11 years. Hoddle’s time at Spurs was up at down to say the least.

He won the premier league manager of the month award twice yet only managed mid table finishes. He did however reach another League Cup final after beating Chelsea 5-1 in the semis. He also re-signed Teddy Sheringham and lost Sol Campbell arguably the best defender in England at the time. Ultimately he was sacked in the 2002-03 season after Spurs were lingering in the relegation places although the quality of the squad he had was poor to fair at best.

Some of the questions that come up when Hoddle’s name is mentioned are regarding an arrogance and naivety when it comes to man management. Stories of him yelling at David Beckham for not doing keep ups the correct way are circling the media this week.

[authquoteright text=”Hoddle was sacked in the 2002-03 season after Spurs were lingering in the relegation places although the quality of the squad he had was poor to fair at best[/linequote]

It’s possible that attitude stemmed from Hoddle being such a gifted and talented player himself. Hoddle has recently acknowledged the problems he had with man management and regards himself a much more able and experienced coach in that area these days. After all it has been 8 years since his last management role.

Glenn Hoddle was one of the best players to ever step on the pitch at White Hart Lane, he loves Tottenham and most Tottenham fans love him. As Gary Lineker put it last week, Glenn Hoddle has a brilliant football mind and most would agree there is no doubt Hoddle is tactically intelligent when it comes to attacking football.

There is no doubting the quality that is in the Tottenham squad today, quality that needs guidance from an experienced football mind. Could Glenn Hoddle be that mind? What other options do we have right now?

[author name=”Simon R. Short” avatar=”” bio=”Born in London, raised in Dorset now live in California. Spurs fan forever!” twitter=”[/linequote]