- Football is blindly walking into its biggest ever crisis. Part 1
- Football’s biggest ever crisis Part 2: the big are just getting bigger
- Football’s biggest crisis ever part 3: How to maintain the excitement
- Football is facing its biggest crisis ever, Part 4: taking emotion to a new level
By Tony Attwood
The sacking of the Tottenham manager – or maybe his decision to walk – or maybe a departure by mutual consent – has been on the cards for weeks. There is talk of Julian Nagelsmann – sacked by Bayern Munich on Friday – on the club’s wish-list.
In this regard, the German league table is quite interesting, in that Bayern Munich have won the league for each of the last ten years. So slipping disastrously as they have done this season into to second place, one point behind Borussia Dortmund is not clearly acceptable, even if there are nine games to go. Plus Bayern have a goal difference that is 21 better than Dortmund. seems to make it a funny time to lose your manager. (Although to be fair the reason overall seems to be more due to a lack of player development rather than league position).
But anyway, two defeats in the last five games is too much for Bayern Munich so out goes the manager. And thinking of this it is interesting to compare the level of expectation of Bayern Munich with that of Arsenal and Tottenham.
The last Bayern manager to make it past the two-year mark was Pep Guardiola, who lasted three complete seasons finishing in 2016. Since then they have had seven managers and none of these has completed two or more seasons. One and a half is the norm.
So in terms of trophies won, Arsenal have it by 3-0. In terms of league position Tottenham’s average is half a place higher than Arsenal’s – and indeed if Arsenal win the league this season and Tottenham finish fourth Tottenham will still have shaded it over the last ten years.
Looking at all this data it seems to me that Tottenham have not found the magic solution to winning stuff. They’ve copied Bayern by changing managers a lot, they have played in Europe, they have copied Arsenal by building a big stadium. But there is still that something missing in terms of winning things. Their last trophy was the League Cup in 2008. Since then Arsenal have won the FA Cup four times.
Perhaps what they really need to do is wonder if the Bayern model of changing managers all the time really is the secret to success.
I would have thought the Spurs problem is pretty obvious. With Pochettino they had a manager who served them for five years, developing players on limited funds while they built the stadium. He may not have won anything but he left the club in a much better place than he found them. Then, rather than finding another Pochettino they went after big name managers, Mourinho, Conte, who’d been there and done it on unlimited funds. Since Spurs, like most clubs, don’t have any oil wells it was always a long shot. The irony is Arteta’s time at Arsenal is much closer to the way things used to be done at Spurs under Poch.
Oh and “copied Arsenal by building a big stadium”, seriously ? The Spurs stadium is light years ahead of the Arsenal effort, a different generation. It’s a money making machine and it’s going to be interesting to see just how much revenue from non football sources it generates in the coming years.
Only to say that we’ve won the FA Cup four times since 2014 and not three over 10 years.
jod
“The Spurs stadium is light years ahead of the Arsenal effort, a different generation. It’s a money making machine and it’s going to be interesting to see just how much revenue from non football sources it generates in the coming years”
That’s as maybe, but given your history of spending I fail to see the point you’re making?
08/09 Berbatov £38 Million
12/13 Modric £35 Million
13/14 Bale £101 Million
17/18 Walker £52 Million
Every penny of that p!$$£d up the wall.
Yep, nice stadium shame about the team. Being able to fill a glass from underneath and host American football games means diddly squat if you have a rubbish football team.
You see, if you’re going to come here and brag about something, it’s best you make sure it actually means something before you do. It’s going to be interesting to see how Spurs manage to waste the money they make on Kane.
It’s no use ‘generating’ money if you don’t know how to spend it.
It is a point I’ve stressed before, but it think this post proves it. Both Bayern and Arsenal have a backoffice that is professionnal and efficient. Yes Bayern are sometimes called FC Hollywood, yet the club has a structure that does the work and does not depend on a single person even if Uli Hoeness did have lots of control. Yet the person was and is a special football actor, and a legend in Germany. Yes they change managers, but some times it is just that the managers having won all they can move on. And, it must be said, Bayern have been dominating german football for 30 years or so, and lately got if I am not wrong 10 titles in a row. They are THE club in Germany. Much unlike Spurs.
And Arsenal do have a backoffice that knows its stuff, and has been getting better and better.
As for Spurs, well I’m not convinced they have the backoffice, and are not THE club in the PL.