Surprise! Surprise!! Antonio Conte departed Spurs by "mutual consent" and Cristian Stiellini will take charge till the end of the season. Wait, is that even a surprise? Yes and no. The 'no' part? We all knew Conte was leaving Spurs, we just didn't know it would take this long after his incredible outburst. The 'yes' part? Stellini isn't following his boss out of the club. The expectation was that Ryan Mason will guide the club in a caretaker role till the end of the season, just like he filled in after Mourinho's departure.
Daniel Levy's press conference where he announced Conte's sack - or departure by mutual consent, whichever one you want to call it - gave a brief insight into why Stellini got the caretaker role ahead of Mason. Spurs are currently fourth on the EPL table, two points ahead of fifth placed Newcastle having played two games more. In like manner, they are seven points ahead of Brighton having played three games more. Levy firmly believes they can qualify for the Champions League spot and he needs someone proven to do that. Stellini recorded a stunning win against Manchester City and a deserved one over Chelsea while Conte was away on health grounds. Thus it looks reasonable to put their faith in him to help them grab a UCL slot with just 10 games to go.
Beyond this season, what are the available managerial options?
To start with, Pochettino is still without a club. Even before Conte's departure there were rumours about some Spurs players contacting their former boss, begging him to return. I for one think those rumours have something to do with the 'selfish' rant Conte unleashed on his former players and the Spurs hierarchy. Asides Pochettino, Julian Nagelsmann has been talked about in recent days. The recently dismissed manager is reportedly interested in a move to Spurs. Roberto de Zerbi has made Potter's work at Brighton look like an underachievement since he took over. Instead of struggling, Brighton improved under the Italian. With that in mind, he's definitely in consideration too.
Will Ancelloti's rumoured move to Brazil impact Spurs search for a manager?
It sounds crazy, right? What's Ancelloti got to do with Spurs? Like, where's the correlation? It's very simple: if Ancelloti quits Madrid to become manager of the Brazilian national team, the Spanish team will have to get a new manager. It sounds silly when I first heard Brazil were considering Ancelloti. But, the fact that some players close to both camps are beginning to talk about it means this is not a baseless rumour anymore. It could happen. And if it does, there will be domino effects. Pochettino never hides his admiration for Real Madrid, he wants to manage the Spanish club. Will the Argentine choose Spurs over Real Madrid if Ancelloti departs for Brazil and Madrid comes calling? Well, that scenario is yet to play out. So, no need to get hairy balls about it.
Finally, I think the Spurs are just moving around in circles. They may not be as rich as City or United, but Arsenal are not as rich either. There was a point where Spurs were ahead of Arsenal. The red side of North London are back up and chasing Premier League glory once again. Spurs? They're still struggling to move ahead despite having two of the top 10 managers of the last decade manage them in recent years. In fact, I believe they won't make the top 4 this time around!
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