Speaking exclusively with BOYLE Sports former Aston Villa and Chelsea favourite Andy Townsend has slated what he describes as the " Evangelos Marinakis Way " following the recent sacking of Sean Dyche and that Tottenham are suffering from a nice guy problem following the sackings of their recent managers including Thomas Frank.
The former Ireland International has also spoken strongly about Robbie Keane and the job he's done at Maccabi Tel Aviv and now at Ferencvaros but also argues short-term Harry Redknapp could come in and similarly save Tottenham season, as Martin O’Neill has done at Celtic.
Managerial Departures
Sacking Is The "Evangelos Marinakis Way"
It's not a shock anymore when Nottingham Forest sack a manager. It's the Evangelos Marinakis way. He believes that hiring and firing can inspire players and somehow motivate players, and I've got to tell you, in my opinion, I don't think players like that sort of chaos. I don't think players operate at their best in uncertainty. When new managers come, and managers go, you create that uncertainty, and I don't think it improves performances, I really don't.
Sometimes you can strike lucky, and someone comes through the door and makes a difference, but to have had Nuno , Ange and now Sean Dyche in one season is chaotic, and I also think we're getting to a point where maybe there need to be some rules put in place about the amount of coaches that you can actually have during any one season.
You create a culture among fans, particularly younger fans, that sacking managers is the only way forward. There have been many managers who have had their backs to the wall, and they've come out the other side and have proved to people that they can not only keep teams in the Premier League, but they can also go on and win things. So for me, it’s a decision Mr Marinakis has made and only in the fullness of time will we know whether or not it’s one that he regrets or believes was the right call.
Either way, when you walk into Nottingham Forest, I don't think it's worth bringing in your boxes and unpacking all your stuff. You might as well just leave it in storage and just get on with your job, because you never know when you'll be putting it all back in the car and driving off again.
Thomas Frank Gone: The Tottenham Dilemma
There are two things with the Spurs job that I don't quite understand. We’ve seen this play out now with Nuno and with Thomas Frank. Nuno had a really good Wolves team and a very good way of playing. He had a very defined style. As soon as he arrived at Spurs , it was like he left all that behind him at Wolves and didn't take it with him. Thomas Frank is the same. His Brentford team were direct, in your face and had a very clear way of operating and playing, but as soon as he came to Spurs , it’s like he could no longer be the man that he was.
These managers come to Spurs , and it’s as if they feel like they have to be something they’re not, something different to how everyone perceives them to be. I just don’t understand that for the life of me. I do not get it. Why wouldn’t you bring the very thing with you that made Spurs give you the job?
Jose Mourinho’s greatest quality is that his teams play the same way today as they did when he first rocked up at Porto and started turning the world upside down. I don’t understand what it is about Tottenham that these guys are coming through the door and not bringing the tools with them that made them what they are. Thomas Frank made a reasonable start. He’s done well in the Champions League , but that’s a bonus. It’s been a really big call by the club, but I’m not surprised at all because they’ve looked afraid to play at home.
That's always a bad sign, and it’s a bad vibe when a team looks like they aren’t up for playing in front of 60,000 fans in that unbelievable stadium. That's the way it looks. I was there at the Newcastle game, and they were really poor again, and that falls at Thomas Frank’s door. He's coached them like he's coaching a kids' team, applauding every little thing they do and running up and down every time they knock three passes together. Then someone miscontrols it, and he's coming off the bench to give them a round of applause. They don't need a round of applause, trust me. They need to be livened up, this lot, massively.
It's not old school to say that. You need to liven your players up, and there are two ways you can do that. One is that you leave one or two names out, and you rock the boat, or you wake everybody up out there on that training ground and convince them that what you did at Brentford will work here at Spurs , like what Ange did. Frank didn't do that. That’s why he’s lost his job. Spurs have now got 11 or 12 days before the North London Derby , and I don’t think Frank had anywhere to go. The club have done the right thing to give themselves a chance to get a reaction for that match against Arsenal .
Tottenham
Keen on Keane?
Robbie Keane has done a very good job at Maccabi Tel Aviv and now at Ferencvaros . He’s really serving his apprenticeship. I admire the way he’s been prepared to go halfway around the world to pay his dues. It tells you a lot about how determined Robbie is to become a coach who is respected. Is it a bit too early for him to take the Tottenham job? I don’t think so in terms of forging that connection with the fans and the players. I think Robbie could do that, absolutely. But he’s not a magician.
I would have thought the sensible thing for Spurs to do would have been to get to the summer, but that’s a difficult one because they’re still in the Champions League, and that’s not without its issues with the relegation battle too.
Spurs need someone to come in and change things, change their direction immediately, and the last thing they need is another person like Thomas Frank pussy footing around the players. They don’t need that. I think the therapy they need is someone coming in with a definitive idea of what they want, to get it going literally from day one, making the players conform to what they want as a coach, rather than the coach pandering to the players.
That’s where I think Thomas Frank and Nuno went wrong. I don’t think that was the case with Ange , but he was very set in his ways, and when they weren’t working, and you have to come up with something else, he came unstuck. Spurs need something different pretty quickly.
Would Robbie Keane Suit Tottenham?
Harry Redknapp
Redknapp Return: The O’Neill Blueprint?
Harry Redknapp as interim manager? That wouldn’t be a bad idea. Personally, I think that Spurs would be better off trying to get to the summer with a short-term solution and going from there. Could Harry do that? Yes, he could. Harry's the sort of individual who could walk in there and do it. He's been out of football for a while, but there's an old saying in football: you never lose it, and he's been around far too long to be frightened of anything. That’s what you’d get with Harry .
He would walk in there, bold as brass, as if he had been managing there every day for the last five years, because he’s done it all, and that wouldn’t be an issue for him. He wouldn’t be fazed by the job, the size of the club or the task at hand, and if it is a short-term job, in a way that’s a good thing.
You don’t want someone who's on trial. Robbie Keane coming in would be like Michael Carrick at Manchester United . With Redknapp , that’s not the case. You’re bringing in Harry , telling him to keep us in the league and let's see what we can do in the Champions League. Get the players fit. Get some life back into the team. Reconnect the supporters and team again. When Martin went back into Celtic , he knew the club, and he knew the owners and, I have no doubt, a fair way of the players, but when you’ve got a short-term job, you can go in there and rattle a few cages. You can go in there and be very demanding. You're not looking to build relationships. You're going in there to have an effect.
I absolutely get the idea of bringing in someone like Harry , who understands the club to settle the team down, but also to demand more. The only problem I can see is whether he’d want it after having stepped back from management. Whether there are better options, off the top of my head, I can't think of one. We'll have to see it's not the end of the world to take them away and let them figure things out themselves, too.
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