Next Manager Watch

[Keith Morris]

More quotes from this:

“Tottenham has not reported to Feyenoord for Arne Slot. If a club is interested, they must report to us. He is not allowed to talk to another club now, because he is under contract with us for another two years, as part of the policy, talked to Arne and his management to extend, with the idea of working together for a longer period and getting the best out of Feyenoord.”

“It's been a fantastic year, then you get interest in players and trainers. But as far as I'm concerned, Slot will be Feyenoord's trainer next season."

Didn’t feyenoord approach slot whilst at AZ….seems hypocritical

 

[dontcallme]

The poll is a lie, most of us want Nagelsmann, it seems people have just accepted Slot is more likely so voted for him

I’ve said from the beginning that I don’t want a manager coming from a big club and want someone making a step up who wants to be here.

So no, people like myself are not lying.

 

[zepstar]

This Nagelsmann news is most perturbing. Even if it is Duncan Castles, he’d need to confirm a couple of sources to get it published. I’m afraid, colleagues and friends, that I am firmly aboard the Slot train, and it has already departed for #WelkomSlot Central Station. I hope this news is just a convenient cover whilst negotiations continue with an in-contract manager. If I get to August and there isn’t a new food option called The sArne containing Gouda and Edam, between two slices of Rye brought to life with a thin spread of mayo, I’ll be very disappointed.

 

[JamieSpursCommunityUser]

A bit of back story to dispel some myths about Nagelsmann drawn from interviews, profiles, and a good Athletic piece in 2020.


- Highly talented CB prospect, devastated when career ended at 19 with injuries.
- Father died 6 months later. Had to become man of the house and find his mother somewhere to live.
- Nagelsmann’s two friends believe the tragic loss of his father forced him to grow up quicker than his peers. “He was always more mature than most but the extra responsibility he had to take on on behalf of his family had a huge impact on his development,” says Kauffmann. “It’s little surprise to me that he was able to get ahead in coaching so quickly. Coaching is dealing with people. Due to the disappointments and pain he had suffered, he had the ability to relate to players’ feelings in a way that few could — especially at such an age.”

Youth Development

- When Bayern sold Lewandowski last year JN wanted Kane, ended up taking 17 year old Mathys Tel from Rennes with 10 senior appearances and 0 goals behind him. Has given him 26 League and CL appearances this season, scoring 6 goals.
- Developed Musiala from youth team. Numerous examples at Hoffenheim and Leipzig. Probably one of the most skilled and brave promoters of young players in Europe.
- Serge Gnabry, the Bayern Munich and Germany forward, credits Nagelsmann with fine-tuning both his mentality and the technical aspects of his game when they worked together at Hoffenheim in 2017-18 aged 21.
“I had heard that he improves players and that’s what happened to me,” says Gnabry. “He kept pushing me. All the time. He said, ‘Serge, you have to do more. You have so much potential. You need to take control of the game more. You need to force it more’. There was an enormous amount of feedback and the training was great. He showed me many situations on video, telling me that I should make runs between and behind the lines rather than come deep that often, for example. He really changed the way I saw the game and he taught me to analyse myself much more.”

Krosche (Leipzig 2019-21 DOF) on JN

“Julian is able to explain to players what they do right and what they do wrong — and he always gives them concrete solutions. They respond to that,” says RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Kroesche. “The key thing is: every player knows exactly what they’re supposed to do on the pitch. Julian issues very clear, effective instructions in a very concise manner that’s easily understood.
Football teams have a good feel as to whether a coach can help them perform and overcome their problems. With Julian, nothing is put on. He’s very straight and honest with his players. Authentic. And it comes down to four things: he has a tremendous amount of social capital, he can recognise and maximise a player’s potential, he can make players better and he can effectively intervene during games. His changes at half-time against Bayern Munich (in the 1-1 draw at Leipzig last September) were a good example of that.”
Having been outplayed in the first half, Nagelsmann took off wing-back Lukas Klostermann for defensive midfielder Diego Demme and changed to a back four. Leipzig were able to defend higher and put more pressure on the ball. By the end of the game, they were unlucky not to have won it.

The making of Julian Nagelsmann

Those who know the RB Leipzig coach well, including former team-mates and Serge Gnabry, discuss his strengths and what he has overcome...

theathletic.com

The making of Julian Nagelsmann
By Raphael Honigstein
Mar. 9, 2020

Spoiler: Spoiler

It wasn’t the first time Julian Nagelsmann received bad news from the doctor. As a teenage defender at TSV 1860 Munich, he had been struggling with a congenital back problem for months. But that day, the prognosis was worse than usual. “Julian was told that he probably would not make it as a professional,” his then team-mate Christian Traesch tells The Athletic. “I remember he looked at me and said, ‘If I can’t make it as a player, I will become a Bundesliga coach instead.’”

Nine years later, he did. Nagelsmann’s incredibly rapid career progression and his success as the youngest permanent coach in German top-division history has been well-documented. What’s far less well-known, however, is just how good a player he had been before a botched knee operation extinguished the last lingering hopes of pursuing an active career at the age of 20, and that many of his coaching principles were informed by his personal experiences. The key to understanding the RB Leipzig coach’s extraordinary ability to hit a chord with players lies in the maturity and empathy he had already shown as an adolescent.

Nagelsmann was born in Bavaria and scouted by 1860 at the age of 15 in 2002. Munich’s second-biggest club were known as one of the best developers a talent at the time, a real hotbed of up-and-coming pros. Nagelsmann, a tall, elegant centre-back, shared a dressing room with top players like the future United States and Borussia Monchengladbach winger Fabian Johnson, the Bender twins (Lars and Sven) and Julian Baumgartlinger (now all at Bayer 04 Leverkusen).

Traesch recalls Nagelsmann helping him to settle when he joined as a 16-year-old from his hometown club MTV Ingolstadt. “He was this incredibly funny, outgoing guy, with a wicked sense of humour,” he says. “He welcomed me to the team with real warmth. We immediately clicked.”

The pressure to succeed can make for a pressurised, egocentric environment in academies but 1860’s ethos was different, says Benjamin Kauffmann, another of the club’s former youth players who would become a close friend of Nagelsmann. “The club put a huge emphasis on signing youngsters who had the right attitude and character. There were no divas and no troublemakers. We were a really tight-knit unit, a super-cool band of brothers.”

Traesch (nicknamed “Trashy”), “Nagel” and Kaufmann, now a midfielder at fourth-division SV Pipinsried, all went to to the same class in the Rainer-Werner-Fassbinder-Fachoberschule, a comprehensive secondary school in nearby Giesing. Nagelsmann excelled, but not by virtue of hard work.
“He had the knack of achieving maximum success with minimal effort because he could listen in class and take it all in,” Traesch says “He was a super bright guy.”

Nagelsmann’s keen perception allowed him to take things easy and entertain the classroom with an endless array of jokes. “The whole class couldn’t help but laugh about his quips, and even the teachers didn’t mind when he was making fun of them — he did it in such a charming way that they never got angry with him,” Kauffmann remembers. “He could really win people over.”

As they got older, the three of them often shared a ride in Nagelsmann’s banged-up black Opel Astra, singing along to Westlife at the top of their voice. “In town, the car was fine but as soon you got onto the Autobahn and pushed 150 km/h, the wheel would start shaking violently,” Traesch laughs.
On nights off, they frequented Kunstpark Ost, a now defunct collection of clubs in an industrial area of Munich that catered to wide variety of musical tastes. “It was a different time then,” Traesch says, “you could do these things — within reason.”

In the dressing room, too, Nagelsmann understood things more quickly than most. “He was a real joker but he knew to cut it all out when things got serious before games,” Kaufmann says. “He hung on the lips of the coach and took it all in. Because he was so switched on and focused, he solved problems before they truly arose. I hardly ever saw him make a tackle. He was always in the right position, with plenty of time to win the ball. His confidence enabled him to marshal his team-mates, shouting out orders from the back.”

At a time when German football was weaning itself off its age-old dependency on the sweeper system, Nagelsmann was looking like the perfect modern centre-back. “His build-up play was outstanding,” says Traesch. “He played these fine vertical balls to the midfielders and oozed class. Most of all, he was incredibly solid and reliable. He never had a really bad day and was often brilliant. I remember him gliding through midfield against VfB Stuttgart once and scoring a fine goal with his head. That was him.”

While Traesch tried to emulate Arsenal Patrick Viera, Nagelsmann modelled himself on John Terry. “Those were the players we most looked up to. One day in training, we called each other ‘Patrick’ and ‘Johnny’, and were cracking up. Our team-mates had no idea what was going on but it was one of those perfect sessions when everything seems to come off.”

Traesch, who now plays for Al-Wasl in Dubai, and Kauffmann were convinced their friend was destined for a career in the Bundesliga but a persistent back problem kept him out of the side for extended spells. “He was a real leader but sadly, also a prisoner of his injuries,” Kauffmann says. Having been promoted to the under-23s at the age of 19, Nagelsmann never managed to play a competitive match again. “He would join in for the odd game on one of the artificial pitches at the academy but it was basically over for him,” Kauffmann continues. “He tried to deal with it as best as possible, keeping up his spirits, but when he was away from the group, the tears would flow. Juli is a very emotional person.”

Shortly after his career was officially over, fate delivered an even worse blow. His father Erwin passed away, aged 56, following a short illness. Traesch says: “We tried to help him as best as we could, being there for him, but we were essentially out of our depth. How do you deal with such an event? You can’t, really.”
Nagelsmann’s two friends believe the tragic loss of his father forced him to grow up quicker than his peers. “He was always more mature than most but the extra responsibility he had to take on on behalf of his family had a huge impact on his development,” says Kauffmann. “It’s little surprise to me that he was able to get ahead in coaching so quickly. Coaching is dealing with people. Due to the disappointments and pain he had suffered, he had the ability to relate to players’ feelings in a way that few could — especially at such an age.”
The combination of his keen intellect, a larger-than-life persona and his strong emotional connection with players was unique, TSG Hoffenheim’s sporting director Alexander Rosen tells The Athletic. After a spell as an opposition scout for FC Augsburg’s second team under the auspices of Thomas Tuchel, now the Paris Saint-Germain coach, Nagelsmann had become part of Hoffenheim’s academy coaching staff in 2010. He was quickly made the under-16s coach and then kept steadily progressing, winning the club’s first under-19 championship in 2014.

“The under-19s championship reinforced our belief in him but it wasn’t that important,” says Rosen. “We were already sure that he was excellent by then. We had seen from the outset that he was very special. He’s loud, extrovert and very funny. Infectious. Rhetorically, he’s fantastic. He gets the team and the whole staff to buy into his ideas. The moment he enters the room, you know he’s around. Whether it’s on the training pitch, during dinner with the team, or in the changing room — he has a huge effect on people, thanks to his tall frame (6ft 3in) and his aura.”

Rosen describes Nagelsmann as a fastidious worker who is “obsessed with details” and sports an “incredible knowledge of the game”. While some felt that his appointment as head coach in 2016 in the midst of a relegation battle smacked of desperation or a PR campaign, the club claim they were assured of his suitability. “You can never quite know if something works out in football. There are no guarantees,” Rosen concedes. “But having seen him at work at the club for six years, we were totally convinced that Julian was a highly talented coach with a great personality. His way of working — a focus on developing teams and players — was a perfect fit for our club. A newspaper wrote (appointing him in 2016) was a ‘marketing gag’ but it had been our plan to promote him all along. It just happened more quickly than anticipated.

“Some felt we were crazy to appoint a coach with no first-team experience and said there was a danger his career prospects would be hurt. The opposite was true. Julian went into the relegation battle in a very relaxed and happy mood, telling his players that the point was not ‘to fight more’ but to play football.” Hoffenheim survived and shot up to fourth spot in his first full season the year after.

Nagelsmann, Rosen adds, is “brutally” ambitious. “He always wants to do better and to win. That sets the tone for his team. I remember when he said that he wanted to be a contender for the championship with Hoffenheim. Some thought he was being unrealistic but he wanted to push his players.”

Making players play well, the very essence of coaching, is a theme that comes up frequently when you talk to those who know him best. Nagelsmann is a tactics buff and an enthusiastic early adopter of new technology, such as giant video screens and drones in training. But when it comes down to it, his work is rather old-fashioned, closer to teaching.

“Julian is able to explain to players what they do right and what they do wrong — and he always gives them concrete solutions. They respond to that,” says RB Leipzig sporting director Markus Kroesche. “The key thing is: every player knows exactly what they’re supposed to do on the pitch. Julian issues very clear, effective instructions in a very concise manner that’s easily understood.”
Serge Gnabry, the Bayern Munich and Germany forward, credits Nagelsmann with fine-tuning both his mentality and the technical aspects of his game when they worked together at Hoffenheim in 2017-18.

“I had heard that he improves players and that’s what happened to me,” says Gnabry. “He kept pushing me. All the time. He said, ‘Serge, you have to do more. You have so much potential. You need to take control of the game more. You need to force it more’. There was an enormous amount of feedback and the training was great. He showed me many situations on video, telling me that I should make runs between and behind the lines rather than come deep that often, for example. He really changed the way I saw the game and he taught me to analyse myself much more.”

Kroesche adds: “Football teams have a good feel as to whether a coach can help them perform and overcome their problems. With Julian, nothing is put on. He’s very straight and honest with his players. Authentic. And it comes down to four things: he has a tremendous amount of social capital, he can recognise and maximise a player’s potential, he can make players better and he can effectively intervene during games. His changes at half-time against Bayern Munich (in the 1-1 draw at Leipzig last September) were a good example of that.”

Having been outplayed in the first half, Nagelsmann took off wing-back Lukas Klostermann for defensive midfielder Diego Demme and changed to a back four. Leipzig were able to defend higher and put more pressure on the ball. By the end of the game, they were unlucky not to have won it.

Rosen homes in on the same point. “One of his greatest qualities is the ability to read a game. It doesn’t take him long to recognise patterns of play and the spaces that appear — and more importantly, he’s able to change things, implementing ideas that his team will have prepared for during the week. He’s the complete package.”

Paul Mitchell, Red Bull group’s technical director of international soccer, is also sold. “I just think he’s a highly, highly talented coach,” the former head of recruitment at Southampton and Tottenham told The Athletic last month. “He’s got great charisma, very relatable, very open, and he’s got a really high ceiling in terms of where he could go in his coaching career.

“I think he’s a natural fit to Red Bull. We like to invest in talent. Julian is as talented as they come in terms of coaching. He knows that he has learning to achieve. The (Spurs) game and the knockout stages will be great for his own personal development. We are just as excited about his talent here as we are about our young squad.”

A first Bundesliga title might just be beyond him in light of Bayern Munich’s strong form this spring but Rosen is certain that Nagelsmann’s managerial career is inevitably heading towards the kind of glory that was so cruelly denied to him as a player. “Julian once said that he wants to coach one of Europe’s best clubs and win big trophies,” says Rosen. “There’s not a shred of doubt in my mind that he’ll achieve that.”

 

[andyp8080]

I’m no bored of our club and this whole process…….someone wake me up when this is all over please

 

[spursfan77]

Why are people believing Duncan Castles???

 

[Jemster]

My original choice has always been JN, but as of last week (and following the ‘we were never interested’ report) I switched my vote to AS. Right now, I don’t care which one we end up with because I see pros and cons to each, but am equally excited. One thing I do not agree with in here though is the presumption that JN thinks he’ll be doing is a favour and AS will stick around longer. Neither is substantiated especially the latter with AS bailing on AZ as soon as Feyenoord came sniffing and after a couple of seasons is now “interested” in leaving mid-contract.

Different circumstances to make assumptions either way. Would be delighted with either.

 

[Fredo]

I’ve said from the beginning that I don’t want a manager coming from a big club and want someone making a step up who wants to be here.

So no, people like myself are not lying.

Congratulations! Key word - most.

 

[spursfan77]

Google translate


Tottenham Hotspur did not report to Rotterdam to take over Arne Slot from Feyenoord. With those words, general manager Dennis te Kloese reassures the fans of the Rotterdam team in the Good Morning Eredivisie.

According to the general manager, the English are currently not interested in success trainer Slot, who still has a contract in Rotterdam until mid-2025.

"No, there has been no request from Tottenham. In February there was concrete interest from Leeds United, but we and Arne said 'no' to that. Arne did not want to go to Leeds and I think that was a very good decision ."

Te Kloese did indicate that clause agreements have been made with the head coach for the summer of 2024. For the time being, he therefore assumes that Slot will also be Feyenoord's trainer next season.

"We went a long way with Arne and we broke open his contract last year. We are more than satisfied with him and if there is interest in his person, we will hear about it. Sometimes it is also very nice to realize what you got."

 

[neogenisis]

Oh and can anyone point me toward anything Nagelsmann has said about us that justifies the arrogant and doing us a favour thing?

I've seen nothing, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.........Or is that one of those urban myth things that SC latches on to?

If you pull at thread everything anyone ever says will be a myth.

 

[Japhet]

JN certainly has the pedigree but it just doesn't feel right to me. All the stuff from Bayern about the difficult personality etc sounds a bit familiar to our previous lot, even Poch at the end of his time here. Levy is probably panicking after yesterday's shitshow and thinks he needs a big name again to get everyone back on side. JN may at least arouse interest from some decent players this summer which is just as well because there is literally nothing else attractive about us right now.

If he thinks he needs a big name manager to get everyone back onside, he really didn't learn anything from hiring Mourinho and Conte.

 

[dontcallme]

Congratulations! Key word - most.

You’re still making that claim on a baseless assumption.

 

[For the love of Spurs]

I like that Naglesmann and Slot are the names around. They make sense far more than Jose or Conte ever did but can we just get one please. Last thing I want to wake up to is those two fell through and Rogers is the new boss.

 

[ComfortablyNumb]

The whole Nagelsmann doing us a favour is lazy.

Arne Slot has appeared more “personable”, and that seems to equate to what people want because Conte and Mourinho were relatively dour.

Yes Slot has done very well indeed with Feyenoord, but his lack of experience with egos and the pressure associated with expectation is a total unknown. Same argument as with Xabi Alonso.

To say that is what we want is essentially to say that we are stuck with Levy as is, so just want a personable manager who will get something out of the dross we have or be fine scrapping it and building a youth project.

Nagelsmann has rightly kept cool and asked the right questions of Levy. He wants assurances, is doing his due diligence and frankly we should applaud that, not get in a hump as if we felt spurned by some hottie who would kinda liked it if we showered a bit more frequently before committing.
Frankly Nagelsmann’s “attitude” (from the outside) has been one of competence, rather than “oh come and get me so I can earn millions on the EPL”.

I could easily turn this lazy argument round and say Slot appears too eager to work with the crap we have and to boot was equally interested in other EPL clubs, not just us!

Both arguments are utter BS.

JN can be very personable, but yeah, he’s German and sometimes comes across a little harsher or more direct (confused for arrogance by many) than someone like Arne Slot.

Frankly I want who is best for the job and if Nagelsmann’s “requirements” mean more control at the DoF level and away from Levy, then that should be what we all want. If that doesn’t transpire, we shouldn’t be “relieved” at not getting Nagelsmann, we should simply view it as what it was, probably a sensible decision on both sides. All be it in my opinion then a missed opportunity, because honestly, we want what Nagelsmann represents.

We should only be judging them on their abilities as managers and what hiring them would likely mean.

On that basis my preference is JN, but if we are not changing how we operate, then out of the other candidates I agree that Slot is my preference.

In practice, though, that means tossing a coin or throwing a dart, because we don't have that information. Past performance is no guarantee of future performance. And that's before we even consider path dependence or emergence.

 

[JamieSpursCommunityUser]

If Spurs believe Krosche is the best available and best fit DOF - and there's a strong case to say that he is - Krosche wants Nagelsmann, and all parties are aligned (strategy, organisational decisions, budget) then that's the correct order of decision making, surely?

They've worked together, trust, and respect one another.

They're two brilliant candidates for each role, somehow managing to land on our feet through all the chaos and upgrade on both previous incumbents.

They play a style of football we would all love.

They're brilliant at finding value and developing Europe's best talent, brave at actually playing them in a Top 5 league and CL, and with a reputation to help us achieve it by attracting targets and keeping our best prospects.

They have a reputation and status that is probably are only card left to try and keep Kane.

 

[Wearegoingtowintheleague]

JN is a top coach and would obviously be a great appointment, however Slot actively wants to be here and we really shouldn't be pissing him about.

i get what you're saying, but i think a lot of this line of thinking comes from us filling in some blanks.

We know from Slot that he would like to manage in the Premier league and could have potentially taken over at Leeds if they paid his buyout price. So yes whilst i can see he wants to be here, isn't it more a case that he wants to manage in the premier league and we're the next club looking for a new manager.

How do we know that JN doesn't want to be our next manager? I haven't heard him say anything that he doesn't, just that the club hasn't approached him.

The only potential difference I can see between the two, is their expectations of managing Tottenham and what they need to be able to do their job successfully.

So for me, the difference I can potentially see, is maybe Slot would accept much less and would be happier working with what he has got or is given, whereas JN may be more vocal in his demands.

The choice for me depends on what sort of club we really are. If we' really see ourselves as a top club then we should be hiring and backing the likes of JN. If we want to be run on a budget then hiring people like Conte and JN is pointless.

So whereas my choice would be JN, without being properly backed it's not going to work. With that in mind a manager who is happy to work with what he has got and put up with being given players he didn't choose as they are deemed a bargain, then Slot is more our man.

 

[Impspur1]

Code for pay up

 

[KingNick]

This Nagelsmann news is most perturbing. Even if it is Duncan Castles, he’d need to confirm a couple of sources to get it published. I’m afraid, colleagues and friends, that I am firmly aboard the Slot train, and it has already departed for #WelkomSlot Central Station. I hope this news is just a convenient cover whilst negotiations continue with an in-contract manager. If I get to August and there isn’t a new food option called The sArne containing Gouda and Edam, between two slices of Rye brought to life with a thin spread of mayo, I’ll be very disappointed.

Sports journalists definitely don’t worry about getting two sources when reporting rumour stories like this - there’s no need as there is no real legal risk even if it is made up (clubs never report this to IPSO even if the inaccuracy is a breach of the Editors Code)

 

[JamieSpursCommunityUser]

Oh and can anyone point me toward anything Nagelsmann has said about us that justifies the arrogant and doing us a favour thing?

I've seen nothing, but that doesn't mean it doesn't exist.........Or is that one of those urban myth things that SC latches on to?

It's a bizarre phenomenon born out of the insecurity and emotional neediness of Spurs fans in 2023.

Mourinho and Conte were meanies. We wanted Uncle Poch to come back and say that he loves us.

So now anyone coming from a bigger club must therefore think he's better than us; we jump the gun before we can be slighted.

A bit like the Harry Enfield character with short man syndrome, picking fights for no reason at all.

"WHY IS EVERYONE ALWAYS HAVING A GO AT ME BECAUSE OF MY HEIGHT!!"

 

[kd2000]

This has the feel that we wanted Nagelsmann and didn't think we would get him.
We then settled on Slot and he came across well but then we thought we had/have another chance with Nagelsmann.
What's betting we end up with neither as Nagelsmann doesn't get the reassurances he wants and Slot gets tired of waiting and feels messed around.
We will then consider Amorim who also felt pissed around after we fluttered our eyelashes at him only to keep him on the back burner.
We will probably then move on the Postecoglu who realises he was an afterthought and either stays at Celtic as he awaits a better job or takes a job in the prem at somewhere like West Ham.
We will end up with someone like Inzaghi Potter or Rodgers.
My two pence