Tottenham's worst manager and the manager you hated the most.

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Reading through this brings back some painful
memories for sure! I’d say the one I disliked the most was Gooner Graham. He could have won the league with us and it wouldn’t have changed the fact I didn’t like the miserable ex goon cunt with his dull football.
the most useless was that gormless twat Gross. He was an affable type but we were trying so hard to install next “Wenger” when we brought him in and it reeked of desperation. The bloke was a village idiot I’m afraid.
I didn’t know that Santini had lied about his wife and that we “broke” a promise about giving him a house by the seaside & that alone installs him alongside Graham as a cunt.
we have had some proper Charlie’s since the General though (first manager I recall as a kid growing up to begin my love affair with Spurs).
I hope Poch shuts everyone up, I really do. He’s the best we have had in a very long time.
 
I always thought it was planned by the club that Santini would only manage a handful of games then slip out under some pretence or another and Jol would then take over, Santini was just a big name (he was at the time) to appease the fans.
It was very odd that Jol and Santini were both on the books at the same time.

Always felt very fishy to me.
 
I don't hate any of them, and was willing to give them all a chance (even Neill and Graham), if they produced teams that were good to watch and won something. But we have had some dross TBF and that's why I haven't got on Poch's case yet.
 
Hard to see past Neill. Don't know why some have a problem with Sherwood. I assumed he'd been appointed coz he was Levy's yes-man but he turned out to be anything but. I respect him for that.

One thing to remember about Neill is that he brought Keith Burkinshaw with him as part of his coaching staff and, to be fair to him, he had an impossible act to follow and Bill Nick didn't exactly leave us in great shape either - bottom of the league with 4 straight defeats and an unsettled squad. Neill was also hampered by a board who undermined his authority with regard to player bonuses and other things which would be a clear-cut case of constructive dismissal in today's game.

Agree 100% with you on Sherwood, though.
 
As wonderful a player that Hoddle undoubtedly was, I can't look upon his time as manager as a success.

As for Graham, I think any manager who takes over someone else's team and, at the earliest opportunity, does something his predecessors couldn't do i.e. wins a trophy, deserves credit for that.

Hoddle is our Roy of the Rovers and,will always be emblematic of everything good and pure about the Tottenham spirit. He was only a cup final defeat away from emulating Graham's success and he brought the creative, attacking football the board wanted. He made clear, definite changes to the way we played and brought his own players in to emphasise that. From the moment the 01/02 season kicked off, we were left in no doubt that we were watching Glenn Hoddle's team.

The thing that makes me reluctant to credit Graham is that he didn't build on the success. In the following season, we just got the mid-table mediocrity without the cup runs with nothing to really distinguish the team as George Graham's.
 
Santini I disliked becaues everything about the team was wrong, he set the team up like Stoke, and it was offensive to watch.
AVB I disliked because we had a good thing with Harry in charge, and to lose that through politics was sad, particularly because we chose someone who came and made the club be as good and easy on the eye as rubbing them with a cheese grater.

Graham and Neill were the two managers whose performance I would have expunged from the records though, mostly because they were goons but also because the teams were poor to watch and the combination was a toxic one for the supporters.

No Spurs side has given me the pleasure to watch as Poch led teams though, even the 70s Spurs at the back end of Bill Nicholsons tenure weren't as good, and the team that Poch produced for the last season at WHL was a side to be proud of, and a fitting tribute to the old ground.

To read some of the comments about him as a manager and as an individual (who I have the highest regard for) posted on here makes me ashamed to be a Spurs supporter, some of you need to take a long hard look at yourselves, no wonder other clubs fans who come on here leave with a shit impression of the mindset of Tottenham fans.
 
This doesn't surprise me but what I will say as a youngster is that having signed Klinsmann - three goals in first 2 games, playing 5 up front and beating Sheff Weds 4-3 then Everton 2-1., 100% going into a game against United was incredibly exciting. - until it got found out!

Remember Klinsmann scored against United (ruled out for offside) but the celebration from it was on the MOTD intro for the rest of the season :klinsmann:

I was excited before the Everton game but not after it.

We were 2-0 up at half-time, Everton scored in the first minute of the second half and we looked completely clueless after that and were lucky to come away with three points. The warning signs were already there.

I don't actually remember Klinsmann having a goal disallowed in the United game or his celebration being on MOTD.

I only remember Ian Walker tripping over one of our defenders at a corner and allowing Steve Bruce to head into the empty net and Sheringham's missed penalty.
 
Hoddle is our Roy of the Rovers and,will always be emblematic of everything good and pure about the Tottenham spirit. He was only a cup final defeat away from emulating Graham's success and he brought the creative, attacking football the board wanted. He made clear, definite changes to the way we played and brought his own players in to emphasise that. From the moment the 01/02 season kicked off, we were left in no doubt that we were watching Glenn Hoddle's team.

The thing that makes me reluctant to credit Graham is that he didn't build on the success. In the following season, we just got the mid-table mediocrity without the cup runs with nothing to really distinguish the team as George Graham's.

I think if Graham had achieved exactly what Hoddle achieved as manager then many, if not most, fans would still say Hoddle did a better job.
The difference is that Hoddle is a Tottenham legend (as a player), Graham was a member of a legendary Woolwich side and was a legendary Woolwich manager.

It never bothered me that Graham managed Tottenham and I felt sorry for him in the way he was treated when he was sacked and I would have liked him to stay longer.

The main things I remember from Hoddle's time as manager were

- his lack of man-management skills (now widely acknowledged)

- throwing away a 3-0 half-time lead at home to Manchester United and losing 5-3

- his comments about Andy Cole that backfired massively when we lost a Cup Final where the players thought all they had to do was arrive at the Millennium Stadium and the trophy was theirs

It was inevitable that Hoddle would one day manage Tottenham but it didn't work out and Levy's statement upon Hoddle's dismissal was particularly damning.
 
I disliked Sherwood as a player and a manager, and his record with us and since tells me what his capabilities are. Gross, Santini generally a waste of time but under Gerry Francis I felt we became so mundane and boring that this was the only period since the mid-to-late 70s that I lost interest, and I didn't think that was possible. I deal with being a crap side (we've had enough of those), I can with disappointment (most years until recently) but I can't deal with be boring. It goes against every reason why and how I fell in love with the club.
 
I disliked Sherwood as a player and a manager, and his record with us and since tells me what his capabilities are. Gross, Santini generally a waste of time but under Gerry Francis I felt we became so mundane and boring that this was the only period since the mid-to-late 70s that I lost interest, and I didn't think that was possible. I deal with being a crap side (we've had enough of those), I can with disappointment (most years until recently) but I can't deal with be boring. It goes against every reason why and how I fell in love with the club.

At what stage did you feel that we became mundane and boring under Francis?
 
Gross..I spoke to him at the Chigwell training ground once and asked him "Are we gonna win against Bolton"? I nearly fell asleep during his answer... boring, boring ...fucking zzzzzz boring....and we beat Bolton just in case you are wondering.
 
without being morbib, what did he say?

Levy said: "Following two seasons of disappointing results there was a significant investment in the team during the summer in order to give us the best possible chance of success this season. Unfortunately, the start to the season has been our worst in the Premiership... It is critical that I, and the board, have absolute confidence in the manager to deliver success to the club. Regrettably we do not."

Levy also referred to an "unacceptable lack of progress and any visible sign of improvement".
 
At what stage did you feel that we became mundane and boring under Francis?

I'd like to say straight after the 3-4 Villa game but that would be disingenuous of me. The new broom steadied the ship but the second season onwards we just became very 'ordinary'. I borderline idolised him as a player for QPR (I was born in Shepherd's Bush and QPR were my second team) so maybe I expected more from him as a manager.

Under Francis I think we scored and conceded roughly the same amount of goals, and I think we won roughly the same amount of games we lost under his management. Without much fun, in my opinion. The likes of Sinton, Fox, Armstrong, Dominquez I didn't feel inspiring enough signings, although I appreciate he did bring in Ginola and Ferdinand. However, for someone in situ for 3 years he kept enough of the lesser players we had. I also felt that he was too much of Sugar 'yes' man - of course if you don't say yes to Sugar you probably have no job after a while but it think it suited his lack of ambition too - don't rock the boat and everything will be fine all round.
 
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