Gennaro Gattuso would have definitely gone down as one of the most, if not the most controversial managerial appointment in Premier League history if he was named as Spurs‘ new manager.
Fortunately, the sexist, racist and homophobic former Italian international has been rejected by the Spurs board, reportedly after huge uproar and protesting by fans on social media last night – who all came together and created the #NoToGattuso campaign which was the 2nd most trending topic in the United Kingdom at one stage.
Gennaro Gattuso WON’T be next Tottenham manager, confirmed as per @David_Ornstein. It’s never been a done deal, agreed or set to be signed, as reported last night. ❌⚪️ #THFC
Spurs met with Gattuso agent, positive feelings – then decided against appointing him. Search restarts.
— Fabrizio Romano (@FabrizioRomano) June 18, 2021
It made no sense from a corporate perspective to appoint Gattuso for another huge reason – the growth of the women’s team at Spurs and their clear goals to progress their reputation, and appointing a man who has literally said before: “I can’t really see women in football,” would be detrimental.
The togetherness of fans and the unwillingness to get behind a man who could never represent the club’s values is truly admirable – and hopefully the message was received by Fabio Paratici to not appoint a manager with similar outlooks on the world as Gattuso.
“We are acutely aware of the need to select someone whose values reflect those of our great Club.”
I can’t believe this needs saying but Gennaro Gattuso is not that man.#NoToGattuso pic.twitter.com/lRFnFnO4uY
— Noz Ahmed (@NozAhmed) June 17, 2021
Meanwhile, it’s back to square one for Spurs, who still don’t have a manager after all this time, having turned down more managers in the last two weeks than all time transfer offers for Harry Kane – and that’s saying something particularly with Manchester City desperate to sign him this summer.
Week by week, the possibility that Ryan Mason will take charge for the first game of the season continues to grow – but it is also important to remember that there is still two months until the season opener with the Premier League Champions travelling to North London.
#thfc ‘head turned by Gattuso’
Managerial career:
Sion – Fired 4 months
Palermo – Fired 6 games
Crete – Quit, came back, quit within 4 months
Pisa – Promoted, quit, came back, finished last
Milan – Bottled 4th
Napoli – Finished 7th, bottled 4th, sacked
Fiorentina – Quit 23 days— Lilywhite Rose (@Lilywhite_Rose) June 17, 2021
It’s also unlikely that much, if any, transfer business will be concluded before a manager is appointed – and with an overhaul desperately needed at the club, time is ticking for Paratici, Daniel Levy and Steve Hitchen.
Jurgen Klinsmann admitted on BBC today that he would be interested in the job if he was given the opportunity, while Ajax boss Erik ten Hag reportedly remains a target for the club, despite Spurs having previously rejected him in favour of Mauricio Pochettino and then Antonio Conte.