Tim Sherwood Or Louis van Gaal: Who’ll Be In Charge at Tottenham?

Well who’s going to be in charge at Tottenham next season? Will Tim Sherwood see out the full term of his contract or will Louis van Gaal take over once he relinquishes control of the Dutch national team?

Who’ll be the Tottenham manager next season? It depends on who you listen to.

If you listen to Tim Sherwood, he will still be the manager at Tottenham as he’s already making plans for next season and has given Daniel Levy a list of players he would want to sign. It is thought that these new players could bring an end to this season’s continental experiment as Sherwood would be putting his faith in players with experience of the Premier League plus younger players coming through from the Tottenham Academy.

SkySports reported Sherwood saying,

"I’ve given him a list of players of who I want for next year. You need to start looking, this is the time. The chairman’s got a list of the players who I would like."

Such a decision could see the return of Steven Caulker to White Hart Lane, a year after moving to Cardiff City. It would also see the return of Tom Carroll to Spurs after a season on loan with Queen’s Park Rangers. Speaking of Jake Livermore and Carroll, he said,

"They’re both good players. Jake’s had a good season at Hull and Tom Carroll is certainly one who will come back into the squad next season because he’s good enough for Tottenham."

If, however, you’ve been listening to the musings of Ruud Gullit, it’s the current manager of the Dutch international team who is set to take control at Spurs after this summer’s World Cup finals when Guus Hiddink replaces Louis van Gaal.

According to Gullit who was speaking on Radio 5 Live, which was reported by the Daily Mail, Gullit said,

"I know for sure the chairman of Tottenham was at Van Gaal’s house. I think it’s a done deal, but you never know."

Tottenham were known to be interested in the Dutchman when Andre Villas-Boas was sacked in December. Van Gaal was not prepared to leave his post with Holland before the World Cup and neither would he consider combining the two roles, even for the six months to this summer’s tournament. Van Gaal, however, is thought to be interested in coming to the Premier League as a manager. He was quoted in the Mirror, last December, saying,

"I’ve won titles in Holland, Spain and Germany. I now have England still to come. If an English club doesn’t come for me after the World Cup I’ll consider quitting."

The question arises, however, will his destination be White Hart Lane? With uncertainty surrounding the future of the managers at Old Trafford and the Emirates, van Gaal might find the prospect of managing either of those clubs more appealing.

Tim Sherwood or Louis van Gaal?

The two possible managers are at the opposite ends of the managerial spectrum with Tim Sherwood new to management with only a few months in charge at Spurs, have to go through a very steep learning curve. Louis van Gaal, on the other hand, has vast experience at club and international level having been in charge at Ajax, Barcelona AZ Alkmaar and Bayern Munich as well as two periods with responsibility for the Netherlands team.

If Tottenham were to bring in van Gaal as manager, it would be a tremendous coup for them as he is a manager who has the experience of managing successful teams at the highest level. To continue with the inexperience of Tim Sherwood would be a gamble as it was to appoint him in the first place but last December, Daniel Levy had few options available to him.

Tim Sherwood [Photo: Alan Hill]Who will Daniel Levy choose, who will he be able to work with?

With the World Cup Finals in the summer, any decision on who will be in charge at Tottenham next season could be delayed until July with the added uncertainty that creates.

If van Gaal will give a definite commitment to come to White Hart Lane as manager, then Tottenham should appoint him. If not, then Daniel Levy should consider other options and those may not include Tim Sherwood.