Tottenham Hotspur supporters have learned over time that no less than zero fate should be placed in the club's leadership to make the right decision. Time and time again, Spurs have failed their fans with bad transfers, bizarre contracts, subpar recruitment, and woeful hirings of both sporting directors and managers.
After screwing up the Thomas Frank and now, ostensibly, Igor Tudor appointments, Spurs are gunning for another manager fans won't like in Roberto De Zerbi, who is most famous for signing a host of miscreants and criminals at Ligue 1 underperformers Marseille.
Sporting director Johan Lange and CEO Vinai Venkatesham have somehow taken Spurs a step back from the entirely underwhelming Daniel Levy era, almost making a few fans wish for their cartoon villain back in the main seat.
Tottenham want to hire Dortmund's failed sporting director
As Tottenham Hotspur search for their next permanent manager less than a year after anointing Thomas Frank as the solution, they are still in the midst of a sporting director search that is quietly nearing its ultimate conclusion.
According to a report from Matt Law and Jason Burt of the Daily Telegraph, Tottenham are in the "final stages" of selecting their next sporting director, and sources in Germany are telling the English paper's top reporting duo that Sebastian Kehl is "in the frame" for Spurs.
Kehl was fired just days ago by Borussia Dortmund as their sporting director after a horrendous reign in charge of the club. Dortmund went from having one of the best sporting directors of all time in Michael Zorc - a man who found global superstars year after year - and replaced him with Kehl, who failed to find a single star player for the club. Kehl's only successful signings were center backs Nico Schlotterbeck and Waldemar Anton, while the rest of his transfer rap sheet is a list of high profile and overpaid busts from other big Bundesliga clubs who then replaced those sales with better players (and the sorts of players Dortmund should have signed).
That Dortmund are second in the league is a testament to Niko Kovac's coaching, and he had to turn Dortmund into a highly defensive team playing like a small club, destroying the previous identity of BVB being a haven for young, exciting talent to play beautiful football.
Tottenham Hotspur need someone in charge who can identify talent, make smart money moves, and transform the identity of the club into something more exciting. Kehl is like the Frank of sporting directors, and if that statement alone is not enough to scare Spurs supporters, then maybe they should watch old footage of Dortmund under Zorc and compare it to their collapse against Atalanta this season in the Champions League.