GettyImagesAndy Carroll's stats impressed Damien Comolli enough to pay £35 million

Tottenham are on the lookout for a new Sporting Director. Will it be Franco Bandini? Or maybe Txiki Begiristain? Even Damien Comolli's been linked with a return...

Like most fans, I don't really care who we get as long as it's not Comolli. Can you imagine it? We sell Bale next summer to Real Madrid and spend the proceeds on Stewart Downing, Andy Carroll and a bumper new contract for David Bentley. Not on my watch.

Bandini seems to be the favourite and comes with great pedigree, while I'm sure that no one would turn their nose up at the idea of Begiristain transforming Spurs into the new Barcelona.

What's really important is that whoever is appointed gets along with our current manager Andre Villas-Boas. Because if there's been one constant in the history of Spurs' coaches and directors of football, it's been disharmony.

The first person to take on the role at Tottenham was David Pleat, who enjoyed a frosty relationship with both George Graham and Glenn Hoddle, before devoting the rest of his career to his mispronouncing players' names during television commentaries.

Pleat was followed by Frank Arnesen who wanted Martin Jol for the job as coach, but was instead made to wait until the more famous Jacques Santini made a pig's ear of things, before Jol could be promoted to the boss.

Now you sense that the Arnesen and Jol partnership is one that could have flourished had Chelsea not waved a big cheque in the Dane's direction. It was a typically ironic moment in the history of Tottenham Hotspur that our Director of Football (a position lauded for the fact that it would bring stability to the club's management) should get pinched by one of our biggest rivals - presumably taking all of our transfer targets and players' contract details with him.

Next up in the hot seat was our good friend Monsieur Comolli who promptly rubbed up Martin Jol the wrong way by signing loads of players that he didn't want, before sneaking off with Daniel Levy to hire a replacement while Jol was still in gainful employment.

That appointment was so disastrous that not only did Comolli pay for the decision with his own job when Juande Ramos got sacked, but Daniel Levy even scrapped the whole Director of Football/Head Coach arrangement and brought in an old fashioned British manager in the form of Harry Redknapp.

Now that Redknapp has calmed the ship, Levy's obsession with running Tottenham with a continental vibe has clearly got the better of him and he's ready for another crack.

No matter that the backbiting and power struggles of the past resemble more an episode of Game of Thrones than a 'how to run a football club' guide. This is what Levy has always wanted and it's coming to our club whether we want it or not.

At least in AVB we have a manager that is used to working with such a figure. I hope he's getting some say on the appointment.

Because I've always found it curious how often we've paired people to work together so closely in these roles, when they are often total strangers. A head coach or manager tends to pick a backroom staff that he knows and trusts. Is it such a bizarre idea that a manager should also pick a director of football that he knows, or alternatively the D of F picks his own coach?

Far too much like common sense. Instead we'll just throw people together from completely different footballing cultures and pray. Let's just hope that in six month's time AVB and 'whoever' aren't arguing over the proposed signing of Stewart Downing.

• Recommend0
• Tweet0
• Email