There are simply not many good coaches on the market at the moment.

Yes, there is Antonio Conte who recently walked out on Inter Milan due to disagreements he had with the club’s board over transfers for next season. But beyond him, there is not many.

This is highlighted by the fact that Real Madrid went for Carlo Ancelotti – a manager past his best who they sacked 6 years ago.

You then look at Tottenham.

They are becoming a running joke with how many managers they have approached, and been turned down by (or turned down themselves). The most recent one is Gennaro Gattuso.

Spurs have been snubbed by Julian Nagelsmann, who understandably preferred Bayern Munich. Brendan Rodgers preferred to stay at Leicester City, whilst Erik Ten Hag decided to remain at Ajax for another year. Whilst they made a  tentative  approach for the return of Mauricio Pochettino.

Tottenham spoke to Conte, but turned it down following his demands. Whilst a move for Paulo Fonseca broke down after Daniel Levy et al changed their mind on him.

What is embarrassing for Spurs is every move they make in the manager market seems to be played out publicly.

When Arsene Wenger left Arsenal, the senior leadership team came up with a dozen potential replacements. This is not unusual.

Some turned the opportunity to chat further about the job down straight away. Others came in for a formal chat. This is normal when recruiting for a high level position regardless of industry.

But it was all very private.

Tottenham’s public pursuit has made them a laughing stock.

When you look at the candidates they have approached, are any of those actually available (ie excluding Nagelsmann, Ten Hag and Rodgers) better candidates than Arteta?

Conte is the only outstanding candidate.

Tottenham are not the only side to have struggled to recruit a new manager.

As mentioned, Madrid have gone backwards to get Ancelotti, whilst Celtic, Everton and Crystal Palace have all struggled.

Celtic took over 100 days to appoint Neil Lennon’s replacement, and ended up with an unknown Australian.

Meanwhile Everton’s pursuit is only slightly less embarrassing than Tottenham.

There had reportedly been talks with Nuno Espirito Santo before settling recently on Rafa Benitez. Their fans have revolted.

Benitez has not done anything relevant in football since his spell at Napoli.

He followed that up with being sacked after 25 games with Real Madrid and being relegated with Newcastle and has since spent a couple of years in China.

The fact he is currently top of Everton’s list shows how few good candidates there are.

And it filters down.

Palace are also struggling to recruit.

You almost feel they need Spurs and Everton to make their decisions so they can scope up who is left. Or are they waiting for England to crash out of the Euros to get Gareth Southgate?

What is clear is that Antonio Conte is the only truly top coach currently on the market. And he has had a falling out with Inter over transfer funds and Spurs rejected him because they could not meet his demands.

You have to wonder what he is expecting from clubs considering the Covid world we live in.

Arteta is going no where. And if he was, I would be hugely concerned as to the quality of manager that replaces him.

In the meantime, we can all keep laughing at Spurs.

Keenos