Rafa Benitez, not Frank de Boer, should follow these men if Tim Sherwood leaves Spurs



My five men for a World Cup SOS

Roy Hodgson will unveil his squad for Brazil a week on Monday and the majority of names he will select are clear. Injuries can strike, though, and England’s head coach may need alternatives. These are my choices...

Tottenham Hotspur. When I was growing up, they were one of the established big five clubs in the country, a side you associated with glamour and excitement.



I remember the stylish team of Glenn Hoddle and Ossie Ardiles winning the UEFA Cup in 1984 and pushing Everton all the way in the title race 12 months later. As they were once Double winners and the first English team to lift a European trophy in 1963, their history could only be admired.



But here we are today and Tottenham’s glorious moments have hardly been updated. During the Barclays Premier League era, they have only won two League Cups and, rather than be known for the quality of their football, they are becoming notorious for the way they dispense with managers.

Heady days: Tottenham celebrate a UEFA Cup victory over Anderlecht after a dramatic penalty shoot-out

Cup team: Ledley King, Robbie Keane and Paul Robinson start the party as Spurs lift the League Cup in 2008

Only one Tottenham team have come close to matching the consistency of the team from the mid-1980s. That was Harry Redknapp’s squad from a couple of years ago that finished in the top four twice in three seasons and reached the Champions League quarter-finals.



Under Redknapp, White Hart Lane was the most difficult stadium in the country for Liverpool to visit. It has always been a proper ground with a great atmosphere but the pace with which Harry’s team played was frightening to defend against. Like many who went before, however, he was sacked.



Judging from the pointed comments Tim Sherwood has made on a number of subjects in recent weeks — and the deafening silence that has come from chairman Daniel Levy in return — he will be the next Tottenham manager who finds his time is up.



Brushing shoulders with the elite: Harry Redknapp took Spurs to the quarter-finals of the Champions League

Outspoken: Tim Sherwood penned an 18-month deal in December yet rumours are swirling about his future

Regardless of the fact Tottenham have played with Champions League consistency over the last 20 games or that they could set a new club record for points gained in a Premier League campaign if they beat West Ham and Aston Villa, Levy will start the process all over again.

I find it difficult to understand. Why must they change all the time? Since I made my Liverpool debut in January 1997, Tottenham have had 10 different managers, as well as three men placed in caretaker charge.



Some think Sherwood is being harshly treated, given the win percentage he has and his willingness to give young players opportunities, but I found the sacking of Andre Villas-Boas to be just as brutal.



Why give him £100million to spend on players, then get shot of him four months later without them having had a chance to settle in? He had enjoyed a solid first season in charge and should have been allowed to let his signings bed in before judgments were made.



It should be remembered that, if Tottenham had beaten Liverpool in what proved to be Villas-Boas’s final game last December, they would have gone level on points with my old club — and who is to say what lift they would have got from such a win?



There is no doubt the sale of Gareth Bale hurt. We know Levy loves to play poker in the transfer market and the fees he commands when selling are excellent but isn’t there more to football than just trying to get the best possible deal?



Seeing Bale and Luka Modric lining up for Real Madrid in the Champions League final will only intensify the frustrations of supporters. Do they feel short-changed? Yes, Levy got almost £120million for the pair but couldn’t he have got tough as Liverpool owner John W Henry did with Luis Suarez?



Pastures new: Both Luka Modric and Gareth Bale left Spurs for Real Madrid

A selling club? Daniel Levy let Modric and Bale leave White Hart Lane

Rather than negotiating with Madrid, shouldn’t Levy have been negotiating with both players and their agents to stay? Given how Bale has progressed this season, he could have had an impact for Tottenham like Suarez has had for Liverpool.



The trend of Tottenham cashing in, though, is not new. They have had top players including Dimitar Berbatov, Robbie Keane, Michael Carrick and Jermain Defoe, but all have had their price. If you are going to sell your best talent, why should you be a winning team?



Levy, it should be pointed out, hasn’t been bad for Tottenham. He has overseen the building of their new training ground, one of the best in Europe, has ambitions for them to move into a new stadium and their average finishing position has improved in the last decade.



Yet there is a notion that Spurs must play a certain way. That is admirable and explains why they are pursuing Ajax’s Frank de Boer. They are going back to the Dutch model and have also tried Spanish, Portuguese and French managers, most of whom had no Premier League experience.



Playing the right way: Frank de Boer has led Ajax to their fourth consecutive Eredivisie title

Swiss miss: Gross Caretaker: Pleat Former Gunner: Graham Crowd pleaser: Hoddle

French flop: Santini Going Dutch: Jol Spanish sighs: Ramos Not up to it: AVB

Proven winner: Rafa Benitez

If they want to go for a foreign manager again, why not go for someone who knows our league and a history of winning trophies? Personally, I think they should look at Rafa Benitez. He would love to work in England again but perhaps his pragmatic style of play wouldn’t be accepted.



Yet he has a winning mentality, has had success at two big Premier League clubs already and has a rich European pedigree.



For all their heritage, Tottenham are a team you don’t tend to take seriously when discussing who will be in line for silverware.



For as long as I can remember, regardless of their style and flair, they have been seen by the outside world as a soft touch.



If that doesn’t change, those stories from the 1960s about the great push-and-run team that Bill Nicholson managed and Danny Blanchflower captained will still be airing 20 years from now.

Beat City? Evertonians are not so sure



The game of the day is undoubtedly Everton’s showdown with Manchester City and the outcome has been causing a stir on Merseyside.



I was with a number of Evertonians in the gym on Friday morning and they are split about whether they want their team to win — which would mean Liverpool are back in control of the title race — or if they could stomach a defeat to ruin things for the Red side.



Most Liverpudlians, by contrast, are becoming Blues for the day but that did not stop one Red I know saying: ‘I hope Everton lose, as I always want them to! I’d rather see Manchester City drop points somewhere else.’



On the charge: Manchester City are the favourites for their second title in three years... but is there another twist in this topsy-turvy season?

The eye of the storm: What will the mood be at Goodison Park after the conclusion of the big match?

As for who will be smiling come 7.30pm, it’s too difficult to say. I could make an argument for every possible outcome and it is too close to call. One thing for certain is that City will be in for a fierce examination at Goodison Park.



If Manuel Pellegrini’s side drop points, I would expect Liverpool to go on and win at Crystal Palace, as they will get the same kind of lift City received at Selhurst Park last Sunday when they watched Chelsea come out on top at Anfield.



One way or another, the title race is going down to the wire.



I made a wish on these pages at the start of 2014 that three teams would be involved going to the final week and it is fantastic for the Premier League that we have such a scenario.

