‘Not the most popular’: Journalist suggests Spurs didn’t hire ‘brilliant’ manager because of the fans

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Some at Tottenham were very keen on the idea of Brendan Rodgers replacing Antonio Conte, but this route was avoided due to potential fan backlash.

That is according to Ben Jacobs who was speaking about Spurs’ recent lengthy managerial search on Last Word on Spurs.

The journalist touched on a couple of names who didn’t end up getting the job, and Rodgers was one who he had an interesting update on.

Jacobs says that some within Spurs were big on the idea of going for Rodgers, but they were put off by the fact the fans probably wouldn’t have been too impressed by the appointment of the ‘brilliant’ manager.

Spurs put off Rodgers by potential backlash

Jacobs shared what he knows about Rodgers.

“Brendan Rodgers who I think would’ve been a really good fit at Tottenham, not the most popular manager, but stylistically a good fit. There were a few people within the Tottenham hierarchy who thought he might be right for the project, but not necessarily the fanbase, and that had to be considered by Levy because he was facing a mini-crisis,” Jacobs said.

Had to listen

It’s not always the best idea to let fan perception drive your managerial appointments, but in this case, Daniel Levy had no choice but to listen.

Indeed, with Spurs fans on the verge of a mutiny towards the end of the season, Levy couldn’t make an appointment that would aggravate the fanbase further, and, rightly or wrongly, Tottenham supporters probably wouldn’t have been too big on the idea of hiring Rodgers.

Rodgers is a talented manager, but he’s tired and tested at this level and had just had a poor season with Leicester.

Interestingly, Rodgers now looks set to replace Ange Postecoglou at Celtic.