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TTLB Opinion- An intimate look at Marco Silva and how he would fit in at Tottenham

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TTLB Opinion- An intimate look at Marco Silva and how he would fit in at Tottenham.

Marco Silva is one of the fair few names linked with the Tottenham Hotspur job amid the team’s poor run of form, which has put Ange Postecoglou under more pressure than he’s ever been in during his time in the UK.

Unlike other coaches linked with the Spurs gig, Max Allegri, Kieran McKenna, and Andoni Iraola to name a few, Silva has been used to presiding over the head coach’s seat of multiple Premier League clubs. Here, we take a look at what he would bring to the club if the Lilywhites were to give him a chance.

Before he found his feet at Fulham, Silva had to take a slightly longer route to establish himself as a manager capable of plying his trade in the English topflight. He first arrived at Hull City and impressed everyone right away, enough for Watford for take a punt on him after he left Hull at the end of the 2016/17 season after they were relegated. He left Watford halfway through his first season, which is usually not a surprise given the Hornets’ trigger-happy tendencies, but this came about famously after Everton had expressed an interest in hiring him, so much so that Everton eventually had to pay Watford compensation when they on-boarded Silva ahead of the 2018/19 season. Here too, however, things didn’t work out for too long and he was gone in 2019; that the Everton stint was his longest stay at a Premier League club was quite telling, and many thought he wasn’t cut out for life in the Big Time—not for long, anyway.

TTLB Opinion- An intimate look at Marco Silva and how he would fit in at Tottenham.

But then he arrived at Fulham when they were in the Championship. He brought them back to the Premier League and has only gone strength to strength, with the Cottagers pushing for a European spot this season.

Suffice to say, Silva has shut his haters up and proved his credentials.

As is the case with Postecoglou, industry is a key aspect of Silva’s game. In possession, the players are set up in a 4-3-3 formation and are encouraged to interchange positions for wide overloads. In defence, they press in a 4-2-4 setup in the first phase of opposition build-up play, while the wingers move further backwards to make a compact 4-4-2 if the ball reaches the middle third.

At Fulham, Silva has been able to get his players to consistently perform in this setup, often relying on players that were ditched by Premier League teams, deemed not good enough, like Andreas Perreira, Adama Traore, Raul Jimenez, Bernd Leno, Alex Iwobi, and Emile Smith Rowe, to name a few.

Recently, we addressed Allegri and Iraola and their potential suitability for Spurs. While Allegri is, as far as we are concerned, a no-no option for the club, Iraola is someone we feel would fit Tottenham, and we back Marco Silva as well. The Portuguese coach is more experienced in the English topflight and has to prove himself after years of struggle. His journey as well as his tactics would help Tottenham get back up from their current bottom-half predicament.

Of course, it’s unlikely Silva leaves in the middle of the season; it’s fair to say he’s learned his lesson there and Fulham are on he verge of a special campaign. Even Spurs have decided to stay with Postecoglou for the time being, though we still expect a change coming to Hotspur Way between now and the end of the season, and the club could do a lot worse than bringing Silva over from Craven Cottage.

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