Given how the North Londoners have endured a difficult 2024/25 campaign, a wide section of the Lilywhites supporters have been calling for the Australian head coach’s head, and the chiefs at Hotspur Way have already started looking out for possible replacements for the former Celtic manager, with Edin Terzic being among the names considered.
The former Borussia Dortmund coach is a tactically flexible man on the touchline who likes to establish strong connections with the players and likes to create a club culture as the base of his success. He did lead the German giants to a Champions League final in 2023/24 and went on to rebuild the squad for them multiple times with limited resources.
However, that being said, while he is a strong project manager, many have raised questions about his tactical control when in possession and his consistency when it comes to performances in the league throughout the season. There are also question marks around his ability to implement a stable identity long-term at the club.
While he could be a smart choice if the North Londoners want to develop young players and rebuild their identity while deploying a transitional way of playing. However, he may come up short of the chiefs at Hotspur Way, who are expecting immediate top-four finishes or possession domination week in and week out.
Does Terzic fit in tactically at Tottenham?
Terzić likes to play with vertical transcriptions and deploys hybrid pressing in his structure. He likes to build up with moderate risk in the first phase, and he puts in a lot of work into his positional triggers. He tries to train automatic triggers when trying to go forward with pace. He also likes his team to be compact when he deploys a 4-2-3-1 or a 4-3-3 playing style that emphasises compactness. And he does adjust his style based on the opponents that his side are facing (but that could end up being a source of frustration for the North Londoners supporters given how his style will lack a proper identity week in and week out). And his buildup phase is at times too chaotic, which is not ideal for the attractive brand of football that Daniel Levy wants Tottenham to play.
The likes of Romero, Van de Ven and Sarr are suited for his fast transitional style of football. But he will lack (as stated above) that attractive brand of football that the club wants to deploy. And he is certainly not a headline manager as compared to the other options that the North Londoners are looking for. But he does have a rebuild mentality, which means that he would carry (and develop this squad) a lot in the next two or three years, which should be crucial given the number of young players that Tottenham have in their roster.
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Author Opinion
Edin Terzić is a strong coach if the North Londoners are looking to have a man on the sidelines who is highly emotionally driven in the rebuild and has his focus on youth and playing vertical football complemented by European ambition over time. However, he is not the right choice if the chiefs at Hotspur Way want immediate tactical clarity and a manager who has that league consistency.