Sign up to save your podcasts
Or
Share Tottenham - Home and Away Episode 96
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Share to email
Share to Facebook
Share to X
Or
Tottenham - Home and Away Episode 96
In Episode 96 of Tottenham – Home and Away, Graeme is joined by returning guest Ben McFadyean, UK-based German football writer and host of the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London podcast, to discuss the reports linking Sebastian Kehl with the Tottenham director of football role.
Ben McFadyean is a UK-based German football writer (Four Four Two, World Soccer Magazine, Gulf News, Ruhr24, Ruhrnachrichten) and host of the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London, podcast.
The BVB podcast can be found at: McFadyean.podbean.com
Ben gives us the Dortmund view on Kehl: his reputation as “Captain Marvel”, his leadership as a player, his time working under Michael Zorc, the strengths and concerns from his sporting director spell, and why some Dortmund fans may feel relief at his departure.
We also look at whether Kehl would be the right fit for Spurs at this exact moment. With Tottenham facing either a desperate Premier League rebuild or the possibility of relegation, this could be one of the most important football appointments the club has made in years.
Is Kehl a steady hand, or another gamble? Does Spurs need Bundesliga recruitment knowledge, or a more experienced operator with Championship-level experience? And has the club lost its football identity under years of business-first decision-making?
A big discussion on recruitment, culture, leadership, relegation, squad rebuilds, Daniel Levy’s legacy, De Zerbi, Johan Lange, Dortmund, and what Spurs must become next.
Source: episode transcript
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:37 Ben McFadyean joins to discuss Sebastian Kehl
00:59 Why the Spurs director of football job is such a tough ask
01:24 Tottenham’s instability since the Dortmund match
01:53 Paratici, Lange and the January transfer window
03:53 Sebastian Kehl’s Dortmund background
04:14 The similarities between Dortmund and Tottenham
05:21 Kehl’s Freiburg roots and leadership qualities
07:16 Dortmund’s fan culture and player accessibility
08:10 Kehl stepping from club legend into executive role
08:25 Dortmund’s “Stallgeruch” culture explained
09:17 Following Michael Zorc’s legacy
10:49 Kehl’s apprenticeship under Zorc
11:21 Dortmund’s internal promotions and structure
12:11 Why some Dortmund fans felt relief when Kehl left
12:58 Dortmund’s yellow wall and Spurs’ stadium inspiration
14:06 Why Spurs’ home atmosphere has struggled
15:21 Dortmund’s lack of silverware since Klopp
16:25 Dortmund’s managerial instability after Klopp
17:04 Why fan loyalty needs to be rewarded
17:37 Kehl era criticism and transfer questions
18:27 Haaland, Bellingham and missed value
19:53 Was Kehl the architect of Dortmund’s mishaps?
20:38 How much power does a Dortmund sporting director really have?
21:37 Dortmund’s reputation for youth development
23:10 Dortmund as a development club for elite talent
24:07 Kehl’s influence and negotiation concerns
25:31 Ryan Cherki and questions over Dortmund’s transfer approach
26:51 The missed Bundesliga title and Champions League final
27:12 Would Kehl fit Tottenham right now?
28:10 Spurs need a steady hand amid chaos
29:13 Why Ben has reservations despite wanting Kehl to succeed
30:33 Tottenham and Manchester United’s “rotten football culture”
32:11 Relegation, stadium debt and financial pressure
32:34 Player contracts, wage cuts and summer churn
34:18 Spurs contracts, parachute payments and sponsors
35:16 Could Kehl and Johan Lange work together?
36:09 Could Spurs rebuild with Bundesliga-style recruitment?
36:26 Why the Championship is a brutal league
37:21 The danger of Premier League wages in the Championship
38:01 Kehl’s better Dortmund deals
38:57 Poor deals and doubts around negotiation
40:15 Europa League glory papering over Spurs cracks
40:44 Spurs’ unbalanced squad and recruitment failures
42:03 Has Tottenham become too business-led?
43:43 Dortmund’s own relegation and identity crisis
44:38 How quickly Spurs have fallen
45:23 Spurs’ survival equation and West Ham pressure
46:43 Injury crisis and players stuck on big wages
47:41 De Zerbi, Shakhtar, Brighton and coaching reputation
49:41 Could Spurs bring in injury and performance expertise?
50:06 Bundesliga as a recruitment market
51:24 Why Premier League transfer fees are so inflated
52:42 Could financial belt-tightening actually help Spurs?
53:44 Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford as better recruitment models
55:15 German view of Premier League spending
56:09 Does Tottenham still have a football culture?
57:01 Has Spurs lost its identity as a football club?
57:54 Why even elite managers have failed at Spurs
58:24 Schalke, Hamburg and the warning from Germany
01:00:47 Aston Villa’s rebuild and finding club identity
01:01:18 Spurs need players whose hearts beat for the club
01:02:12 Final thoughts on Kehl, Spurs and the summer ahead
01:03:13 Outro
View all episodes
By Graeme Spice and Glen CowieIn Episode 96 of Tottenham – Home and Away, Graeme is joined by returning guest Ben McFadyean, UK-based German football writer and host of the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London podcast, to discuss the reports linking Sebastian Kehl with the Tottenham director of football role.
Ben McFadyean is a UK-based German football writer (Four Four Two, World Soccer Magazine, Gulf News, Ruhr24, Ruhrnachrichten) and host of the Borussia Dortmund Fan Club London, podcast.
The BVB podcast can be found at: McFadyean.podbean.com
Ben gives us the Dortmund view on Kehl: his reputation as “Captain Marvel”, his leadership as a player, his time working under Michael Zorc, the strengths and concerns from his sporting director spell, and why some Dortmund fans may feel relief at his departure.
We also look at whether Kehl would be the right fit for Spurs at this exact moment. With Tottenham facing either a desperate Premier League rebuild or the possibility of relegation, this could be one of the most important football appointments the club has made in years.
Is Kehl a steady hand, or another gamble? Does Spurs need Bundesliga recruitment knowledge, or a more experienced operator with Championship-level experience? And has the club lost its football identity under years of business-first decision-making?
A big discussion on recruitment, culture, leadership, relegation, squad rebuilds, Daniel Levy’s legacy, De Zerbi, Johan Lange, Dortmund, and what Spurs must become next.
Source: episode transcript
Timestamps
00:00 Intro
00:37 Ben McFadyean joins to discuss Sebastian Kehl
00:59 Why the Spurs director of football job is such a tough ask
01:24 Tottenham’s instability since the Dortmund match
01:53 Paratici, Lange and the January transfer window
03:53 Sebastian Kehl’s Dortmund background
04:14 The similarities between Dortmund and Tottenham
05:21 Kehl’s Freiburg roots and leadership qualities
07:16 Dortmund’s fan culture and player accessibility
08:10 Kehl stepping from club legend into executive role
08:25 Dortmund’s “Stallgeruch” culture explained
09:17 Following Michael Zorc’s legacy
10:49 Kehl’s apprenticeship under Zorc
11:21 Dortmund’s internal promotions and structure
12:11 Why some Dortmund fans felt relief when Kehl left
12:58 Dortmund’s yellow wall and Spurs’ stadium inspiration
14:06 Why Spurs’ home atmosphere has struggled
15:21 Dortmund’s lack of silverware since Klopp
16:25 Dortmund’s managerial instability after Klopp
17:04 Why fan loyalty needs to be rewarded
17:37 Kehl era criticism and transfer questions
18:27 Haaland, Bellingham and missed value
19:53 Was Kehl the architect of Dortmund’s mishaps?
20:38 How much power does a Dortmund sporting director really have?
21:37 Dortmund’s reputation for youth development
23:10 Dortmund as a development club for elite talent
24:07 Kehl’s influence and negotiation concerns
25:31 Ryan Cherki and questions over Dortmund’s transfer approach
26:51 The missed Bundesliga title and Champions League final
27:12 Would Kehl fit Tottenham right now?
28:10 Spurs need a steady hand amid chaos
29:13 Why Ben has reservations despite wanting Kehl to succeed
30:33 Tottenham and Manchester United’s “rotten football culture”
32:11 Relegation, stadium debt and financial pressure
32:34 Player contracts, wage cuts and summer churn
34:18 Spurs contracts, parachute payments and sponsors
35:16 Could Kehl and Johan Lange work together?
36:09 Could Spurs rebuild with Bundesliga-style recruitment?
36:26 Why the Championship is a brutal league
37:21 The danger of Premier League wages in the Championship
38:01 Kehl’s better Dortmund deals
38:57 Poor deals and doubts around negotiation
40:15 Europa League glory papering over Spurs cracks
40:44 Spurs’ unbalanced squad and recruitment failures
42:03 Has Tottenham become too business-led?
43:43 Dortmund’s own relegation and identity crisis
44:38 How quickly Spurs have fallen
45:23 Spurs’ survival equation and West Ham pressure
46:43 Injury crisis and players stuck on big wages
47:41 De Zerbi, Shakhtar, Brighton and coaching reputation
49:41 Could Spurs bring in injury and performance expertise?
50:06 Bundesliga as a recruitment market
51:24 Why Premier League transfer fees are so inflated
52:42 Could financial belt-tightening actually help Spurs?
53:44 Brighton, Bournemouth and Brentford as better recruitment models
55:15 German view of Premier League spending
56:09 Does Tottenham still have a football culture?
57:01 Has Spurs lost its identity as a football club?
57:54 Why even elite managers have failed at Spurs
58:24 Schalke, Hamburg and the warning from Germany
01:00:47 Aston Villa’s rebuild and finding club identity
01:01:18 Spurs need players whose hearts beat for the club
01:02:12 Final thoughts on Kehl, Spurs and the summer ahead
01:03:13 Outro