Tottenham are set to take a manager from a Premier League rival and not for the first time.
Thomas Frank is set to swap Brentford for Spurs as Ange Postecoglou’s replacement.
Tottenham have surpassed Southampton in every metricGettyThe north London club will hope it will be a little less controversial than when Glenn Hoddle joined from Southampton.
It seems almost inconceivable that the Saints once believed they were a bigger club than Tottenham Hotspur.
Whether it’s the gargantuan differences in stadium size, squad value or stature, Tottenham out-point Southampton in just about every way today.
But at the turn of the century, the gulf between the two was nowhere near as vast.
And, perhaps more surprisingly, there was genuine bad blood.
Glenn Hoddle was dismissed as England manager in February 1999 following his controversial comments in which he claimed people with disabilities was ‘karma working from another lifetime’.
Hoddle insisted he had been misquoted, but widespread condemnation and a public denouncing from former prime minister Tony Blair gave the Football Association little choice but to sack him.
But the Tottenham icon was out of managerial work for less than a year as he returned to the dugout in January 2000 with Southampton.
At his unveiling, Saints chairman Rupert Lowe could barely hide his excitement at having secured a manager of Hoddle’s calibre.
“We feel sure that everyone within the club family will give Glenn their unequivocal support,” Lowe said.
Hoddle won 22 of his 52 matches in charge of SouthamptonGetty“The club considers itself fortunate that it can draw on Glenn’s experience at this time.”
Hoddle arrived on the south coast with the Saints in 16th.
From the club’s final 16 games, Hoddle oversaw six wins, three draws and seven defeats to finish 15th, 11 points clear of the relegation zone.
The Saints’ 2000/01 campaign got off to a slow start under Hoddle as they were winless from their first five league matches and had two wins to their name after 11 games.
But from early December onwards, things clicked into gear for Hoddle’s side as they went on a run of eight wins in 13 fixtures to propel them into the top half of the Premier League table.
The eighth win on that run, a 1-0 victory over Everton, proved to be Hoddle’s final game in charge.
Ex-Saints chairman Lowe wasn’t afraid of pouring fuel onto the fire after Hoddle’s exitHis boyhood club Tottenham had come calling, this time for his managerial services.
When the call came through, there was only one place Hoddle was going to end up and it made him public enemy no.1 amongst the Saints supporters.
Southampton ultimately ended the season in tenth, the first time in six years they’d recorded a top-half finish.
But the fury surrounding Hoddle’s mid-season exit was not forgotten by those at Southampton.
Ahead of the Saints’ trip to White Hart Lane in September 2001, Lowe did not miss his chance to take a swipe at Hoddle and the entirety of Tottenham.
“We have a new stadium that is comparable with that of Tottenham’s,” Lowe said.
Hoddle lasted two-and-a-half years at Tottenham bossGetty“We can fill it and we have great supporters.
“We finished two places above them last season. Who’s the bigger club?”
The new stadium Lowe mentioned was St Mary’s, which replaced The Dell and was opened in time for the 2001/02 season.
Southampton’s players were equally as up for the contest as Lowe was, with striker James Beattie claiming the players ‘all know why’ fans were desperate for them to win.
“There is no bitterness towards Glenn, but the fact remains he left us in the lurch,” Beattie said.
“I feel we have a score to settle and there would be no better place to do it than in his own backyard.
“I can think of no better place to get our first win. It is just what we need to get our season going.
“Just as important, our supporters would appreciate it. And we all know why.”
Despite the build-up from the Saints’ side, Hoddle and Spurs prevailed 2-0.
Hoddle’s side would also finish the season ninth in the Premier League, two places above Southampton.
The 62-year-old would eventually be dismissed in September 2003 following a poor start to the season in which his side collected just four points from the first six games.
In a brutal twist of fate, his final match at the White Hart Lane helm was a 3-1 defeat to the Saints.
The two teams have embarked on vastly different paths since, rendering Lowe’s question a rather easy one to answer.
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