Tottenham Hotspur manager shortlist: Thomas Tuchel

The Tim Sherwood era is over. Thank god.

But with the end of an era comes the awkward in between phase before a new one starts -- the manager search. The fan base gets divided over who they want hired, players are left in limbo and barring an absolute home run hire, a segment of people aren't happy in the end.

So who should be the man to upset a (hopefully very small) segment of the Tottenham Hotspur fan base? Thomas Tuchel, of course.

Thomas Tuchel, current Mainz manager

Career Record: 72-46-64 (39.56%) at Mainz, twice qualified for Europe in five years.

Accomplishments: In the last five years, Mainz have collected the fifth most points in the Bundesliga. Impressive? Consider that they have done it with one of the league's smallest wage bills and in their first five years since being promoted to the top flight. Tuchel led them to a sixth place finish, establishing them as a clear mid-table team, which is nothing to sneeze at considering the lack of resources.

Before he was a football manager: Tuchel tried playing football professionally, but he ran into a problem: he wasn't very good. He also had a problem with injuries. That's not a very good combination.

Tuchel gave up his dream at the age of 24, retiring to bartend his way through economics school, but Ralf Ragnick, who managed Tuchel at SSV Ulm, convinced him to get into managing. As a player, Tuchel used to watch tape of Arrigo Sacchi's teams and Ragnick figured anyone who did that had to be a good manager. Tuchel started with the academy teams at Stuttgart, eventually moving to FC Augsburg where he was the youth team coordinator, setting him up for his first head job with Mainz.

Would he come to Tottenham?: If Spurs move quickly, they could almost assuredly nab Tuchel. He has made it clear that he has no interest in returning to Mainz and while the club are trying to retain him, it looks like it is more to get compensation from the team that hires him than anything.

The problem is that multiple teams are reportedly interested in Tuchel. Both Schalke has made an approach for the manager and others may come in. As of now, Tuchel has put the German clubs interested on hold so if Spurs make Tuchel an offer soon, he could be theirs, but if this becomes a prolonged search, Tuchel may have already found a new home by the time Tottenham is ready to make him an offer.

Tactical analysis: Tuchel doesn't have a system, a style or any sort of consistent method of play. He changes things up regularly depending on his talent and opponent and has used five different formations this season alone.

The one thing that Tuchel does preach at all times is fitness, demanding that all of his players commit to both attacking and defending. His teams will also transition quickly, often doing much of their damage on the counterattack. Aside from that, Tuchel's teams will change regularly.

Tuchel is a football nerd, talking about how much he likes watching Marcelo Bielsa's Chile team, Juventus' 3-5-2 and even a pretty straightforward Germany so trying to nail him down is useless.

Pros: Tuchel has managed to get results despite few resources. The couple times he managed to bring in a few of Germany's better young players on loan, like he did with Lewis Holtby and Andre Schurrle, his teams challenged for European places. His experience managing academy teams and then young players with Mainz make him a great man to have for the slew of academy players Spurs are bringing through and his tactical versatility makes for a much more flexible transfer policy. If Tuchel can do remarkable things with no money, imagine what he could do with a pound or two.

Cons: He's never won a trophy, he's never had a decent transfer budget, he's never had big names and egos to manage. Basically he has never been at a club like Spurs, or even Newcastle before so hiring him would be taking a leap of faith that he can do more than just turn a turd into a rock.

Final thoughts: Spurs aren't a giant club. There isn't a sure fire hire out there for the club. This is going to come down to a safe hire who can keep the club in the sixth or seventh positions or an ambitious hire who could take the club into the Champions -- and maybe more after the new stadium is completed -- but also could flop. If Daniel Levy is willing to take a risk, doing so on a 40-year-old who has done more with less than arguably any manager in a major league, is adored by his players and shows great tactical acumen isn't a bad one to gamble on.