Andre Villas-Boas said he would not resign after Tottenham’s shock 5-0 loss to Liverpool at White Hart Lane on Sunday, but Spurs didn’t give him the option, sacking him after 80 matches in charge of the London club.
UPDATE: BT Sport is reporting that AVB had wanted out of White Hart Lane since the summer and that Spurs had been biding their time finding a replacement, favored to be Fabio Capello or Glenn Hoddle.
AVB’s record was 44W, 20D and 16L in his time with Spurs but the club’s high-spending summer yielded little of the fruit the board and supporters were expecting. Many were lauding Tottenham for making the best of a bad situation when Gareth Bale wanted out, but Spurs sit seventh in the table after having lost to Liverpool, Newcastle and West Ham over their last five matches.
Will Spurs hire a stopgap or a full-time maestro to preside over their stable of talent? Jurgen Klinsmann was among the names bandied about during AVB’s struggles, but recently signed an extension to shepherd the USMNT through the 2018 World Cup. Southampton’s Mauricio Pochettino and Swansea’s Michael Laudrup are also on the Spurs list, according to reports, while usual suspects Fabio Capello and Guus Hiddink join recently-jobless Paolo Di Canio, Ian Holloway, Martin Jol and Steve Clarke as possibilities.