When Spur’s chairman Daniel Levy watched his team being swept aside 5-0 by Liverpool from the stands of White Hart Lane with thunder on his face, the fate of manager André Villas-Boas was all but sealed. Less than 12 hours later, AVB was officially sacked, together with his two Portuguese assistants. AVB became the ninth manager to receive his marching orders under Levy’s 12-year reign since 2001. This is also the second time the young manager has been sacked by a top Premier League side after his tenure at Stamford Bridge ended in the same fashion only last year.
André Villas-Boas was the ninth manager ruthlessly sacked by Daniel Levy
Results are not on Villas-Boas’ side. This summer Spur’s board spent heavily to make up for the loss of Gareth Bale, investing £109 million on seven new players including stars Roberto Soldado and Erik Lamela. However, it seems Villas-Boas failed to gel them as a team. They managed just 15 goals from 16 league games – less than Liverpool’s Luis Suárez alone (17 goals)! Suarez scored a brace in the 5-0 thrashing on top of two assists, continuing his unstoppable form. Hotspur have made Tim Sherwood, who was once in charge of Spur’s academy, their interim manager, with Fabio Capello, Michael Laudrup and Guus Hiddink on the list of long-term replacement options.
Manchester City and Arsenal produced a nine-goal thriller
The results of last weekend have certainly made things tight at the top of the Premier League. Arsenal suffered a 6-3 defeat at Manchester City and find their lead slashed to just two points, while Liverpool and Chelsea both won to put pressure on the Gunners. Manchester City is just one point further adrift, sitting in fourth place. No one would underestimate the potential of the second group of teams either as Everton beat Fulham 4-1 and Manchester United took three points on the road with a 3-0 victory against Aston Villa. Just eight-points separates Manchester City and ninth placed Southampton!
The Champions League knockout stage draw was finalized on Monday with some very different scenarios facing the Premier League clubs. Manchester City’s historical sprint in the Champions League will be tested in February with Barcelona their next opponents, while Arsenal drew Bayern Munich in the knockout stage for the second season in a row. By contrast, Manchester United (Olympiakos) and Chelsea (Galatasaray) will be expected to progress.
