Tottenham have held internal discussions over appointing a former Aston Villa boss who publicly declared that he’ll keep them in the Premier League, according to a new report.
Igor Tudor reportedly on the verge of Spurs sack
Sunday’s 3-0 home defeat to Nottingham Forest was as grim as it gets.
Spurs dominated the first half, hit the crossbar twice and created enough to be winning.
However, Igor Jesus then headed in on the stroke of half-time from a corner, Tudor shuffled his pack desperately at the break — sending on Lucas Bergvall and Destiny Udogie while removing Micky van de Ven — and within minutes Forest had taken control.
Morgan Gibbs-White made it two after the hour, Taiwo Awoniyi added a third near the end, and the boos that cascaded around the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at full-time told the story in full.
Forest had done this to Spurs twice in the same season, and Tudor could not even face the press afterwards, absent due to the passing of his father Mario.
Tottenham set to sack Tudor and plan to appoint “one of the best coaches in the world” immediately
Spurs are set to part ways with the Croatian.
It was a shattering afternoon. And today, it appears to have finally ended his time at the club.
Reports this morning claim that Tudor is set to leave Tottenham, with both parties believed to be aligned on a parting of the ways, at least according to TEAMtalk.
It had been agreed internally beforehand that a defeat against Forest would pull the trigger, and CEO Vinai Venkatesham has since had the decisive final word.
Tudor, dealing with a profound personal loss, is also understood to be ready to step away.
It is the end of a dispiriting chapter — one win in seven games in all competitions, just a single Premier League point from five matches, 13 league games without a victory, their longest barren run in 91 years.
With seven games remaining and Spurs one point above the relegation zone, the club is scrambling to find someone who can arrest a slide that looks increasingly ominous.
Ryan Mason is among the many names to have been discussed internall, but the most vocal candidate making his case in public is a familiar face.
Tottenham internally discuss Tim Sherwood as Igor Tudor replacement
Tim Sherwood, who managed Tottenham for the second half of the 2013/14 season, came out swinging on Sky Sports earlier this week, offering himself up without the slightest hesitation.
“I will keep them in the Premier League,” the 57-year-old declared on Monday.
“I believe that someone with common sense keeps them in the Premier League. They have the quality to be able to do it. You have to get them feeling good again, you have to get the confidence in the group.”
He was also scathing about Tudor’s decision to drop Xavi Simons against Forest — a player who had scored twice against Atletico in the Champions League just days earlier — and questioned why Randal Kolo Muani was left on the bench throughout.
Sherwood, who also managed Aston Villa for eight months in 2015, had already said before Tudor’s appointment that taking the Spurs job again would be an “honour.”
He is not the only former manager rattling the cage — Harry Redknapp has made no secret of his willingness either — but it is Sherwood who has most loudly and repeatedly argued his case, and TEAMtalk now say his name is genuinely being discussed internally as an option.
Sherwood could be considered a surprise option given he hasn’t held a managerial role since leaving Villa over 10 years ago, and it would undoubtedly be a major gamble regardless of his ties to N17.
The longer-term picture is clearer.
Roberto De Zerbi and Mauricio Pochettino remain the frontrunners to take over permanently in the summer — but both are said to only consider the role if Spurs stay up.
That caveat is the whole problem.
With Sunderland away on April 12, they have three weeks to sort out who will try to manage it.
Whatever happens, one thing is certain: the Tudor experiment may be coming to an end.