OPINION
Tottenham fans will be amused at one of the marquee manager names who rejected an approach from Fulham before they appointed Claudio Ranieri on Wednesday.
In addition to grandees Arsene Wenger and Leonardo Jardim, the Daily Telegraph report ex-Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas turned down the chance to manage the Cottagers before they announced Ranieri.
“It is understood that all three managers politely declined the opportunity to speak to Fulham,” the newspaper claim.
You can imagine Spurs supporters smiling to themselves that ‘AVB’, as he was known during his 17-month spell at White Hart Lane that ended in the sack in December 2013, had no interest in their London rivals.
Villas-Boas left Tottenham with the highest percentage of league wins – 55 per cent – of any manager in the club’s Premier League era.
But the team were in freefall when he left – hammered by Liverpool and Manchester City – following a summer in which the Gareth Bale fee was mostly frittered away on abject buys, and few lamented the Portugese’s departure.
Many claimed there was no discernable playing style under AVB, no strategy or major plan, and he mainly benefitted from an extraordinary season from Bale before his then world-record move to Real Madrid.
Given that Villas-Boas’ exit paved the way for the arrival of the brilliant Mauricio Pochettino – following Tim Sherwood’s interim spell in charge – Tottenham fans are satisfied at how things worked out.
While Pochettino is churning out results against a backdrop of stadium chaos to put the club on course for a fourth consecutive top-four league finish, Villas-Boas, still only 41, is having a career sabbatical after taking up rally driving.