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  • André Villas-Boas Sacked By Spurs

    André Villas-Boas Sacked By Spurs

    The curtain is lowered on another unsuccessful run by manager André Villas-Boas at a London club. This time it is Tottenham Hotspurs who are giving the hapless AVB his walking papers. Previously he’d been let go by Chelsea.

    The move to sack Villas-Boas came a day after the Spurs suffered a humiliating 0-5 defeat at home to a superior Liverpool side. The club had still been reeling from the 6-0 away loss to Manchester City in late November. But in truth, signs of trouble had begun to surface even before then.

    Arguably the Villas-Boas-led Spurs put the first nail in the coffin when they sold the much talked about Gareth Bale to Real Madrid for the astronomical fee of about $125 million. Whether Bale will prove to be worth that amount of money to Real Madrid is a separate matter altogether. In Gareth Bale, AVB had a player who was capable of rescuing his side from humiliating defeats. He had an ability to score much needed goals and get results.

    Since his departure, the Spurs have only scored an abysmal fifteen goals. That’s less than every other side in the top half of the English Premier League table. Liverpool’s Luis Suarez, the league’s current lead goal scorer, has 17 goals on his own, 2 of which happened at White Hart Lane on Sunday.

    Tottenham Spurs do not look like the team that anyone expected. This is supposed a team of big names, millions of pounds spent, and heavy aspirations to challenge for a top four position. The failure of expensive players to impress and a lack of replacement for Bale had left AVB unable to justify his squad’s mediocrity to impatient club owners and disgusted Spurs fans.

    The crushing home defeat served as the final nail in the coffin; André Villas-Boas would not be given anymore chances.

    In truth, AVB didn’t leave his future replacement with too big of a hill to climb. Depending on his capabilities, the squad is promising. The Spurs are only a few points off the Top 5 teams, with more than half a season left to play. There is time for strategies and comebacks, but the club will have to choose wisely. The wrong manager could lead the ambitious club to a table position that would make what AVB helped provide seem enviable.

    Image: Tottenham Hotspurs Official Twitter

  • Nigeria Sacked Ministers But Will Replace

    Nigerian President Goodluck Jonathan is making major changes to his cabinet. He won the election two years ago; however, this is the first massive overhaul during his leadership. Ministers in the following areas have been removed from their positions: foreign affairs, education, science and technology, housing and urban development, national planning, and environment. The ministers of state for the departments of power, agriculture, and defense, who operate as junior ministers, have also been removed from their positions. The ministers in both finance and petroleum will not be replaced.

    According to a spokesman on behalf of Goodluck Jonathan speaking about the potential to fill the newly vacant positions, “They will be replaced but not immediately.”

    Though the exact reason behind these changes has not been made clear, there have been discussions of candidate opposition for representation of The People’s Democratic Party during the 2015 election. Internal conflict within The People’s Democratic Party regarding Goodluck Jonathan’s supposed intentions to run in the 2015 election may be a contributing factor in the decision to change minister positions.

    Since The People’s Democratic Party (PDP) has won every national election from 1999 to the present, and served as the dominant force since the end of the military rule, whoever receives the backing of the party will have considerable influence during election time. Barely two weeks ago, opposing forces included a former presidential candidate who formed a separate group in anticipation of the 2015 election process. This becomes even more curious when one questions the loyalty of the newly-released ministers. Former Education Minister Ruqayyah Ahmed Rufai received the nomination for minister from an opposing governor.

    Mr. Jonathan assumed the role of president in 2010 when he was serving as the vice-president, yet became promoted after the president died in office.

    The following video is a clip from the keynote address Goodluck Jonathan gave in August at The Rockefeller Foundation.

    [Image And Video Via YouTube]