Monday’s briefing: Tudor reign ends, Nusken lifts Blues, Defoe’s new challenge

Tottenham are in search of a willing replacement to lead their relegation battle after former boss Igor Tudor and the club agreed to bring down the curtain on his 44-day, seven-match reign.

Defending Women’s Super League champions Chelsea reclaimed second place in a seven-goal thriller, fans slammed VAR, and Jermain Defoe has a new job.

Igor Tudor leaves role as Tottenham boss after seven games

Igor Tudor has left his role as Tottenham head coach after just 44 days and seven matches in charge.

Spurs, who made the surprise decision to turn to the Croatian after Thomas Frank was dismissed on February 11, said they will provide an update on a new head coach “in due course”.

Tudor had never managed in the Premier League, but had experience of sparking an upturn in form after mid-season arrivals and yet suffered five defeats from seven games, including four in a row at the start of his reign.

A club statement on Sunday afternoon read: “We can confirm that it has been mutually agreed for head coach Igor Tudor to leave the club with immediate effect.

“Tomislav Rogic and Riccardo Ragnacci have also left their respective roles of goalkeeping coach and physical coach.”

Chelsea edge seven-goal thriller to reclaim second place

Sjoeke Nusken fired Chelsea back up to second place in the Women’s Super League with a dramatic late winner in a 4-3 victory over Aston Villa.

The Blues’ Champions League hopes looked set to suffer another blow when Villa came from 3-1 down to draw level in a breathless first half.

But Nusken struck with eight minutes remaining to keep the six-time champions’ slim title hopes still alive, mathematically at least, as they trail Manchester City by nine points.

Oona Siren’s second-half equaliser earned relegation battlers West Ham a 1-1 home derby draw against London City Lionesses and Leicester’s survival hopes were dealt a blow as they lost 1-0 to Brighton at the King Power Stadium.

Premier League fans overwhelmingly against VAR – survey

Three-quarters of Premier League fans are against the use of VAR, a survey by the Football Supporters’ Association has found.

Nearly 8,000 supporters, just over half of whom attend more than 15 home games a season, took part in the poll to assess attitudes to the technology.

The results demonstrate just how unpopular it has become, with more than 97 per cent of respondents opposing the statement that VAR makes watching football more enjoyable, while more than 90 per cent disagree that it has made the matchgoing experience better.

Asked if they support the use of VAR in football, meanwhile, 75.71 per cent said they do not, with more than 70 per cent disagreeing that it has improved the overall accuracy of refereeing decisions.

Defoe appointed to lead Woking

Jermain Defoe has taken on his first permanent manager’s role after being appointed by National League side Woking.

The 43-year-old former Tottenham and England striker was named as the permanent successor to Neal Ardley, who was sacked earlier this month.

Defoe, who had recently been linked with a possible return to Tottenham, said: “Woking is a historic club with huge potential, and I’m thrilled to be part of this exciting project. I can’t wait to get started.”

Defoe has previously been a coach in Tottenham’s academy and briefly worked in a caretaker role at Rangers in 2021 as part of a four-man coaching team.

What’s on today?

Germany take on Ghana at MHPArena in Stuttgart, with 11 other international friendlies taking place during the break from domestic league action.