Tottenham Hotspur's decision to sack manager Jose Mourinho the day after announcing their intention to join the Super League and just a week before their Carabao Cup final against Manchester City generated a fair amount of confusion.
The Portuguese tactician was given his marching orders early on Monday, with 29-year-old first-team coach Ryan Mason drafted in to take charge between now and the end of the season while Spurs look for a full-time replacement.
It was a bold move, but according to The Telegraph, it's one chairman Daniel Levy felt he had no choice but to take to have any hope at saving the club's short-term future.
Frustrations towards Mourinho's playstyle had begun to grow, with Levy wary of just how little fans were enjoying watching the team. He was determined to soldier on with Mourinho and entered April still planning to keep the boss, but a run of negative results forced him to change his mind.
There were fears that fans would start protesting upon their return to the stadiums, but a major concern was also the growing tensions in the dressing room.
Mourinho had isolated a lot of his players. Dele Alli and Danny Rose are obvious examples, but at other times this year, the boss had frozen out Harry Winks, Steven Bergwijn, Serge Aurier and Real Madrid loanee Gareth Bale, who Mourinho didn't particularly want anyway.
The atmosphere behind the scenes was becoming more and more toxic, and Levy began to fear that such negativity would prevent Spurs from reaching at least the Europa League, which would then take its toll on finances. It's a good job the wonderful Super League is coming to save the day!
Sacking Mourinho before the cup final was bizarre, but it is understood that Levy had decided that the boss was not capable of reaching Europe either this season or next, and sacking him after he had just won Spurs' first trophy in 13 years would have been hugely controversial.
It was an expensive decision - compensation figures of between £16m and £20m have been suggested - but Levy believes his side can qualify for the Europa League this year and reaching that tournament would pay for Mourinho's sacking.
For Spurs, lifting the Carabao Cup would be nice, but it's all about getting into Europe, and that is why Levy took such an enormous decision at such a bizarre time.
For more from Tom Gott, follow him on Twitter!
Source : 90min