Well, you can't claim that things are ever quiet around Blackburn Rovers. With Steve Kean finally out as Rovers' manager, Tottenham Hotspur's own Tim Sherwood has been linked with the opening. Sherwood is a former star at Blackburn and member of the 1995 Premier League winning side.

However, Tottenham Hotspur has reportedly refused Blackburn Rovers permission to speak to Sherwood about the managerial opening. Sherwood himself has played down links to the job, talking about having a good job currently. But Rovers seem keen to interview their former player regardless.

For Spurs, the blocking seems to be pure gamesmanship. They cannot stop Sherwood from taking the position if he so wants, but they can put up barriers to entry. This could make it harder for Sherwood to get the job, or at least elicit a compensation package from Rovers for taking Spurs' coach.

Obviously, managing Blackburn would be a huge opportunity for Sherwood, who would take the job with no managerial experience so far in his career. For Spurs it would be a large loss as well, as Sherwood has largely overseen the revamping of the Tottenham Hotspur youth set-up.