The AVB Thread

Hatch99

I think AVB has acted very well during this whole fiasco. He got his man in Baldini, and he was obviously given assurances that he could spend all of the Bale money before he was sold, so you can't argue with that. It's a big year though with expecations rising all the time.

To think some people wanted him sacked after 3 or 4 games

mickman

Hatch99 wrote: »

I think AVB has acted very well during this whole fiasco. He got his man in Baldini, and he was obviously given assurances that he could spend all of the Bale money before he was sold, so you can't argue with that. It's a big year though with expecations rising all the time.

To think some people wanted him sacked after 3 or 4 games

I know i know and i was one of those but boy has he changed my mind for me

White Heart Loon

Here's a thought, can you imagine what Harry Redknapp would've done with 100m+ :eek:

mickman

White Heart Loon wrote: »

Here's a thought, can you imagine what Harry Redknapp would've done with 100m+ :eek:

we would have bought 500 players ,each costing 200k

tomo75

White Heart Loon wrote: »

Here's a thought, can you imagine what Harry Redknapp would've done with 100m+ :eek:

You mean what would his dog have done with the 100mil:D

Hatch99

mickman wrote: »

I know i know and i was one of those but boy has he changed my mind for me

Rosie would have been looked after anyway..

golfball37

White Heart Loon wrote: »

Here's a thought, can you imagine what Harry Redknapp would've done with 100m+ :eek:

Why is Bertie Ahern and bags of cash on the passenger seat entering my head.

Leinstersqspur

Good article on the 4-3-3 system here and a nice video of it in practice..
http://tottenhamhotspur.blogspot.ie/2013/09/video-4-3-3-explained.html

Good to read also that Erisken is used to 4-3-3 from Ajax, should settle early!

White Heart Loon

Leinstersqspur wrote: »

Good article on the 4-3-3 system here and a nice video of it in practice..
http://tottenhamhotspur.blogspot.ie/2013/09/video-4-3-3-explained.html

Good to read also that Erisken is used to 4-3-3 from Ajax, should settle early!

Great vid

Hatch99

At the end of this season, will he only have 12 months left on his contract ?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2432983/Tottenham-boss-Andre-Villas-Boas-admits-hes-constant-contact-PSG.html

mickman

Hatch99 wrote: »

At the end of this season, will he only have 12 months left on his contract ?

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2432983/Tottenham-boss-Andre-Villas-Boas-admits-hes-constant-contact-PSG.html

I read this also , very worrying

Hatch99

nice shades

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2457482/Andre-Villas-Boas-scouting-young-Barcelona-B-midfielder-Sergi-Samper.html

Hatch99

Happy Birthday gaffer

http://espnfc.com/blog/_/name/tottenham/id/1534?cc=5739

White Heart Loon

Good article
http://www.statsbomb.com/2013/10/manager-statistical-fingerprints-andre-villas-boas/

golfball37

When is it time to give this thread its original name I wonder?

i'd say another month without looking like scoring and serious questions will have to be asked.

Hatch99

golfball37 wrote: »

When is it time to give this thread its original name I wonder?

i'd say another month without looking like scoring and serious questions will have to be asked.

In fairness I think it's a given that if we don't score goals over the next couple of months, we'll struggle to stay in the top 5/6

2nd Row Donkey

I said it all Summer (and most agreed), that we needed a second big signing up front. Soldado by himself was never going to be enough .. a proper out and out striker like Benteke not someone who can sort of play up front like Willan/Lamela.

curraghyid

2nd Row Donkey wrote: »

I said it all Summer (and most agreed), that we needed a second big signing up front. Soldado by himself was never going to be enough .. a proper out and out striker like Benteke not someone who can sort of play up front like Willan/Lamela.

Lamela will come good, sheriff wouldn't be the toughest opposition but he was more like the Lamela at Roma last year, he is only a young lad and needed that game as a confidence builder,
Berbatovs took awhile to get going too. Have faith

Leinstersqspur

curraghyid wrote: »

Lamela will come good, sheriff wouldn't be the toughest opposition but he was more like the Lamela at Roma last year, he is only a young lad and needed that game as a confidence builder,
Berbatovs took awhile to get going too. Have faith

On the money, Sherrif ain't world class and AVB will ease Lamela into EPL life akin to the way he dealt with Lloris (and now look at the guy)..

Sure most people thought Modric would never make the grade too;)

Sugarlumps

I wonder what AVB was thinking brining Lamela on in the Arsenal game then? I admit I had major doubts regarding Modric when he first came, very physical league.

jobeenfitz

golfball37 wrote: »

When is it time to give this thread its original name I wonder?

i'd say another month without looking like scoring and serious questions will have to be asked.

What Questions? Most fans are frustrated by the lack of goals, me too. It's been said so many times but I am going to say it again;
We bought a lot of new players, it takes time to integrate and gel. Townsend, Erikson, Lamella and Holtby are all very young and most getting used to a new league. Sandro and Kaboul recovering from long term injuries. No recognised left back and a new striker also required.

I like a lot of fans may have got excited with the new signings and got a bit carried away, expecting too much to soon.

Without firing on all cylinders our position in the league is more than acceptable. I believe the left back position will be solved in January and hopefully another striker.

With the upcoming games away to Man City and against Man U things may get worse before it gets better. Maybe not.

We have to be patient with this young and new team. We must also remember we lost Gareth Bale.

It could all come together and we could have our best season ever or it could go the other way and we could finish outside the top four again.
Either way we have to support our team and hope we hold on to this very promising young manager because the medium to long term is looking very good.

golfball37

The question is in relation to your assertion- A promising young manager.

Another month of this tripe and that statement doesn't ring true. A promising young manager would have seen the gaps required and filled them accordingly. Especially with a war chest of 100m.

My question is really how long should we persist with something that isn't working?

pleasant Co.

golfball37 wrote: »

My question is really how long should we persist with something that isn't working?

What do you mean by persist? what do you think should happen?

SuprSi

I can see both sides of the argument

For AVB

• New squad
• Certain key players (particularly offensive players) not performing
• Teams coming to WHL and putting 11 men in the box
• Excellent defense and possession stats in every game
• Spurs control most games
• Excellent squad depth and rotation

Against AVB

• No sign of improvement in 'team' performances and no Bale to save him like last season
• Playing inverted wingers in every game - that's every PL game this season
• The above results in predictable gameplans meaning teams know exactly how to deal with us, as evidenced far too many times this season
• Getting rid of Benny without decent LB backup
• Not making the best use of Soldado by playing inverted wingers in every game
• Not sorting Townsend out!
• No plan B

For me the last point is the biggest problem. Against the teams that stick everyone behind the ball, why not put Lennon on the right and Townsend on the left and start swinging crosses in. Who knows whether they'll work, but give it a go at least. From the 1st to the 90th minute it seems like we play the exact same way, regardless of how the game is going. Maybe he doesn't know his new players well enough to change things as he clearly did it successfully last season but for a supposed tactical manager he's been outsmarted too many times this season already.

Having said that, it is a new squad. It was clear against Newcastle that they still aren't familiar with each other, as evidenced by JD & Eriksen bumping into each other at one point and losing the ball. There's no flow to the team, which is what comes with familiarity. We're all hoping this will come, and sooner rather than later otherwise those poor home results will really hurt us.

I'm still happy with him, but if things haven't improved by Christmas I'll be getting worried as he'll have had plenty of time to get things right.

Sugarlumps

That's the real annoyance, no plan B. Redknapp used to do the same when we were loosing a game, get Defoe on and any other available striker. Never really worked. Being outsmarted by meat and two veg Allardyce, that would hurt me. I'd still be having nightmares.

The possession stats mean nothing to me, we could have 99% and still end up losing. Lloris is the one making the defence look invincible.

I wanna see us run rampant in a few games for 90 minutes.

He'll get it right though with time.

GS11

Sugarlumps wrote: »

I wonder what AVB was thinking brining Lamela on in the Arsenal game then? I admit I had major doubts regarding Modric when he first came, very physical league.

Lamela is class and I'll be very surprised if he isn't worth a lot more than the 30 million we paid for him in a few yrs time. Bad decision to bring him on against the Arse, I suppose he was expecting some kind of miracle.

Leinstersqspur

GS11 wrote: »

Lamela is class and I'll be very surprised if he isn't worth a lot more than the 30 million we paid for him in a few yrs time. Bad decision to bring him on against the Arse, I suppose he was expecting some kind of miracle.

That's it, sometimes those gambles pay off. Rooney on his debut for Everton and recently Januzaj for United. If you're good enough sometimes it pays off, only thing is away in a big NL derby is a pretty big ask.

Anyway lads, we're not playing well and we're still joint 5th!;);)

This time last year we were all worried about conceding late goals then we went to OT and beat United for the first time in a long long time, the catylyst for a great spell of games. Hopefully we do the same at the Etihad Sunday week.

DubPerryman

SuprSi wrote: »

Having said that, it is a new squad. It was clear against Newcastle that they still aren't familiar with each other, as evidenced by JD & Eriksen bumping into each other at one point and losing the ball.

I think we also saw in the Newcastle game that there is goals there. I know I know, we didn't score.... but the chances were created and on another day, and maybe with a bit more gelling, a few of those chances would have went in.

In the second half we absolute dominated and created clear-cut chances - something we haven't been doing all season.

I'm going to wait until the end of this season before I start to consider doubting AVB.

jobeenfitz

golfball37 wrote: »

The question is in relation to your assertion- A promising young manager.

Another month of this tripe and that statement doesn't ring true. A promising young manager would have seen the gaps required and filled them accordingly. Especially with a war chest of 100m.

My question is really how long should we persist with something that isn't working?

In his first season AVB lead us to record points in prem league, did not get us Champ league but still was some achievement for first season. I think we have to give it more than a month before we panic.

Lamella's fee was the largest portion of that 100m and at only 21 you would have to expect to see the best of him in one to two years. We would all love to see an immediate impact from him but to demand it is unrealistic. I think Lamella is more medium/long term prospect and you could argue that management should have bought a more mature player with this money.

I wanted more from this season after our position last year but when you buy young players and players from other leagues you have to allow time for them to acclimatise.

Now you could argue we bought the wrong type of player and I think that would be a fair argument. Personally I am mostly happy with what we bought and I expect one or two other parts of the puzzle to be solved in January. We will be a better team especially up front in a couple of months imo.

You are entitled to question the manager, he is not getting everything right. He too is a work in progress and we should hold off judgement at least until the end of his 2nd season.

When I watch Spurs play since beginning of this season I have been anything but patient, cursing at anybody who misplaces a pass or misses a chance, the names I have called them is shocking and way ott. I think this is semi normal for a football fan but after these matches we have to see the bigger picture and be patient.

Nobody wants a new manager every couple of seasons and if we don't give him the chance he deserves maybe he may head off to pastures greener as soon as the next opportunity arises.

DubPerryman

jobeenfitz wrote: »

Nobody wants a new manager every couple of seasons and if we don't give him the chance he deserves maybe he may head off to pastures greener as soon as the next opportunity arises.

Good point.

We need stability. We were all freaking at the thought of Barca swooping in and taking AVB off our hands last season.

On the pitch, one thing AVB has brought us is stability. We need to build on those foundations. Rome wasn't built in a day.