Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

[indianspur]

i wonder how Swansea manage to play such attractive progressive football without a Moutinho, a Modric, a Xavi, heck even without Joe Allen who they sold.

what would happen if we signed Moutinho and he got injured and was out for 6 months...what, season over for us?? Good sides, well drilled well trained dont need to overly rely on one player.

Look at Wigan, under Martinez they out passed and out manoeuvred Spurs yesterday and i didnt see Moutinho playing for them

it is clear we will not be signing Moutinho, so i dearly hope AVB, Levy and the scouts are out there looking two cheaper alternatives. If they want to be dependent on one type of player, then get at least get 2 of them so if one is injured there is another ready to step in

 

[DHSF]

After the enormous fudge up of last spring, summer was always going to be about damage limitation.

I actually think we did a decent enough job starting over again (clearing the deadwood and getting in 6 of the 8 players we needed).

It's early days (Andre's stamp wont really be on the team until after next summer's window), and there's a lot of work to do. But losing Modric, Rafa and King was an incredibly low starting point to begin building from.

Levy backed Redknapp with £45m in his first window. Andre is £20m in credit at the moment.

The question is are those six players that AVB wanted? The football has been brick and thats down to AVB BUT ill give him the benefit of the doubt in that those players purchased do not seem to be the players he wanted simply because they dont seem to fit in the system he wants to play. Its a big benefit of the doubt but ill give that. So I wouldnt say AVB is 20m I would say he is about 40m in credit if you want to talk in those terms as I dont think those six players were his decision.

We will see but AVB really needs to become more adventurous because at home we are just beyond words in terms of brickness. He needs to be less stubborn in this whole 4231 until he is able to bring in the players to fit the system.

 

[billyiddo]

The question is are those six players that AVB wanted? The football has been brick and thats down to AVB BUT ill give him the benefit of the doubt in that those players purchased do not seem to be the players he wanted simply because they dont seem to fit in the system he wants to play. Its a big benefit of the doubt but ill give that. So I wouldnt say AVB is 20m I would say he is about 40m in credit if you want to talk in those terms as I dont think those six players were his decision.

We will see but AVB really needs to become more adventurous because at home we are just beyond words in terms of brickness. He needs to be less stubborn in this whole 4231 until he is able to bring in the players to fit the system.

i think Dempsey and Sigurdsson do fit in to his system but not how we are forced to use them at the moment.

Dempsey was used primarily at Fulham as a LWF type, for us he should be here as an alternative to Bale in that role but injuries have dictated that he has been used elsewhere.

Sigurdsson, quite clearly isn't ready to be relied upon as a first team player and needs to be eased in to the fold and play as an understudy to someone he can learn from - sometimes throwing a player in to the thick of it can work, sometimes not. as an attacking central midfielder he could provide good cover, but clearly not good enough atm to be first choice

so like is say, these players do fit in to his system, imv, but due to injuries/missing out on Moutinho (or a moutinho like player for the first team) has meant that we have had to use them differently.

 

[indianspur]

Dempsey for Bale will be as much as a disaster as thinking Pienaar could cover for Bale, or even worse for Modric. Sounds good on paper but it never works in reality

Dempsey was a panic buy, simple as that. We had no interest in him all summer, and because we failed to get whoever we were after we decided to go for Dempsey at the last minute and just about signed him at 10.59pm

It might have been better if AVB just said no and saved that money instead

 

[billyiddo]

Dempsey for Bale will be as much as a disaster as thinking Pienaar could cover for Bale, or even worse for Modric. Sounds good on paper but it never works in reality

Dempsey was a panic buy, simple as that. We had no interest in him all summer, and because we failed to get whoever we were after we decided to go for Dempsey at the last minute and just about signed him at 10.59pm

It might have been better if AVB just said no and saved that money instead

based on what exactly ? he had great success playing wide left for Fulham, which cannot be said for Pienaar at Everton, he hasn't really played there for us so i would be interested to see what you base that on

 

[indianspur]

i do hope AVB is thinking about giving Walker a rest now Naughton is fit. That moment where Walker dropped so deep and allowed Maloney to drift in behind the defence was shocking defending. He is poor at the back right now and very ineffective going forward

Also, can we stop the Friedel/Lloris show. Enough already. Give Lloris the jersey for Prem games and stick with him. The circus has gone on long enough, what is AVB trying to prove

 

[indianspur]

based on what exactly ? he had great success playing wide left for Fulham, hasn't really played there for us so i would be interested to see what you base that on

his goalscoring success last season came from a more central position, either behind the front striker or as a striker. Someone posted the stats somewhere

Bale's natural replacement is Townsend. Similar type, smooth transition.

 

[Jordinho]

JERMAIN DEFOE has been reassured by Andre Villas-Boas: ‘It’s nothing personal.’

The dejected Spurs striker stormed straight down the tunnel after being replaced by Emmanuel Adebayor in the 57th minute.

It was the last reaction his boss AVB needed as the substitution was greeted with boos from home fans who had their seen their team go behind just 60 seconds earlier.

Villas-Boas was unhappy with his surly star’s sulk.

He said: “The most important thing for the players to realise is we do things for the benefit of the team. For sure, it is not something that is very pleasing to see.

“We understand individual frustrations — but we, as a team, are more important.

“The game wasn’t going well for Defoe and that was in our thought process. Maybe he thought the opposite, but we didn’t take him off to punish him, we took him off to improve the team.”

Unfortunately for AVB his relationship with his players will always come under the microscope following his ill-fated spell in charge of Chelsea.

The Portuguese boss was axed after just 256 days at the Bridge for reportedly losing the dressing room.

Spurs fans will be hoping Saturday’s minor spat does not escalate into anything that serious.

There is no reason it should, as Defoe, who has started every League game under AVB, has been one of his new bosses best performers and biggest advocates.

But the passionate England striker could have done with hiding his frustrations a bit better.

You have to feel for Villas-Boas.

In Defoe, he has a player who does not want to come off. And in Adebayor he has a player who looks as though he does not want to go on.

The temperamental Togo ace, whose loan at White Hart Lane last season was a success, is yet to start since rejoining the club in a £5million permanent switch from Emirates Marketing Project in August.

Spurs have cited a succession of injuries — hamstring, back and thigh. Internet messageboards claim he is suffering from spitting out his dummy syndrome.

But AVB added: “He had an injury which took him out for six games then another injury took him out for two games.

“From the 11 we’ve played, I think he’s been out for eight. In the games when he was available he showed the quality striker that he is.”

Asked if the rumours doing the rounds that he refused to play in last month’s Europa League clash at Maribor are untrue, AVB insisted: “No, we’re quite happy with his attitude.

“We have the injury records for you if you want.”

The goal records are more important. While Defoe has hit five, Adebayor is yet to get off the mark this term. You have to say his prospects do not look too clever until his manager can find a way of accommodating them both in his line-up.

Villas-Boas said: “We have been successful in the past with one striker off the other.

“It’s not impossible we will play with two strikers as we have done in the past.

“We changed to two strikers in the second half against QPR but we haven’t started that way.”

Ben Watson’s 56th-minute volley deservedly gave Wigan the points. The Latics could have been 2-0 up before half time but for some fine goalkeeping by Brad Friedel.

AVB’s men have now lost two home games on the trot and are yet to really set White Hart Lane alight this season.

He said: “We understand that scoring first is very important. It gives this stadium a massive boost and it didn’t happen.”

http://www.thesun.co.uk/sol/homepage/sport/football/4627062/AVB-No-Defoe-row.html

 

[Hashegotthesackyet?]

That article was from rusty gonads, whilst it doesn't carry too much weight, he doesn't seem to be whipping it up against AVB for a change.

 

[thfcsteff]

if AVB doesnt have the players then its Levys fault for not bringing in the players AVB wanted.

If AVB wanted the players that Levy brought in then no cause for complaint.

We do have a fair few injuries but if Sig and Dempsey etc are not good enough to replace those injuries then its someone fault for not bringing in players WHO ARE good enough for our squad. That article talks about Levy backing him - well why didnt he in the summer.

We are constantly going round in circles because of contradictory arguments. Those same people who argue that AVB doesnt have the players are also saying Levy is superb etc but essentially he didnt really fully back him if he went in and brought two or three players that AVB didnt really want. I think i could safely say that because lets be honest those same players are either not featuring or just do not fit the system.

Fair point.
I will say that despite my consistent support of Levy, I have also consistently said that in not getting Moutinho, the one player the manager craved, he dropped a rather large, hairy gonad

 

[Spurs7891]

I wonder if all the players are following AVB's instructions properly. Due to AVB's young age, I tend to think some senior players might not give full cooperation to him. One thing I have noticed recently is that some of the senior players doesn't seem to give enough respect to AVB. This includes Defoe storming into the changing room after getting replaced against Wigan. Against Southampton, AVB was giving some intructions to Lennon but instead of giving the respectable nod, Lennon just gave a unconvincing shrug. The same reactions I have noticed among some other players too, especially our English players. They should know they have won virtually nothing as players and so should give some respect to a coach who have won trophies elsewhere.

I also think AVB doesn't get enough help from his assistants. Both AVB and Freund doesn't seem to work as closely as they should during matches. Wish we had appointed someone more experienced than Freund or even an English assistant coach to help AVB. I think AVB needs all the help he can get to make us successfull.

 

[thfcsteff]

I wonder if all the players are following AVB's instructions properly. Due to AVB's young age, I tend to think some senior players might not give full cooperation to him. One thing I have noticed recently is that some of the senior players doesn't seem to give enough respect to AVB. This includes Defoe storming into the changing room after getting replaced against Wigan. Against Southampton, AVB was giving some intructions to Lennon but instead of giving the respectable nod, Lennon just gave a unconvincing shrug. The same reactions I have noticed among some other players too, especially our English players. They should know they have won virtually nothing as players and so should give some respect to a coach who have won trophies elsewhere.

I also think AVB doesn't get enough help from his assistants. Both AVB and Freund doesn't seem to work as closely as they should during matches. Wish we had appointed someone more experienced than Freund or even an English assistant coach to help AVB. I think AVB needs all the help he can get to make us successfull.

A very very interesting post...food for thought...I agree profusely with the final line...

 

[Mulletperm]

I wonder if all the players are following AVB's instructions properly. Due to AVB's young age, I tend to think some senior players might not give full cooperation to him. One thing I have noticed recently is that some of the senior players doesn't seem to give enough respect to AVB. This includes Defoe storming into the changing room after getting replaced against Wigan. Against Southampton, AVB was giving some intructions to Lennon but instead of giving the respectable nod, Lennon just gave a unconvincing shrug. The same reactions I have noticed among some other players too, especially our English players. They should know they have won virtually nothing as players and so should give some respect to a coach who have won trophies elsewhere.

I also think AVB doesn't get enough help from his assistants. Both AVB and Freund doesn't seem to work as closely as they should during matches. Wish we had appointed someone more experienced than Freund or even an English assistant coach to help AVB. I think AVB needs all the help he can get to make us successfull.

I also noticed the shrug of indifference from Lennon and must admit it got alarm bells ringing a little.

 

[spurspinter1]

i wonder how Swansea manage to play such attractive progressive football without a Moutinho, a Modric, a Xavi, heck even without Joe Allen who they sold.

Watch Leon Britton closely the next time they play. I think if he was out for 6 months last season they wouldn't have done so well in my opinion.

 

[Fhtagn]

his goalscoring success last season came from a more central position, either behind the front striker or as a striker. Someone posted the stats somewhere

Bale's natural replacement is Townsend. Similar type, smooth transition.

I agree, people were moaning all last year because Redknapp didn't use a like for like replacement when Bale or Lennon was out. Now we have Townsend and Falque, but people still want to use Dempsey? I know, he's more experienced, but the young guys aren't getting the right experience from loans and playing games for the reserves.
Dempsey should be third choice CF or second choice AM, when everybody is fit at least.

 

[milo]

his goalscoring success last season came from a more central position, either behind the front striker or as a striker. Someone posted the stats somewhere

Bale's natural replacement is Townsend. Similar type, smooth transition.

If you are looking to make changes from the bench then a player who has a different style of play is really valuable.

I think that Dempsey has plenty to offer us both from the bench and as a starter. He can play a number of positions and has a good Premier League goalscoring record. We just need to give him time.

 

[superfaisty]

I think AVB deserves more patience from us - let's face it before the season started how many of us actually thought we'd be as good as we were last season, having lost Modric and VDV and with a squad thinner than a pink wafer.

Part of me wishes we hadn't had the culling we did - imagine what AVB could do with a Pienaar, or a Dos Santos, or a Corluka, or a Krunchie - but that time has passed now. Levy has to take his share of the blame for where we are, with a squad so thin. AVB can only do what he can with what he has got and what he has got is the same old cursed spurs - under Harry we actually didn't have that many injuries over a long period. Sure Bale would be out for a while and then Lennon, but if we had a fit first team, the likes of Parker available, BAE available, Dembele fit, Ade fully fit, we would see a massive difference.

One thing AVB isn't, and I'm sorry to say this, is the messiah. He cannot work miracles. And he is young, which means he isn't as experienced as say SAF, or a Wenger, or even Mancini, or a Moyes or even a Martinez. He had half a season at Chelscum where he tried to instigate something which would have worked if the chairman had backed him as much as he has backed RDM in the transfer market this summer. He like his teams to play a certain way and doesn't like to tinker too much or stray too far from that.

He will undoubtedly be a success at spurs if he is given the chance to mould a team, his own team, to play in his own way. It would be too easy to slip back to the old ways, the glory days of 442 with Harry, but to be fair even if he did we would not reach the same heights as without VDV and Modric in harrys 442 we'd struggle big time.

To be honest the early season form we had has blinded many fans to what the state of the club is. We have no GHod given right to be in the top four year in year out. We clearly don't have a big or quality enough squad compared to Manure, Arsenal, Chelscum and Manbricky, so let's get realistic. This is a transitional season, and Levy knew it when he signed AVB. If Levy really wanted to he could have splashed the cash, which would have been a gamble, but he didn't and we are where we are. Its too simplistic to think that AVB can turn around a team shorn of its brightest stars in a few months.

The reason harry had some success -he played it simple, let the boys do what they wanted, let their talent do the talking. He didn't build a team for he future, he built a team for success in the short term. AVB is here for the long term if Levy sticks by him. So suck it up and support your team.

I listened to Alan Green's phone in on sunday night while ironing my shirts for the week and a geordie phoned up and for me what he said was so true. That night you had chelscum fans phoning up and Gooners bemoaning their team and their current plight, and he said you know what you don't hear Geordies or Mackem fans, or Boro fans complaining. We've been spoilt by the good times. A great philosopher once said, 'when the going gets tough, the tough get going'. So really stop your whinning and your whingeing and your moaning and support your team and support your manager. COYS

 

[milo]

I wonder if all the players are following AVB's instructions properly. Due to AVB's young age, I tend to think some senior players might not give full cooperation to him. One thing I have noticed recently is that some of the senior players doesn't seem to give enough respect to AVB. This includes Defoe storming into the changing room after getting replaced against Wigan. Against Southampton, AVB was giving some intructions to Lennon but instead of giving the respectable nod, Lennon just gave a unconvincing shrug. The same reactions I have noticed among some other players too, especially our English players. They should know they have won virtually nothing as players and so should give some respect to a coach who have won trophies elsewhere.

I also think AVB doesn't get enough help from his assistants. Both AVB and Freund doesn't seem to work as closely as they should during matches. Wish we had appointed someone more experienced than Freund or even an English assistant coach to help AVB. I think AVB needs all the help he can get to make us successfull.

I think that there is a lot of speculation here and not much to back it up.

We've got no idea what AVB was saying to Lennon, maybe a shrug was an appropriate response.

With Defoe going down the tunnel after getting taken off, it is not the first time he has done that and plenty of other players do it too.

How would you like to see Freund support AVB more?

 

[braineclipse]

I think that there is a lot of speculation here and not much to back it up.

We've got no idea what AVB was saying to Lennon, maybe a shrug was an appropriate response.

With Defoe going down the tunnel after getting taken off, it is not the first time he has done that and plenty of other players do it too.

How would you like to see Freund support AVB more?

I agree fully.

Because the performances haven't been up to the standards people expect a lot of speculation is being done and people are reading things into situations that wouldn't be read into the same situations had we been playing better.

 

[DHSF]

Milo made a thread a while ago about change etc.

AVB did it at Chelscum and has maybe done it again at Spurs i.e. change too much too quickly. Imagine you are an employee and a new manager comes in and overhauls anything and everything - how would you react? How will you enjoy it? Imagine if before this new Manager you were enjoying your work you were enjoying your day? Then this Manager comes in and I guess has everything regimental? everything had to be precise?

Maybe thats also a problem. You can have new ideas but not an overhaul but slowly slowly