Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

[thfcsteff]

Well after receiving a warning for my last post (probably the tamest of the bunch) I probably should stay out of this thread (but I won't). firstly I'd like to suggest whoever complained should be less sensitive and encourage honest open discussion, even if this results in someone thinking your opinion is a joke (as we have all had to put up with in the past).

But I think people have forgotten just how good our play was last season. AVB is not doing too badly at all now, but lets not build it up into something it isn't. I see a lot of similarities in HR and AVB, I don't think how we end up playing will be too different from last season (this is based on seeing AVB realising certain things weren't working and changed it, I think now its clicked he'll progress it).

People tried to tell me earlier on in the season that we were doing well, we weren't and now I think it is easier to see what I meant after seeing us do the things I said we should do. I'm hoping come the end of the season we will be better again, with much more creativity. Then I'll come back in here and agree with "intelligent" play.

:ross:
I know who I want as manager/coach next time we need one!

 

[superfaisty]

For my 2 penneth, I think we can all agree at times last season our attacking play was unbelievably good, at other crucial times we fell apart. But it was a different team so making a meaningful comparison is tricky.

We should all be able to agree that however good we've been this season we have a way to go to emulate those highs. But its a different team managed by a different manager with a different style of play than Harry's team.

AVB, and the team are still developing and I expect him and the team to grow together and hopefully emulate the highs of last season, but AVB is no miracle worker and it will take time, but there are signs of progress.

You can only work with what you have- look at Harry and QPR right now, he's got a job to keep them up. Harry like AVB is no miracle worker, no manager is. But with the right ingredients you can make something good, if you have the right recipe. Look at rodgers and liverpo, they are sowly coming together as well.

End of the day we should back AVB and give the fella time to develop the team- we've no right to be top 4, we and he has to earn that right.

 

[ArnieArdiles]

We've only probably really been playing the possession style football from December onwards. Before that it was more of a counter attacking style. The last few weeks we've regularly been dominating possession in matches.

This is all down to AVB abandoning his project and reverting back to the playing style of his predecessor.8-[

 

[ArnieArdiles]

Well after receiving a warning for my last post (probably the tamest of the bunch) I probably should stay out of this thread (but I won't). firstly I'd like to suggest whoever complained should be less sensitive and encourage honest open discussion, even if this results in someone thinking your opinion is a joke (as we have all had to put up with in the past).


You got a warning from Admin for describing someone's opinion as a joke ?

 

[africanspurs]

This is all down to AVB abandoning his project and reverting back to the playing style of his predecessor.8-[

but this playing style isnt what AVB is noted for. infact its much closer to what harry is noted for. so yeah..i would say that all that jazz about super dynamic 433 straight out of the gates was much more than a little premature. right now it looks more like he's tweaking harry's system more than anything else

 

[Bullet]

People are reading way too much into things

If Redknapp had stayed on and we lost Friedel, Kaboul, King, BAE, Modric, VdV, Adebayor... we would have had to play in a slightly different way.

And... er... we are

 

[Crawley]

People are reading way too much into things

If Redknapp had stayed on and we lost Friedel, Kaboul, King, BAE, Modric, VdV, Adebayor... we would have had to play in a slightly different way.

And... er... we are

I reckon that post sums it up perfectly.

No need for anyone to post anything else now.

May as well lock the thread. Or merge it.


Goodnight.

 

[africanspurs]

I reckon that post sums it up perfectly.

No need for anyone to post anything else now.

May as well lock the thread. Or merge it.


Goodnight.

the power of the moderator

i vote merge

 

[billyiddo]

the power of the moderator

i vote merge

with the Redknapp thread ?

 

[ArnieArdiles]

but this playing style isnt what AVB is noted for. infact its much closer to what harry is noted for. so yeah..i would say that all that jazz about super dynamic 433 straight out of the gates was much more than a little premature. right now it looks more like he's tweaking harry's system more than anything else

Sorry but I disagree that the football recently seen is more akin to Harry's footballing philosophies than to AVB's.

What Harry is noted for is his teams getting 11 players defending and counter attacking football.

Also hit it long to the big front man , Hartson , Crouch and sprinkle it with a touch of flair , Di Canio , Kanu.


What we saw with Harry's stint at Spurs was him adapting to the best squad he'd ever managed . He did a decent job with it but in my eyes should've done better as there were specifics in our game that just did not seem to improve during his time.

 

[africanspurs]

Sorry but I disagree that the football recently seen is more akin to Harry's footballing philosophies than to AVB's.

What Harry is noted for is his teams getting 11 players defending and counter attacking football.

Also hit it long to the big front man , Hartson , Crouch and sprinkle it with a touch of flair , Di Canio , Kanu.


What we saw with Harry's stint at Spurs was him adapting to the best squad he'd ever managed . He did a decent job with it but in my eyes should've done better as there were specifics in our game that just did not seem to improve during his time.

thats fair enough man, we can only voice how we feel about things. sometimes it gets unnecessarily heated , but i will say this if harry did just a decent job the i dont see how people are not allowed to say that AVB is only doing a decent job......
i agree with the last sentence though, there were things that could have been better and with a better manager would have been better ...but that isnt the reason i would knock harry down to decent

there ARE flaws in AVB's tenure but that doesnt mean he isnt doing a good job just because he has things thats need improving. you get my drift?

one more thing...how do you explain that possession stat if harry is known for primarily getting 11 players defending and getting on the counter? seems an odd figure in the high 50s for someone that just operates on the break. could it be that harry got his team to be adept in BOTH? but the counter attacking is what sticks out in your mind cause we were able to do its so well so often and so exciting like?

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

thats fair enough man, we can only voice how we feel about things. sometimes it gets unnecessarily heated , but i will say this if harry did just a decent job the i dont see how people are not allowed to say that AVB is only doing a decent job......i agree with the last sentence though, there were things that could have been better and with a better manager would have been better ...but that isnt the reason i would knock harry down to decent

there ARE flaws in AVB's tenure but that doesnt mean he isnt doing a good job just because he has things thats need improving. you get my drift?

This is what I agree with. For me Redknapp did a good job, and had us finishing in the league where our first team and squad deserved to finish. Last year we actually finished above that in terms of talent, but we all know Chelsea had a disasterous league season and that bumped ourselves (and Arsenal, Saudi Sportswashing Machine) ahead of a superior side.

This year I'd say we have the 4th best team, and the 4th best squad, in the Premiership. People keep saying that we lost Modric/VDV so are weaker than last season and that is true. But Arsenal lost RVP (who almost single handedly dragged them up two places last season) and that has weakened them far more significantly than us losing Modric AND VDV. So if we finish 4th this year? As far as I am concerned it is where this first team and squad (at least with seven days to the transfer window closing) SHOULD be finishing. So if that is where we've finished then AVB has done a good job and it's been a good season. If we finish 3rd? Then AVB has done a very good job. If we finish 2nd? Then, and only then, will I regard this season as an excellent season.

 

[africanspurs]

with the Redknapp thread ?

oh gaaaaaaawd. please no

 

[milo]

thats fair enough man, we can only voice how we feel about things. sometimes it gets unnecessarily heated , but i will say this if harry did just a decent job the i dont see how people are not allowed to say that AVB is only doing a decent job......
i agree with the last sentence though, there were things that could have been better and with a better manager would have been better ...but that isnt the reason i would knock harry down to decent

there ARE flaws in AVB's tenure but that doesnt mean he isnt doing a good job just because he has things thats need improving. you get my drift?

one more thing...how do you explain that possession stat if harry is known for primarily getting 11 players defending and getting on the counter? seems an odd figure in the high 50s for someone that just operates on the break. could it be that harry got his team to be adept in BOTH? but the counter attacking is what sticks out in your mind cause we were able to do its so well so often and so exciting like?

People are allowed to say whatever they think about AVB and his tenure as Spurs manager as long as they stick within the rules.

 

[africanspurs]

People are allowed to say whatever they think about AVB and his tenure as Spurs manager as long as they stick within the rules.

i posted something else here but i am almost certain it would come off aggressive...so can you do me a favour just so i dont hold on to this niggling feeling

can you show me where you have said something like this or similar when people are talking about Harry? seriously..... i just want to see you throwing rules and guidelines at someone that has muddied Harry's name or said something nasty or untoward kind of thing.

 

[Southcote Spur]

I always look to see whether we have improved as a team?

Against Man Utd last year, the starting line ups were:

Tottenham starting lineup:- Friedel, Walker, King, Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto, Lennon, Livermore, Sandro, Modric, Adebayor, Saha.

Man Utd starting lineup:- De Gea, Jones, Evans, Ferdinand, Evra, Nani, Carrick, Scholes, Young, Rooney, Welbeck.

We lost this game 1-3, although we had 57% of the possession, Utd scored from 60% of their on target efforts, whilst we scored from 11% of ours.

Against them this year:

Tottenham starting lineup:- Lloris, Naughton, Dawson, Walker, Caulker, Dempsey, Lennon, Parker, Bale, Defoe, Dembele.

Man Utd starting lineup:- De Gea, Rafael, Evra, Jones, Ferdinand, Vidic, Carrick, Cleverley, Kagawa, Welbeck, Van Persie.

We drew this game 1-1 and although we had 52% of the possession, Utd scored from 25% of their on target efforts, whilst we scored from 6% of ours.

I guess what these simplistic stats seem to indicate is that our defensive play has got better of late. However, we are crying out for a more clinical, prolific striker. I think that AVB is slowly making us harder to beat, but his "system" needs someone decent up front. Under Harry, we were more open and expansive, but we went through a period where we made it oh so easy for quality teams to score against us?

In summary, I am more than happy with AVB at the moment, I just wish that Levy would splash the cash on some quality firepower!?

 

[Golfball]

You got a warning from Admin for describing someone's opinion as a joke ?

Yeah I called someone a joker as I didnt think their suggestion of intelligent football could be serious. Anyway doesnt matter now. Although it has left me in a difficult position now as I just read a few posts by ArmchairExpert and wanted to ask him if he meant his username to be ironic, however depending on the answer this might not be within the rules 8-[

Anyway back to football. We are on course to concede more goals than last season while also score more. You'd never think that from our performances.

 

[Jordinho]

i posted something else here but i am almost certain it would come off aggressive...so can you do me a favour just so i dont hold on to this niggling feeling

can you show me where you have said something like this or similar when people are talking about Harry? seriously..... i just want to see you throwing rules and guidelines at someone that has muddied Harry's name or said something nasty or untoward kind of thing.

This is at the root of a lot of the arguments. Many on here have a dislike of Harry Redknapp, the person. That doesn't mean they're trying to discredit everything he achieved with us.

 

[africanspurs]

This is at the root of a lot of the arguments. Many on here have a dislike of Harry Redknapp, the person. That doesn't mean they're trying to discredit everything he achieved with us.

yes it does. in most situations people will say unfounded or negative stuff about people they dont like. if your going to come out and try and gloss it then pass it off as analysis then i think everytime someone does that there should be a duty for them to be called up on it

like your thing about him being bad at transfers. people had the right to call you on that whether you were right or wrong

and if you dont think that people are trying to discredit what he did......i think that still shows a bit of bias on your part. would you like me to PM you with highlights of proof of that of nearly every post of someone that doesnt like harry? probably not...you inbox wouldnt make it :lol:

 

[Jordinho]

yes it does. in most situations people will say unfounded or negative stuff about people they dont like. if your going to come out and try and gloss it then pass it off as analysis then i think everytime someone does that there should be a duty for them to be called up on it

like your thing about him being bad at transfers. people had the right to call you on that whether you were right or wrong

and if you dont think that people are trying to discredit what he did......i think that still shows a bit of bias on your part. would you like me to PM you with highlights of proof of that of nearly every post of someone that doesnt like harry? probably not...you inbox wouldnt make it :lol:

Saying we could have done better isn't the same as saying we failed, but I think it's time to stop talking about his time at Spurs, especially in this thread. We have enough data from THIS season to see patterns emerging. We can use the early stages of this season for comparisons instead whenever necessary.