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Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

What a bloody coach. His tactics for the derby were spot on. Play deep and compact to deny the scum the opportunity to play their 1-2s around the box then hit them on the break. If Siggy had toe poked his chance home, it would have been the least stressful derby league win in the past decade.

Thanks Roman - couldn't have got him without you
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

I love the way he managed the Siggy situation. Clearly whilst showing flashes of class he's been lacking in confidence, then he brings him on for a good spell against West Ham and he plays well and scores. So AVB makes it clear he is happy with his performance and sticks him in the starting line up for the biggest game of the season. That would only give Siggy the confidence he needs, and he delivered today bar the obvious incident. Well done AVB...
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

Very good... And this addresses what skyfarer was talking about

Of course, things are not perfect. If they were, Spurs would be eyeing the title not the Champions League places. And while they are better organised under Villas-Boas, rigidity sometimes trumps fluidity. That is not a surprise: losing Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart, both excellent one-touch passers, meant the engine room lost some of its grease and groove.

And while Mousa Dembélé has been excellent, he, along with most of Spurs' midfield, like to take their opponents on. Rarely do they receive and release immediately. The signing of Lewis Holtby, a keen recycler, should continue to add variety to their attacks.
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

SUIYHA said:
He has always behaved with class and dignity since he's been here. It's a big part of the reason I think a lot of people who hated Redknapp and the way he kittend himself out to the media every 5 minutes that looked past some of the mistakes he made earlier in the season.

For me, the list of priorities goes results first, then the style of football second, then his personality and appearance third. Which is why I was getting extremely frustrated with him at the start of the season. I'm pleased to say that in the last couple of months, the tactical decisions have been consistently good and so has the football. It doesn't mean that some of the tactical disasters in the early part of the season weren't as bad as were made out at the time, but seeing as we haven't seen anything like that for a while, I'm pleased with what he's doing. This isn't about "giving it time", because I've never been critical of things like the pressing game or the high line which are what took time to implement. It was the bizarre tactical decisions like playing two defensive midfielders and a midget striker on his own up front at home to Norwich when he had Dembele and Adebayor on the bench, or taking off Huddlestone who had been causing Chelsea problems to bring on Livermore just after they scored and to hand the momentum back to them. fudge knows what's changed, maybe he's started reading this forum? Maybe he's stopped drinking the night before games? His voice certainly seems less croaky than it used to :)

Three very big games coming up for him. This is where he earns his money. Keep the players as motivated and focused as they appear to be now, and no major tactical fudge-ups in these very difficult tactical matches, and we'll have a good chance of taking points from them. And if we're still in the top 4 at the end of them, then it's likely we'll be there at the end of the season too.
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:ross:
Thaaaaaat's right, without the generous help of some on this forum, he'd have us up the swannee...
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

Villas-Boas often deflects questions about himself, insisting that it is the group that matters. Ultimately it is. But the manager creates the mood music. On Tottenham's pre-season tour to the United States he encouraged staff and players to dine together, and even paid for a slap-up meal from his own admittedly deep pockets (something he repeated before Christmas). When Spurs beat Southampton he picked up the tab after his players threw their shirts into the crowd.
 
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Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/premier-league/vertonghen-beats-vermaelen-in-battle-of-belgians-8518535.html

But this game, for the first time in weeks, was not only about Bale, even though he did put Spurs 1-0 ahead. It was a performance of perfect collective organisation, as they repelled Arsenal's dominance of possession all afternoon, restricting their rivals to desperately few opportunities given the amount they had the ball. And, at the other end, Spurs were deadly.

In a game when Arsenal's defence descended, yet again, into acrimonious chaos, Tottenham produced arguably their tightest defensive display of the season. Villas-Boas paired Jan Vertonghen and Michael Dawson at centre-back and they dealt perfectly with Arsenal's brisk passing and movement, which was better in the first 20 minutes than for some time.
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Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

thfcsteff said:
Excellent story...

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog/2013/mar/03/andre-villas-boas-tottenham
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What a great boss! He should write a management book one day and change the dreary place I work in!
The happy environment extends to the training pitch. Gary Mabbutt, who has known times good and bad at Spurs, was struck with how happy everyone was when he visited the club recently. He sensed that people wanted to work for Villas-Boas, who knows the names of all the staff and makes it clear he appreciates what they do, whatever their position.


The assistant head coach, Steffen Freund, has also proved a smart acquisition, not just for his insight but also for his unrelenting enthusiasm, even when the rain is coming down sideways. And then there is the nitty-gritty of training and tactics. Villas-Boas plans every training session weeks in advance. There are no long runs or heavy weights; on the pitch everything is done with the ball. And there is a vigorous injury-prevention strategy in place to try to limit the number of players lost to non-impact issues.


There is fun but there is flexibility, too. One former player told me that the squad always get the day off after a game but following their dramatic victory over West Ham, Villas-Boas realised that everyone was buzzing and let them take it easy on Wednesday, too.


Data and videotape are also scrunched and crunched, and adjustments made: when Spurs developed a habit of conceding late goals Villas-Boas thought they were losing focus so he made the last part of training the most intense. It worked. He has also tried 4-4-2, with mixed results, for the first time in his career.
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

I seriously think behind the scenes AVB is convinced we can get 2nd place. He is highly motivated to finish above Chelsea for obvious reasons, Arse because of the close rivalry between clubs, but imo he is sniffing some Emirates Marketing Project blood and is planning to take advantage of them being blown away by Utd in the title race
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-2288122/A-year-life-AVB-thats-movie.html


'AVB has broken another record’ was a subject for discussion in a Tottenham online fans’ forum on Monday, with supporters readily admitting their initial doubts about the manager had been gloriously allayed. A 2-1 victory in the north London derby - Spurs’ club record 12th match without defeat in the Premier League - undoubtedly helps, of course, but the faithful were chanting his name long before that. It took a while, however. '

Mail reading glory-glory? :-k
 
Re: AVB article - villas-boas-making-tottenham-his-own

All media outlets have people scouring forums. Who do you think all their 'unnamed sources' are? :lol:
 
Amusing but good Spurs article in The Evening Standard (for a change)

Football is pointless and ridiculous — which should really be repeated before every Five Live phone-in and Sky Sports post-match analysis. Still, as pointless and ridiculous activities go, watching Tottenham command their way to a 2-1 victory in Sunday’s north London derby was tremendous. Watching the match with my Arsenal-supporting mother-in-law was particularly tremendous.

“But you’re supposed to be rubbish!” she protested, as first Gareth Bale then Aaron Lennon pinged the ball into the net. “We are! That’s the point!” I tried to explain, as our defence embodied the fortitude once associated with the Arsenal back line. I’m sure it must have been really exciting actually winning the league. But there is also something joyful in once having been rubbish, and then suddenly realising you’re quite good.

Yesterday’s papers spoke of a local power shift. One match doesn’t change a whole lot but set against Arsenal’s long-term deflation under Arsène Wenger — it is over seven years since he won anything — it does feel like a turning point. Indeed, as Tottenham now look down on Chelsea from third in the league, could this be a London-wide power shift?

Before I spear that idea with N17 fatalism — remember last season? Remember Lasagnegate? Remember when Gary “Ginger Pele” Doherty was our star player? — we can dream for a minute. In André Villas-Boas, we have a young and ambitious manager with an excellent beard. He is proving not only an astute tactician but a fine man-manager.

Then, in Gareth Bale, we possess the most scintillating player in Europe at the moment, dashing in the finest White Hart Lane traditions, and a decent chap to boot. All over the pitch, from the flamboyant goalkeeper Hugo Lloris, to the lovable Benoît Assou-Ekotto and the rejuvenated Aaron Lennon, young-ish men perform their roles with skill and professionalism. There is the pleasing bonus that Scott Parker, Michael Dawson and Jan Vertonghen look like the crew of an Avro Lancaster bomber circa 1942. And there is the fact the team is relatively w****r-free — you never hear of Spurs players stubbing out cigars in one another’s eyes or shagging their brother’s wife.

But short of going through the entire team (passing over Emmanuel Adebayor), I will salute the sane chairmanship of Daniel Levy whose patient investment in players and infrastructure stands in marked contrast to many of his playboy peers. We can also take pride in the admirable response to the Fabrice Muamba drama at White Hart Lane last year, as well as the club’s outreach programme, widely regarded as the best in the league — even if, since the riots, the away fans will take the tinkle: “You stupid b*****ds, you burnt your own town …”

Not that anyone with a stake in Tottenham’s recent history would ever become complacent — the club’s glory glory days are too long ago for that.

Moreover, while it is entertaining to hear Arsenal fans utter such Spurs-ian sentiments as “When are they going to sort out the defence!”, I still have a residual faith in Tottenham’s capacity to mess it up. After all — as Villas-Boas has repeatedly stressed — we had a comparable lead over Arsenal at this stage last season and contrived to miss out on the Champions League.

Then again, I have always associated football with disappointment. My first memory of Tottenham was the 3-2 FA Cup final defeat to Coventry City in 1987, which John Motson described as the finest he had ever commentated on. So we were stylish but we also lost. Still, in retrospect, those early years were actually about as good as Spurs have ever been in my lifetime, peaking around the 1991 FA Cup victory, when Paul Gascoigne and Gary Lineker were in the side.

Again, reaching back for memories, I remember a primary school swimming lesson and a tubby, red-faced child who I’ll call Peter Porkins delighting in the sale of Gascoigne. “Where’s your Gazza gone — where’s your Gazza gone?” he sang, dancing around the changing room, wearing nothing but one of those old JVC Arsenal shirts.

At that time, Tottenham and Arsenal were roughly on the same level. Then came Arsenal’s transformation from George Graham’s boring-boring 1-0 merchants. For some reason, though, the same image still springs to mind every time I hear the word “Arsenal”. It doesn’t matter what heights of sophistication the team attained under Wenger, when every cappuccino-sipping, Guardian-reading, Nick Hornby-quoting north London gentrifier started to support them. With every elegant flick of Thierry Henry’s boot, ever cultured pass from Dennis Bergkamp, there was always fat little Peter Porkins, dancing around like an eejit.

In those mid-table days, I used to console myself that the ratio of Tottenham’s pleasing wins to ho-hum draws and grim defeats roughly corresponded to the highs and middles and lows of life itself. Still, it didn’t quite make up for the ingenious punishments that Tottenham fans have endured over the years.

There was the appointment of Graham as Tottenham manager in 1998. There was the defection of star defender Sol Campbell to Arsenal on a free transfer in 2001. Then came the ignominy of seeing Arsenal win their most recent title at White Hart Lane in 2004, followed by the infamous lasagne incident in 2005, when half the team came down with food poisoning on the last day of the season. There were the memorable defeats, too. We were 3-0 up at half time against Manchester United in the 2000/01 season, only to lose 5-3. We were 3-0 up against a 10-man Emirates Marketing Project in a 2004 cup tie and they came back to beat us 4-3. Earlier this season, we were 1-0 up at the Emirates, before Adebayor got himself sent off and we lost 5-2.

In short, there is no cushion large enough for a Tottenham fan ever to feel comfortable. But then again, such have been our disappointments over the years that perhaps now the fear is gone? We’ve been through it all. And that which doesn’t kill you can only make you stronger, surely?
 
[Article] The AVB Redemption

The AVB redemption: How the Spurs boss has proved me wrong after his Chelsea nightmare

by Matt Law

I thought his move to White Hart Lane came too soon, but the Portuguese has learned from his mistakes and is doing a fine job

One year ago Andre Villas-Boas was considering unemployment.

He had lost his battle with the Chelsea dressing room and had left the club's Cobham training ground in tears.

But Villas-Boas is a fast learner, it's what helped propel him from DVD man under Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge to Europa League winner with Porto in just seven years.

So when a chance of redemption came at Spurs, Villas-Boas was clever enough not to make the same mistake twice.

Man-management was Villas-Boas' big problem at Chelsea, but he set about addressing that particular flaw as soon as he walked through the White Hart Lane doors.

Text messages were exchanged with players, not just about football. Villas-Boas took time to find out the interests of his squad and share jokes.

Players who had been warned of an emotionally detached tactics swot were pleasantly surprised.

Challenges presented themselves quickly. Villas-Boas fancied picking from a central defensive four of Jan Vertonghen, Younes Kaboul, Steven Caulker and William Gallas.

Michael Dawson was told he would start the season as fifth choice centre-back and a bid from QPR was accepted.

Despite being gutted at being informed he could leave, Dawson appreciated the honesty of Villas-Boas and was even more impressed when the Portuguese kept an open mind after the QPR move had been rejected.

Villas-Boas has been big enough to admit he made a mistake over Dawson. An injury to Kaboul let the 29-year-old back in and his performances are set to earn him a new contract.

Vertonghen has proved to be an excellent signing by Spurs chairman Daniel Levy and Villas-Boas has cleverly integrated him into the English game.

Recognising an opportunity because of an injury to Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Villas-Boas asked Vertonghen to acclimatise to the Premier League in the less critical role of left-back.

The decision afforded the Belgian greater time and leeway to find his feet before successfully moving into the centre of defence, where mistakes generally cost goals.

The goalkeeping situation was a potential minefield to negotiate.

France captain Hugo Lloris came in expecting to be made number one, but Brad Friedel had done little wrong and was a prominent member of the Spurs dressing room.

Villas-Boas handled the situation superbly, giving Friedel the respect he deserved while slowly but surely introducing Lloris.

There can now be no debate that Tottenham and Villas-Boas ultimately did the right thing in easing Lloris in ahead of 41-year-old Friedel.

He has been one of the best goalkeepers in the Premier League over recent months and has all the tools to get even better under his excellent coach Tony Parks.

There was no better public validation of the relationship between Villas-Boas and his players than Gareth Bale's celebration after crashing in a last-minute winner against West Ham.

Villas-Boas embarrassingly had to ask the Chelsea players to run towards him after they scored, but Bale's embrace with his boss was instinctive.

But remember he lost Luka Modric to Real Madrid and Ledley King announced his retirement from football.

There is enough evidence to prove Villas-Boas has improved the talent that was already at White Hart Lane.

Aaron Lennon is enjoying one of his best seasons for Spurs and his goal against Arsenal showed a growing side to his game.

Always lightening quick, Lennon used to lack the ability to make the correct runs off the ball and his final product often let him down.

But the 25-year-old caught out both Nacho Monreal and Thomas Vermaelen with a superb run and finished coolly past Wojciech Szczesny.

The victory over Arsenal meant Tottenham are now on their longest-ever unbeaten run in the Premier League, 12 games, and are looking forward to Thursday night’s Europa League last-16 tie against Inter Milan.

This particular correspondent doubted whether both Tottenham and Villas-Boas were doing the right thing by uniting so soon after his Chelsea nightmare.

But Villas-Boas is grasping his second chance and is proving a lot of people, me included, wrong.

All managers make mistakes. The best managers quickly learn from them.

http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/how-andre-villas-boas-proved-wrong-1743778
 
Re: [Article] The AVB Redemption

seriously, another AVB thread???
 
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