Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

[Gutter Boy]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

Kind of irrelvant when we lost 6-0 and Emirates Marketing Project could have scored more.

We were losing 3-0. You get that by stating we're "controlling the midfield" it's not all about possession right? i mean there's other things you take into account when deciding if a team is "controlling the midfield"

1) Scoreline
2) chances created
3) general movement of midfield players
4) general performance of midfield players

I just think we were still perfectly competitive in that area of the park. What we couldn't cope with was Aguero and City's movement when they broke, which was devastating. It was a big problem, but a different one. The ill-fated Kaboul-Dawson partnership was the big mistake last weekend IMO.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

But the point is a lot of teams are happy to let us have the ball as they know we don't create many chances so winning the possession battle by itself is nothing to be proud of. Obviously you would like to have more of the ball than the opposition, but you have to do more with it than pass it from side to side.

Ok - so maybe control of the midfield isn't a relevant point entirely in this instance. I can accept that. I don't think any team could turn up to City and have more possession so I think we do have some quality there that is demonstrated but I can see what you're saying.

 

[Kingdawson]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

99% of what the admin team do is behind the scenes and we do not discuss in public. I have certainly warned posters about things they have said about Redknapp in the past, as I have about comments about AVB. Our approach is completely even handed.

I think that the issue is that we have a handful of posters who feel that Redknapp was unfairly treated by members of this board and decided that they would try and redress the balance by giving his successor the same treatment as a point of principle. This is tiresome and against site rules.

How do you determine who is guilty of this and who just genuinely doesn't rate AVB much?

 

[Hootnow]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

I just think we were still perfectly competitive in that area of the park. What we couldn't cope with was Aguero and City's movement when they broke, which was devastating. It was a big problem, but a different one. The ill-fated Kaboul-Dawson partnership was the big mistake last weekend IMO.

They broke over and over again though and our midfield left the City players to run at those 2 repeatedly. They weren't isolated incidents. Perhaps the only positive about the 6-0 was they could have hit many more past us.

 

[braineclipse]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

Why did you only mention yaya and not Navas and Nasri that were tearing us a new arsehole and Fernandinho who most thought was the stand out player that half?

Yaya Toure is a world class player that regularly causes problems for just about all opposing teams. To me controlling midfield is more about what happens in the centre of the park. Navas causing massive problems for Vertonghen at left back didn't seem all that relevant.

I thought Fernandinho was good, particularly defensively, but I thought other players were the stand out players myself.

Edit: Did you think that City outplayed us in that first half? Did you feel that they outplayed us throughout the half?

 

[billyiddo]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

****ing good on AVB for those comments. Regardless of whether he succeeds here or not im glad to see someone here stand up to the press

 

[Jordinho]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

How do you determine who is guilty of this and who just genuinely doesn't rate AVB much?

It will be through discussion amongst ourselves and requires a majority to think that is the case, ie. posting the same thing over and over to provoke as opposed to formulating an opinion and trying to back it up.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

[video=youtube;XFmFFElRLRM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFmFFElRLRM#t=26[/video]

That silence from Ashton at the end was just EXCEPTIONAL! Well played Andre.

 

[Gutter Boy]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

[video=youtube;XFmFFElRLRM]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFmFFElRLRM#t=26[/video]

Thanks for posting that.

It comes across quite different from how I read the transcript. He's actually a lot calmer/less adrenaline-driven than I expected.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

Also on the above - funny how the Mail's transcript makes it look like another question was asked straight away, rather than a massively awkward silence followed by Ashton's sigh as he tries to wipe the handprint of Andre's bitchslap from his face.

 

[milo]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

How do you determine who is guilty of this and who just genuinely doesn't rate AVB much?

Have a look at the site rules for WUM/trolls. So far we have mainly let it run but I am not sure how much longer we are prepared to let this continue.

Anyway. Thread back on topic. Happy to continue this discussion via PM.

 

[diego_maradona]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

Yaya Toure is a world class player that regularly causes problems for just about all opposing teams. To me controlling midfield is more about what happens in the centre of the park. Navas causing massive problems for Vertonghen at left back didn't seem all that relevant.

I thought Fernandinho was good, particularly defensively, but I thought other players were the stand out players myself.

Edit: Did you think that City outplayed us in that first half? Did you feel that they outplayed us throughout the half?

I think we need to look at how City and Arsenal cater their game for the opposition. They are happy to sit back, be compact perhaps even allow themselves to hand "control" to the opposition, and then they have far too much talent to not hurt the opposition when they counter

 

[Kingdawson]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

AVB came across excellently in that interview.

 

[onlyme]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

I just think we were still perfectly competitive in that area of the park. What we couldn't cope with was Aguero and City's movement when they broke, which was devastating. It was a big problem, but a different one. The ill-fated Kaboul-Dawson partnership was the big mistake last weekend IMO.

Yeah. That and no Townsend.

AVB lost the plot. He was experimenting in defence and attack against the top scorers in the EPL.

In attack, maybe. But in defence-NO WAY.

And when we needed goals he took off Soldado. Crazy.

But anyway that game is over. All that counts is the next game and if he plays some kind of muggy formation that does not produce goal mouth action in the next couple of games he will be out.

 

[braineclipse]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

I think we need to look at how City and Arsenal cater their game for the opposition. They are happy to sit back, be compact perhaps even allow themselves to hand "control" to the opposition, and then they have far too much talent to not hurt the opposition when they counter

They are happy to do that at times, as we are.

It seems obvious to me that we would have been happy to do just that away against City, but that game plan was undone within 15 seconds and that turned the tables. The Arsenal game was the same, no way they had been happy to just sit back and defend had it been 0-0 for 60 minutes or we had taken the lead. The first goal is what decides which team can apply that tactic, it's less of a choice to be made by the manager.

I thought our pressing today was very good. We sat back at times (allowing them control), we pressed way up the pitch at times, but we just about always did those things as a unit. Unsurprising perhaps with Lennon, Paulinho and Chadli in that attacking trio, but positive none the less. As a result of this United created very little when we were organized.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

99% of what the admin team do is behind the scenes and we do not discuss in public. I have certainly warned posters about things they have said about Redknapp in the past, as I have about comments about AVB. Our approach is completely even handed.

I think that the issue is that we have a handful of posters who feel that Redknapp was unfairly treated by members of this board and decided that they would try and redress the balance by giving his successor the same treatment as a point of principle. This is tiresome and against site rules.

I wouldn't go that far, not by a long stretch. I rarely see people belittling AVB's personality and background. I think it's the complete opposite, the same people who hated Redknapp are far, far more patient and lenient towards bad results, the goalposts are moved "we have no right to expect top 4 this season" but it was a different story for previous managers. Anyone calling for him to be sacked or even questioning his methods are written off as fickle supporters, quite unbelievable that they either don't see or ignore the irony in those statements.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

Have a look at the site rules for WUM/trolls. So far we have mainly let it run but I am not sure how much longer we are prepared to let this continue.

Anyway. Thread back on topic. Happy to continue this discussion via PM.

Personally I would describe various posts by certain posters as wumming, can PM if you like?

 

[King of Norway]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

AVB came out of that well, and Ashton less so, in my opinion. I'm not sure it will help him in the future, but he should have the right to defend himself.

 

[Rossi22]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

Why does everything have to be about possession these days? I blame Spain/Barca.

 

[Modric THFC]

Re: ***The Official AVB Discussion Thread***

I think GB's point is fair. He is talking about control of the ball, not control of the game and creating chances left right and centre. We were able to go to City and do that - and once we went 4-4-2 to be more direct we ceded that control. It happened. It's not a fanciful opinion.

We lost control of the midfield as soon as Sandro was booked around 30 minutes. He was just about holding things together with last ditch efforts while paulinho was stuck up the pitch. We lost the midfield until dembele came back on at the very end. During that period we played 4231 442 and then 4231 again.