Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

[djp82]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

I've never hidden my opinion about Redknapp's sacking being the right one at the time, but f*ck me, writing Tim Sherwood off after three games? Well then, we'd be Champions League at the moment if we'd kept Redknapp and never hired that clueless Portuguese tosser AVB.


That 'We'd be better off with AVB' logic can be easily twisted around. Last season, we'd have played flowing, devil-may-care football under a media darling instead of a grim, joyless slog punctuated by moments of quality from an 80 million man. This season, we'd have at least created a couple of chances instead of falling to 5-0 and 6-0 defeats, having the worst home record of any of our rivals and looking impotent, terrified to go forward and inept at the back during the last games of AVB's inept, utterly uninspired reign.

It is very, very easy to turn that argument around. I understood what AVB was trying to achieve, and I was sad he was never able to implement it. Equally, I was happy we sacked Redknapp at the time because I felt he'd pushed Levy too far with his duplicitous manuevering after the CL final, and probably still am. But don't pretend that things would have been better under AVB: for all my admiration of the man, I can accept that he was doing a lot of things wrong, and I suspect we'd be exactly the same under him as we are at the moment, considering that this is the man who needed penalties to scrape past Hull at home and lost to Saudi Sportswashing Machine at home, among other things.

Good post

 

[Baleforce]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

I have no doubt we'd be in a cup semi final and be 2 points better off if AVB was still manager. The whole situation is a ****ing joke. I hope there was stuff behind the scenes, because it's the only thing that makes sense to me.

I agree

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

We also lost 6-0 to City, if you recall. It wasn't a one-off, and I hope the story of AVB's sacking doesn't become 'oh, he was sacked because of one game'. There were much deeper problems running through our squad that he has to take at least some of the blame for.

At the same time, he wasn't on a massive downward spiral ala Jol or Ramos. We took a hammering, we bounced back with wins. We took another hammering, we bounced back with more wins. The players were still playing for the guy, the board just lost its nerve. But they'd lost their nerve with him at the start of the season, you are right that it wasn't any one result.

 

[DHSF]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

Look it wasnt great but you guys do realise that TS took over a team who just got hammered 5-0 at home? Not like he took over a team flying high and all cylinders firing right? You do realise he took over a shockingly poor defence and dont hurl stats at me, it was poor and disjointed back line.

**** me. Pathetic.

and all this whole 'we wouldnt have lost' ha we had AVB - ****in hell. Mystic Meg - give me the lottery numbers will you. Urgh.

 

[thfcsteff]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

At the same time, he wasn't on a massive downward spiral ala Jol or Ramos. We took a hammering, we bounced back with wins. We took another hammering, we bounced back with more wins. The players were still playing for the guy, the board just lost its nerve. But they'd lost their nerve with him at the start of the season, you are right that it wasn't any one result.

Look, the whole thing is a tremendous shame, and again, I wanted AVB and supported him, but he did not help his own cause towards the end and did not make things difficult for Levy & co when 'the moment' arrived. It's a great shame. All of it. PERSONALLY, I would rather he was here as for me, there was a definite light at the end of a tunnel that wasn't especially dark to start with; this 'style' we're chugging through with Sherwood isn't doing it for me. But AVB has gone. And this is what we have. And I have to get behind it because I am a supporter and the alternative is constant reflection and complaint. I cannot do that, and if I do, then I'll have to stop watching football…but let's please acknowledge it was not all a one-way street.

 

[kinkygerbil]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

It's starting to look an unwise choice, fair play get rid IF you have someone to replace, we didn't so we are worse off.

The players looked a lot more disinterested today than they did under avb

 

[thfcsteff]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

It's starting to look an unwise choice, fair play get rid IF you have someone to replace, we didn't so we are worse off.

The players looked a lot more disinterested today than they did under avb

he also did not want to be here any longer...

 

[AdamB]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

At the same time, he wasn't on a massive downward spiral ala Jol or Ramos. We took a hammering, we bounced back with wins. We took another hammering, we bounced back with more wins. The players were still playing for the guy, the board just lost its nerve. But they'd lost their nerve with him at the start of the season, you are right that it wasn't any one result.

There's obviously no way of proving this one way or another however I really don't agree with that at all

 

[Rossi22]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

So we'd have gotten 6 points from these two if AVB had still been here, based on what exactly?

 

[kinkygerbil]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

There's obviously no way of proving this one way or another however I really don't agree with that at all

Look at the reaction after the Sunderland game

 

[Harry_Perkins]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

At the same time, he wasn't on a massive downward spiral ala Jol or Ramos. We took a hammering, we bounced back with wins. We took another hammering, we bounced back with more wins. The players were still playing for the guy, the board just lost its nerve. But they'd lost their nerve with him at the start of the season, you are right that it wasn't any one result.

True but this is years on from both when we have ever more become established as a top 6 side. Anyone half decent should be able to avoid a major slump.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

Look, the whole thing is a tremendous shame, and again, I wanted AVB and supported him, but he did not help his own cause towards the end and did not make things difficult for Levy & co when 'the moment' arrived. It's a great shame. All of it. PERSONALLY, I would rather he was here as for me, there was a definite light at the end of a tunnel that wasn't especially dark to start with; this 'style' we're chugging through with Sherwood isn't doing it for me. But AVB has gone. And this is what we have. And I have to get behind it because I am a supporter and the alternative is constant reflection and complaint. I cannot do that, and if I do, then I'll have to stop watching football…but let's please acknowledge it was not all a one-way street.

What are you suggesting I am saying? I am freely acknowledging in many posts that AVB clearly didn't want to be here any more. As I keep saying, if he wanted to be here, he would have taken a different approach to Levy in that moment.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

True but this is years on from both when we have ever more become established as a top 6 side. Anyone half decent should be able to avoid a major slump.

And we were still bettering our points total at the same stage of the previous season when we hit record numbers, so all things considered, 7 new foreigners into the club when almost anyone with an opinion worth listening to said it was flat out a bad idea and at the very least would take time for them all to be moulded into an effective unit...to still be on for record points during the moment that the board decide he's not the man for us any more, it just shows up the club a bit I think.

I agree AVB didn't want to be here any more, and he clearly didn't fight for his job. But who does that ultimately come down to? If we value him, we give him the circumstances and the backing to make him feel comfortable and succeed. It seems right from the off, certain board members and people close to Levy were sceptical, which means he would never ride out the expected bad runs of form that will inevitably happen because it would just give credibility to the doubters and they wouldn't back him. I don't think the board realised what they had with him, they thought they knew it all.

 

[BrainOfLevy]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

Look it wasnt great but you guys do realise that TS took over a team who just got hammered 5-0 at home? Not like he took over a team flying high and all cylinders firing right? You do realise he took over a shockingly poor defence and dont hurl stats at me, it was poor and disjointed back line.

**** me. Pathetic.

and all this whole 'we wouldnt have lost' ha we had AVB - ****in hell. Mystic Meg - give me the lottery numbers will you. Urgh.

TS today headed up a team that just won 3-2 at Southampton. A team that was 6 points off the top of the league. He's made his bed, he needs to lie in it.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

We also lost 6-0 to City, if you recall. It wasn't a one-off, and I hope the story of AVB's sacking doesn't become 'oh, he was sacked because of one game'. There were much deeper problems running through our squad that he has to take at least some of the blame for.

Exactly. I can't fathom how people can say it was just because of the Liverpool result. It was 3 shocking results in a matter of weeks, any manager of any club would be under serious pressure after losing 6-0, 5-0 and 3-0, two of which came at home.

Slow, ponderous buildup play
Clueless tactics at home
Appalling offensive displays
Playing slow centre backs in a high line
Poor substitutions

At least we could hang our hat on our good defensive display up until November, can't even say that now.

 

[Harry_Perkins]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

And we were still bettering our points total at the same stage of the previous season when we hit record numbers, so all things considered, 7 new foreigners into the club when almost anyone with an opinion worth listening to said it was flat out a bad idea and at the very least would take time for them all to be moulded into an effective unit...to still be on for record points during the moment that the board decide he's not the man for us any more, it just shows up the club a bit I think

But this has to be taken in its context. He came into a club that had pretty much all its best Premier League points total over the previous 7 years. Jol broke the record in 2006, Redknapp broke it again in 2010 and his other points totals of 62 and 69 better all the others bar 1993 when we played 42 games and Jol's 65 in 2006. So nearly matching the poor start to 2012 don't hold much truck with me. And even then, in 2012 we had started to turn it around after the 2-5 defeat at Arsenal, whereas as this year we seemed to be getting progressively worse. We've gone from a club that could moderately outspend its then midtable rivals to one, that having made vast profits on several signings, now positively blow them out of the water. So taken in isolation the results don't seem bad but the wider context suggests otherwise. We've been looking at a steadily rising bar for several years and he was threatening to undo all of that. It not dissimilar to the situation he had at Chelsea. Yes they weren't far off but they're a top 4 mainstay for how long? In the same breath, I expect us to slowly start to climb again and thankfully we have more scope to catch up than Chelsea did. As for the signings, I felt only 3 or 4 max out of the 7 would be in the side as regulars with the others just filling squad holes that had developed. As it was, Lamela and Eriksen barely get a look in and the others play far more regularly than many were expecting. Even allowing for injuries. So AVB more than contributed to that situation himself.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

But this has to be taken in its context. He came into a club that had pretty much all its best Premier League points total over the previous 7 years. Jol broke the record in 2006, Redknapp broke it again in 2010 and his other points totals of 62 and 69 better all the others bar 1993 when we played 42 games and Jol's 65 in 2006. So nearly matching the poor start to 2012 don't hold much truck with me. And even then, in 2012 we had started to turn it around after the 2-5 defeat at Arsenal, whereas as this year we seemed to be getting progressively worse. We've gone from a club that could moderately outspend its then midtable rivals to one, that having made vast profits on several signings, now positively blow them out of the water. So taken in isolation the results don't seem bad but the wider context suggests otherwise. We've been looking at a steadily rising bar for several years and he was threatening to undo all of that. It not dissimilar to the situation he had at Chelsea. Yes they weren't far off but they're a top 4 mainstay for how long? In the same breath, I expect us to slowly start to climb again and thankfully we have more scope to catch up than Chelsea did. As for the signings, I felt only 3 or 4 max out of the 7 would be in the side as regulars with the others just filling squad holes that had developed. As it was, Lamela and Eriksen barely get a look in and the others play far more regularly than many were expecting. Even allowing for injuries. So AVB more than contributed to that situation himself.

That's the most relevant term in your post. We could better last season's points total but finish 6th or even 7th, you have to judge your progress compared to the teams in and around you too surely?

 

[AdamB]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

Pleased we fired AVB. I do think though that there is a reasonable chance that Sherwood wont last the season

 

[scaramanga]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

seemed to

Actually, this is the most important part of the post, because it creates the context for the rest of the post.

Take out the entirely subjective view of someone who was looking for negatives and replace it with positives and you have the following:

We were ahead of last year's record points total and were just getting better and better. I'm so excited about the second half of the season, at this rate we're virtually guaranteed CL qualification.

 

[the dza]

Re: AVB Sacked page 224

Actually, this is the most important part of the post, because it creates the context for the rest of the post.

Take out the entirely subjective view of someone who was looking for negatives and replace it with positives and you have the following:

We were ahead of last year's record points total and were just getting better and better. I'm so excited about the second half of the season, at this rate we're virtually guaranteed CL qualification.

Even though that's just an opinion, it doesn't tally with a 6-0 and a 0-5 defeat in the space of 1 month.

Argh, it's all such a great mess and it really shouldn't have been.