I think it is hard to pinpoint what AVB is doing right this season. Obviously I want him to do well because I'm a Spurs fan, not a manager fan, and if he does badly then that means we do badly but if he persists with a number of things then it will be difficult to maintain my support for him.
Firstly I think it's very silly of him not to have had Sandro start more games. I understand he had a long-term injury but if he's fit enough for 45 minutes then the chances are he's fit enough for 90. I believe the reason AVB hasn't started him in the league more is because he genuinely thinks Paulinho-Dembele will work, but how often does a fairly attack-minded duo like that really work without someone protecting the midfield? Not much. We get too exposed and having this pairing has cost us in home games against West Ham and Saudi Sportswashing Machine. Hopefully AVB has learnt his lesson in this aspect.
Another issue is obviously the Soldado conundrum. I've never been a huge fan of his, his allround game isn't great at all, but La Liga is a weaker league and at Valencia he had several very creative players around him so scored a fair few goals. AVB's tactic however is seemingly to play with inverted wingers, none of whom are creative players, meaning Soldado becomes totally ineffective for us. It's a shame he fell out with Adebayor, because although Ade is a bit of a *** and inconsistent he at least fits in to this system better than Soldado and Defoe.
AVB's tactics are obviously another cause for concern. He has always relied heavily on long range shots in his time at the club. Thankfully Bale is a master of them and so was able to score plenty last season. It's a bit worrying that AVB's main attacking 'tactic' is to just instruct his attacking midfielders to shoot on sight, however. Townsend does it too much, Sigurdsson does it too much, Paulinho does it too much... you get the point. Eriksen has invention in his locker but is extremely hit and miss so we can't expect him to create hatfuls of chances every game. Holtby is fairly creative but more of a workhorse. Lamela I watched many times at Roma - he is very good at scoring goals, be that through a dribble or accurate curler etc. but he isn't exactly what I'd describe as creative. Lennon and Chadli, can run with the ball but won't set many chances up via a through ball. So what teams do is sit narrow and demand us to find a way through - unfortunately we rarely have an answer. Yes, the odd long range strike will go in but more often than not it is extremely frustrating for both the players and the fans.
I'm not entirely sure what we can do with the players we have to suit us best. We have a strong squad but I'm not entirely sure how to get the best out of it. Rose and Walker are automatic picks at full-back when fit, then AVB has an array of options in the centre of defence. But from there upwards he has to play Sandro every league game and decide on Paulinho (who has failed to deliver so far - seems technically below par for a Brazilian, but I'm willing to give him time) or an underperforming Dembele. Eventually Lamela has to come in for the one-trick pony Townsend on the right, because at least Lamela is more of a goal threat. Put Townsend on the left where is at least forced to go on the outside sometimes and cross the ball. Eriksen/Holtby/Sigurdsson is much of a muchness for the 'hole' position, personally I'd opt for the most in form which right now is perhaps Holtby. Then I would have Adebayor up front but that seems unrealistic, so maybe stick with Soldado because he'd be slightly more likely to be serviced by that trio IMO.
I dunno, I just feel we had a very poor summer on the transfer front. Not too sure what the plan was. Chiriches coming in to replace Caulker was weird but the former looks good so I can just about see the reasoning for it. Capoue adds depth but how much of an upgrade he is on Huddlestone I am unsure. Paulinho is a good player but Dembele was last season and instead of having them challenge each other for that box to box role it appears as if both are first-choice, which as I've said above just doesn't work. Lamela I can understand signing because he has the potential to be a top player. Eriksen, well I've never been convinced and it was an even more pointless signing with Holtby and Sigurdsson already here - should have either sold Sig and bought someone better for the position or just not signed Eriksen and let Sig/Holtby fight it out. Chadli is okay, but again slightly pointless due to our having three other wingers more in favour (as well as Sigurdsson playing on the left). Soldado, see above for my thoughts.
If the plan was to just buy all of the above players, throw them in together and hope for the best then that is pure idiocy. Unfortunately that seems to be the case. How many of our players get in to the other top six teams despite our spending £100m? Very few, worryingly:
Arsenal - Lloris, Vertonghen, possibly Sandro (all of whom were here already).
Chelsea - Lloris debateably, Vertonghen, Sandro. Arguably Paulinho/Dembele ahead of Ramires, but that depends what you want.
Liverpool - Lloris, maybe Vertonghen? Sandro and Lucas have little between them, but you could do a swap there if you fancied it.
Emirates Marketing Project - Lloris, Vertonghen.
Man Utd - Lloris, maybe Vertonghen again, probably a midfielder of ours, potentially Lamela.
In other words, the only players of ours that the majority of top teams would be looking at using in their first elevens are Lloris, Vertonghen and Sandro. To spend as much money as we did and still say that is very worrying. It's partly why I'm concerned we may be in a scrap for 6th with Everton and Southampton as opposed to fight for 4th with the above five sides. We have a much stronger squad than Everton and Southampton but if they keep themselves fit it won't be easy.
I hope that post isn't too long-winded or dull. That's just how I feel at the moment, very down on Spurs after four years of genuine belief (not hope, belief) that we were going in the right direction. AVB has done some good things here but he needs to quickly press the stop button because he's fast turning in to the AVB of Chelsea. If that were to happen, there's no coming back for him at the Lane.
