Good evening.
The results of a rapid fire opinion poll survey thing I ran earlier today are in and here are the results. About 1000 people joined in which for a chilly Monday after a home defeat isn’t a poor show, so thank you for that.
Enjoy the rest of your night and please do observe the Firework Code – you are no use to me as a reader with charred rocket sticks protruding from where your eyeballs used to be.
Which of these lists are closest to the priority you place on potential achievements for the season?
| Top 4 finish or better | 61% | ||||||
| Top 5 finish | 27% | ||||||
| Top 10 finish and win a pot | 13% |
Looking at the Premier League table we sit 5th after 10 games. How do you feel we are we getting on?
| Could do better | 60% | ||||||
| Quite nicely | 35% | ||||||
| Bit of a joke | 4% | ||||||
| Famously | 1% |
The transfer window wasn’t great for us. Who do you blame?
| Levy & Co. | 40% | ||||||
| Both of the above | 36% | ||||||
| Market forces | 24% | ||||||
| Andre Villas-Boas | 1% |
Lots of injuries, but do you expect the boss to do better with the players he does have?
| No, he’s probably doiing the best he can | 44% | ||||||
| Yes, still lots of great talent there | 39% | ||||||
| I’m actually amazed we’re doing as well as we are given resources | 17% |
William Gallas. Straight question. Do you rate him?
| He’s average enough, no better | 57% | ||||||
| He’s doing a great job | 32% | ||||||
| Without him we’d be screwed | 7% | ||||||
| No, ex gooner rubbish | 4% |
Booing at games (that old one again)
| It’s not something I believe helps the situation | 89% | ||||||
| It’s what they deserve! | 11% |
On Saturday prior to stropping down the tunnel Defoe only touched the ball 11 times and only made 5 accurate passes. Did he deserve to get subbed?
| Yes he is a selfish git | 68% | ||||||
| No, he was gonna come good | 32% |
Back to missing players and AVB, how do you see the 6 games?
| A further dip in form, 1st teamers return, then improvement | 93% | ||||||
| It won’t make a blind bit of difference AVB can’t manage | 7% |
The Europa. Given the injuries what would you like to happen in terms of team selections?
| Focus entirely on the Premier League & the Europa | 50% | ||||||
| Focus entirely on the Premier League & the FA Cup | 28% | ||||||
| Focus entirely on the Premier League | 22% |
How do you watch games?
| On TV, online that sort of thing | 43% | ||||||
| Some live games | 37% | ||||||
| Season ticket holder/borrower | 20% |
It is interesting to learn, however, that while you ransacked the Harry Hotspur archives today to find an apparently outrageous quote where I said that finishing below 5th would constitute a level of failure, it would appear that most Spurs fans are much more demanding!
Nobody ransacked anything. Someone linked to that blog about ‘how long would you give AVB’ and you said worse than 5th would a failure.
The purpose of highlighting that quote was that we are only 10 games in and you’re crying ‘failure!’ which seems a bit fierce.
Had you said in that blog if we’re only 5th after 10 games he deserves the bullet I’d ask you nothing other than this weekend’s Lotto numbers!
I’m not saying he deserves the bullet now. I’m saying he doesn’t deserve all this ridiculous arse-covering that you and others are flailing around trying to offer him because you are insecure about having the fact that you were previously seen to be publicly blowing his trumpet so enthusiastically. With you, it’s #notavb’sfault – regardless of anything.
So far, AVB has been mostly very disappointing. Can you honestly disagree with that? And let’s leave the injury excuses, the booing sideshow and any comparisons with Redknapp – good or bad – out of it. Just a quarter season appraisal of the manager, nothing else.
I should say, so far, AVB has been mostly quite disappointing, because this is how I see it anyway.
he does adopt tactics most would disagree with, such as 2 defensive midfielders at home and taking Bale oss the wing to tuck him inside.
One point yells at me from the poll with AVB getting only 1% of the blame. he afterall decided which players were to stay and which to go, he decided who our transfer targets should be, because if anybody thinks he wasn’t consulted before he was appointed they are deluding themselves.
He whole contract had already been discussed and he had to sit and wait until his Chelsea contract allowed him to take another Premier League post. It is inconceivable that he wasn’t consulted over transfer targets.
I’m not saying he is to blame just that many have forgotten, hence the abnormally low 1%.
@ Mark, Verts was first approached while Harry was ‘technically’ in charge, in fact I’m sure he was at the last home game of the season. I’m also sure he knew exactly the score before signing for us, which was then long after Harry’s demise. Negotiations for Sig were well underway in the summer, and Dembele was finalised as soon as the Modric cash came in-so first up-it makes a mockery of the DLlastminute.com brigade as it’s not always up to us as to whether a deal can happen or not asthere are several parties involved.
Dembele’s money was there only due to Modric’s departure, which in turn meant DL could invoke the clause of 15m cash and there was only personal terms to settle, hence the speed of transfer=-Moutinho’s deal involved too many people with entirely different perspectives-but it’s easy when you read it in the papers of course.
LLL I don’t think being a supporter has to be so fiercely political as you’re making out.
All these terms that come up on here…Harry loyalist, Harry hater, AVB lover, Anti AVB. DL basher. It’s all a cobblers.
I have no pro or anti AVB agenda. I had no anti Harry agenda, like with most fans my support for him was slowly etched away by various shenanigans, culminating with the farce of his contract negotiations.
I am pro Tottenham, pro logic, and pro reason. I couldn’t give a flying hoop about being wrong, all I care about is what is sensible for THFC.
I assure you, all the things going wrong on the pitch that frustrate you I see. But for all the complaints and frustrations, I’ve not heard one glaringly obvious solution being offered by anyone.
He plays two defensive midfielders. When Dembele is out, yes – otherwise what choice does he have.
He plays Defoe up on his own. Yes, but what choice does he have.
He makes negative substitutions, like Livermore on for Huddlestone. Yes, he’s not fit and there’s nobody else, so what choice did he have.
He’s not played Adebayor. Well he’s been out for 8 games, what choice did he have.
All we’ve got is should he have played Lloris instead of Friedel, who has played pretty well. That’s it.
I cannot say I’m dissapointed in someone I cannot assess. Until he has his best players.
One criticism if it is one is were Harry in charge he would have trawled out plenty of down to the bare bones soundbytes, and perhaps some fans and the media might adjust their expectations.
Maybe he’s not as media savvy.
From the few occasions we’ve had our midfield 3 of Sandro, Dembele, Siggurdson – it’s not been sparkling for 90 minutes, but I’ve seen enough to tell me there’s something there. If we’re honest how many games were we sparkling for 90 minuted last season? Really? Even pre collapse. For all the QPR at home we also had Swansea away…Newcastle away…and our start without key players was also shocking…5-1 at home FFS?!
So logic tells me to reserve judgement until we can put out our best team.
It’s what I feel is best for my club, that’s it.
Well I’m not talking about you Jamie. I’m talking about people who continually clam up when you ask them simple and direct questions about their opinions on AVB’s tactics and decisions. A couple of people literally won’t engage with this as a topic. I can only presume they have no answers, because they only offer excuses. I can only presume they offer excuses because they are worried about looking silly because of their previous trumpet blowing.
You’re right, Rednapp would be moaning and making excuses left, right and centre too, and it would be really irritating, wouldn’t it? I posted a bunch of news stories where he had been doing just this in the past to make this very point. So it’s similarly annoying to hear certain people making Redknappian excuses on AVB’s behalf.
There are some injuries, but to shut off / deny any dialogue about the perceived lacklustre tactics and strange decisions and rotten entertainment factor, and then to seek to equate anyone who tries to start such a conversation with a booing fan – and then argue that such booing fans are actually a key factor behind any such malaise… Well, can you see that this is somewhat maddening?
@Jamie.
How dare you be so reasonable? And balanced to boot.
LLL people are making excuses for AVB because they are trying to support him and give him a chance instead of dismissing him so early on. In my opinion Jamie has it spot on. What is AVB supposed to do? Play Micheal “the hoofer” Dawson. Ye he will keep possesion and score us goals…. So go on LLL give us your solution to problems that are not AVBs fault.
LLL yes the Harry injury sound bites were as annoying as they were self serving…as were his constant…comparing transfer budgets…wage budgets…and heavens knows what else.
But I tell you what it did achieve…it got the facts out there to the media and fans front and centre…AVB arguably toes the club line too much and has been getting a pasting by fans. He won’t in his eyes disrespect squad players but complaining about who is out.
It’s admirable but possibly a little naive.
But this is why I feel they need to relentlessly point out the injury problems, and what little selection options he has had.
The press ain’t gonna help his corner…they hate him since Chelsea for not being their mate…and not being Harry. Perhaps that is adding to this siege mentality you’re suggesting.
Most of the press are such an irrelevance in talking reasonably and intelligently about Spurs these days.
I guess my very sketchy asessment pre injury crises would be this:
Improving players – very good.
http://thinkfootball.co.uk/tactical-analysis-how-has-jermain-defoe-adapted-to-the-lone-striker-role/
Nice illustration this, bearing in mind Harry never got this out of JD and has known him since he was 15.
Tactically – I would say good. Many would say not. But I’m only basing this on when we’ve had Dembele.
Media handling – first year in England pretty bad, this year much improved but still not his forte.
Motivating – unknown.
Transfer business – good, but also accountability unknown. All the players he’s wanted are excellent, as has been his assessment of what we’ve needed. No Phil Neville’s mentioned yet.
Jamie – Love your posts. Great stuff. Reasonable and balanced arguments.
El, I think if you look back objectively I think you’ll find this is all a lot of us want. We’re not apologists for anyone, we just want the guy given a fair crack and feel he’s had to play with a pretty short deck so far.
Some of us feel that a few have been just a little too quick to start rattling sabres – Mainly because of the baggage he brings. That’s it.
I think HH’s main drive has been that there are too many of these people in the stadium at the moment and far from being ‘constructive criticism’ it has manifested itself into a wall of animosity that has started to seep through to the players… Making them jittery and uncertain at home.
Home used to be our fortress. A wall of noise that intimidated the opposition as they walked out the tunnel. You can hear yourself fart when the teams walk out at the moment and the loudest sound is the rustle of people crossing their arms.
You’d have to agree that there do seem to be some people who almost seem to want AVB to fail… And thereby in the process Spurs, just to be right. Which seems so odd it’s almost Python-esque.
LLL :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen: :daumen:
Defoe didn’t receive great service but neither did Lennon or Bale – whilst Defoe can regularly be anonymous I think he is moving and trying better this season. I know Dempsey is an arial threat but his lack of passing/vision killed us – we need someone in that position who can pick the ball up, run and pass to give the team som dynamism.
On another note Brad made it into the MOTD3 team of the season!
Well.
There you have it!
Gary Neville shows how we conceded against Wigan.
Gallas.
Shame…but true.
Schoolboy error.
Still doesn’t explain the midfield performance, though.
So I called it right then, Cheer for that, I was beginning to think it was Livermore’s fault or AVB had run onto the pitch to escape Daniel’s long knife, but tripped and headed the ball into our net
I blame Brad. Awful keeping should have pushed it over. He also slows down our play so much with his indecisive passes. Lloris please! The only decision i think AVB has been getting wrong at the moment is not playing him.
you see what you want to see-try looking at the goal again and watch it with an open mind-then tell me Gallas wasn’t at fault!
No one really mentions Siggerdson and Dempsey.. they werent playing got it,