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Good evening job seekers.

5-2 eh? That wasn’t very nice, was it? Well, that agreed I had asked the boss yesterday for a 442 away and bless his strawberry blondeness …he obliged. That tactic undoubtedly gave us something of an initiative – because we scored. Also we looked at that stage as if our frailties might stand more than half a chance if we took that approach.

So to the Adebayor thing. I know many of you were not watching on Sky so it may not bore everyone to share that Gary Neville said that he felt that Togo’s finest was ‘too pumped’ prior to the kick off.  The bottom line with that challenge is that had it been executed on Bale or Azza then you me and even the woman next door who only heard it on the radio while she was doing some ironing would have been up in arms.

The bring back Arry mob have of course raised their Troglodyte heads. Idiots crowing, ‘I told you so’ are achieving what exactly? If they could summon up a coherent argument that even vaguely touched upon us throwing away a 2 goal lead with 11 men and a far far superior squad under that schmuck then perhaps they might care to expand.

As I said to a pal earlier, I’m emotional as a fan; yet I now no longer invest too heavily in personnel. So me backing AVB isn’t a Villas-Boas centric campaign, rather wishing the current guy managing Spurs well. If the boss behaves like Arry did when Arry became ‘distracted’ from the pass then I’ll be the first to suggest we bin him.

Where the gaffer did the business for me was in his substitutions. We’ll do some analysis in the am, but whilst I’m fed up, I’m not angry. January will be pivotal. This side urgently needs reinforcements.

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216 comments

  • Ramos36 says:

    Well, ouch, that hurt. I suppose the same could be said about the last four EPL games.

    There is no question the team is going through a sticky patch, and that the frailties that have plagued Tottenham’s recent rise to prominence are still very much apparent in the DNA of this side.

    Dropping points to lesser opposition at home. Squandering goal leads. Giving away cheap goals. Self-imploding in the face of adversity. These are all things, that those of us who have been supporting Spurs for the last decade ( at least) have become use to.

    That why blaming AVB for the recent slump in form is TOO simplistic.

    Has AVB made ‘mistakes’? Yes. The most notable being his refusal to play two out and out strikers against opposition we should be steamrollering over (especially at home). And (to a lesser degree, some might say) his reluctance to install the ‘world class’ Lloris as the clubs first choice goalkeeper.

    Has AVB Learnt from these ‘mistakes’, or showed any signs of doing so? Well, apparently so. The starting line-ups against Maribor and more recently Arsenal suggest that our new manager IS flexible in his approach, and IS willing to consider different alternatives as he aims to bring success to the club. Regarding the Goalkeeping situation, AVB was doomed if he did and doomed if he didn’t. Whilst the vast majority of us will be of the opinion that Lloris should have been installed as the no1 from day one, it is easy (up to a point) to see why this has not been the case. However, AVBs reluctance to show his faith in a keeper many will see as the long-term future of the club, over another who is in the twilight of his career has to be readdressed quickly in order to install confidence to a player ,who at the moment, is not playing with his managers complete trust, and as a result, may be guilty of trying too hard to impress.

    That being said, IF BLAME IS TO BE ISSUED, then some so-called supporters should look no further than the 11 men on the field.
    The fact that we have taken the lead in 3 of the last 4 league games and looked relatively comfortable in doing so suggests that tactics, nor motivation are primary causes for the slump we currently find ourselves in. At the end of the day, it is the 11 men on the pitch that play the game, not the manager. And as I have said before the problems the team are currently experiencing are NOT new issues.

    Last season, we were beaten at home by Wigan, gave away cheap goals, surrendered a 2 goal lead to Arsenal ( with 11 players)and capitulated when faced with adversity.

    For all the friendly games in this summers pre-season, IT IS ONLY NOW THAT AVB IS TRULY LEARNING ABOUT HIS PLAYERS. And in the opening 12 games of this EPL season, Villas-Boas will have learn’t all that he needs to know.

    Whilst the squad at his disposal is undoubtedly a talented one, it is also a squad with glaring mental deficiencies.

    Has anyone else noticed that:

    1. When a couple of players out of sorts, the whole team seems to play badly.

    2. When we concede goals to the bigger sides, alarm bells seem to ring to the point of distraction. Causing the team to lose composure not only in their passing, but in their defending as well.

    3. When faced with adversity/ injustice heads seem to go down particularly quickly, which usually results with us being on the end of a thumping.

    4. Gareth Bale often fails to track-back with any sort of enthusiasm any more, leaving our left-back frequently exposed.

    5. When thing are going badly on the pitch, the team is an extremely quiet one. And if any talking is done, it usually comes in the form of them moaning at one another, rather than Geeing each other up.

    There is clearly a lack of any real leaders in the squad at the moment (excluding those injured), bar Gallas and Sandro, which is why, until results pick up again and we get one or two of our more influential players back, I would seriously consider replacing Caulker with Dawson.

    Lloris

    Naugton Dawson Gallas Vertonghen

    Sandro Dembele

    Lennon Siggurdson/Dempsey Bale

    Defoe

    Vs West Ham

  • matt says:

    Unless you make a genuine like for like comparision between AVB and Harry you cannot possibly construct any kind of meaningful case for one or the other and a lot of the vitriol being poured on AVB, by so-called fans, is quite absurd and totally unwarranted when the full facts are examined.

    For example, how did Spurs perform under Harry when missing our two top midfielders, Modric and Parker? Man Utd (away) 0-3, Man City (home) 1-5. How would Spurs have performed under Harry without VDV also? It never happened, but by extrapolation the results would have been even worse.

    With just Dembele replacing Modric and Parker and with VDV inadequately replaced by the inferior pair of either Dempsey or Sigurdsson, we still made a 4-2-0 start (as Dembele didn’t play in the Newcastle defeat) and reached 4th in the table. Since that point, missing Dembele also, we have gone 1-0-4, but we are factually putting out an inferior line-up to the team that was crushed by a combined 1-8 in the first 2 games of last season under Harry.

    Add in the loss of Kaboul and BAE, both ever- presents in Harry’s line-up, plus Adebayor’s fitness woes until the last 2 games and the idea that Harry would have done better with this current line-up is laughable, based upon actual results.

    Remember also that Harry had the likes of Pav, Krancjar, Bassong, Corluka, Gallas, Defoe and Pienaar on the bench and then compare that to the current subs like Livermore, Naughton, Carroll, Sigurdsson, Townsend, it’s a significantly weaker bench.

    The fact is that AVB has an inferior squad to the one Harry enjoyed last year and one with more significant injuries.

    AVB needs to be backed in the January transfer window by DL, with proper replacements for Modric and VDV and for Dembele and Parker to come back from injury, plus Kaboul and BAE.

    If with those additions, a level playing field in terms of their respective squads, AVB is unable to match Harry’s achievements then the AVB detractors/haters will have a legitimate grievance, but until such time they should keep their feckless opinions to themselves.

    • East Stand says:

      I have to agree with most of what you have said, it’s not possible to fully judge AVB yet.

      However the point that AVB has a weaker squad than Harry is debatable. Pav, Krancjar, Bassong, Corluka, Gallas, Defoe and Pienaar as last season’s bench. Was that much stronger than what we have now?

      Pav was awful and lazy most of the time, Bassong never convinced anyone, Corluka was a very average right fullback Krancjar and Pienaar were hardly used as both were best off the left and hardly got a game. You could argue that we have a more useful bench now if not as star-studded. Given Siggy and Dempsey’s form for their clubs last season you’d have swapped Krancjar and Pienaar for those two all day long anyway.

      I think we have to separate the two managers and stop making daft comparisons as you say. Harry IS our most successful league manager since the Prem started with the two 4th places and the 5th, whether some like it or not. To disregard that as some kind of strange ‘Arry wide-boy luck’ rather than giving credit to him and his staff for that achievement is as short sighted as writing off AVB the way some people are doing.

      Harry wasn’t backed very well with bargain bucket has-beens like Saha and Nelson either, the board have kept a tight hold on the purse strings with both Harry and AVB. Did the Moutinho deal not happen more because of the fact Levy didn’t push it through because of the cost of the deal? I think that was the case and also why Dawson and Hudd were both shown the door late on. They didn’t go, Moutinho didn’t come… Welcome to the frugal and un romantic world of the modern day Spurs under Levy. It’s all about the figures.

      It could be that both men are decent managers but would do far better with the finances available at City, who wouldn’t?

  • Drop Gallas, Keep AVB says:

    Criticism of AVB is not a comparison or compliment to HR – apples and oranges.

    • East Stand says:

      Well said, some sections of the media seem to be playing the two off each other with this A-B comparison constantly as well.
      Just lowest common denominator journalism yet again…

      Harry was great for Spurs and AVB could also end up being great for Spurs but he certainly needs more time, just not sure missing out on 4th (if he did) will buy him anymore of it.

      The Harry baiting was just as knee-jerk as this current AVB stuff is i’m afraid.

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