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AVB

For a while we've all been asking about his supposed 'tactical genius' - well yesterday he certainly showed he has the ability to mix it up and get the best out of the side. Firstly, I'm not saying losing 5-2 to the scum is anything short of appalling, but lets face it, they're the one side that you really do not want to go a man down against as they can take advantage of a one man advantage better than most, but here me out...…

We lined up with the 4-4-2 that most of us have been asking for, and lets face it, the 4-4-2 looked fantastic. We were all over them, looking as if we could run away with an easy victory. One rush of blood from Ade, and we're f**ked. Now I'm not saying his challenge wasn't idiotic and deserving of a red card, but had Cazorla not acted like his career was over and 50,000 people wearing red started screaming 'off off off' - a ref could have easily given a yellow there. Whether a yellow would have been the right decision or not, is another matter, but it COULD have happened.

Had Ade not been sent off, there is no doubt in my mind we would have went on to won that game.... but again, this is another debabte. The remainder of the 1st half was painful to watch. What do you do? AVB decided to try and see it out, which is fair enough. Had we gone in just the 1 down, it could have been a different game, but we two in the last 4 minutes of the half - risk failed. Roll on the second half, where AVB boldly went for a 3-4-2, taking off both full backs and replacing them with Dempsey (our only other striking option) and Daws.

Instantly we took control of the game and started bringing it on to them again. Their 4th came against the run of play, but even so - the attitude of 'if we're going to go down, we may as well go down fighting' is a welcome change from the 'damage limitation' approach that most would adopt. Tommy Carroll's introduction also showed intention to compete in the match. The use of the ball all through the second half was far more productive for us. The goons passed it around a bit, but to little effect in the main. They got another near the end, but result wise, that was irrelevant.

We've lost in the most humiliating fashion to the goons again. Work, social situations, text messages, facebook banter - its all going to be hell again, but one big silver lining can come through it all for me - AVB has shone in showing his ability to make the big calls. He honestly couldn't have done a lot more on the day. Ade may have screwed it right up for us, but AVB did everything humanly possible to salvage something, and I for one give him my utmost respect.

I really hope he is given a lot of time to get things sorted, because I do think that once he finalises his plan, we will become incredibly difficult to beat. We are still 5/6 first team players down through injuries, and we can only improve once they're all back. It was a god awful result, but not AVB's fault in the slightest. For me, there is very little he could have done any better, so well done to him!

Written by dave the yid

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Writer: dave the yid

Date:Sunday November 18 2012

Time: 5:00PM

Your Comments

January get spending Levy
Lennon,Gallas & Defoe back to the bench .

big cockeral

I agree, although comments after game a little over the top

Chelmspur

Good write up, completely agree about AVB's tactical nous. It could've been a lot worse, but we prevented what could've been a disaster etched in history. The changes AVB made helped us do well in the 2nd half. I really wish we could've scored when it was 4-2. A 4-3 would've given us the impetus to go for the 4th. Coulda, shoulda, woulda, regardless I think we can all take home a lot of positives from this game.

spuradic

berbatov is still a class act

Guernman

Guernman, agreed!

Tactically Challenge

Agree on AVB. As for Arsenal, wholly unimpressive considering they had 11 men and where at home. I remember Madrid stepping on our thoughts when Crouch was sent off, Arsenal just sat back. This win is false dawn for them an Wenger.

Tactically Challenge

Hello BIG COCKeral, sweetie? Ok we were all over them, we lost a striker, nothing esle changed then we got mullered, why ffs. Yes we were obviously short going froward but not eslwehere. We need a new RB beavsue Kyle is not that good. I will be so happy when Thud scores and then he can give Benny his hair back becasue boy do we need him. Miss Djembele too and now ade is banned for 3 games we are back to hey ho Defoe, who is not good enough on his own. Dempsey is worse than my arse. Give AVB the money to bring in who HE thinks we need please Levy. I want to go back to the style of football that ensured I had wet knickers every game, that wet you could wash your hands down there. HHXX

Horny Helen

The squad has serious limitations and they were evident in pre-season. AVB needs a season to correct all of the following and implement the squad changes that he needs before we judge him. I too have faith in his tactical abilities and it is unfair to judge him when he literally is dealing with Harry's squad. We started the season with no cover at left back, last season's cover was Danny Rose and he is a winger not a defender, then we loan him out. Kyle Naughton is a lightweight and not good enough for right back or left back. Kyle Walker had serious limitations to his game last season, suspect defensive positioning, can't cross the ball, can't pass the ball, looses it running forward. All he had was a burst of speed, two goals including the winner vs Arsenal. I was shocked that he was chosen as young player of the year. Waiting for greedy Adabayour to squeeze a few quid out of Man City meant we had none of our current strikers working together in preseason. Throw in the Modric saga, buying Dembele at the last minute, missing out on Mouthino, buying Lloris at the last minute and then not playing him week in week out. We also had the misfortune to loose Parker and Kaboul through injury. Except maybe the Lloris situation I would blame Levy and Harry for the situation the AVB inherited. I named my fantasy team AVBWorkInProgress as that is what I expected of Spurs this season. Hopefully AVB has a list of players drawn up and Levy goes out an buys them. I agree that Lennon, Gallas, Defoe plus Friedel, Livermore, Walker and even Sandro are not good enough. Sandro showed some promise when paired up with Dembele, but I would start Parker over him.

iwear#10

I agree with the part about Cazorla writing on the floor after the Ade tackle it was very unsporting and reprehensible, as was the fans frenzied shouts for a red.... I doubt if Bale would have reacted that way of Cazorla to a tackle and I'm pretty sure the Lane fans would never have screamed a red for a similar tackle..... this point is very important.

Viyyash-Ramosh

I forgot about Huddlestone, he was terrible yesterday and we have no further use for him.

iwear#10

iwear, sandro not good enough?!? we will find it easier to hang on to Bale than the brazilian if sandro continues to improve at this rate. he has been nothing short of monstrous for us this season, an absolute beast who has probably more successful tackles to his name than any other player in the country this season.

Guernman

It's not easy going down to 10 men so early. Today Fulham's Hangeland got a straight red card 30 minutes from the kickoff and they ended up losing to Sunderland 3-1 at home.

At the moment we have to play Hudd who is our 4th choice in the midfield and some, me included, think he should be our 5th choice as young Carroll shows more promise. In addition, we've had to cope with just one striker for the beginning part of the season and Defoe started to show signs of tiredness. And when you add the injury plagued defence to the list it is no wonder we started to struggle. I still have faith in AVB and that we can finish 4th this season. I'd like us to switch to 4-3-3 and play more attacking football since we clearly suck when we start to just defend a lead etc.

Jables

good article, after yesterdays game I am, in fact, more behind AVB than I was before. The 'never say die' attitude was impressive to see and a risk that had to be taken! well done sir!

wiltshirespur

Injuries and a poor summer window have cost us, I fully believe we need a playmaker through the middle ahead of dembele and Sandro to get the best out of avb and his tactical plan. Please don't say vdv, I loved him, miss him but he was only ever good for 60 minutes and constantly injured

spurticus87

I agree that it can be argued that AVB should be picking carroll ahead of hudd and caulker ahead of gallas, but again AVB deserves the credit for bringing caulker and carroll into the first team in the first place.

Guernman

right man for the job,wrong owners seem to be the main problem at this time.we need to bring in some players in january,if not the team will-be striped in the summer.hope

bazdog

We are Spurs and have to play attractive football. I was disappointed to see us try to defend a goal lead at home vs WBA and Norwich when we should have pushed on and looked to score a second as they had to attack us. Carroll started the best move of the match yesterday with a beautiful through pass, I would like to see him start over Livermore or Thud. Yes Caulker over Gallas. We need to establish the future CB pairing of Vertonghen and Caulker ASAP. sorry Kaboul.

iwear#10

Sorry, no this was not AVB's finest hour. Yes he picked the right team at last, (against his own better nature I feel) and he couldn't have foreseen Mad Ade's rush of blood. We held our heads in our hands when he tried and failed to shut up shop in other games we were winning, but this time that's exactly what he should have done. Lennon should have gone off immediately, Daws brought on with Verts going alongside Sandro to bottle up the middle. Too late he tried to save face with gungho tactics with disastrous results. If we beat the Spammers and Bin Dippers I'll eat my words and we'll still be in touch but we should be comfortably in 4th place now and I blame him not the squad.

Love totty

anyone know when dembele and caulker are back? and updates on parker, kaboul and benny? thanks!

COYS_TSB

and people saying that west ham are in form, they've only won 2 out of their last 6 games....not that our form's been any good though, it's been absolute tosh....

COYS_TSB

We were lined up to play 4-4-2 at last, possibly more due to fan power, and Levy having a word re the fans not getting behind AVB's team and it's defensive tactics in games we were winning, and finished up drawing. Then we get a bloke sent off (a Striker) when we are leading 1-0 away. Time for defensive substitutions to bung up the MF and protect the back four an srap and battle to defend the lead, and lose the ball over the stand at every opportunity. We may not have held out, but we certainly wouldn't have lost 5-2.

Frank

We usually struggle to hold out with 20mins remaining in games, doubt we'd have held out with 70+mins of the game remaining against a top 4 side.

Guyver

Regarding Ade's red card, yes it was a dodgy tackle, altough in Dave Mackay's day it would have been a free kick and done with it, Cazorla got 9/10 for artistic impression, and then miraculously rose from the dead to continue in the game, but the biggest factor absolutely guarenteeing it would be red, was the identity of the referee. I'll bet Howard Webb nearly ripped the pocket out of his shorts, getting a red car out against a Spurs player, any Spurs payer, he will have absolutely delighted, he has a proven track record of bias against us. It's a pity every club can't do what Ferguson does and black ball refs he doesn't see eye to eye with, and get away with it. Maybe we should try to stitch Webb up, in the way Chelsea have Clattenberg, it may come to nothing, but at least they have got him scratched for 4 weeks and sowed the seeds of doubt for the future, he will never be the same again.

Frank

We read each other perfectly, Frank. I reckon we would have made a good midfield partnership. LOL

Love totty

It does make me laugh that we line up with either Adebayor or Dempsey playing in behind Defoe and one is a 4-2-3-1 and the other is a 4-4-2 :-)

The reason we conceded so many after going down to 10 men was down to Lennon and Bale not making 2 banks of 4. Lennon switches on late defensively every single time and Bale just sits in free space waiting to start attacking again. That is NOT defending as a team and these 2 are constantly guilty.

muttley

My thoughts on yesterday's game is really about the poor defensive errors made. Unfortunately for the team it was Gallas. I would rather have Dawson playing at the moment as Gallas was to lame for 2 if not 3 of the goals. His worst game & unfortunately getting worse game by game!!!!! Sandro was epic & we MUST keep him whatever happens.....

PaulYoung1962

Frank, for once I agree with every word in your last post. There is light at the end of the tunnel. COYS

ItalianYiddo

Mutley were you watching the same game as me? Lennon tracked back well yesterday and got some defensive tackles in. Bale on the other hand did not

philbill

Re. Gallas if he was a horse, rather than an alleged footballer making a poor impersonation of one, he would be shot.

Frank

Love Totty, you would have to have been an ol ******** to be a midfield partner of mine, I packed up playing with a knackered knee in 1968 at 26 years odd, but thanks for the compliment.

Frank

All is not lost Italian Yid.

Frank

Frank... (aka Ebeneezer Scooge )
That post was disgraceful referring to Webb & you really do give the word miserable a whole new meaning ,phuck sake man cheer your arse up .

Adebayors was a straight red ,noone to blame accept Adebayor .Good player with all the wrong attitude ,we were warned .All things considered i thing Webb had a good game & nothing good will come from the Chelsea farce .I hope all refs get together & stitch them up now .Sour grapes because they lost a game

big cockeral

Harry Redknapp, when he did well, was treated with equivocation. Andre Villas Boas is now praised for losing 5-2. What's the common denominator for these saps? Step forward Levy and ENIC. Until they go we'll have this not-so-merry-go-around of managerial staff, and the real culprits will sit in their lofty perches, maintaining the mediocrity on a budget.

lordjohnny

as I worte on another thread - AVB inherited a team that finished fourth....we didn't 'lose' modric and VDV we sold them for £40 odd MILLION...he then presided over the purchase of Dempsey, Gylfi, Ade, Dembele and Lloris. You may not rate Daws or Thud but they were regulars in the team that qualified for the CL proper...now there is conjecture over which players are actually AVB players or not but he was in charge for most of the window and for someone so famed on detail he should know the squad he was getting and how to set them up...there were signs he's learning during the game at Arse so C'mon let's stop making excuses, we'll know if this guy is any good by January....

shedboy2

and we'll know if Levy and ENIC really have any interest in Spurs competing at a higher level by their actions during January or if it is all just a real estate deal....

shedboy2

LordJ - exactly; the level of criticism that Harry Redknapp got was over the top yet the ex Chelsea manager seems get away with it.

MrSpurs

lordjohnny, AVB is praised for losing 5-2 and having the balls to take the game to the LeArse away from home 1 man down and to an Arsenal fan at the game, we had them worried. Redknapp took a team to LeArse 15 points ahead of them and was given a footballing lesson and got spanked 5-2 in the process. Slight difference. COYS

ItalianYiddo

people that say oh well when redknapp lost we slaughtered him but when avb loses we praise. those people need to look at the bigger picture. Under Redknapp if plan A didnt work, we didnt have plan B. with AVB if something isnt working, we try something else that will work. last year when we lost 5-2 we were winning two nil had eleven men an a much stronger side out. the team completely faild becuase we didnt have a game plan. dont get me wrong, our time under Redknapp i absolutely loved an will give me great memories of some great games. and there were times where his tactics were spot on but they were few and far between and his time is up. if we stick with AVB an give him the appropriate backing im sure we will be very successful with him

BrooksySpurs

IY - you're delusional mate 5-2 is 5-2 he 'took the game to Arsenal' well given the score line perhaps he shouldn't have.

MrSpurs

philbill - it's not that Lennon doesn't track back and work hard. It's the fact that I can normally count to 2 before he reacts to a defensive situation and then starts getting goal side. By then, he's sprinting and it's mostly too late and we're under pressure. It's even worse when you're down to 10 men and not getting into those 2 banks of 4. Now I've mentioned it you'll start noticing it.

muttley

shedboy, none of this squad is AVB's other than possibly Llorris. He wanted Moutinho and Willian as replacements for Modric and VDV and Levy didn't deliver. You honestly think that Harry without Modric and VDV and 4 or 5 first teamers injured would have done better?

ItalianYiddo

Brookys - unlike AVB at least plan A worked under HR.

MrSpurs

of course AVB should have had a go. we lose 2-1 or 5-2 whats the difference?? when we go for it we have a chance, but if we go for keeping it how it is so we dont lose by more is probs the worst thing i could see from my team. i love AVB but if he did this i would not be happy... losing 5-2 but having a go is much better than losing 2-1 but accepting it. And plus Arsenal will be thinking they are the best there is at the moment. False hope will let them down big time

BrooksySpurs

plan A worked twice i think in 2012. plan A lost us a ten point lead over a poor arsenal side. plan A lost us the 5-2 game last year.

BrooksySpurs

... But it worked in 2009, 2010, 2011 and yes 2012 was terrible but still we still finished top 4 under HR.

MrSpurs

I am not delusional mate, I admire a manager that tries to get something out of the game rather than defend a loss. If you watched the game at 4-2 the crowd were anxious and their keeper was wasting time. I think you may be a bit more delusional defending a manager that gets spanked 5-2 with a 11 men including VDV Modric Bale and Adebayor against a team 15 points below them. COYS

ItalianYiddo

Shame that plan A only worked until January, if only we could have got the season finish in January....

ItalianYiddo

You lot are missing the point. We don't have strength in depth, which is undoubtedly needed these days with these oh-so-brittle players who find it difficult to play twice in a week. Despite so-called pundits giving it large about what a great squad we have had for the last few seasons, it is evident we do not. Especially when you have Huddlestone getting regular games. The fault lies squarely with Levy and ENIC. If they ain't gonna invest, and they ain't, either move out, or break the bank and get Moyes, who's used to working on a shoestring.

lordjohnny

but plan A was never going to push us forward. you cant rely on only plan A. look at the quality of players we had under him. some would argue that they were the best in the league. But his tactics were always going to get found out which would see us falter an lose our way. ur right, he did get us top four. but be honest was that good enough considering the quality of opposition in the league an how far ahead of the rest we were?? we almost let Newcastle overtake us for fllips sake! an we smashed 5-0 with only 14 odd games to go.

BrooksySpurs

IY - Going for the win and not defending a loss is what HR would have done yet he got called tactically naive; AVB does it and everyone pats him on the back. Against Wigan taking off a striker for another striker was not going for it and likewise AVB did not take the initiative against Man City. He changed his stance against Arsenal but that was the wrong time hence the 5-2 bashing just weeks after losing to Chelsea 4-2....., - I'm not sure AVB knows exactly how he wants to play.

MrSpurs

I agree that Harry was lucky to finish 4th last year and the only reason he did was because AVB was the manager of Chelsea! We then employ AVB - genius!! Lol!

MrSpurs

IWEAR! If you believe Sandro is rubbish you aint got a clue. Sandro is bloody briliant and still learning he is consistently our best player. No more to be said.

Horny Helen

but the difference is Mr is that HR didnt really think about ways to change the team to help. well it didnt show anyway. avb changes sytems an tactics. i could be wrong but i very rarely remember a game where redders did this. an for those having a go at Sandro is amazing. the only player im very very confident will have a great game every game.

BrooksySpurs

Here come all the armchair premier league managers again. When AVB tries to defend a lead he gets slated coz he should have attacked, then when he tries to attack he gets slated coz he should have defended. Damned if he does and damned if he doesn't. Pathetic.

Hot_Spur

Helen - yeah and he will be playing for someone like Inter Milan next year unless we start improving and at the very least challenge top 4.

MrSpurs

Sandro works his socks off in EVERY game, he's the only one giving our mid field any semblance of solidarity at the moment. There really are some idiots on here.

Hot_Spur

Mrspurs, the 5-2 bashing was due to Adebayor getting sent off. We were bossing the game and winning till then. A bit different to last year when we were embarassed by Arsenal with our strongest side out and 2-0 up. Wenger totally outwitted Harry, but then again Wenger is proper manager, Harry is a chancer that got lucky. AVB? Give him a couple of seasons and some players and we shall see.

ItalianYiddo

Hot_Spur, Sandro and Dembele together are awesome, really unfortunate that they haven't being able to play many games together, Man City and Arsenal away might have been different. I have given up on Hudd, I have been saying for a while that in Dembele's absence Carroll should step in, I have high hopes for the kid. COYS

ItalianYiddo

ItalianYiddo- I couldn't tell you how Harry or any other manager would would fare in the current circumstance nor could anyone else I also don't give a hoot about Harry anymore...he's gone. Likewise you can not say these are not AVB's players, you simply don't know...he was in charge when they were purchased so one must assume that he would have oppossed signing any player he didn't want, at least any manager worth his salt would. I saw the first glimpse of some direction in him during the Arse game so I hope he can now push on....but as said above we will know by January if he's worth perisisting with or if we should cut our losses and run.

shedboy2

I remember Vieria getting sent off for Arsenal lots if times back in the day but I don't remember them getting thrashed like that. The sending off changed the game obviously and AVB can't take all the blame but he should for the Norwich, game and West Brom, Wigan, Norwich again (in the league cup) and the beating we took against Chelsea.... Didn't AVB also lose to Arsenal whilst manager of Chelsea 5-3 with 11 players? Oh no sorry we'll blame on Harry Redknapp too! Lol.

MrSpurs

shedboy, very much doubt the players in were his first choice. He wanted Willian and Moutinho....and no January is far too soon to make a decision. At least a full season and the likes of Willian and Mouthinho and then it would be a fair assessment.

ItalianYiddo

MrSpurs, I would never blame Harry for another team's loss. I blame him for losing 5-2 after being 2 up and the collapse of Spurs after Xmas. Two years running.

ItalianYiddo

Some points I´d like to put some ight on: 1) This season is in its early stages. Still 2/3 to be played. Remember Arsenal last season ?? They only managed to find their best game after febraury. 2) AVB showed on saturday that he can be bold playing 4-4-2 away and after having his game plan destroyed by a player he also showed he can come with other options, even not having at least 4 starting XI players. 3) He is trying to give all competitions a fair share of importance and I still think we have something to expect from both EL and FA Cup. 4) After our defeat, his word were not "just a bad day at the office" or "it is just football", but he praised the efforts the players put on every minute of the match. Maybe he is not the Man for Spurs Hot Seat, but he has been showing such a character that puts me behind him with full support. Give time to him. We are not Chelsea which needs trophies to make theit investments labelled "sucessful". We are stil (maybe sadly) on other stages.

AlexSpur

IY - and you blame AVB for losing to Arsenal 5-3 whilst at Chelsea?... I don't think we will collapse this season under AVB because we won't be in position to fold in the first place.

MrSpurs

Anyone who is slating AVB now and comparing him to HR are seriously deluded. HR had a midfield of Lennon, Parker, Modric, Bale and VDV, who were fully fit 90% of the season.A defence that included Kaboul and Benni and a fully fit Ade up top. What has AVB got? Gallas? Naughton? Defoe? AVB has had Dembele, Kaboul, Parker and Benni injured all season!!!! When Dembele was fit and firing, we won 4 on the bounce. Stop bleating about how bad AVB is and how the sun shone out of HR's arse. Give AVB a fully fit squad and watch us climb the table!!! COYS

woodyn17

Well said Alexspur, AVB may or may not turn out to be a great manager, that we'll have to see but whilst is our manager he deserves the support of the fans and the financial backing from Levy in order to build the team that he wants. He is young and still learning and I happen to think that his Chelsea experience will be to our advantage. COYS

ItalianYiddo

*I know Dembele wasn't inured all season as he has played in 4 games!! Got carried away!!

woodyn17

Mrspurs, the Chelsea old boys resented a younger guy, stopped playing for him and the Russian gave in to them. Chelsea's most influential player, Mata, was AVB's signing. As for the second part of your post I don't know what you are talking about.

ItalianYiddo

Saying support the manager is bloody obvious we're Spurs fans of course were gonna support him but results need to improve.

MrSpurs

OMFG: Seriously you call AVB a "tactical genius" and say he "lined up with the 4-4-2 that most of us have been asking for..." So you are claiming that listening to the fans is what tactical genius is all about? AVB is clueless, he got a fluke win against Man Utd, something he will not ever repeat in his life, and he hasn't been able to beat any other team who are fighting for the top 4. AVB must be sacked!

SonicBorg

IY - the second part of the post is simple - Harry Redknapp got us to 3rd but but it away i don't see AVB getting us to 3rd in the first place.

MrSpurs

Not going to result to name calling but saying Sandro is maybe not good enough shows you are completely clueless iwear! He is now our best DM and has taken over Parker's spot and role in the team. Brilliant player and our best this season IMHO, consistent performances in every game and probably the only one to do so. Him and Dembele are the way forward in centre mid, with Bale at LW. Now we need a top quality RW who can score and get plenty of assists and then our midifield would be more or less complete. Parker, Lennon, Hudd, etc great squad players but no more than that for me now!

El Jefe

Firstly, I am AVB fan, but admit he is far from perfect and still a work in progress. Although I admire his stance on team performance, I feel that yesterday he was a little too exuberant with his post match comments. The fact is we let in 5 goals and defensively we have issues at the moment, so a little perspective please AVB. Whether we like it or not, this team, this club is in a transitional period. Those that are not happy with AVB then I'm afraid you are simply going to have to wait for quite sometime before there are any changes in management if any. We are not in any relegation battle, our squad is still over inflated and needs culling, and with the FFP regulations soon to take affect, it would be complete madness to even think about removing AVB. Yes, the reality is we are not playing well and have some injuy concerns, but the reality is AVB is here for quite some time. ******** deal with it.

thenuge

Sorry have to add that Verts has done very little wrong so up there with Sandro as our most consistent players.

El Jefe

Here we go again, AVB is clueless. He cluelessely won a title in a major league and a major European title at 34 years of age. Lol, so much wisdom on this site!

ItalianYiddo

MrSpurs, with the squad at his disposal no great achievement. Had he got West Ham, Southampton and Portsmouth to 3rd, that would have been some achievement. If he was that good he would have got the England job he so much craved for. He got found out if not guilty.

ItalianYiddo

For those who question why Harry Redknapp copped so much 'abuse' on here towards the end of his reign on this site and not AVB at present, the answer to me is all too obvious. HR had 2 years plus as our manager and during that time yes some of us here imo was very premature in judging him negatively but most of us, myself included only concluded that he needed to go towards the last 1/2 year or so of his tenure. AVB has only been here for a few mths so like most of us are saying the jury is still out and we are all to happy to give him time because the bottom line is that we all want SPURS and therefore AVB to succeed .....right?? (I am not for one moment taking away what HR did for us..some beautiful football and CL for first time- Thanks HR)

Madaboutspurs

ItalianYiddo- you may doubt they were his players but they were bought under his watch, fact......I'm sure AVB did want Moutinho and Willian aswell and let's face it £50m of talent should improve most teams...didn't arry say he wanted Tevez etc then get Nelson and Saha? the reality is no manager gets all the players they want. If we lose to Spam and Pool badly in our next two home games AVB may not even get 'til X-mas....

shedboy2

Taking Defoe off against Wigan when you need to score a goal - now that's wisdom or lack of.

MrSpurs

now that Willian is tagged at 28 millions and Moutinho linked with P$G,this Jan we might just do nothing,simply nothing unlike every Jan transfer window where Levy gets his blank cheque for a player!

SilwalYid

The squad at AVB had at his disposal was man for man better than West Brom, Norwich and Wigan yet our new tactical genius failed to beat any of them in fact Norwich done us twice by knocking a strong Spurs team out if cup. AVB should not need a multi million pound signing like Mouthino to beat these types of teams.

MrSpurs

shedboy, even if we loose every game till Xmas AVB will not get the sack. Also I think you are twisting a things a little here, he wasn't asking for an extra £50M worth of players just replacements for what the team was losing. You can't have it both ways, asking AVB to at least match Harry's 4th place when losing the team's most influential players.

ItalianYiddo

not going to mention any names, but are you guys really saying that lennon is a squad player? phuck me, are you mad??? if he's a squad player then that would mean that we have a right-winger that at the club that is better than him and should be starting ahead of him. Well, we don't! And lennon is one of our best players, my mates who support other clubs tell me that apart from bale and dembele, they dread seeing his name on the teamsheet. Yes, he doesn't score many goals, he never has done, and he isn't as adventerous as he was a couple of years ago when he ran rings arounf the likes of patrice evra and ashley cole but he's still class. His injury last season coincided with our agonising and dreadful loss of form. So before you say anything about lennon being **** or being a squad player, think again. Not meaning to be rude at all, I love hearing your opinions guys, but seriously, some ideas are like something you'd pick out from the loony bin!

COYS_TSB

how is Dempsey such *****?With 17 goals to his name last season,I thought we were in for a wonderful player and Siggy,didnt he do well(preseason).Something is seriously wrong with these ****ers.

SilwalYid

MrSpurs, stop looking at your navel and look at the facts. Norwich have beaten Arsenal and Man U. West Brom have beaten Chelsea and are riding high, and let me remind you that under Harry we lost to Wigan, Norwich and Woves at home.

ItalianYiddo

IY- if we lose every game til X mas he definately deserves the sack...as for replacements he got 3 for 2 -dembele, Gylfi and Dempsey...at a cost of about 30m. Moutinho was rated at 30m and willian at 20m now there is another debate to be had over our transfers and spending but re: AVB...he has NEVER built a team, both his success and failure have all been over 1 season with inherited teams....

shedboy2

SilwalYid, I think we have missed the boat on Moutinho and Willian and the Brazilian striker whose name I can't recall, plays for the Brazilian Inter. We need a DOF to look at the next crop, we don't pay the fees or the wages for the likes of Willian after his performances in the CL.

ItalianYiddo

If you lose to your archrival by conceding five goals and you call your coach a tactical nous, I wonder how you would have called him if Spurs had won by scoring five goals. I have the impression that some confuse genious with ridiculous. AVB is simply a naïve and inexperienced coach with serious short-comings in what high level football knowledge concerns. Moreover, he is incapable of building a solid team which performs effectively on the field.

Ioan X

Thenuge - you say AVB is a work in progress. I'll tell my boss that I'm a work in progress at my next appraisal - that should cement my future.

Love totty

shedboy, unless things go drastically wrong, very unlikely once we get Dembele, Ekotto, Parker and Kaboul back from injury and Ade back from suspension, AVB will be getting at least 2 seasons.

ItalianYiddo

COYS if we have serious aspirations of challenging for titles then Lennon has to be classed as no more than a squad player. The simplest argument that can be made is the top team's know that ultimately they can prise our best players away eventually - Carrick, Berbatov, Modric, etc proves that. The question is if Lennon is that good why have none of the likes of continental teams and Utd, City, Chelski even Arse (Campbell) and Liverpool (Keane) etc ever come calling for him and taken him? Simply put because he aint that good! We over-rate him because he is a fan favourite and has been around from a young age when his raw talent looked so promising but ultimately he has failed to deliver on that great hype of his early days and first couple of season's!

El Jefe

Any of us here calling for AVB to be sacked now are either a)Out of their mind b)Had a few too much to drink c)joking (not funny btw) or d) Not SPURS supporters.

Madaboutspurs

Ioan X, another wise guy with the power to see into the future. By the way it makes me wonder how many posters did actually see the match against Arsenal. We were the better team and winning before the sending off and when he totally changed the team at half time we dominated possession for 10 minutes. 10 against 11 away from home.

ItalianYiddo

Honestly, aren't there enough nonsense already in the media with them trying to shoot our manager down? Why do we, SUPPORTERS of the great club that is TOTTENHAM HOTSPUR need to generate all this negativity around our NEWLY appointed coach. C'mon guys. Let's back our coach and players 100% !!

Madaboutspurs

Bale shows the kind of progression and standard we should be looking for. We are all ***** scared of losing Bale, but nobody is worried about losing Lennon - there's a very good reason for that and we should not fall foul of it. Defoe would be another, again fan favourite, etc and decent enough player but is he really top class material? Why again have none of the best come calling? IMHO says it all really!

El Jefe

I would rather look at my navel than the scoreline against Arsenal and Chelsea this season. The true facts are the score lines and our position in league which is not good enough.

MrSpurs

IY - "Harry lost to Norwich Wigan and Wolves at home" so that's your defence of AVB - our previous managers were crap so AVB can be crap too.

MrSpurs

ItalianYiddo- I hope AVB gets more than 2 seasons, it'll (hopefully) mean we're playing well...but if we get two seasons playing like we have most of this season there won't be a waiting list for season tickets any longer....none of us can see into the future all we have to go on are peoples past and current performance...so to see into the future and say he needs at least 2 seasons is folly....I'm judging AVB with my own eyes, as I said earlier there were signs at Arse that he could kick on but equally there are signs that he's way out of his depth....and that is when you start looking at peoples experience in turning things around and I'm afraid there's a big blanc on AVB's CV there...

shedboy2

You cannot truely judge AVB until he gets a chance to pick from a fully fit squad or near enough and even then needs to be given time to mould the team and squad to his liking, based on tactics, formation, transfers, etc, etc, etc. Until then we have to ride with it and take the rough with the smooth!

El Jefe

Keep looking MrSpurs.....you may eventually see that we was without Dembele, Bale, Adebayor, Parker, Kaboul and Ekotto against Chelsea and without Dembele, Parker, Kaboul, Ekotto and a man down after 10 minutes against Arsenal.......keep looking.......

ItalianYiddo

Madabout - You missed out "or just plain idiots"

Hot_Spur

Are you for real MrSpurs? The reason I mentioned the losses against those teams is because you said it was unacceptable for us to lose against Wigan. Dont remember you reprimanding Harry for those losses.

ItalianYiddo

Only an idiot would would come onto a fans football forum and expect fans not to discuss their manager....good and bad. Just seems that there are people that want to supress conversations they don't like....

shedboy2

Shedboy, you are expecting miracles if you think we should be playing great football with the injuries to key players, without taking into account that we have a new manager with new ideas ans we lost our two most influential players.

ItalianYiddo

To just conclude my Lennon argument, judge our wingers with our nearest rival for top 4 Arse - Podolski 6 goals in roughly 16 games, Walcott 9 goals in 16 games, Bale 5 goals in 16 games, Lennon 1 goal in 16 games! Absolutely ridiculous return and thus ultimately can be no more than a squad player if we are really serious about going places! His pace can be useful as an impact sub when opposition defender's are getting tired and dragged out of shape but for me he would be no more than cover. We need a top class RW ASAP IMO!

El Jefe

IY - You are wasting your time, they don't WANT to see sense, they are not receptive to reason. They are armchair football managers that think they know it all. You cannot fight ignorance with sense.

Hot_Spur

On that note Hot_Spur I am going to bed in the knowledge that sense will prevail. Good night to all and COYS

ItalianYiddo

To all those who want AVB out: You are sure entitled to your opinion, no matter how irrational, but I ask you this: What then? Do we get another manager and start slating him after a handful of games? Do we demans he be removed if he hasn't reached your expectations after a paltry 12 League games? We are a club that already have a ridiculous turnover of managers, and you guys want to accelerate that fact? Sometimes I wonder if you want him to fail, want certain players to fail. I just can't understand this. It's like you guys have an internal hatred, and you aren't happy unless its being fed. We've won 3 trophies in the last 28 years. AVB is our FOURTEENTH manager in that time (not including caretakers). Coincidence, or cause? Give the guy your backing (and yes, its okay to vent now and again, but not to this extreme), give him the time to build his own side, then judge. That's what I'm gonna do, and I would expect anyone who 'supports' our club to do the same.

SpursEagle

IY- I'm not expecting miracles, as I said earlier I hope AVB takes us on a good ride. I understand that we've had injury problems and that it can take time for managers (and players) to settle, I think the issue is how much time? I think by x-mas we'll know, you I beleive think it will take longer....anyway I'm sure we'll pick this debate up again at some point...have a good night.

shedboy2

'You cannot fight ignorance with sense.' Hot_Spur....I dis-agree with that as well!....you have to fight ignorance with sense and knowledge, and I like IY will go to bed in the knowledge that sense will prevail....

shedboy2

Hey Spurs Eagle, who's being doing all the sacking? Answer that one and you may find the actual culprit(s). Let's face it, football is entirely predictable these days, and, as one former manager remarked sagely, "it's all about the players". Until and unless we have a billionaire with the need to offload half his fortune on our squad, we ain't gonna be any more than the team we've been now for donkeys years, flattering to deceive, winning the odd cup, and generally letting down the supporters, slowly but surely over yet another season when we delude ourselves each time that THIS SEASON IT'LL BE DIFFERENT. I've been saying that to myself for nigh on fifty plus years, and it don't get any better.

lordjohnny

lordjohnny - "Football is entirely predictable"???? So you knew in advance that Norwich would beat ManU and that WBA would beat Chelsea?

Hot_Spur

Gimme a break Hot_Spur. Maybe Norwich and WBA can put those results on their respective honours boards, but I'm talking about where the real stuff goes at the end of the season, and I think you'll find the usual suspects exactly where they are expected to be. Jaysus, c'mon now, enough of the train-spotting pedantry already.

lordjohnny

my 2 cents worth.....firstly,we ALL know that ade cost us that match and the scum can claim a very hollow victory,so i won't bang on about that......i actually couldn't watch the second half yesterday as the first half was way too painful and i ASSumed that we would have got drubbed to kingdom come but i did listen to bits and bobs on 5live and was quite impressed by the substitutions and how we didn't just fold.we actually gave it go and if only bale passed to defoe instead of.....anyway,yes 5-2 to the scum is NEVER good but i was pleased that yesterday showed signs that AVB is the right man for the job.i.e:going 3 at the back,bringing on dawson (who can be a warrior in those situations),obviously giving a great team talk at half time to galvanise the players and making them believe all is not lost.surely the haters must acknowledge this...?

g. roberts testes

Hey LordJ. Yes, those who do the sacking have my contempt. Absolutely.

SpursEagle

It's really sad to see the no of Lennon haters here.He's getting used to the formation and btw I remember the Shot which just about went in against Scums.Had that got in,maybe the moaning would have decreased.Lennon is the least of our problem right now

SilwalYid

0IY - you're delusional mate 5-2 is 5-2 he 'took the game to Arsenal' well given the score line perhaps he shouldn't have. MrSpurs. Yeah and if he'd gone all defensive and lost 4 2 you would still have moaned about him, only you'd be saying,"Why didn't he go all out for attack? You might as well lose 5 or 6 2 fighting than lose 4 2 with boring defensive football. With people like you AVB can't win. Can he? Whatever he does you will always whine and say he should have done the opposite. Even when he wins he won't win by enough, or, Anyone would have beaten THEM. I say AVB did a great job, he went for the win from the start, he was bold in the changes he made for, and during the second half, so he and the players can hold their heads up. This could be the turning point. He seems to have instilled that self belief and fighting attitude in them. We'll just hope they can keep it up for the next game.

chrishove123

I personally think we have to give AVB time. We cannot change managers every other day. As we all see no point of doing that. In last five or six years four managers. AVB is young and has plenty of time ahead. COYS.

tottenhamgg

All this talk of a fighting spirit is just rubbish. Who needs motivating for a local derby? And before a comparison is drawn with last year's performance - Van Persie was mega and destroyed us. No, this year we surrendered to a poor team from a winning position. The right tactics at the right time would have given us a fighting chance. AVB has not demonstrated any tactical nous so far and is clearly making it up as he goes along. I hope he is smart enough to learn quickly before he loses the dressing room again.

Love totty

Good managers get good performances from players. Dempsey and Siggy were great buys - we all raved about them and relished the prospect of the goals they would get from the chances we create. Have they suddenly become duffers overnight?

Love totty

Love totty I think you forget we lost our two creative / world class players in the summer. In truth we are creating few chances compared to previous seasons so Siggy and Dempsey have not had the opportunities they might have had...not that I think they are much more than average players and not as good as Pienaar who also failed to cut it for us. The answer is not a lot of new players again. Unlike most people on this site I have more faith in the squad than the manager. I believe we have a number of good players, maybe not world class, who as a team are currently producing less than the sum of their parts.

Forever Spurs

AVB has shown himself to be rigid and inflexible. He wants players to perform to a playbook. Quite frankly he is the opposite of Harry and what is really needed is someone or a team who have a balance...between method, experience, man-management, motivational skills. We have swapped some deficiencies for others.

Forever Spurs

As for all the players we are supposed to be missing, well people have short memories. Yes Kaboul was very good last season but Scott Parker was continually criticised here with Sandro being clearly preferred plus the two can't play together. BAE was often attacked for not being good enough defensively and Dembele has only played 4 games so we know nothing really about how good he is. Who else is there?

Forever Spurs

Finally on tactics. Many teams have switched or experimented with three at the back over the last year or more. AVB only did this out of extreme necessity on Saturday. If he was a student of football he would have watched, like others, what Martinez did at Wigan and how it transformed them...and of course Wigan now regularly beat us. If there is one thing we have it is good centre backs, coupled with lousy defensive full backs. Our full back though are good attackers and so are much more suited to playing as wing backs...Walker should really be playing in that position, just like Bale does. So we have a manager that does not know how to use the squad he has. If I was Levy I would not spend any more money on players...let's see AVB manage what he has got in a better way

Forever Spurs

Meanwhile as we give AVB work experience we can switch to supporting the under 21's or maybe a favourite lower league team. Now I am just off to find out if Walthamstow Avenue still exist...

Forever Spurs

FS - I am forgetting nothing. I know we lost much of our creative talent in the summer so I am realistic but convinced that our squad properly managed could get 4th spot above the scum with the rest trailing. I am also consistant in my view that appointing AVB was an unnecessary risk which may have proved inspired but hasn't so far. He's had the usual balance of good and bad luck but has squandered the initial opportunity the fixtures presented. I think we agree on that. BTW I wrote an article a few weeks back on the iniquity of losing a man to a red card as is spoils a game. Join me in campaigning for a madatory substitution instead when a man is sent off and cautions leading to league points deduction instead.

Love totty

I agree with much of your comments but really not on the sending off issue, this was a clear cut case for a red card. Nice that AVB finally tried two strikers and we were all over Le Arse until the sending off. But after that we crumbled, showed no team spirit, showed no fight but just let them walk all over us. Sure in the second half we came out with a different attitude but by then it was too late. This worries me a lot as we have seen this reaction all season. We have no fight when things go wrong, we have no brains on the pitch and little passion. Right now we are a one most often man team...Bale. The paralysis over issues like the goalkeeper, the captain of the team, adapting to events during games are very worrying signs

Forever Spurs

Not a case of Lennon hating, just looking at facts! Had eg Lennon buried the chance he had on Saturday we would have been 0-2 up and then who knows what would have happened but certainly would have been more comfortable as a result of it. He is simply not upto task of where we supposedly want to go and what we supposedly want to achieve, at best a squad player for a regular top 4 side / even more so a title challenger!

El Jefe

I said this was the wrong appointment as soon as AVB emerged as a candidate. For me we lost a chance to take the club into the modern age and build something for years to come. Now well we just have to go with it for a couple of years even if it means finishing in the top half of the table is the height of our ambitions. Let's face it players don't want to come to us, we don't have the muscle to compete with others after a couple of decades of failure to get a ground with 50,000 plus. We are always playing catch up and just getting further behind

Forever Spurs

I'm hoping AVB has seen the light and realise what the Spurs team are capable of when playing in the right formation, the first 18 mins of that game we looked like a team playing for 4th postion. Once Ade was sent off there was nothing AVB could have done, maybe he could have reduced the goals conceded, but ultimatly there was only one team taking 3 points.

coys1717

Love totty - I am all for a stop-gap compromise of a substitution instead of red card, but if someone decks a guy on the field, then it should be a red card. Some offences including Adebayor's reckless, dangerous, and unsporting challenge MUST result in a sending off. For me, 2 yellows perhaps could lead to an enforced sub perhaps. But most straight red offences are based on dangerous play, cheating and denying scoring chances should be sendings off. As for the article, I cannot disagree more with it. Spurs were on top until the sending off. After that we were second best - for obvious reasons. We made the change at half time, and we looked a better outfit - but we were never in control because we got killed on the wings beforehand, and going to 3 at the back meant that Arsenal just had to be patient in order to pick us off. And they did. The one positive was that was the first time in several games where I saw us pass the ball around decently (since first half of Man U game?).

TonyRich

Viyyash-Ramosh - do me a favour , if that was bale that took a challenge like Cazorla, he would have milked it just the same, and if it was at the lane, we all would have been up screaming 'off, off, off'. I hate ar5enal, i was there on Saturday, and it hurt, but to say that our players, & fans, wouldn't have done exactly the same if it were at the Lane, is nothing short of a lie.

Klinsmann_18

El jefe - Lennon had to beat a defender AND the keeper. You simply cannot blame Lennon for that. Did Defoe bury his chance? No - he was fortunate that Ade was following up. Defoe still did the right thing there, but for the rest of the game, Defoe was terrible. The guy does not sense opportunity when it comes up. When Vertonghen made excellent run forward, Defoe did not join the attack! How can you leave your CB to attack alone!!!! Absolutely ridiculous. I was screaming at the tv! Lennon has been one of the better players this season - he just isn't a finisher.

TonyRich

spurs eagle- I've not seen many calls for AVB out, I suspect they would be a low minority but you have to earn time in football. If the performances pick up and we start playing well AVB will get more time, his credibility will grow and the virtuous cycle will hopefully take us up....if we play the way we have for most of the season and the results go against us then the calls for his head will grow. I don't want to be chopping and changing managers but it's better to change then stick with a dud! We must question Levy's ability to pick and manage a manager though...

shedboy2

TR - the point I made earlier was that it didn't need to be like that. Most teams playing with 10 would use their wide players to automatically get back goal side when not in possession and help form the protective shield. We didn't. Most fans like to applaud Lennon for his work-rate and tracking back but fail to see how long it takes for him to engage his brain. By the time he wakes up, he ends up sprinting back to support his full-back and the damage is done. Of course, a lot of fans would then call that sprinting back great team play. I call it a lack of a football brain. It's slightly different with Bale. He knows he should be getting back but instead decides to loiter in a space where one of his team mates can break up play and release the ball to him. He finds a defensive position you would normally associate with a forward, not a left midfielder. Either way, if Lennon and Bale had been more disciplined on Saturday we wouldn't have conceded 5 and it's not the first time this season the pair of them have cost us defensively and put pressure on their team mates.

muttley

Shedboy - I second that. I can see what Levy was trying, but AVB looked lost last season at Chelsea, and if he was experienced, then you could say that it was a one off. But AVB is very inexperienced, and you must listen to your gut feeling. We progressed greatly under Harry, and we needed someone experienced to steadily maintain our rise in stature until the stadium arrives. Not gamble on someone who could be great and could be a dud. Given that there are more duds than greats around, my money was on dud. The jury IS still out, and of course we should reassess at the end of the season. I am just gutted that this season is written off. Performances must improve, and we should use the second half at Arsenal as a basis of how we should play. If we can play like that with 10 men, add a tenth man, and we should do better.

TonyRich

Can't wait for us to get all our players back to full fitness and watch AVB continue to be absolutely clueless. Most on here keep saying "injuries, injuries". Let's wait and see. He had a fully fit squad at Chelsea and that went well...

mattspurs1982

muttley - I couldn't disagree more. Lennon is an intelligent footballer. He rarely gives the ball away because football is about ball retention these days. He tracks back better than Bale, and better than most - BUT he is NOT a wing back, so blaming him is pointless - blame Ade for being stupid. It is as simple as that. Walker looks bad this season due to AVB's tactics - which expose the full backs. With a man down, we are even more exposed down the flanks. We got killed on our left side because of Bale failed to track back or occupy the dangers on that side. Naughton was a lamb to slaughter. AVB did NOTHING to fix this in the first half.

TonyRich

mattspurs1982 - exactly. "Injuries, injuries" = "excuses, excuses"....

TonyRich

I see the Vital Knee-Jerk is back in force. Tony Rich writes "i am just gutted that this season is written off". Come on man things aren't that bad. 4th place is between us and Arse and we are TWO points behind them in mid-November (forget West Brom, Everton and all that other dross). We have a trip to the Olympic Stadium Rome on Thursday and the FA Cup to play for. Its not quite reached "writing-off the season" yet mate. Not many old wise heads left on here these days - but lets see how things go until the summer and early next season and start formulating our judgements then. I think Levy will want to give AVB a good 2 years at least as he should.

StillRickyVilla

Hearing good things from the youth teams who are all playing the same system. I think part of the current problem is the available players are probably best suited for a 4-4-2 and AVB might have to be pragmatic for a bit. Looking forward to how things develop when we get some players back and the likes of Moutinho, Willian in who are more suited to AVB's system. Its more Levy i'm worried about - will he back the new man in the transfer market and get the stadium finally started?

StillRickyVilla

TR - why are you using "ball retention" and "wing-back" as an argument against what I said about how Lennon reacts late defensively? That is nothing to do with what I said. I'm talking about his own position when we haven't got the ball. Unlike Bale, it's not a blame thing. It's a conditioning and brain thing as he's never learned to do it automatically and gets himself 10 years behind play. Of course he works hard to then get back but sometimes it's too late. I'm not questioning his other attributed. I just wish his brain would engage quicker defensively. I encourage anyone to watch more carefully and prove me wrong as the fans I've watched games with can all see it.

muttley

isnt it amazing that avb is not at fault at all according to the article?? 3 defeats on the bounce, bottom 3 in goals conceded and no fault of the manager at all. Amazing.

jimmy-yid

TR, Podolski had a similar situation to beat Gallas and Lloris and managed to do it, with luck of course but many believe you make your own luck. One of the main attributes of the modern day winger is to score regularly as shown by the likes of Walcott, Podolski and Bale to name players involved on Saturday and for the two clubs most likely overall to make 4th spot. Lennon IMHO is no longer a 1st teamer for what we want to achieve and had Levy got AVB Willian in the summer we would not even be having this conversation as Lennon would rightly be sat on the bench as a squad player as he should be!

El Jefe

BTW TR, already said plenty of times see Defoe as an impact sub once we get in a top class striker or move Ade up top with effectively 5 in midfield!

El Jefe

Do not get me wrong, I like the lil'un and would love to keep him as a squad player as on his day can terrorise anyone but then on his day Defoe can score against anyone aswell but most on here would still prefer to see him getting splinters!

El Jefe

I think AVB got the right starting line up EXCEPT GALLAS. Ok he played well against ManUre but apart from that he's been responsible for over half the goals we've conceeded this year. Why oh why doesn't he start Dawson ahead of him???????

yorkshireyid

Totaly agree with the article. Going to three at the back was a risk worth taking. Not sure 'arry would have had the brains or balls to give it a go in the same circumstances so hats off to AVB for trying - and it nearly paid off! Bring on Lazio then the 'ammers and put Saturday's result where it belongs - in the past. COYS

ParkLane67

Ok we lost ADE, BUT we still had all our defence on the field and we still conceded 5 goals. I cannot see any positives in this performance, play like that again this week and the Spammers will be having a great day.

Change of tactics a wondrous change form AVB, cannot see that either, I was at the game and too many of our players are really not interested, they seem unable to get 'up' for this derby and it showed.

As for the RED card, it was deserved but perhaps officials should look at the immediate recovery from Corzola, he was so very obviously making the most of it.

Yet again though goals scored in the last minute!!! Of both halves this time.

Sorry to say I am not impressed with AVB at the moment. COYS

ro6ertj

I quite like AVB, but how you can give him any credit after Saturday is beyond me. Aside from his frankly embarrassing comments after the game about how we "controlled it" throughout, at the end of the day we conceded FIVE goals thanks to his tactical "genius". The second half had nothing to do with his tactics, and everything to do with a nervous Arsenal that didn't need to push for more goals. As soon as we went to three at the back, we were wide open and it was only a matter of time before Walcott would wrap it up, which he duly did. Credit where it's due - AVB has done a lot of good stuff this season. But any tactics that result in a 5-2 defeat to Arsenal are nothing other than disgusting. We were 1-0 up when Ade got sent off. A great tactical response would have seen us cling on to the game, a good tactical response would have seen us draw valliantly, an average response would have seen us lose narrowly. But we were THRASHED BY OUR NEAREST RIVALS. So please get your heads out of your @rses and start being realistic, because he is not Mourinho.

wemustsignaleftwinge

11 players transferred out, 1 major retiree, 6 players brought in, 4 1st team players missing for most of the season. I think AVB is doing really well considering, it's Levy that should be ashamed at the lack of SUPPORT for his manager/coach. COYS, IAVBIT, Levy get your finger out.

CanUkSpur

Guys can we pls get over Harry, can't we discuss the merits of AVB or the games we just played without it coming in2 a Harry Vs AVB argument, if you want todo a comparision then the only one is to compare Harry's first 12 games to AVB's. 4real it's getting so boring now

Ossie

Good article and points well made. There was someone on here a few days agi who said they couldnt wait when our first 11 read: Lloris, Walker, Verts, Caulker, Benni, Parker, Sandro, Lennon, Dembele, Bale and Ade, and I agree. We are missing so many players its almost funny - although I don't hear anybody in the media saying this. We must get behind AVB, and so must Levy. A few returns from injury and a playmaker and striker in January and 4th is well within our sights; although if we don't get it this year then I think I'm ok with that...

sebbaspurs

Its high time AVB picked Dawson in place of Gallas mistake after mistake from this golden oldie cannot be tolerrated much longer and kick the weak link to the kerb thats Naughton he is not premiership standard , until the injured stars come back the back line should read Walker Dawson Caulker Vertonghen and Walker needs to get a grip on his game he has been very poor lately .

POP

Simple..The team needs more FLAIR!FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!?FLAIR!? ...End of..Plus a little bit of grit!

freddya

Quite rightly we have to forget HR, he is gone, Levy has decided to experiment, take a huge risk, I hope for our sakes he succeeds but I have my doubts. People talk about AVB getting his "own team", do we know he knows how to build one, he hasn't had to before. He inherited a team at Porto that OK won the Mickey Mouse Portugese league, how many really competitive games did that entail, they were the best team in it by a country mile, and he won the EL with the same players. The Porto squad he inherited was probably good enough to give the CL a go. At Chelsea he inherited a more than competitive squad of players and couldn't hack it. So where is the evidence he can build a side. Of course he will get time he has to, because Levy has hung his hat on this controversal appointment, and is highly unlikely to, and can't afford to, admit he got it wrong. Personally I wait in pregnant anticipation for messrs Levy and AVB to deliver 3 succesive top 4 finishes, a decent run in the CL, and to hear respected pundits praising us as the best team to watch in the PL, as they were last season, while we were playing the sort of football that Spurs fans were brought up on, it's in our DNA. This season win, lose, or draw, with the exceptions of the A Villa and Mirabor(home) games, and possibly for half a game at OT, we have stumbled and scrambled our way to 8th and falling in the PL, and elimination from the CC to a Norwich City side with 11 changes from it's previous PL game, or in effect Norwich City Reserves. We must be the first club in PL history whose owner, chairman, and the man they have appointed as manager have volunteered to go backwards by asset stripping the squad, an then failing to successfully harness what's left, with the result that we are descending the league to 8th place with some tough fixtures to come. I just can't understand or accept the boards determination to ruin the club.

Frank

Does anybody seriously expect Levy to splash the cash in January, why? He and his mate, the tax dodging Dr. No in his haven in the Bahamas, have consistently failed to invest at critical times in the club's recent history, hence the situation we find ourselve in currently, why should they have a change of heart now?

Frank

cant really judge the guy until he actually has a full strength team, which he has lacked since game one, but how long do we wait. I dont want him to go as there are no other managers out there that would join spurs at the present time (no we would not get guadiola)

spursnoob

I couldn't help noticing that AVB looked a lot less stressed out in the post match interview. No wringing of hands and no worried, darting eyes and looks. He even smiled. I think maybe the purchase of a certain player may have rested on the performance of the team against le-arse. Like I said before, I think AVB is looking at winning the whole squad over, not just the chosen few, so there are inevitably going to be odd displays of brilliance, then the occasional moment of lunacy and a lot of ground out results. As long as everyone learns from the mistakes. then I think we are in for a very exciting next few years. Have faith in AVB and we will be Champions of Europe in five years.

chrishove123

Something happened to AVB and the players during that game. It's like they suddenly believe in themselves again. AVB looked almost chilled in the interview but at the same time confident. I think we will soon see what made AVB's name great at Porto. Great Things Are Afoot.

chrishove123

So very hoping you are right, chrishove :-)

Madaboutspurs

I get it. We're going to wait until West Ham hammers us before we call for AVB to go. I want Chris Hughton as the next manager.

Shannon

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