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AVB - put in perspective

As we develop under AVB, what most consider to be a bumpy ride with his project still in infancy, I felt it fair to put some perspective in to the development of Spurs under out new manager.

During Summer a total of 6 new managers were appointed in the PL, namely, AVB (Spurs), Steve Clarke (West Brom), Michael Laudrup (Swansea), Brendon Rodgers (Liverpool), Paul Lambert (Villa), Chris Houghton (Norwich). Furthermore, two managers have already been replaced this season, with the appointments of Redknapp (QPR) and Benitez (Chelsea). So since July 40% of PL teams have a new manager!

Now apart from the instant success demands at Chelsea and the obvious panic buttons being hit at QPR, the rest of the changes were seemingly put in place to maintain stability, seek development or to consolidate their place in the PL.

I think it fair therefore to put in to perspective (wrt above changes) how far or how well our ambitions are shaping up.

IMO, a lot depends on the traditions and demands of clubs/supporters that allows an assessment of each appointee. For example, Liverpool have been stuttering for a number of years and Rodgers, with his new style has ! already added flair and style to their play, so much so that their performance are beginning to stabilse and gradually improve. I think it is only a matter of time they begin a pose a threat to the top 4. All that has been achieved through minimal new additions to the squad. Laudrup appears to be carrying on exactly where Rodgers left Swansea and their performances and style are still living up to be exciting and stable. That's despite losing one or two of their players, but equally exciting addition in the mould of Michu. The likes of Clarke, Lambert and Houghton arrived at clubs that appeared to have less resources and perhaps lower immediate aspirations, i.e, to maintain a stable PL presence. In contrast, Hughes and DeMatteo were always under pressure when their loaded owners wanted rapid returns on their major investments.

In view of the afore mentioned, imo, Rodgers is already seeing consistency, the unassuming Clarke + Houghton beginning to gain respect, Laud! rup settled, where as Benitez, Redknapp, Lambert AND psossibly AVB under pressure to deliver. I put AVB in the latter group as (despite the sales and few additions), Spurs, for three consecutive season have been contenders for top 4.

So in comparison to all the other recruitments in the PL, AVB and Spurs' performances have been 'bumpy' to say the least, the reasons discussed endlessly here. The league position chart shows up this bumpiness very well but on the whole the trend seems to be up. The fixture list has a lot ot do with the ups and downs, but the general concensus seems to be that Players are adapting, long term injured are returning, formation and system are shaping up, tactics improving, the supporters are getting behind the team and the general spirit with in Spurs seems to have risen a notch or two.

In summary, Of all the new managers in the PL, the demands on AVB are the highest (bar Chelsea), he has inherited a team with many Key players missing through injuries or transfers and of course he has the additional task! shake off the media!!

So, put in context, AVB is doing just fine! Agreed?....

Written by Critical_Spur

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Writer: Critical_Spur

Date:Monday December 3 2012

Time: 9:55AM

Your Comments

Spot on. Nothing overly exciting but progression all the same. The effect of losing Modric & Rafa was always going to hit us hard. In hard facts, any team that loses Mod, Rafa and the use of Kaboul, Benny, Parker,for half the season are going to suffer. AVB has managed the team quite well and I'm amazed that we are fourth and still the players to return. All in all I'm very happy with AVB.

Andre's Crouching

im behind AVB and his vision... COYS..

not quite to happy about not spending in January tho... maybe its just a smoke screen for now... i hope..

Yidmarks

To maintain roughly the same level as last year with a new manager and with the loss of one of our most influential players is a pretty solid achievement. It's also very refreshing to see someone who actually has a plan, particularly away from home, to get the result. One thing that's particularly striking is the lack of panic if we lose important players. I always felt HR would compound the problem by first pre-empting how difficult it would be to win without them and then blaming their absence on any loss. AVB seems much more focused at working with what he's got rather than lament over what he doesn't which has obviously got to be better at motivating the team as a whole.

flipper

Spurs removed 13 senior pro's within their overall squad in the summer: Button, Alnwick, Janssen, Corluka, Nelsen, King, Bassong, Modric, Kranjcar, Pienaar, Gio, VDV, Saha. They then bought 6 new players: Lloris, Vertonghen, Siggy, Dembele, Dempsey and Adebayor some of which didn't even have a pre-season with us.

To be sitting level 3rd is therefore a great achievement after 15 games considering the injury list. AVB has conducted himself with dignity despite the unfair criticism and just got his head down and got on with the job. The only bump in the road that I think of is that huge chasm we fell into in the 2nd half of the season for the last 2 years. I'm confident under AVB we won't do that again and will be competing. I just hope Levy is again as ruthless in this next transfer window and keeps clearing the space that AVB can use to bring in new players.

muttley

Cant argue with results, performances are still a little concerning but only in the sense of ball retention. That could be because we've missed Modric in the middle and Dembele still settling in a bit. Our back 4 should settle down once we've had a few back from injury and would expect us to concede less. The job AVB's done with Defoe is encouraging his 2nd against FUlham looked very controlled and composed, not snatchy or smashy. I was disappointed with the signing of AVB, but my opinion is starting shift.

coys1717

I'm also pleased in the way AVB handles the media, one cool cat.

coys1717

I still think and i'm sure other fans agree we need to strengthen in certain areas, another winger to cover Lennon/Bale or even replace now and again (Willian - who can also play central) moutinho would be a dream too! And a striker maybe, although Defoe is firing all cylinders I can see us getting caught out playing him up top on his own. The main reason I want us to add a couple of top players in Jan is because it gives the players and club a massive boost for the second half of season! We have to get CL football to continue progression. Very happy at the moment! AVB I trust!

gazzalegend

to be where we are under the circumstances is quite an achievement ,SO FAR.there is still a long way to go,but credit where credit is due.AVB seems to be keeping us on an even keel and still in the running for a champions league position.there were a lot of people on this forum who thought that we would be in the relegation places by now,so even though we have to keep our situation in perspective,lets not forget the amount of negativity from a few weeks ago and look at where we are now.i also feel that we have taken advantage of chelsea and the scums recent slumps,and rightly so.we are 4th without modders and VDV and an injury list which has taken out almost 1/2 our first team.i think the pressure on AVB has eased considerably.if we maintain this position and push on in the new year with our returning players and a few new signings,(ha!yeah,right),then 3rd spot is definitely in our hands.not sure if the chavs will do it this season,something fundamentally wrong over there and the arse has waved good-bye to their 25-goals-a-season machine,its up to us to push these teams for 3rd place.

g. roberts testes

coys1717.....i salute you,i wish some other doubters would do the same and come out and support our "new" manager.

g. roberts testes

avb,the man we have been missing for the last few seasons.keep up the good work for tight ass owners and great fans.the bargain of the season that the russian give us.Coy's.

bazdog

yeah, credit has to be given, a few consistant performances back to back and i'm pretty much sold. Taking overall team performance out of the equation, he's getting results on the back of some injuries, away from home, and getting goals from a guy who someone said could not play up top on his own after losing Modric, VDV, parker, Kaboul, Ade and BAE at the start of the season. Fair play to him.

coys1717

Contrary to what I am told by some other contributors on here I fully support AVB. He is our manager, he comes across as a sensible decent guy and, as far as results are concerned, he is doing very well. What does concern me is the overall level of performances. People say that we have many key players missing but the players we do have are still better than most of the clubs who are at our level. Liverpool played some great football the other night and were unlucky not to score more goals. We seemed to spend 75 minutes chasing shadows, the point being that Rodgers has attained a level of consistency with weaker players, as he did at Swansea, that AVB is still to demonstrate. This is not saying that AVB is a failure, or that he should be sacked, or that Harry was better, or that I should support Arsenal if I don't agree that we are brilliant, it's just my observation on where we are to date. I agree with those who say that Levy sold AVB short in the last window, and I don't expect Levy to change the tight-a*se habits of a lifetime and spend big in January, but irrespective of that, if AVB can achieve a consistent style of playing then I think we will still be in the hunt at the end of the season. Criticism is not always negative as some feel.

Harry-Kari

With AVB, I know for definite we won't fall away in the second half of the season like we have done the last few seasons because quite simply, AVB is prepared to rotate the team to keep the players fresh. We won't be relying on just 14-15 players throughout the season so there should be no burnout by the time it comes to February. And of course, obviously, there will be no talk of AVB taking over England because obviously that had an effect on the team last season, obviously.

Othello

The way he handled the Modric quotes was sheer brilliance.

TopSpur13

I was really pleased when AVB was appointed, Had a few mild doubts for a few matches but am again pleased and very hopeful for the future. This would be even better if we stopped defending when we are one goal up with 30mins to go but rather kept attacking which is what we do best

Big Ron

So far so good you might say but do we dare to dream once again about glory days ahead Let’s examine the evidence we have so far. Firstly there is his previous track record. He has all the badges and trained under fantastic managers which got him the opportunity to manage at top level himself. He demonstrated the ability to both build a small club and gain fabulous success at a big one albeit in his home country of Portugal. This in turn led to his success in winning the EL and attracting the attention of the Russian. After a great start at Chelski however it became clear that his tactics were not supported by the players influenced as they were by the more senior ones among them. The question was posed therefore whether or not his methods were suited to the English game with a multi-national group of players, or whether the situation at the Bridge was atypical. Secondly and more relevantly we have his actual results to date with Spurs. Losing VDV, Ledley and Modric was obviously a blow but let’s not exaggerate their loss as the first two for all their quality were missing for at least half of the available playing time. In Vertonghan, Dempsey, Siggurdsson, LLoris, Caulker and especially Dembele the squad was certainly re-inforced. Personally I thought Parker was more influential than Modric last year but his loss has certainly been compensated by Sandro’s excellent form. So the auspices as far the playing staff were concerned were not at all bad. Unfortunately other injuries to BAE and Kaboul in particular have not helped but we have strong replacements in defence so arguably this has not been a significant problem. After three victories on the bounce, the position of the team in the table has taken on a rosier glow. We now have 26 points from our 15 games and lie just 7 points behind the leader MU. Better still our likely challengers for the 4th spot are languishing in mid-table and look short of quality and confidence. This however compares with 34 points last year so no progress there, but only 1 point less than the 09/10 season that saw us qualify ahead of City. It all depends now on consistency which up to now has been sadly lacking but there is still time for that to develop. No real conclusion can be drawn before the window opens and we see who can be attracted to the club by the potential shown.

Love totty

Sorry - 10 points off the leader.

Love totty

I dont know whether i'm just feeling positive but if we get a good result against Everton we could be in the mix for 3rd, i'm expecting a strong 2nd half to the season. Its certainly there for the taking.

coys1717

AVB is the boss for me.At Xmas Levy must back him up with 2 or 3 class signings.Not because I'm greedy but because last Xmas he did the opposite,sold class players,loaned out Caulker & Naughton etc & expected Spurs to still qualify for Champions League.Learn by your mistakes Daniel;the second half of the season is the most demanding physically on the squad & wouldn't it be nice to get 3rd in the league & reach the Europa & FA cup finals.C'mon you Spurs!

Greavesaboveall

Harry Kari, good perspectives. Up until just 3 games ago we were winless in 4 our performances were patchy and we were sliding down the table in chorus' of boo's. The fact that we are currently sitting joint 3rd without our key players from last season and this season is a tribute to AVB and the positivity he transmit. It's still too early to say, so I'll reserve judgement. However so far so good. COYS

strawboy

It's more the manager adapting to the players than the players to a system because the system has changed. Bale is playing wider again as a winger and not tucked in and further forward just like last season. His original 4-2-3-1 didn't work, he changed it to 4-1-4-1, then injuries back to 4-2-3-1 which didn't work and has now put Bale where he should be wide which unsurprisingly works. You can see that by the fact that the goals we are conceeding are coming from the left, Adebayor was sent off on the left and Defoe could have been as well plus the fact that Vertonghen is not seen in attack as he was earlier in the season. It was obvious after 3 games his system didn't work and needed to change, change it he did and has made changes since so fair play to the man.

Med1

Skysports reports that AVB is happy with his current squad and doesnt expect any signings this summer.Damn that hurts!

SilwalYid

SilwalYid- I'd be suprised if Bale was here next season IF we're not playing champions league. We'll see if AVB has the same opinion then ;)

coys1717

Absolutely right. I've been stunned that nobody seems to have pointed out that Spurs are doing great considering their critical injury situation. Even before the Arsenil game they were saying that 1 or 2 players might be out of the Arse line up (but they played) and at the time we had 5 first team players out and 3 facing a late fitness test. AVB has been able to manipulate the team line up a tactics consistently to give us a good chance. I hope he can bring in a couple of scary players in Jan then we can really see what he's made of. I bet Abramovic is kicking himself now.

SPUDMAN

For somebody who was said to have no man management skills and to be just a tactician he has surprised me. His handling of the players has been pretty good. There does not seem any descendency in the ranks and he is getting the best out of JD which was definately needed with our lack of strikers, (so far?). His rotation in the last game was spot on and his comment about Lennons contribution was very skillful man management! So far so good!

mountainyid

sorry I mean January Transfer Window.C'mon now we need at least one creative mid.and when was the last time so many quality players had their contract running out like right now,Huntelaar,Llorente,Dzagoev,Erikson....

SilwalYid

Critical - good article. New projects, new systems & new players need time. Fans need some evidence of progress and we have seen that, but also need to accept inconsistency and time needed (we have seen that to). Back AVB Levy - that has been my only gripe, especially knowing how much Media pressure he would be under, Levy should have got Moutinho & Willian as AVB Wanted. Keep the positivity going. COYS

Windlespur

I think he is doing better than just fine, under the circumstances i think he is doing bloody superbly. @ coys1717 welcome aboard the good ship In AVB we trust. LOL. Love totty, just go with the flow and believe. After all, To dare is to do.

chrishove123

I prefer rational objective arguments and evidence to blind faith, Chris. And I'm not talking about Eric Clapton here.

Love totty

Love Totty I really dont think you can play down the losses of Modric, VDV and King. King as we all known was the best CB in the Prem, when he could play. And last year we had him for over half of our PL games (21) which is a rarity. As well as the cover has been Vertonghen his natural replacement has had to move to LB for most of the season, and Caulker has stepped in, with Kaboul who was most improved last season missing (33 games last year). I think Caulker has been brilliliant but even though King was falling off last season he has still made more interceptions, a won more challenges and headers in less mins than Caulker this season. I dont need stats to tell you King was better than Caulker but that still surprised me and confirms how good he was last year.

VDV who got slagged off countless times by some. Lets see 90+Netherlands caps, and previously game from Real Madrid. Yes he was a squad player but give me any of their squad players and theyd be in our team. Plus 33 PL games last season. He missed 5 hows that half of the season. Also yes he came off most games, not all by 70mins but really dont see the problem. Most changes get made at 60/70mins anyway and are usually attackers. Secondly Id rather have VDV for 70mins than Sig/Demps for 90mins. Just my opinion of course.

Lastly Modric, people tried to downplay his ability, the once who would bring up his assists and goals. Well he was a 40m player who is starting for RM. We'd be lucjky to have any of their players yet one of ours made their team, and he played 36 pl games missing two. You not see his two assists the other night, and when he dominated against Spain. These are the 3 players missing. His replacement this season has already missed more games through injury than he did the whole of last season.

I think you have really downplayed the affect these 3 had on us, and how well AVB has coped without. Considering when we just missed Lennon it threw us all out of sync. Also looking forward to BAE coming back. Most underrated player still. Hopefully is loss has been noted and people realise how weak our leftside is. Noone was complaining about Bales lack of tracking back when Benoit was there. He coped alone. We dont need Baines. COYS

IGSpur

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