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Blatent "I can't spell 'blatant'" postBlatent "I'm still hoping the "blatent" posts are still funny" post.
Number of jobs quit...
gooner trollFor what its worth , i have seen about 10 Zenit games this season and in those games they did play an ultra negative boring kind of football during 7 of those games.
He's dead right. It's his job on the line.In his defence he did real well with Marseille last season.
But Marseille are the definition of a chaos club. A owner that is not present, a president and board that do whatever they feel like and don't keep in touch with the manager about player transfers etc. And we all know that AVB can only handle a certain amount of chaos and pressure before he cracks.
Their season so far has been real chaotic, this week in particular with fans storming the training center and setting things on fire.
I don't know if AVB will ever be "successful" in football, but he may end up the happiest man to ever be a manager of top flight football. You can tell he very much regards it merely as a profession that affords him a life he very much enjoys - the opportunity to experience the world and develop relationships with a wide variety of people from dozens of cultures.
Football is definitely an interest to him, but not something through which he defines himself. I think this is why I'll always like AVB, even if he oversaw some dreadful football at Tottenham...I find him fascinating and admirable.
Towards the end of Sunday's game, it felt like the good old times were back. Andros Townsend was giving Antonio Luna, the Villa left back, a game he would rather forget, beating him at will and setting up a handful of chances for himself and the rest of Spurs attack.
Aaron Lennon, back from injury, was stretching Villa out on the left and Spurs were cruising to a comfortable 2-0 win. Apart from one free header from Christian Benteke shortly after he had come on as sub, Villa barely mustered a worthwhile attack and never threatened a comeback once Roberto Soldado had put Spurs two up.
Yet Spurs were fairly poor for much of the first half. Andre Villas-Boas talks a good game about direct, incisive passing, but for all Spurs' possession the first 45 minutes, most of the passing was between the back four. There was no fluency going forward from midfield, as Villa found it all too easy to contain Spurs' attacking instincts.
Spurs were just about worth the goal advantage at half-time, but it had been hard to see where one was likely to come from before Townsend's 31st-minute cross evaded Lewis Holtby and Soldado and went straight into the net.
AVB can point to the result, saying the ends justify the means; that Villa wore themselves out trying to negate Spurs' possession football in the first hour, leaving Spurs in total control and plenty of free spaces in the last 30 minutes. But that's half the story. The key change in the game came when Lennon replaced Sigurddsson.
Sigurdsson has many virtues -- including scoring some vital goals already this season -- but he doesn't have the pace of the style of a left winger: when he starts in that position, as he did on Sunday, Spurs have few genuine attacking options down the left-hand side.
Small wonder then that Spurs' tight passing game broke down so often in the first half; Villa knew that the only real threat was coming from Townsend and could double up on him.
When Lennon came on, Villa were enjoying their brief and only moment of dominance in the game: the crowd sensed something might be building for the home team and got behind them. Lennon changed that. Not because he was particularly great: he's still a little rusty after being out injured and it showed. He was a danger, merely because he was there.
Villa didn't dare attack so freely because they knew they could be caught out by the pace of both Lennon and Townsend. Nor could they put two men on each player. Having two wingers can be as effective a defensive move as it is an attacking one.
Credit to AVB for recognising the potential of using both wingers -- and for having a Plan B, something which some of us had begun to doubt -- but it would be a better option to start against Hull next weekend with Townsend and Lennon.
Hull will come to defend, and if Spurs try to work the ball through tight spaces in the middle of the ground rather than stretch them wide, it could play into the opposition's hands.
Lennon apart, though, it is beginning to look as if AVB is beginning to make a statement about what he thinks his best team is. This is not good news for Kyle Naughton or Ezekiel Fryers, both of whom have failed to impress when given a chance in Danny Rose's absence.
AVB would clearly rather play Jan Vertonghen in the centre of defence -- one senses that the Belgian would rather play there too -- but an out of position Vertonghen is a safer bet than the alternatives. Spurs still might regret loaning Benoit Assou-Ekotto to QPR.
Meanwhile, the sight of Sandro replacing Mousa Dembele alongside Paulinho has been long overdue. The Brazilian barely put a foot wrong all game and Dembele looked far more effective as a substitute than he does as a member of the starting XI. All Spurs need is a bit more fluency and self-belief. If Sunday's second-half display is the marker, then they have found a style that just might suit. When Christian Eriksen hits his stride, things could really begin to tick.
Remember this. Woolwich are top of the table and playing just about as well as they could expect. Spurs, with a tougher fixture list and plenty of room still for improvement, are just three points behind. The message from Sunday is clear. Tactical, possession football is a great starting point and should guarantee Spurs don't lose to bottom or mid-table teams. But if they want to beat the very best, Spurs have to be more fearless. Play wide, play free, play bold.
A great piece written by a friend of mine and I would be interested to see what peoples opinions are because I agree with him.
It has been several months since I last opened my heart to you fine folk. The world has changed. Fire and brimstone coming down from the skies. Rivers and seas boiling. Forty years of darkness. Earthquakes, volcanoes, the dead rising from the grave. Human sacrifice, dogs and cats living together… mass hysteria!
Yes it’s true, this man has no dick!
Ghostbusters references aside, last season for Spurs was always going to be a bit of a weird one. It was a case of AVB making do with what was at his disposal, and as such it got a bit messy. Sandro’s injury was unquestionably a defining moment in our season and our football suffered from that point on. Weaknesses in the squad were fairly obvious but there was little that could be done. From Christmas onwards, a certain Welshman took it upon himself to win matches. Whether it was through boredom or just showing off, he was pinging in shots from all over the place. Some argue that it was yet another capitulation, others claim that we were overachieving anyway. Either way, the top 4 was certainly not something that should have been expected.
I wouldn’t say that I lost interest last season, rather there was no real need for analysis. Especially the high-level, expert analysis that I offer. Our shortcomings were obvious, as was the fact that this was the start of a huge transition. There was no point reading too much into it as it was going to be changed and fuck me was it changed.
This was a summer like no other for Spurs fans, certainly those who have been fans for the past 20 or so years. For a long time we’ve been used to a fair amount of transfer activity, but all of it based on turning a profit or finding a bargain. There has been a lot of frustration aimed at Levy and ENIC for not taking more chances earlier, but this summer would suggest that it was always part of a masterplan. Levy didn’t trust ‘Arry. The tax man didn’t trust ‘Arry. Arguably Levy didn’t initially trust AVB either, so was a bit more cagey about the signings. This summer, however, was pretty substantial proof that both Levy and ENIC believe AVB is the man to handle our transition into “the big time”. You know, THE BIG TIME! No? Me neither.
Anyway, the spending this summer was relentless. Our transfer record was broken 3 times in one window and we signed some genuine talent. The squad was filled up with options that meant we could look beyond just the starting 11. It would also mean that we would no longer be crippled by one or two injuries in certain places. That isn’t to suggest that we still can’t be hobbled by injuries in the right places, just the chances of it affecting our game plan were reduced considerably.
It has been a strange start to the season as far as performances go. I think based on the signings that everyone expected us to come flying out of the blocks, playing magnificent football that both impressed and aroused fans all over the world. That was always going to be wishful thinking and I’m rather stunned that so many fans are surprised at the slow start. I’m even more surprised at the level of negativity in relation to this slow start. I’ll try to put things in perspective.
Last summer we signed Sigurdsson, Vertonghen, Dembele, Dempsey and Lloris (with Holtby joining in January). This summer we have signed Lamela, Eriksen, Chiriches, Capoue, Soldado, Chadli and Paulinho. Now add our two returning loan youngsters, Rose and Townsend, who are playing their first full season for us. It’s also worth mentioning that we also have Kaboul and Sandro coming back from long term injuries. Those injuries aside, and Deuce going back to the motherland, that is 14 new first team players being introduced in the space of just over a year. Ok so let’s put that figure to one side for a moment and continue on our quest for truth.
AVB plays a very different system to ‘Arry. This system was not fully implementable last season due to the lack of players who would fit this system. This meant in theory that we were playing with some sort of hybrid system to attempt to make the best out of the players that he had at his disposal. This season, however, the players have been signed to fit into the system that AVB ultimately wants to play.
Still awake? Ok. Hang in there.
So, last season we were not fully playing the system AVB wanted due to the players available. This combined with the 6 new players put into that temporary system (as well as the old players obviously). Cool? Cool. So as well as now adapting that system for the 5 remaining players of that 6 this season, it is also being beaten into the new 7 players, the 2 new returning youngsters, the 2 players returning from long term injuries, and the old players. Additionally there is the obvious bedding in period required for most foreign players who move to the PL, which is generally more difficult for younger players of which we have signed several.
So in summary…
14 new players + 2 long term injury returnees + new system = A rather valid reason for patience
I’ve been quite ashamed by some of the comments and attitudes of Spurs fans over the last few weeks who appear to be angrily announcing that they’re not impressed or entertained enough. Perhaps we should wear sparkly outfits and tame lions in the 6 yard box when the ball is out of play, or get Miley Cyrus to dry-hump AVB on the touchline while licking Steffen’s elbow. Personally I think Hugo would look rather dashing in a ringmaster outfit, top hat and all. I also hear that the effects of licking Steffen’s elbow are similar to a shot of liquid LSD straight to the anus.
I have no issue at all with people being bored watching some of the games we’ve played in, I have been too. What I do have an issue with is people assuming that we have no intention of improving the quality of the football and that we’re actively trying to play in a system that goes against everything we stand for. Is it truly that difficult to believe that what we’re witnessing now is a natural by-product of the changes that we’re going through, and a necessary part of reaching our goal?
I suppose the real question is this. Do we want to be entertained or successful? Over the past few years our expectation of success has increased dramatically with no thought to what is actually required to achieve it. Not only achieve it, but maintain it. It’s almost as though we were dreaming that our exciting style of play would be sufficient to reach the upper echelons and stay there. I’m sorry to break it to you, chaps, but it isn’t. It might well have been in the good ol’ days, when the philosophy was forged in the fires of Mount Doom, and players weren’t the machines that they are today. However if we genuinely want to compete at the top, we will need to make some compromises. This doesn’t mean binning our identity and our way of playing football, but I do think that it needs to be adjusted to fit the game as it is today. This will mean having to do the ugly stuff at times. I personally believe that we can be both entertaining and successful, but it will take time.
I remember so many Spurs fans laughing at Chelsea because AVB was tasked with an overhaul of their squad and the style of play and was dumped after only a few months for trying to do exactly that. Oh how we laughed that they did not have the patience to see it through. I specifically remember a few conversations with Spurs and Chelsea fans that went along the lines of “AVB was given 3 years to complete this overhaul project, and you binned him after 6 months”. Guess what, AVB also signed a 3 year deal with us yet I’m seeing the exact same behavior with Spurs fans. Yes AVB has been with us longer now than he was with Chelsea, but it is this season that he truly has what he wants at his disposal and can really start to do what he wants. Alright it might not be exactly what he wants, but it’s as close as we’re going to get.
We waited what? 18/19 years of PL football to get into the CL for the first time? And for many of those years the football was generally shit. I’m pretty sure that we can wait 1 more season before making assumptions and/or judgements about the current team and management. Give AVB, the system and the new players the chance to get to grips with what is being asked of them without the constant moans and groans that they are currently enduring. We’re better than that. If I’m wrong at the end of the season, so be it, but we can at least give the team our full backing until that point. That is the only thing we, as fans, can control and we’re failing miserably at it.
However once his ideas started to click into place we could all see what he was trying to do.
OI MATE GENT IS THE BEST , the rest are obv tin pot.So are Malmö, Astana, Bate, Zagreb, Maccabi Tel Aviv and Gent