-
The Fighting Cock is a forum for fans of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. Here you can discuss Spurs latest matches, our squad, tactics and any transfer news surrounding the club. Registration gives you access to all our forums (including 'Off Topic' discussion) and removes most of the adverts (you can remove them all via an account upgrade). You're here now, you might as well...
Latest Spurs videos from Sky Sports
It has been proven many times before a team can become much more than the sum of its parts, thats the beauty of quality management.
Just as a team can become much less than the sum of its parts through poor management.
We do have some average players, every team does. Look at Utds side, the same lot Moyes has toiling to 6th (at the minute) Fergie had winning the championship. The only players to stand out were Rooney and RVP.
IMO we have a number of quality players, in each area of the pitch, which should enable a quality manager to build something very exciting.
There is a lot of talent in this squad completely untapped/under utilised.
Of course there is room for improvement in personel, there always is, but honestly this is the best squad Ive seen in my time as a fan and I do believe it has a huge amount of potential to be realised. We are underperforming massively, and yet are still in touch with 4th - where might we be if we got to even 80% of our potential?
Just as a team can become much less than the sum of its parts through poor management.
We do have some average players, every team does. Look at Utds side, the same lot Moyes has toiling to 6th (at the minute) Fergie had winning the championship. The only players to stand out were Rooney and RVP.
IMO we have a number of quality players, in each area of the pitch, which should enable a quality manager to build something very exciting.
There is a lot of talent in this squad completely untapped/under utilised.
Of course there is room for improvement in personel, there always is, but honestly this is the best squad Ive seen in my time as a fan and I do believe it has a huge amount of potential to be realised. We are underperforming massively, and yet are still in touch with 4th - where might we be if we got to even 80% of our potential?
You also have to add the time factor; even a good manager needs a few years to fully develop his style. My worry is that we do not have the time to let this team develop, many players not getting the golden CL football will get restless, while many others who don't get game time will also want a move. We are overloaded with 'Box to Box' midfielders while lacking another Left back and perhaps one or two forwards of really quality, we don't win enough games not because we play shit (after all Fergie's United played shit all season last and won the title on the back of VP's ruthlessness in front of goal) but because we can't play shit and win, the sign of a good team is one that plays badly and wins and we lack the firepower for that on a consistent basis.
The only advantage I see if that our bloated squad could provide the profits for Van Gael or whoever is our manager next season. If Chadli, Soldado, Siggy, Dawson, Lennon/Townsend, Livermore go for example and you could use any list of players who may not be first team quality, this is just mine, we could raise £40 million to buy one or two top quality individuals and FFS let Van Gaal/new manager make the decision of who we buy and sell as he will know what players will fit his system.
As long as we try to keep Lloris, Verts, Chirches, Walker, Rose, Paulinho, Eriksen, Ade and Sandro (would add Kaboul if he didn't have knee issues))we should have the basis of a good first 11, would like to keep our young players like Kane, Carrol and yes Bentaleb as I think any team needs a good contingent of young squad players.
Hugo Lloris, Jan Vertonghen, Christian Eriksen and Sandro at the very least.
Might add Ade to that list, at least when he tries.
100% agree, this is why teams like Hull, west brom, Norwich and west scum have taken points off us (other than thursday night burn out). They have organisation and shape. Average players but average players who work together and some form of snyngery. We have a very nice Jigsaw pieces.. Eriksen,Lamela, Paulino,,lloris,,vert but we have failed to put it together properly.Hopefully LVG can be that guy, he has managed barcelona and Ajax so he should no the right way to play football and make spurs balanced.
A
Agree they are world class talent but Eriksen & Vert haven't been as consistent as they should be this season.
The English press were in love with him from the start. The real difference is Mourinho's act is just that, an act. He has cultivated a persona as this witty raconteur of English football, saying contradictory bollocks with a sly wink ('West Ham are too defensive' as Chelsea grind to another 1-0 win etc.). His arrogance is for the press.
You only have to look at his time in Spain to see that when the press don't buy in to his persona he starts to fall apart. By the end of his time in Madrid he even, whisper it, started to look weak. The playground bully who found a target able to fight back. It is not a coincidence he fucked off out of Spain when he did and came to England where we lap that shit up.
Van Gaal is a different animal. He actually is a prick and genuinely thinks he is untouchable. He doesn't speak to the press with a sly wink and a grin, he scowls and challenges questions he thinks are stupid. He isn't doing this schtick because deep down he wants to be loved, he doesn't give a fuck about being loved. He likes being a cunt it feeds his sense of superiority.
The English press will despise van Gaal and will attack him at all sides.
Regarding Verts, our season promptly went to shit and ended in AVB's sacking when Verts had to be played out of position and then got injured. Now he's been back less than a month and people are talking about how disappointing he's been.
It's starting to make my blood boil.
And Bentaleb
That problem goes deeper than the English press, its part of our two seconds result culture. Good teams often take years to build, we have had in how many players/managers in the past few seasons, but that doesn't fit in with our mentality, managers like Wenger and Fergie are the exception but they are rare. I think even Sherwood given a season or two could begin to get a pretty well functioning team.
I suppose I have to admit that patience is hard, never liked the sytle of football under AVB so when we couldn't get results either I lost my patience. Van Gaal Should get far more time because he is a attacking coach (the Spurs way) and history shows if you stick with him long enough results will come, he would also be the first proven manager we have had for fuck knows how long (by which I mean more than one good season in a weak league).
The media may turn on him if results don't come but VG is very thick skinned from what I hear so he just won't give a shit, problem I can see Levy, he is far too impatient and far to interfering and if he screws up Van Gaal we should turn on Levy like an old fashioned mob.
Maybe its what Levy needs.
Levy is a control freak, IMO, and wants to have a hand in it all - cant let go.
Perhaps having someone of proven pedigree basically tell him to fuck off could be the thing we have been waiting for.
We had experience in Redknapp and he has been our best manager to date (though I have plenty of complaints about him), AVB and Sherwood seem to be much more inexperienced and maleable for Levy - LVG would be like Redknapp but better IMO
Levy is a control freak, IMO, and wants to have a hand in it all - cant let go.
Perhaps having someone of proven pedigree basically tell him to fuck off could be the thing we have been waiting for.
We had experience in Redknapp and he has been our best manager to date (though I have plenty of complaints about him), AVB and Sherwood seem to be much more inexperienced and maleable for Levy - LVG would be like Redknapp but better IMO
Couldn't care less if he is a prick, look at the football under Redknapp and look at Redknapp, if Van Gaal is 10 times the prick and 10 times better which is what might be true then so what. There are few managers who are successful who are nice guys, we are not in a position to demand a nice guy/good manager anyway, thats for the likes of RM or Barca who can have any manager in the world.
Get the horrible feeling after two years Van Gaal gets us playing like beasts, everyone is happy then VG has an arguement or court case or some shit and Levy pulls the trigger just as we start getting back up the top.
Absolutely. I want van Gaal, a great coach and a man with a huge upside for the club.
He might be on the edge of retirement but his modus operandi at every club has been to mould the whole structure around his philosophy. Under him we'd be playing his 4-3-3 no matter what, and any player unable to fit would be gone and replaced. The young players would be trained according to this idea and he wouldn't be afraid to pluck a youngster out of the U21s to fill a gap. The coaches would be appointed because they understand his system and would be groomed to carry on the work when he leaves. He wouldn't accept anything else.
If left to do what he does he could shape a culture at the club that lasts a generation.
Or Levy sacks him as soon as he annoys him and we bring in Jamie Carragher or someone.
See how Sherwood does up until the end of the season before you write him off for Van Gaal. Not saying we'll get 4th but the league can change quickly. VG is in a job already so no rush till the summer.
We would need some fucking translator for Carragher and my mums a scouser.