Will AVB be gone by Christmas?

You do realise who you're replying to?!

 

Tsk!

The way you talk, you'd have people believe that I'm the habit of exaggerating.

 

At the time I said it was insanity to employ him after splitting the fan base down the middle.
We have witnessed dire football that would make Bill Nick turn in his grave.
Who ever made such a self gratifying decision to appoint AVB should stand down.

 

Spurs sell their three A list PL stars in a short period of time and buy in a lot of players who are promising, but inexperienced or untried in PL terms. There are wholesale changes to the management and backroom staff in this period too. The expectation is that in a few short weeks, Spurs' promising, but young and inexperienced manager will be turning out a winning team which plays with style and flair.

Get real. This does not happen. There's no doubt Spurs are making the best of the situation, but it takes time to produce the team you want and it is even more difficult when you lose creative and/or talismanic players. Spurs' hands were tied in having to sell players who wanted to leave - and Levy got good money for all of them. But that money has been reinvested in strengthening the squad depth and placing hope in youthful promise rather than plugging the gaps left with quality replacements. Perhaps that was inevitable as players like Bale and Modric are hand to find, want to play for clubs competing for top honours and demand top wages.

So if rebuilding is inevitable following these significant and wholesale changes, would any other manager fare better in these same circumstances? Perhaps a more experienced manager with a proven track record would do better, but the likes of Hiddink would expect to be backed with hard cash to buy proven players. Faced with the same group of players, the same challenges would exist. I think any other manager needing results from the start would play defensively (especially when the strength and experience of the team is in this area) and look to have a solid base as a means of picking up results. Before today, the best defensive record in the PL was a real positive.

If AVB was the right man to follow 'Arry, he deserves to be backed now and given time to build a team. If he is replaced, more upheaval will inevitably follow with no guarantee of success. More buying and selling of players is a backward step. Unless you can buy your way out of problems like City and Chelsea, the key to (relative) success is continuity of manager, coaches and players. SAF and Wenger are obvious examples, but also look at Everton under Moyes (without big spending), Pulis at Stoke and Allardyce for a long period at Bolton.

 

Little Luke, stop being sensible! You're spoiling our self-pity fest.

 

Whilst we're dogpiling on members of the bench, can anyone tell me one thing: is there any logical reason for Steffen Freund to be our assman? The fact that Kyle Walker seemed to be ignoring him in the Halloween prank vid said a lot...

 

I hate to say this, but today's performance tells me that AVB is either rapidly losing, or has already lost the dressing room. If that's the case, it's bye - bye time! Today was utterly clueless, shambolic rubbish! All from a team that's supposed to be challenging g for the CL, at least.

 

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^ Sunderland fans should concern themselves with their sinking ship of a club than worry about us...

 

Judging by the shell shocked look on his face at the end of the game it wouldn't surprise me if he quit.
He looked totally lost and didn't look like he knew what to do. It's a new experience for him, I guess, but he reacted with bewilderment.

As others have said, that did not look like a united side.
I think that Villas-Boas might have fallen into the young coaches trap. Trying to be friends with the players when you need to keep some distance and respect.

 

He's been looking like this for quite a while now.. As I've said before, its a bit like watching Laurel from the Laurel & Hardy show...........

with respect to Stan Laurel.

 

It's impossible to say what will happen in the future but I don't think Levy will give him too much leeway.

My expectations are the same as ever and at this moment he's in danger of falling very short in the league. I've said all along that I'm prepared to suffer less attractive football in the short run so long as the results are putting us on target for top 4(or thereabouts) but the pressure cranks right up now we're starting to drift away from the 2 points a game target.

Maybe the loss will have the galvanising effect the Everton game had last year, where we went on to cut out conceding late goals and started scoring them instead. It seems very unlikely at the moment though. I don't know how long AVB was expecting this to take but I doubt we just click from passing the ball around cautiously to running opponents ragged and out thinking them like Barca, surely there's a period of gradual improvement inbetween. If there is we aren't seeing it.

Nevermind Christmas, AVB needs to sort it out immediately, whether it's getting his tactics working or ditching them for something that works. Win the next 2 league games and we can afford some optimism, lose them then he's got to go, I suspect we'll plod on somehow with a draw and an unconvincing win.

 

Firstly, yes it 's a very difficult trick to pull off. To be friendly with those under you whist never letting them forget who's the boss. It goes without saying, that firstly, they must have total confidence in you as their leader. I am becoming convinced that the players have lost that confidence in AVB, if indeed, they ever had it..

 

So whilst I personally think he will given at least another 4 matches can I ask you would want appointed if he did go? Laudrup would appear to me to be the stand out candidate if he could be extracted from Swansea, as I feel it should be a manager with some premier league experience, though I agree hiddink would be an excellent choice too.

 

What do you think of Peter Taylor at your club ??

 

Apologies, I see you have a whole thread already dedicated to this I will go and read that!

 

I like Peter Taylor, I am old enough to remember him as a player for Palace, Spurs and England, and first time around he led us to the 2nd tier for the first time in our history, but I am not a fan of people coming back to the same place as it is seldom as good the 2nd time, but he has my backing and he is trying to get us playing again, because much like you we have endured some awful football in the last few months (though our was of the long ball variety) so for that I am thankful and this time if he keeps us in league 1 he will have done a fantastic job.

 

Like yourself, I also remember him as a player and I gather he is a decent bloke off the field. Never really been convinced about him as a manager though, although I concede his track record is not too bad. Was the decision to remove Martin Allen the correct one ?

 

If you can't beat em, join em.

 

Personally I think that Allen was harshly treated, I think a manager who delivers a first 'league title' in 50 years probably deserves a longer crack the following year than he got, but the football was horrible, (I know Pulis cut his teeth with us as well), but Allens side were as awful on the eye as any side I have watched at Gillingham and there have been some poor sides in my lifetime!