What are your expectations now?

So now we've passed the half way point, we've had a chance to see what the current team is capable of and have had a decent look at AVB's capabilities with the squad he has at his disposal.

At the start of the season, I expected 4th and perhaps some silverware with the players we had but when AVB was installed, I wasn't initially confident in the guy, so I felt we may have ended up up 5th/ 6th and after the first few games, I thought possibly even worse.

As of right now, I'll fully admit I've gained a lot of respect for AVB and will accept he's not as bad as I initially thought, I'm happy he's continuing the attacking philosophy of the Spurs tradition even though some of his substitutions at times are still very questionable - more often than not brings on a defensive player to preserve a lead which stifles our attacking threat and therefore results in opposition coming at us more.
The squad are starting to look more relaxed and comfortable on the pitch, where as early on they pretty looked clueless.
The likes of Dempsey and Sig are finally starting to show signs that they may be finding the form from their previous clubs while Verts, Dembele and Hugo don't need much said on them, all been great buys and have strengthened us greatly.
AVB has got the best out of Defoe and Lennon, it's as if they're new players so another plus point on AVB (and his staff) there.

So that said, my expectations now are a concrete 4th, perhaps even 3rd place league finish. To beat Lyon and Inter (or Cluj) in the Europa and then hopefully - depending on who we draw - perhaps reach the final? - IT'S IN AMSTERDAM SPURS, AMSTERDAM!!!
I'd like a successful FA Cup run too, I won't say I expect to win it but we're certainly a team capable of doing so and the fact AVB treats each tournament with respect, it gives me hope we can do well.

Transfer wise I'd like us to bring in that creative spark we lack, my preferred choice being Eriksen but would still be over the moon with Moutinho. I won't be overly fussed if we don't bring in a striker, Defoe's on fire and Ade is a quality player on his day (yes ACoN is approaching but think we can manage without, providing JD doesn't get injured), maybe another "Saha" signing would be good for the time being as I can't see us getting in a better striker than JD or Ade this window, someone nearing the end of their top flight career, has something to add but won't demand a starting spot (still think we should've kept Louis to be honest), then we can look at a top drawer striker in the summer - providing we reach the Champions League.

So yeah, 4th/ 3rd in the league, good cup runs in Europa and FA, creative midfielder and possible 3rd choice striker.

 

Alright Mr SOS?

In terms of the league, i expect top four and we have a great chance of 3rd if we do the right business this window, which is to bring in that creative spark we're crying out for.

I hope our football improves and for me I want to see Villas Boas address the issue we have with breaking teams down.

As for the cups.........a cup double would be nice! Over two legs i can see us struggling if we face a team like Madrid or the chavs but we have always been a cup team and its been far too long since we won the FA Cup or todays version of the Uefa Cup.

 

Good thanks Boss, prodding along an' all, how you been mate?

I think the breaking down has improved lately, unless teams adopt a Stoke stance, I'm confident in the way we're looking at the moment but the creative player will hopefully ensure defences get breached more easily.

Bar that think we pretty much agree

 

Even though AVB wouldn't have been my first choice, I was never adverse to him being our new boss. However, with the usual transfer tactics of leaving things late and then the sales of Modric and VDV, I did fear that the last 3 years of hard work would result in this season being one of transition. - I thought we'd be looking at a 5-7th place with all factors considered, especially when the injuries kicked in so early on too. For those reasons, AVB is doing a fantastic job IMO and has exceeded my expectations in his first season. I'm glad he's won the fans over, the guy deserves a break.

For me it's still too early to call. Chelsea have lost ground on the Manc's, we've been hit and miss until recently, Arsenal have either demolished teams or have been woeful, and everton (as usual) have been knocking on the door. Then there's the surprise package of west brom, but i think they'll fade away gradually, but will still have a good season. The race for 3rd and 4th is still very much on IMO with so many games to go. There's been some real surprise results this season and I expect there will be plenty more. - it's hard to predict anything! even dead cert accumulators are falling down left,right and centre. grrr!!! I'd like to think that we'll get that 4th spot, perhaps even 3rd at a push. As usual, it won't be easy. it will come down to how much we strengthen in this window i reckon. - Arsenal are bound to do some good business in order to get better consistency and results. There's real pressure on them at the moment.

I'll be gutted if we finish 5th or lower, but with so much competition at the top it is really difficult to get one of those top 4 places with so much talent in this league.

However, we are sitting nicely for a top 4 finish and seem to be getting better and better.

The future is bright...

 

Wow! all this optimism from two of AVB's biggest critics.

We could easily finish 6th, to underestimate Everton and Arsenal is risky at this stage of the season. End of Jan will tell us more.

 

Yeah he's definitely impressed me far more than I expected Roo. As I said I still think his subs are abit dodgy but with hopefully the addition of a creative player, we'll have at least one of <insert new creative player's name here> and Moussa on the pitch, instead of constantly being left with none when Moussa gets subbed at around 70/75 minutes.

Don't even get me started with football accy's, I've lost so much on "bankers" recently it's nuts. A few weeks back Real Madrid lost to Celta Vigo when they were my last team needed to bring in over £300 and then a week or so afterwards, Bayern drew at home (can't remember with who) who were also my last team on the accy to bring in £150.

Yeah the liks of Arsenal will definitely strenghten, Chelsea look as though they already have with Ba's announcement imminent and like you say, Everton and WBA can't be discarded (though the latter you'd expect to drop off eventually). I still think the quality we currently have and could potentially have will be enough to get top 4 but agree it won't be easy.

Future is indeed bright mate.

 

Yep! I've always said if he manages to turn things around I'll hold my hands up and while he has impressed me a lot more than expected, I still have some doubts but of course there's plenty of time for him to wipe them away too.

I don't underestimate the competition, just more of a case of believing more in the "project" and happy to see that the players are finally coming back to life so to speak.

End of Jan will certainly give a better outlook and idea of what to expect with (hopefully) some new additions.

 

Beat Arsenal. I mean I'd definitely rather finish top 4 or get to a final but they've got it coming to them

 

I second that!

I really wanna stuff 'em more than ever at the Lane this season. We're due another 5-1 soon, aren't we? AREN'T WE?!

 

Overall I have been impressed with the new abilities shown by Spurs under AVB. First is the closing down of the opposition, this has improved out of sight IMO. There is growing look of organisation in the defence, where before it appeared to be four individuals it now is beginning to look more like a unit. The attack while not showing the exciting gung ho we saw from Harry is again IMO showing more creativity in trying to get through mass defences. Defoe is a different player and Lennon has improved on his previous best form. AVB has it appears identified the strengths of individual players and has a better idea how to play them going into the second half of the season.

One of the great strengths of Harry was the ability to pick a player, until the transfers begin to take place we will not know how AVB compares in this area.

So far so good.

 

I remain to be convinced that AVB is the right man for us. Having said that, the kind of form that we have shown over the past four or five weeks has impressed me, and if we can maintain that - which would put us in strong contention for a top 3 finish - I'll begin to believe that he's capable of taking us to the level that we all, in our hearts, know we are capable of achieving. Finishing above Arsenal would be a massive boost for any Spurs manager, of course.

My November "clown" attack on AVB was motivated purely as a result of his persisting with a one-up-front tactic that clearly wasn't working for us, but since he has reverted to 442 we have looked so much better, with the likes of Bale and Lennon (in particular) looking so much more confident and comfortable with their play, and providing chance after chance every match. There are times when we have looked irresistible, and we must be the neutral's favourite team to watch, for our fast counter-attacking style of play. I no longer believe that AVB is a clown.

Finally, the return of the likes of Ade and Parker, and the imminent return of Kaboul, can only make us even stronger.

I am fairly confident that we will finish on a high, but I'll reserve proper judgement until the end of January.

 

when i saw this post, I was expecting a HIAG classic. It's too serious HIAG, sort it out!

where's the subtle goon abuse? or even a small reference to Liverpool, just for the sake of it?

 

As Man Utd & Man City have 1st and 2nd sawn up, 3-6 is a fight between ourselves, the chavs,goons and toffees and we have as good as chance as any of finishing 4th at least.

Taking away the issues i have with Villas Boas, the results are positive and we have kaboul ,parker,benny to return, plus Adebayor could find some form.

So i would say theres no reason for us to drift out of the race and one great signing in january could make the difference.

 

I hope that AVBs management of the squad, which imo has been far more professional than it was during Harry's era, will enable us to reap the rewards of a fit & functional squad in the run-in.

I know his substitutions have caused a stir amongst some of us, however, i am all for rotating the team. Not just on a game to game basis, but also during games. We have to have a group of players outside of the first XI who are able to come in and do a sufficiently good enough job, with minimal notice. Could we say this was the case under Harry? I don't think so - the bench on most occasions didn't inspire me with confidence, not that Harry really used subs until the 86th minute in most matches. By which time of course it was too late to make an impact .

At least AVB is working towards this aim, and imo is doing a damn good job on evidence. In our last game he brought on an England international in Scottie who played his part really well, as you would expect. Dempsey scored the goal that sealed the game. He also made a great impact in the game prior to Reading, at Sunderland - holding the ball up, frustrating the opposition, sealing our win. These are not rookies, they're seasoned pros whom we have to use and trust, and in the process keep the squad healthy.

We had a rocky start and have steadily improved after that, and all things considered, the pressure on AVB from the media, the injuries, the transition from losing the spine of our team in the space of one summer etc... I am confident that we can beat anybody in this league home or away. For these reasons i expect us to challenge for 3rd but would be more than happy with 4th. If we finish 5th... it depends under what circumstances. I don't think i could stomach another collapse like the last two seasons, i know that much

 

i dont care how we get there but i hope we can get 3rd....itll shut everyone up with the Harry comparisons then next year we can all sing from the same hymn sheet.


ive always known and believed that AVB is a class manager..i cant believe people fell for the drama that occured at chelsea and were willng to side with the chelsea fans in blaming AVB.


We got the man that the whole football world was touting and impressed with at Porto. The day he went to Chelsea i was . The guy is like a very young Wenger in his technical analysis of the game. He is learning and thats the most important thing..he learns from his mistakes.

Also and absolutely up there for me..the players seem to love him..even those that are not playing regularly.

 

There's no question that Villas-Boas has made some mistakes, but I've been fairly impressed with the way that he's dealt with a number of them and some other problems.
His favoured formation seemed unworkable, so he dropped it.
We threw away points by dropping too deep and allowing the opposition to maintain pressure on our defence, so he worked on it and we've dramatically improved.
The whole of France seemed to be demanding Lloris' introduction before he was fully adjusted, but he kept his cool and stuck to his original plan, embarrassing a ****-stirring hack along the way.

There's no doubt that we looked a bit shaky at the start, but our players seem to have embraced the manager's philosophy and backed what he's trying to do.
People have mentioned the obvious improvement in Defoe and Lennon's games, but Naughton's gone from being a total liability in an unfamiliar position to looking extremely comfortable, too.
Sandro's been immense, Bale's continued to work on his more free-roaming role and Walker's early season mistakes are becoming less apparent.

I've largely ignored the odd substitutions, as I've often felt that Levy's left him with less options than he should have, but it's something I'd like to see addressed.
The perceived negativity might be down to the manager's preference, but he's been unable to make a like-for-like change up top, as we simply don't have any spare strikers.
The same is true of Dembele, whose fitness concerns have often made his removal a sensible move, as there's no similar player on the bench and no senior playmaker.
Huddlestone's dropped down the pecking order badly after some uninspired performances, unfortunately, and he seems likely to leave soon.

 

Bit too early to be talking about third in my opinion, for either Spurs or Arsenal. There's a long long way to go yet and if last season was any judge, even come the Spring, it's still no indication of the final standings.

I think Spurs look good on their day, but they also suffer from some pretty average turn outs at times.

Personally I think Chelsea will finish third and fourth will be between Arsenal and Spurs.

 

What are your expectations now?


None, this is a see what happens season, no expectation, no disappointment.

 

I do kind of agree about Chelsea, they're favourites to finish highest out of us 3 for a reason. However, with Rafa in charge if he can't get the results the apparent truce the fans have given him will be torn up and things will get harder and harder for the whole club. When you look at the amout they've spent and some of the players they have, they should be miles ahead of us but they're not so until they look like fulfilling their potential we'll both be in the hunt for 3rd.

 

I think in reality, AVB needs to finish 4th or above. For himself more than anything.

I'll admit I was one of them but the reason a lot of the fans that were skeptical/ unhappy at his appointment was because they didn't believe he was someone who could take us forward, so seeing as Harry managed two top four finishes in three full seasons, for AVB to then finish 5th this season, I think it could provoke a "why the **** did we appoint him" outburst from fans.
Personally, 5th will be unbearable for me as I reckon it'll then be a certainty for Bale to leave (even with CL football it's going to be a tough task keeping him) plus it'll hinder us in trying to sign better calibre players. One thing I will say though, is AVB has done enough for me to realise he is a decent manager at least, so as disappointed as would be if we finished outside the top 4, I wouldn't lay all the blame on him like I would've done say after the first few games of the season.

One "positive" thing I did say about AVB when he signed is that I thought he had potential to become a good manager but just wasn't ready to manage in a league like the EPL so early, he's proving that he certainly can so it's given me optimism to hope that in perhaps 1-2 years time, we'll be possibly seeing the strongest Spurs side we've had in the Prem.

If the guy can slowly win myself over (and I'm a stubborn c... Yeah you get the picture) then I'm sure he can win over others