AVB takes a pop at the Spurs support:- Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas: "We looked like the away team, we played in a difficult atmosphere with almost no support. We have a wonderful set of fans but they can do better. Away from home we play with no fear and we need that atmosphere at White Hart Lane. "We don't need the negativity that was in White Hart Lane today." (Source: BBC Football Live)
Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas: "We looked like the away team, we played in a difficult atmosphere with almost no support. We have a wonderful set of fans but they can do better. Away from home we play with no fear and we need that atmosphere at White Hart Lane. "We don't need the negativity that was in White Hart Lane today." I agree 100%, we don't need the negative football AVB is playing this season. Bill Nicholson must be turning in his grave.
It's not a great argument or point HIAG, as it doesn't matter who Avb picks, the team will still play dull football and lack cohesion. We can all focus on players we think shouldn't start but ultimately it's splitting hairs as the problem with our style, passing and team setup is AVB.
"We can all focus on players we think shouldn't start but ultimately it's splitting hairs as the problem with our style, passing and team setup is AVB." The players can control passes better than that. And pass faster and more accurately too. If not, perhaps they should be taking a serious pay cut.
Well said AVB, as I put in my EDIT, not ALL Spurs fans are negative moaners but far too many are, and of the rest, far too many don't back our team. Even in the 60s our crowd could be depressing at times, but boy Billy Nick never had to put with this lack of support and atmosphere on a regular basis. Agree about our players should be able to control the ball better, but I think a lot of them are running on empty with the Cups, Prem and international football. In one way the loan system is great, but if we are to win something not having the likes of Carrol and Co to play games like last Thursday and this Wednesday hurts us. A team that read Walker Edinburgh Vega Freund Leonardshen Neilsen Ginola Iversen Ferdinand Scales etc (no disrespect to any of them by the way, and some of them were top players) managed to win a trophy for us. Look at the names in our squad the last 3 years, not a trophy between them, embarrassing
Lennon is one of my favourite players, but I simply cannot see him fitting into the kind of team that AVB seems intent on building.
Under a different manager they would, I know we all have favourites but Avb just doesn't inspire teams to play a passing game. If Wenger was our manager, the same group of players would pass the ball for fun.
" I know we all have favourites but Avb just doesn't inspire teams to play a passing game." If AVB cannot compile an "offenders gallery" from the game today, and tell the players concerned that if they do remotely as much again in a game they will be dropped for the next game, then he is not a manager.
Would he see a problem? All Avb sees is a team that made life difficult, we had to show patience and the goal would come. He doesn't see what the fans see or want, hence his post match comments.
"He doesn't see what the fans see" Are the Opta stats for today listing the poor passing and control when not under pressure, not enough for the Dossier One to understand the most basic problems when faced with the bus ??
Perhaps we need Ardiles here as a coach teaching players to pass and receive at speed,punching holes in the oppositions brick wall....
At the start of the season I felt optimistic and like we had the players to up our game, but the football is so dull. In 2005/6 Jol was unlucky not to get 4th with what looks on paper like a much more average group of players, I remember watching games that season, and was fun to watch, again we dominated teams (for what seemed at that stage for the first time in ages), but we had loads of close shots and Lennon was getting lots of attention; at that time English football was at a high level with Arsenal losing in the Champions league final and Liverpool still having some clout. We should be better having spent that much money so the WUMs attempts dont work, cos what they say, I know is pretty true. I'm happy with the results and can't complain about AVBs team selection today as it is much as I wanted, but something just isn't working. I agree with others that Sandro shouldn't have started. I think we need to experiment more in the Europa and hopefully bring some positivity to our game. The Europa should not be affecting us in a negative way as we have a big squad, it is only AVB playing same defenders and goalie in pretty much every game (and some midfielders) that is the issue.
I don't understand the sudden disdain for the AVB style. It was obvious from early last season we would become tactically unattractive. AVB is substance over style but still may full short of a top 4 position. Many wanted this "project " to be the new order and rejoiced in the cockney cowboy being booted out. An entertaining game in the sense of desperation. We reap what we sow, but being honest we never sow anything in the first place with our constant net spends.
I'm so glad that teams like Hull get no points when they come by and park the bus.It might make Bruce happy but it sure ticks off our fans. If they do things like that it means they know they don't expect any points so they should be in the Championship or lower! I bet they go to Selhurst Park and other lower clubs and play the same way.Didn't Bruce learn anything playing for United? Or maybe he did......
Lets not forget that Hull came with a game plan to frustrate us and hit us on the counter, and they were executing this plan very well. When a team plays with what looked like 5 at the back and a 4 man packed midfield they are going to be difficult to break down of course. Even so, thats not much of an excuse for the lads today because we were still lacklustre and our play was at times immensely frustrating to watch and ineffective to boot. When you look at the players we had out there we should have been finding a way through the Hull defence and creating chances regardless of how they set up. It was a disappointing performance in that sense. I'll take the 3 points though.
"I don't understand the sudden disdain for the AVB style." Nothing wrong with the "AVB style" against the bus. WHEN it is played with the pace/accuracy of the Cardiff game. When it isn't, well you get the spectacle of most of the last 4 games.
I'm glad we won. I hope we will learn to play more attractively. Whether we will or not has yet to be seen. We were dull last year without a playmaker. On the other hand, we have two this year, and AVB's Porto played attractively. I'm starting to worry that most fans feel nothing we're at all likely to get is good enough for us, that we'll sack AVB and get someone else who will also be quickly rejected. I'm perfectly willing to be patient, personally. I would have guessed we'd be languishing somewhere in the middle of the pack while playing incoherent football at this point, so I'm satisfied, if not pleased, with things overall. I'm not the most experienced watcher, but I've always seen that called as a penalty. His hand was up. To be fair, it was not "hand to ball," so if that is the standard, it should not be a penalty. In any case, we've got a run of stronger teams coming up, and it will be interesting to see how we do.
