[QUOTE/][Perhaps it is time we cut André Villas-Boas some slack at Tottenham This is a Spurs manager who has no other ambition beyond the simple business of becoming the most important person in the known footballing universe Barney Ronay guardian.co.uk, Friday 13 July 2012 13.28 BST It has been an unhappy week for football, notable not just for the rise of the knobheads at the high court, but also for news of a corruption scandal at Fifa so appallingly entrenched and shameless it still seems almost impossible to grasp fully, like coming across the Queen fly-tipping asbestos waste in a country lane in Kent, or discovering that the world actually is controlled by an ancient cartel of industrialists and that they've decided to just come out with it and stop pretending and maybe even do a behind‑the-scenes reality TV show. Against this backdrop of hideousness there was something oddly heartening about the return in full-page panoramic close-up of André Villas-Boas, now formally in place as the new head coach of Tottenham Hotspur, and appearing, austerely suited in the middle of all this wretchedness, like an unexpected knock at the door from the local curate, who against all expectation you find yourself delightedly ushering inside. Welcome back, André. It has become fashionable to see Villas-Boas as a rather tarnished figure, to recall the frictions of his time at Chelsea, to balk at that familiar air of manicured expectancy. And to portray him instead as a kind of weak-chinned, own brand José Mourinho, Donovan to Mourinho's Dylan, a provincial Wimpy bar to Mourinho's gleaming McDonald's, a managerial Sindy doll of prodigious inauthenticity. This is more than a little unfair. If nothing else there is much to admire in the way Villas-Boas is still out there, still thrusting himself to the front of things, displaying the unshakable backseat extroversion that all the best managers have, as he winces and struts centre stage in skinny-trousered splendour, looking each time a little more like a tiny little dancing soldier on top of a wedding cake, or, increasingly, like a particularly convincing waxwork of himself. Plus of course he is fascinating to listen to, gushing forth unstoppably with the kind of words and phrases that may, in isolation, mean something, and which, if you squint, do actually seem to mean something, but which in fact don't mean anything at all, beyond a generalised conviction that the collective is strong and we have a good feeling for this project to achieve high levels of positive action within the shared beliefs of the group. This kind of talk is pretty much unique to Villas‑Boas, the sound of a man speaking with admirable fluency in a language not his own, but about concepts that are themselves fatally vague: bullshit at one confusing remove, but still somehow both convincing and also endearing, like watching a very earnest android attempting to learn how to dance. He is, though, entirely genuine when it comes to his own basic footballing obsession. It is not hard to see what drives Villas-Boas. Here finally is a man who is not in it for the money, who is instead consumed by football, or at least by his own aspirational, hobnobbing notion of what football may amount to. This is perhaps why he cuts such a deliciously moreish figure. Just as successful sitcoms tend to be based around characters who are trapped in some way, unable to escape into any life other than a father-son rag and bone business or a chat show host who has already bounced back, so Villas‑Boas totes about his own wonderfully gripping sense of circumscribed conviction. It is completely impossible to imagine him doing anything else. This is a manager who has no other earthly ambition beyond the simple business of becoming the most important person in the known footballing universe. It is genuinely ennobling, this belief in the basic sanctity of the managerial mission. "We must build on Harry's great work," Villas-Boas said this week, bestowing an unexpected gravity on the legacy of a manager who has traditionally been a kind of footballing Cat in the Hat, a tousled and infectious improviser who could probably cook you the most brilliant meal you've ever tasted simply by hurling everything in the fridge into a massive bowl and then flambéing it over a raging fire built from every stick of furniture you own, before abruptly disappearing just as you come round, dazed and hungover, face down in the ashes of what was once your kitchen. What kind of manager is he anyway? Judging by the abundance of pre‑emptive analysis this week it seems Villas-Boas likes a three-man or perhaps four-man midfield that can play fast and also slow, rigid but also fluid, energetic but also patient, tall and also simultaneously short. He likes attacking full-backs who defend and defensive midfielders who attack. He favours goalkeepers who leap and spring and save penalties. He insists on having strikers who score goals. And no doubt if he can set all these aspects of his grand plan in train at once Spurs can expect to win most matches comfortably, finding themselves at least eight or nine goals up by half-time against a series of tearfully demoralised opponents. Beyond this, perhaps the most important thing about Villas-Boas is that he is interested in systems, the kind of coach who doesn't seek to adapt and tinker but instead to impose a template for success from his own pre-cast theory and methods. It is a common trait among that new breed of technophile manager, the coach who sets his sights not on being louder or more nebulously inspirational than anyone else in the room, but on being more methodical, more comprehensively dossiered-up, on calibrating most effectively the cost‑to‑value ratios of his players. It isn't hard to see why this kind of manager is attractive to a club like Spurs. It is perhaps the only sensible response to the annihilating forces of footballing billionairedom. Managers like Jürgen Klopp and Marcelo Bielsa – not to mention Villas-Boas at Porto – have all succeeded recently at clubs outside the carbon circle, or beyond the uber-marketed regional superpower. This is where it's at for the ambitious young Euro-manager. And while it is received opinion that Villas-Boas was simply the wrong man for Chelsea, it is equally true that Chelsea was an unflattering fit for Villas-Boas, a spendthrift club of enduring player‑celebrity that was always going to chafe against his vision of success through micro-managed control-freakery. That sense of galvanising mystique is also a part of this new breed of manager: a certain style, a way of talking, an air of swankily tailored otherness. So perhaps it is time to cut Villas-Boas some slack. There is an alluring purity of purpose, even in his oddities. And while his own semi-fluent vision of a system within the spirit of the collective to achieve the search for titles that powers the group may or may not work out, it will undoubtedly be fun – and also oddly refreshing – to watch him try.][/QUOTE] ..
I'm not enthralled by this appt, but he's here and I'm in the we'll wait and see camp before passing further comment, hope or expectation, but I'm watching his every move. Today I've read player comments of praise for the first week of training....I wonder where Bale's training while the Olympics are on! Having said that, you have to admire the belief in his self to take the job on. It'll go one of 2 ways, tits out or tits up! ...breast of luck!
We do need evidence that you are only human sometimes, so good idea to throw in the odd deliberate mistake.
The Standard were less than complimentary... ...but give away what the article is really about with the "poor old Harry" comment.
Lawton has long been a Harry supporter so will take every opportunity together back at Spurs for the dismissal of his mate. as clearly evidenced previously: http://www.newsrt.co.uk/news/james-...sabotaged-harry-redknapp-s-career-534589.html He's probably in the Mad Oligarch's pocket as well, so this provides far too good an opportunity to miss. For what it's worth, I would rather that AVB had kept his own counsel for a while longer.
"Poor old Harry, shot out of a job after four mostly brilliant years, will just have to learn that reality is something that can be made up not only as you go along but also after it has been set in stone." Rather ironic ending to an article by a man who was desperate for Redknapp to take the England job, then complained when he left Spurs via a different route.
Reading the comments from fans below this article highlights the gulf in understanding that exists between the media and the real Premier League. The fans make mincemeat of this 'professional' writer and his delusions about Harry.
i like AVB and his sheer mindedness..and his football talk even if it is meaningless it is very intresting and it is associated with Spurs so makes it even more readable...the guy does love football and he is no Ramos..this guy takes a grip of everything and becomes a part of the whole..i look forward to what he has in store for our club..im well aware that we may have a few downs..but due to the fashion orchestrated by Chelsea..many have joined the bandwagon that vilified Ancelotti and Scolari to name but a few..yet Abramovic is in love with Avram Grant ..its fair to say that we have got one of the hottest properties in football management and one who quite rightly so bases his thinking to that of Mourinhio...i can see such a mind making Abramovic feel insecure. that was a good read Spurf.
Another pop at Abramovich and his entourage... http://www.mirror.co.uk/sport/football/news/tottenham-manager-andre-villas-boas-hits-1143097
He should be careful - every other journo was going to ask him about Chelsea before asking him about Spurs, and I get the feeling they're stockpiling ammunition to use against him.
He could do with keeping shtum on that one now, not get drawn on the subject. Chelsea is in the past, only interested in future now.
I like him too: nice to have a manager who can speak for a few minutes without contradicting himself. Also I think he and Levy will see eye to eye which I cannot imagine was ever the case with Harry. I never understood who was making the transfer decisions in the last few years but it will be a much better process now. It's still a risky decision to hire him though but absolutely 'Audere est Facere'.
Agree completely. Its rather ironic many on here slated arry for the manner in which he aired his views via the press yet now some seem happy at the manner in which avb is having digs at chelsea in the press. For me its slightly concering as it shows he is bitter about the past, and bitter about what happened at chelsea and all these digs are because he can't fully accept what happened. I didn't want avb as our manager but am prepared to judge him on his time with us yet so far he is coming across as a bitter man, with a point to prove and that could work both ways.
Yet you continue to bring up the Harry argument for the same reasons that you suggest AVB has talked about Chelsea. Personally I would have preferred if he kept shtum on Chelsea, but then I have not had to suffer the vilification that AVB has. So far he has answered questions at a press conference in a very straight forward manner and these have been spun and regurgitated several times by various papers. The press were only interested in the Chelsea issue because it makes a nice juicy story. The importance of AVB getting off to a reasonable start in the new season cannot be over emphasised, otherwise the press will simply be like a dog with a bone. They just can't wait for him to fail.
Continue, first time I have mentioned it was today due to the manner in which people on here went on, and on....and on,,,and guess what...and on about arry opening his gob to the press, hence me mentioning this. As for avb, i remember when he was at chelsea and things were going wrong, i always thought "what a complete dik" when he was giving press conferences or post match interviews - my opinion of his character hasn't changed just because he has become our manager, yet he could well have been acting defensive due to feeling like he was being attacked from all angles. Until we see the team perform and how he reacts when things start to go wrong, we won't see the real avb, could well be positive, could well be negative....am trying to have an open mind.
Like you I am waiting to see what happens and that's the real interest rather than what happened at another Club or what happened in the past at Spurs. Although we start from different perspectives we agree on what we want to see.
Spurf I hope this is the last of avb talking about what happened at chelsea as at the minute his charm offensive about the club, history and our style of play doesn't sit too well with me because of his digs at Chelsea. Anyhow, season isn't too far away and we're soon going to witness what tactics, what formation, style of play avb has in mind and also were going to see how avb and the players react when results don't go our way and i do believe he has to hit the ground running. I know many, including yourself prob see this more of a long term project and are prepared to give him more time but i believe in the early stages of the season it will tell us everything about avb and what he will bring to us, this doesn't mean we have to be top four but as long as the basics of success are there then there wont be any reason to attack the guy. UNLESS he talks about darren gibson on motd and tells us "its great to see him back playing football" thats still one of the most bizarre comments i've heard from a manager at a post match interview!
and when i mean we don't have to be top four, thats more about first half of the season but avb has to show enough to suggest we will challenge for top four by the second half of the season. If we play good football, use the right tactics, the players seem happy and there is fighting spirit then that is all anyone can expect from the new manager........results of course are crucial but if the above take place then results will come.
