I think that this is a good thing. Us Spurs fans are often accused of being fickle and lurching from "We won: our manager is the greatest ever!" one week to "We lost: sack the manager!" the next. For the people debating here that is not the case, we know that a few good/bad results does not make a season. I am broadly pro AVB and think that we are generally heading in the right direction under him but I am reserving judgement until the end of the season and see where we are then.
I'm one of the luckier ones in that I went to university and got an engineering degree many years ago. Following graduation I then managed to get some experience. Sadly, it is the experience that got me the job. I say sadly because there are some really bright young graduates out there who struggle to get started. I guess it's a bit like football really, there are some really great young players out there but many managers, paticularly the likes of Redknapp, won't give them an opportunity. One of the things I do like about AVB is that he tends to give the youngsters chances but recognises that we need a balance of experience in the side.
I agree that it is a good thing, and every team has a few bad matches. Look at Citeh in the Champions League or Roman 'Okey Cokey' Abramovich's mob down west. How long will it be before the fat waiter gets the 'in-out:in-out:shake it all about'. I'm glad in a way that we are a proper football team and not one of these rich-mans toys. However, AVB needs more than one season. If SAF's longevity in his job had been based on his first season at Man U he would have been down the road straight away. The third season is when AVB should be judged, until then the top half is enough providing there is no major dischord within the ranks. A good cup run would suit me this season, particularly in the Europa as the final is on the 50 year anniversary of us winning the Cup Winners Cup.
I don't think it's a good thing because it shows that many peoples opinions are not football based which is quite odd.
Hi Dona, I think people are taking the medium-long term view rather than the Mad Russian Approach (MRA-it sounds like a virus). Both can be based around the football except that one takes an overview over a whole season (or two or even three) and the other is based around the last two or three results.
I was one poster who suggested Ancelotti last season and Benitez this season and I was shouted at but we can all have our opinions. I didn't think AVB was a Spurs type of manager and although the results have been quite favourable the football has only been good in fits and starts so I stand mostly by my original claim that he's not a Spurs type of manager. Now I can't fault the man's effort and he's still experimenting so I can't really fault his decisions. If we had lost four on the trot then he would have been under pressure and rightly so. But we are still a team searching for form,at the moment it's either a short run of wins followed by a short run of defeats followed by a short run of wins which makes us unpredictable. So a team which hasn't a had a league draw for a while next week plays a team which has had seven draws in the last ten so it will be a very insightful supporter who can predict the score of this match with accuracy rather than guesswork. I actually wish we had had a couple of draws in the last ten then we'd have a better idea of form. I feel that a lot of other team's supporters are waiting for AVB to fail but up to the moment I haven't changed my view that we had a good start.
Great debate guys with really thoughtful posts. It's too early to know whether AVB is the right man or not although from the Arsenal game on I have seen some very hopeful signs. For me the Arsenal game was a turning point (forget the result) because AVB changed his strategy and put Ade & Defoe up front. He went for the win in a positive manner and continued into the second half with that policy despite the score and the man down. I applaud him for that and knew what he meant when he talked in a positive manner after the game. Many people missed the point and accused him of being deluded, far from it IMO. This shows me that he is open and willing to change as required, and most important learn from what is in front of him. Being a young man he is more willing to be of that mind than a man like Harry who has seen and done it for many years. Harry would need some serious evidence to change what he had learned over many years, like most men of his age. He has realised for example that Dawson is a fighter and has reversed his first impression and given him a chance. He has done the same with Huddlestone although with injuries he has had little option. We have all seen some pretty uninspiring performances from Spurs this season, but don't forget we saw this last season as well with Harry. It's easy to just remember the good games. We are taking our chances better than for a couple of seasons (Defoe improvement) despite our very lack lustre performance at Craven Cottage we came away with a 3 goal win. In recent seasons the opposite has often been the case with a number of games where we created chance after chance and failed to take them. We have watched Man U playing this kind of football for a long time. How did they win that etc. All good managers manage to get results when thing are not going for them so that's another hopeful sign. I will come clean on AVB. I really want him to be a success, first because he is the Spurs manager but second because I would love him to prove the media and pundits wrong. They do not deserve to be right IMO because they take so little trouble to get their facts right in the first place. They 'go with the flow' look for example at the Liverpool Spurs situation. It is only this season that they are finally coming to terms with the fact that Liverpool are not a top four side and they have yet to realise that Spurs are at least a top 5 side and have been for 5 years now. Make that 7 years Ramos had the team to do, it he failed, not the team. So come on AVB prove the bastards wrong.
Evening Deedub. I understand what you mean and agree. In the long long term though MRA can be the death of you.
Spurf...that is also my drive. Would love it if he shut the haters up. I also totally understood his positivity after the Arsenal game. He's proven to be everything the chavs said he isn't and is looking like the bright young manager we all took notice of at Porto. I see his tenure at Chelsea as work experience and you we all know that when we did work experience at school it was in the hope of landing a real job in the near future.
Work experience! No in my start to work I was paid the going rate. Not exploited by a large company under the heading of 'Intern' or 'Work Experience' or any other scam the government comes up with to exploit people and get them to work for nothing.
The jury is still very much out on him, as far as I'm concerned. But yes, I really hope that he succeeds for one good reason, a successful AVB means a successful Spurs. It would also mean that we have a far better chance of hanging on to our best talent & prospects.
Anyway he's safe in the job which is more than can be said for O'Neill. I think things will start to get better on the football front. He knows the traditions at Spurs and will work for them.
Ok croydon thanks,I hadn't seen that. Next Spurs manager after AVB......................Chris Hughton. We all said Pardew's future depended on this season because last season was a bit of a one off for Newcastle and unless something drastic happens he'll be gone soon and to be replaced by I don't know who.
Personally, I don't know why Villas-Boas' odds are so low - have Chavlets been putting large bets on him to be the next one sacked when they should be looking closer to home?
I don't think that he's going to be sacked. We haven't played well but we are 4th and I'm just waiting as Lawro said for it to click in.
