If you have a player who has been at the club some time providing great service as a LB who then coinciding with a change of management becomes a problem then the question has to be asked WHY? In the event we know why; there was a problem with the manager whose rules proved more of a liability than those that broke them. Suggesting that the rules were the problem in the first place.
Ekotto is hardly a genuis who deserves to be treated differently or immune from team instructions just because he has given good service, regardless of how trivial they may seem. We all understand Avb was viewed as a poor man manager yet the only two players he had a problem with this year where Ekotto and Adebayor. Also Ekotto and Avb used to have a good relationship.. and Which could be why there has been such an issue, as usually when two people are friends or on good terms, they react worse when they feel the other is showing disrespect. Either way, this whole situation has been fairly pathetic and lame, but Avb isn't solely to blame.
I said this a while ago, but I don't think that Villas-Boas ever established the correct boundaries between himself and the players. He tried to be mates with them and that's not how a managerial role works, in my experience. His age was probably a factor and he'll probably learn his lesson over time.
AVB was unlucky because he was a ****. Brendan Rogers is a ****. All Ar5ena1 favouring journos are ****s. Simples
This is not kinda-garden., most Premiership club has its fair share of the sort of professional you are now describing as 'prima donnas'. I could probably name 10 or 12 such players, without too much hard thought, and so could you if your honest. Skillful managers manage professional players in a positive manner., one that not only gets the best out of the player but also one that maintains their value to the club. Some people unfortunately confuse confidence with conceit. The best professional players processes a level of confidence over and above that that is usual required in other more normal walks of life IMO. I've heard it said 'Confidence is not bravado, or swagger, or an overt pretense of bravery. Confidence is not some bold or brash air of self-belief directed at others.' In football, itâs a natural expression of ability, expertise, and self-regard. I believe the more talented professional players take a stand not because they think they are always right, but because they're not afraid to be wrong. Cocky and conceited people tend to take a position and then proclaim, bluster, and totally disregard differing opinions or points of view. They know theyâre right â and they need you to know it too. Their behavior isnât a sign of confidence, though; itâs the hallmark of an intellectual bully. Truly confident people donât mind being proven wrong. They feel finding out what is right is a lot more important than being right. And when theyâre wrong, theyâre secure enough to back down graciously; intellectual bullies never do. In this case, Villas-Boas management of talented, accomplished and confident players, fell short.
Redknapp didn't tolerate lack of respect, but he also had the common sense not to enforce petty rules like the one about BAE walking to the team hotel. That's the difference between good man managers and bad ones. Not to mention then compounding the problem by pointlessly playing Rose in an EL game that we'd have won with me at LB, when he knew he had no proper backup if Rose got injured.
Adebayor and BAE have allegedly stacked up a variety of piss-taking infringements. Spurcat has told you about two for BAE, one for Adebayor (and I add his mysterious pre-Europa away tie "injury/illness" as another) .
