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Media making AVB our baby

6 min read
by The Fighting Cock
The media hatchet job on Andre Villas-Boas has become a joke, and on Saturday evening AVB added the perfect punch line. Given the way he celebrated it’s a shame a few choice members of the press weren’t stood a yard in front of him because they could do with an overhand right to the face. […]

The media hatchet job on Andre Villas-Boas has become a joke, and on Saturday evening AVB added the perfect punch line. Given the way he celebrated it’s a shame a few choice members of the press weren’t stood a yard in front of him because they could do with an overhand right to the face. They have tried to ridicule our boss and used the Lloris situation to back him into a corner – and no one puts our baby in the corner!

I was indifferent to the new manager’s appointment when it was first announced. Even though Harry Redknapp’s reign did leave a little room for improvement, his successor was always set to start with high expectations. Redknapp had taken Spurs to two fourth place finishes after all. Could Tottenham go higher? Given the first half of last season the answer was not ‘yes they could have finished higher than fourth but they should have finished higher.’

Unlike when Redknapp replaced Ramos, the bar had been raised and none of the candidates had a perfect CV in terms of achievements or ability. Personally I fancied David Moyes to take over, but question marks arose about his ability to lead a team aiming for the top. With AVB the issue was his abrasive man-management style, connected to his ill-fated stint at Chelsea. But the Portuguese was appointed and I was fully prepared to give him time to mould the team into his image. Given Levy’s predisposition for arsing around in the transfer window AVB would need a little more time than most but Vertonghen and Sigurdsson were signed early, and the squad as a whole seemed more adept at adapting to AVB’s ideas. For his part the ex-Porto manager had loosened up a little, no doubt learning the lessons from his first job in England.

We all know how the media works, and if anyone was in doubt then the furore surrounding Fabio Capello’s resignation and who would replace him should have shown one and all that the papers in particular don’t care about what they know, it’s who they know that’s important. It benefited us when Redknapp was in the dugout, there can be no doubt about that. We were the best team to watch, playing attractive football, with good ol’ ‘Arry telling it like it is, gawd bless ‘im. Never seeing a microphone he didn’t want to talk into, he was the media’s darling.

One reason for my preference for Moyes over AVB was that the press liked the Scotsman and they felt he deserved a shot at the big time (or at least the bigger time). Sure they would get the knives out soon enough if results were not good, but with AVB he barely had time to sit down before the papers were trying to yank his chair from under him.

An opening day loss to a late penalty, then dropping two points very late on against West Brom, accompanied by the typical Tottenham transfer window shenanigans, gave the media fuel to put on the fire that they had created.

The poor performance and draw against Norwich allowed the press to claim the fans were in agreement with them, that AVB was a car crash waiting to happen and Levy was a fool for hiring him. In the signing of Hugo Lloris they could put a face to AVB’s crimes, and ironically it was at this point, just when the hacks had moved in to top gear, that the fans started to back AVB the man, never mind AVB the manager.

[linequote]With good ol’ ‘Arry telling it like it is, gawd bless ‘im. Never seeing a microphone he didn’t want to talk into, he was the media’s darling.[/linequote]

To write him off before he even had a chance was typical of the English media you might say, but to then accuse him of upsetting the French No.1 because he did not put him in goal immediately was out of order, even before considering Friedel’s outstanding form in the Norwich game. Talksport had a story of Lloris demanding showdown talks because of a lack of first team football (after one game) and we’ve all seen the video where AVB deals perfectly with a journalist’s trap about Lloris being ‘frustrated’. More responsible analysts and critics saw the injustice, although in some cases they were merely following the changing tide in the feelings of the Spurs faithful.

AVB was also saying all the right things. How would Redknapp have reacted to the booing at half time in the Norwich game? Here’s a quote from November 2010 after a 1-1 draw with Sunderland:

“What have they got to moan about? They’ve (the supporters) had it so good, you see. When you keep winning championships every year, you get upset when you don’t win.”

Compare this to AVB’s response:

“You have to accept their disappointment. It has not been the ideal start to the season, but it doesn’t mean that we haven’t been working hard to get the wins that our fans want.
‘They have to understand that we are doing everything in our power to get that win. Obviously this is not the start we wanted and the start we deserve.”

Which one would you want to be manager of your club?

Having been criticised for his dealings with the press, AVB is attempting to be far more forthcoming than before. Gab Marcotti and Henry Winter have talked about how press conferences go on until the very last question has been answered, fully and in detail (another reason the tabloids hate him probably – their dinner is getting cold at home), and compared to Redknapp there is a lot more talk about the players, their efforts and performances, collectively as well. There is no sense that AVB has his favourites, and his selection seems to be based more on performance than under Redknapp. Friedel’s continued presence in goal is indicative of that, and it’s funny how one of Harry’s favourites, Jermain Defoe, who rarely got a run of games in the side no matter how he was performing, now seems to be the leading striker. Stranger still is that this little man can operate as a lone striker so effectively. It’s almost as if the team have been actively told not to punt balls in the air to him.

But I don’t want this to be a Redknapp assassination. It’s merely showing that Harry was not the second coming and yet the media looked over all his faults, while making up new ones for AVB.

Also, it is absolutely fantastic to see the passion of the man. Every time we score he celebrates like he’s just lost his virginity, killed Hitler and found a ‘50% off your next suit’ voucher in his wallet all at the same time. How can you not feel a connection with a man who seems to care as much about winning and losing as us fans do?

Yes, us fans are fickle and if results go down the loo the discontent will surface. But right now we have a manager who is building a relationship with the supporters and despite the media’s efforts we are falling for AVB. The more we are told he isn’t the man for us the more we love him and want him to be ours (in a platonic way, obviously).

I cannot think of anything better than a successful Tottenham Hotspur with Andre Villas-Boas at the helm. So sod the media and up the Spurs!!!

[author name=”Alan Frost” avatar=”https://lh6.googleusercontent.com/-lnU2nXBuXxY/AAAAAAAAAAI/AAAAAAAAACI/wVVWZD5QOWA/s250-c-k/photo.jpg” twitter=”AlanFrost_HT” tag=”AlanFrost[/linequote]

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12 Comments

  1. Alan Costa Blanca
    04/10/2012 @ 10:59 am

    Right from his appointment Fans,Critics,Reporters,Web Sites,Experts ? gave AVB stick !!
    Ok we at the Lane have our share of “THE GOOD BAD & the UGLY”but somehow I had
    that feeling,give him a Chance,at Chelsea power players ruled the Roost !! But at a Decent
    player foundation AVB will Bond,Gel,Motivate & Generate us to Success !!New training Grnd.
    new Stadium– “The Future is Bright,The Future is Lillywhite”

  2. Chris W
    04/10/2012 @ 11:04 am

    Just spat my tea out reading that tremendous line….”Every time we score he celebrates like he’s just lost his virginity, killed Hitler and found a ‘50% off your next suit’ voucher in his wallet all at the same time”
    Brilliant article and perfectly sums up how REAL Spurs fans feel.
    COYS!

  3. Lakis66
    04/10/2012 @ 11:07 am

    A well thought out article,I agree with all your points, he’s our manager now and we should all get behind him and let him settle and build a team. I am impressed with the pace of our team, when you compare to Man’ure who looked pedestrian against Clug last night and against us on sat. With more believe and Adebayor and Parker back we could even finish above them ! So come on you Spurs !!!

  4. Jurgen Binsman
    04/10/2012 @ 11:15 am

    Great article covering everything i’ve been grumbling to myself about for weeks.

  5. Spurs Fanatic
    04/10/2012 @ 11:31 am

    Great article and well said. I was in a pub ages ago discussing who we’d like as our next manager if Redknapp took the England job when Cappello resigned. I said AVB and was almost laughed/hounded/told to sling it, out of the building. I’m a big fan of his tactics, fire and passion for his side since watching his Porto team play and thought that despite his time at Chelski he could still be a top manager if given a chance. I hope he’s given time to build and mould the team to play his system. COYS!

  6. spursguv
    04/10/2012 @ 11:41 am

    Good article, yet some of it bothered me as it seems to be asking for forgiveness until the next time something goes wrong. For me I hated the day rednapp arrived. I can’t stand the bloke, never have. There are a few, I’d say a lot really that have taken AVB from day one. As someone said the “real” spurs fans aren’t those whinging and crying into their tea because we haven’t won the league in our first 5 or 6 games. No they’re the ones who felt a bit bemused by the new fella but said lets give him some time. There are a lot of new found friends for AVB going around at the mo. But you know these so called fans will be back on him should we start to lose a few points. Never mind even if it means Spurs will benefit in long term . I like the comments coming from the younger players. Mason saying how he’s refreshed and had no chance under rednapp. Obika..remember him. Had a fantastic game filling in in europa league. In true arry style it was sink or swim son. After the game arry said “obika was terrific, he has a bright future”. then loaned him to some 3rd rate outfit. That really bothered me. Surely playing in Spurs reserves alongside premeire league quality players would teach these youngsters more then getting belted playing for Millwall. Conversly check the bench of late? Falque, Mason, etc. then there’s Caulker and Naughton already showing their worth. So yep get behind AVB and be prepared for a few changes in the way you think about the game. Bale up the guts has made a huge improvement in defoe, yet gets critiqued coz some people are one eyed and only see how it affects bale, who’s scoring goals btw. Vertonghen awesome at CB or LB the plaudits for AVB can keep coming. So we come to parker and the same ol short sighted view we get from heaps of fans. The either or senario. It doesn’t have to be. Trying to win all you enter into means heaps of game time for everyone. Plenty of opportunities for young players and a solidarity we haven’t seen. That’s before injuries cut in. So bugger the media and fickle fans. it’s all the way with AVB and the more this lot pick on him the more we’ll be right behind him. He’s taking it and fighting back he deserves our respect. He’s shown more character and support for Spurs in a few short months, than rednapp ever did in his four years of winning nothing.

  7. Cockadoodledom
    04/10/2012 @ 11:48 am

    Excellent, you have expressed exactly how I feel. Thank you!

    and good luck to ‘arry, Joe,& Kevin at QPR!!

  8. SuperSpurs
    04/10/2012 @ 12:16 pm

    Well said Spursguv :-)

    As you rightly point out AVB has taken abuse , wholly unjustified , from all angles of the media and he has taken it on the chin, kept his cool – said the right things and come out fighting back. That shows character the more he gets singled out , when we see the passion our manager is showing and no little amount of good football, will only make us back him more and get behind him. If AVB is given the chance I am convinced he can achieve he is already talking about winning the champions league further down the line not in an arrogant off the cuff way but in a methodical genuinely believes we can do it epic type way. Thats what you want to hear from the boss not we should be happy with what we have got ala Harry. Let AVB get on with things he knows he has the backing of his players and fans to hell with anyone else they dont count not to us. Good result in Greece tonight will keep the ball rolling nicely :-)

    COYS

  9. Bruce Castle
    04/10/2012 @ 12:36 pm

    Great read.
    I love watching AVB celebrate and smiling at the players. I was skeptical when he came in and thought we’d be in for another Juande Ramos farce, but AVB is different. He has energy and has shown already that he has tactical nouse.

  10. Edwin
    04/10/2012 @ 12:40 pm

    WAOH.YA.i have been thinking how we fans are daft and silly sometimes and you have just said all that has been bothering me.The guy found spurs in disarray after all the speculation brought by Redknapp and had a huge job to do here.then we get knocked up by Newcastle,drew twice.guys we were under transformation.
    Now the guy knows his team and once Ade and Lloris are fully fit,we are going to hit top gear.Lloris can command his box well,better than Friedel and Ade can hold up the ball to bring others into play.he can also deal with high balls if down its hard.
    we are very capable of upsetting big guns but we fans need to back our team and Manager then the boys will do their job.Great article buddy.

  11. Dean_Quarterpounder
    04/10/2012 @ 12:45 pm

    I was a bit tired of ‘Arry and his love of speaking to cameras – wouldn’t suprise me if the stories about him giving an interview to a speed camera on the 406 were true!
    I was also indifferent about AVB but will always give someone a chance, especially if they’ve had the misfortune of managing a changing room which includes Cole, Lampard, Terry, Drogba etc. The role he was asked to do at Chelsea (break the team up) was too much for someone so young and was also different from the role we want him to do (just manage a team). Chelsea paid a lot of money for AVB and it was due to him being the best young manager around.
    What top 4 teams did we beat last season home or away?
    He’s obviously learnt a lot from his run-in the the Chelsea boys and I loved the way he celebrated at Old Trafford – like one of us.

  12. dust
    06/10/2012 @ 9:34 pm

    This is refreshing to read, so many alleged “Fans” and “experts” jumped all over him, after NCFC and WBAFC. I think the Lazio performance in spite of the result was one of the most professional performances I’ve seen from spurs since…well a long long time. We looked so solid, the shape, the flair, it was mustard, Lazio who on form coming into the lane were no slouches and setup for a draw or to nick a win had no chance, if that progress continues man alive the future is bright. I thought Naughton did a great job @ LB (None of the Benny heart attack moments or lazy positioning were appreciated)

    Are Spurs fans prepared to stick with AVB when he leaves BAE out? I hope so. I think Jan has been great at Left back in an Ideal situation I think it will be Lloris, Walker, Caulker, Kaboul, Jan with Sandro or parker just in front with Deblele.

    I really hope this Sunday the fans show AVB some appreciation @ The Lane for breaking a hoodoo against Man U @OT where lets be honest a very difficult ground for any team to win at let alone us.

    With AVB I’m all in, I hope he doesn’t let any fear of upsetting team chemistry or perceived balance effect his dropping Defoe if needs be for other options in Ade or even pushing Dempsey up there with Sig behind him , I know Jemaine has done better than we all expected in leading the line, but when viewing the games again (and again using foxsoccer2go in the USA), he does squander opportunities to either score himself or for laying it off for others to score.

    Villa may not have a lot of top quality names in the squad but hey will be set up well by the greedy scot and a certain Darren Bent who is always out to stick to us any chance he gets.

    @dust_particle
    #COYS

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