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Dreaming of Moyes

4 min read
by The Fighting Cock
Rickie Lambert soared through the air at The Dell, the Tottenham defenders could only stare as he connected with a Matt Le Tissier cross and powered the ball past Ian Walker. On the side lines a 3 foot AVB was picked up by Glenn Hoddle and punted into the away stand where two large fans […]

Rickie Lambert soared through the air at The Dell, the Tottenham defenders could only stare as he connected with a Matt Le Tissier cross and powered the ball past Ian Walker. On the side lines a 3 foot AVB was picked up by Glenn Hoddle and punted into the away stand where two large fans started playing tug of war with him.

Anger swept over me and my only release was to start screaming:

“Daniel Levy you tight fisted muppet why didn’t you buy Rivaldo!!!!”

“Anthony wake up, wake up!! Oh my God what’s wrong with you!!??”

My girlfriend was leaning over me, a look of concern all over her face.

“It’s Tottenham they’re driving me mad, I can’t handle it, my dreams don’t even make sense!”

“Please go and speak to someone, you need some help.”

A few days later I found myself spread across a sofa talking to a shrink.

“From what I can gather you are having some issues adjusting with a major change in your life. What I recommend is hypnosis, lets see if we can get some of that stress and anxiety out of you. Please clear your thoughts and look into my eyes.”

“Ok, but I have never done anything like this…”

“I am now talking to the angry side of Anthony, please reveal yourself to me.”

The Angry Man Inside

“Bloody Daniel Levy and his appointments……”

The solution to replacing Harry Redknapp was simple. Don’t hire a manager who has just failed at one of our closest rivals, instead appoint one who continues to defy logic and make Phil Neville et al 4th place contenders.

David Moyes was the most obvious, the most logical and the best choice. Forget the propaganda, the agendas and the nonsense. Levy should have turned to the successful Everton manager, not the failed ex-Cheslea boss.

This man knows the Premier League; he has experience working under a tight budget, but has the ability to make a chairman part with his cash when necessary.

When Moyes wanted Marouane Fellaini, Kevin Mirallas and Nikica Jelavic his chairman bowed to his pressure. When AVB demanded Joao Moutinho he was given Clint Dempsey, Moyes would not have allowed this to happen.

The Glaswegian has shown an ability to see in players something that other managers are initially blind to. Leighton Baines and Phil Jagielka, players many teams looked at but chose not to pursue are now England regulars and highly sought after commodities. Moyes was also responsible for the nurturing of Wayne Rooney, who despite all the reports to the contrary remains England’s star player.

Moyes has also demonstrated that he is prepared to dip into the less glamorous Championship to sign a player. He transformed Wolves defender Joleon Lescott from a £4 million gamble into a title winning player worth £24 million. When Millwall surged to the FA Cup final in 2004 he was the only manager willing to gamble on Tim Cahill; the Australian went on to become one of the most threatening attacking midfielders in recent PL history.

When Spurs looked for an alternative or back up for Gareth Bale in 2011, Steven Pienaar was an obvious choice. The South African had been flying for Everton, but at Spurs he floundered. Moyes proved in that one deal that he alone is the true master of man management, not some bloke who loves leaning out of a car window.

Under Moyes, Everton have developed a style which sees them play to their strengths, something Spurs seem incapable to do at the moment.

Spurs have thrown away leads in six games this season, but worse than that there is no passion, tempo or fight to their game. Every team has days when their passing isn’t as crisp or technique falters, it is at that point you need the manager to demand more and get the players dig deep, and as a unit refuse to bend over.

Would a Moyes team have allowed a Ben Watson led midfield to dominate at home?

Would he have thrown away a one nil leads twice to Norwich, once to Panathinaikos and once to West Brom?

Would Moyes have bestowed upon Eden Hazard, Juan Mata and Oscar licence to roam at White Hart Lane?

As he has shown over the years he isn’t afraid to let his players get stuck in, hassle and demonstrate the truest form of high tempo pressing. Not the occasional chase a ball down attitude shown at Spurs this season.

Yes Moyes has made some mistakes, but that is part of being a PL manager, but these few errors are eclipsed by his successes.

Moyes will lead Everton to that fourth space, be declared the hottest manager in world football, take the Woolwich job and lead them to domestic and European glory. He will ultimately become……….

“Anthony!! Come out of the trance!! Snap out of it. You’re chewing the sofa!!”

“I am sorry, I don’t know what came over me, I never eat upholstery. What did I say?”

“Well your problems stem with a man.”

“My dad?”

“Erm not quite someone named Levy.”

“Knew it, so what’s the cure?”

“Patience. That’s all you need.”

All views and opinions expressed in this article are the views and opinions of the writer and do not necessarily represent the views of The Fighting Cock. We offer a platform for fans to commit their views to text and voice their thoughts. Football is a passionate game and as long as the views stay within the parameters of what is acceptable, we encourage people to write, get involved and share their thoughts on the mighty Tottenham Hotspur.

31 Comments

  1. Joe
    15/11/2012 @ 6:25 pm

    Its only been 3 months, give AVB a chance for success and Moyes a chance at more mediocrity and both will come good! Everton’s record against an eternally declining Liverpool is really bad, if he was in charge of Spurs, we would get done 4-1 by Arsenal.

    AVB is going to be a huge success. What Levy should be doing is buying high quality footballers. Clint Dempsey and Siggurdson are not going to get us top 4, even if we hired Guardiola tomorrow.

  2. Gra
    15/11/2012 @ 6:28 pm

    A lot of conjecture in this article (“moyes would not have let this happen” – how do you know?)
    And Moyes is merely the flavour of the month, as for once Everton have started a campaign strongly (the season is 38 games, not just post October)

    AVB is the real deal. He was the wrong fit for Chelsea; their players at the time were too cumbersome and aging to play his style, and

    Since Redknapp left we have lost Modric, VdV, Ledley King – and to injury BAE, Kaboul.
    AVB has been without Dembele (our most impressive new addition) for a month now. How would Moyes get on without players of that calibre in his team?
    Give AVB time and he will do a great job.

    • JAMES
      15/11/2012 @ 7:04 pm

      erm…. pot kettle mister!!!! AVB is the real deal.. give him time and he will do a great job.. how do you know???? How would Moyes get on without players of the calibre that you mentioned??? look at the league table and that WILL tell you! FACTS are that AVB is a buffoon who will not attack teams after we take the lead and hold on for a lucky win as we have in ALL our victories or we pray we get a point or LOSE as we seem to be doing a lot. most peoples problem is not the fact we have injuries and are losing ALOT it is the fact we are playing such negative BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING BORING football and it’s not what we want or expect!! also i understand we all see things differently so that is why people like yourself want him giving time but for me and thousands of other yids we want our Tottenham back NOW!! coys

    • Bob
      15/11/2012 @ 8:43 pm

      We haven’t missed Kaboul because of Caulker, Verts has been better at left back than Benny, King didn’t play anyway, AVB decided to sell VDV and buy Dempsey as well as agreeing to Sigurdsson plus adopting a system that doesn’t fit the players available. 17 games in, not very good so far.

  3. rob
    15/11/2012 @ 6:36 pm

    What a pile of shit. Moyes is a long ball manager his style wouldn’t be accepted end of story.

    • JAMES
      15/11/2012 @ 7:06 pm

      pile of shit?? his style wouldnt be accepted?? they played liverpool off the park the other week and are above us in the league so WAKE up and smell the roses muppet!!! END OF STORY!!!

      • rob
        15/11/2012 @ 7:39 pm

        What a prick you are, typical lack of intellect poster resort to name calling because you don’t agree with a post. I’ve been following Spurs for years, probably way before you and no it wouldn’t. It would be like “the man in the raincoat” (who you probably have no clue about as you probably only started following Spurs when they reached the champions league) all over again. Their league position is irrelevant ( as they won’t be there come May) they are and he is a long ball merchant and this would not be acceptable. The only story I see is that you are brainless.

  4. Park Lane James
    15/11/2012 @ 6:59 pm

    While I do agree that Moyes was the most obvious choice for Spurs successor; AVB was more ambitious and showed that Daniel levy wanted to move the club forward. I also think that you should give him more time, as even the most blunted of football supporters will know that not every manager can be expected to get a team playing in his fashion in such a short space of time.

  5. JAMES
    15/11/2012 @ 7:27 pm

    true park lane, i thought it showed we was trying to move forward, i wanted Harry gone and was happy with AVB coming in but boy was i wrong! it’s the same for a lot of yids too i think as loads wanted Harry gone and now alot want AVB gone,, different reasons behind them both being gone though and even though i hate AVB he stills desreves more time but i pray he doesn’t get it!?

    • rob
      15/11/2012 @ 7:49 pm

      “we was”, you semi literate knuckle dragger. You should post less, as the more you post the more you prove how stupid you are.

      You wanted AVB as the manager but after less than a third of a season you want him sacked and replaced by a long ball manager?

      You accept he needs more time, but don’t want him to get it although you were behind his appointment.

      You wanted him to get the job but now you hate him?

      You are a prime example of either a troll or a complete imbecile.

      You can’t spell or write even semi legible English, but feel in a position to call people muppets. What a complete fuckwit. I decided to use insults as I feel when talking with idiots it is best to use language they understand.

      • Dan
        15/11/2012 @ 8:42 pm

        hahaha nailed it, well put!

      • Myhartlane
        16/11/2012 @ 8:57 am

        Beautifully put! You must have been reading my mind. The poster is proving himself to be a halfwit with every stroke of his keyboard.

    • Bob
      15/11/2012 @ 8:40 pm

      The intelligent ones wanted him to stay.

  6. North west cockerel N.W,C
    15/11/2012 @ 8:12 pm

    Right you wont like this but here goes David Moyes has bean at Everton working on a low budget and borrowing players to survive every year is teams start of slow then like a fixed wheel on a bike gather momentum and end up going fast. This year they have started like a house on fire with petrol poured over it the secret is extra training if you believe Neville after beating Utd he told is brother who asked what was the secret why they had started fast this season this was the statement he gave him. Spurs are now below West Brom who are also playing above there team sheets and spending budget and along with Everton have leapfrogged Spurs who have a very good squad apart from three players King Van Der Vaart Modric are the same team who finished 4th. We made some good signings so why are we struggling we have used the most players in the premiership and because we are playing Thursday and players are playing allover the World for there country’s we are getting beat by Energy levels topped up by supplements . This will seem a poor excuse and bordering on sour grapes but its not its something sadly i wish hadn’t found out about because we all love this game called football and we all think is above this kind of cheating but the massive amounts of money has corrupted this once great game. I cant and wont say if any Manager noes about this extra work rate or whether some players are doing it behind there managers backs all i no is Kolo Toure has not played much since his drug ban and if Mancini knew then he foolishly left him full up on the bench when he got caught is excuse stopped fans from wondering if anymore players where topping there work rate up and all was forgotten. Well i have not forgotten and this season we have got beat in the second half in every game we have lost except Wigan the rest we was leading. I could be wrong and all the second half comebacks are Managers tactics or shouting at players but one thing they all have is a high tempo onslaught manic defending and great saves shown in great style by the energetic Mexican jumping bean who last season looked normal. So my argument is this if we show any weakness against Arsnal if we are leading the second half could be a whole lot faster especially from Arsenal. We need Lloris Dawson and both Defoe and ADY upfront luck a strong ref 11 players on the field and to attack and defend in numbers or another City will happen Harry learned very quickly if you play Thursday you will struggle Sunday and we have but AVB has not helped by playing a keeper and defender who give goals away cheaply.

    • Bob
      15/11/2012 @ 8:38 pm

      I started reading until the crap kicked in after a few lines and I realised which imbecile wrote it. Ignored the rest as everyone else does.

      • North west cockerel N.W,C
        15/11/2012 @ 10:46 pm

        Bob YER NO FUCK ALL SO WHY BOTHER COMMENTING ON SOMETHING YOU NO FUCK ALL ABOUT HAS FOR A IMBO I NO WHERE YOU LIVE I WILL FIND YOU AND IF YOU DON’T BELIEVE ME i WILL ignore YOU

        • North west cockerel N.W,C
          15/11/2012 @ 10:59 pm

          Bob do you think Paddy Kenny had a cold or Kolo had a fat belly or Arsenal lover Frankies Horse was to heavy. Wake up and see the weight loss on some players Arsenal was the lightest now its Everton Gaunters

  7. North west cockerel N.W,C
    15/11/2012 @ 8:32 pm

    I don’t want Moyes I want Klingsman and Robbo AVB will sack himself because he cant get of the track and he is heading for the buffers Friedel and Gallas plus ADY or Defoe conundrum will do the job for us unless he installs Lloris Dawson Defoe ADY on Sat we all want the same thing no matter who is in control or we can sell the mega stars and start again with our talented Kids

  8. Bob
    15/11/2012 @ 8:36 pm

    it has been widely reported that David Moyes would want full control of the entire running of the club, as he has at Everton, which will never happen at Spurs. Therefore he is hardly the ideal candidate and he can’t work with Daniel Levy.

    Secondly doing well with average players does not mean you can do well with good players or a bigger club. Roy Hodgson, Sam Allerdyce and Brendan Rogers are just 3 recent examples of that.

  9. sergio lucas
    15/11/2012 @ 9:58 pm

    i cannot agree enough. taking on avb a 34 year old man with a one season track record was a huge gamble – I hope I am wrong but I cannot see why he got the job. we needed someone to immediately command the players respect after harry and not someone who just failed at chelsea and is seen as mourhino’s waterboy.

  10. North west cockerel N.W,C
    15/11/2012 @ 10:53 pm

    Anyone out there tell me what his good points are He helped us win at Old Trafford since then they have sped away in the distance like we disturbed a Wasps nest. played Lloris kept clean sheet dropped him lost the next game played both Defoe and Ady won 3-1 dropped Defoe lost 2-1

  11. Michael
    16/11/2012 @ 1:21 am

    Retarded article by a retarded author. Hindsight are easy. Had Levy gone for Moyes and Spurs still found themselves in the same position if not worse, the author would also be the one to whine and moan about how AVB should be appointed and not Moyes. The author is a typical dense, shallow Spurs fan. I won’t be surprised if the author is one of the boo-boys.

    Give AVB time. If you want instant success, go support Chelshit or ManShitty instead.

  12. Dee
    16/11/2012 @ 7:25 am

    AVB has had no input on the quality of the Squad. He has been dealt a weaker squad than the one that blew a 13pt lead last season…Also under harry Rednapp passing teams usually dominated us especially away from home. Did you realise we scored just 7 goals and conceded 25 goals in all competitions against the Top4 last season. Thats not a coincidence or was that AVB’s fault as well..Or perhaps it was AVB that blew a 13pt lead last season setting our wonderful club back in its progress..Can we still bring in the big names we were associated with.The Oscars, Cazorlas,Itcos,Willian,Moutinho, Hazard..etc.I doubt it..Harry Rednapp is the man we should blame. He did a lot for our club but to miss out on 3rd costing us millions in CL revenue makes is the root cause of our demise today..We just dont have the DOGS of war personell that other teams like Everton have.Thats because it seems other teams build a team whereas we just buy individuals and try to mould them into our team…I have said many times our team is unbalanced..It lack intensity and is easily bullied..When teams let us play we look like Brazil but when teams start to play our composure goes and we look lost. Give AVB a chance to BUILD the squad..I have no doubt he will come good..

  13. North west cockerel N.W,C
    16/11/2012 @ 11:08 am

    You have good states about Harry but you don’t tell the whole story. Under Harry we crased Eourope in our debut season and finished 5th we got to Wembley and lost on pens Utd We finishe 4th twice and played some of the best football in the Premiership seconded by Ferguson. He did all this while being loved by the Media the sight of Jim White at the Lodge Christmas Days training session made me so proud we was flying in 3rd . Then it all started going wrong after we demolished Newcastle 5-0 Bale to Barca Modric to anyone surfaced along with Harry for England every Manager every punter picked Harry even some of Spurs relented. We was still being touted for the league when the back stabbing started Wenger complained about us having ADY on loan meanwhile David Bernstien kept silent when asked about Harry’s appointment. Mr Bernstien was he ex chairman of title chasing City could have stopped all the Harry hysteria and helped Spurs recover from the rumours and with Ledleys bad knee getting worse from a training bang we started losing and Harry leaving Modric along with Modric things got worse till City where at the time 8 points ahead of Utd and Spurs it was time to tell Harry Woy was is man and the rest is History. We lost a media loved Manager touted by all other fans and Managers and ex players for England. We now have a young man clip board in hand a media croaking disaster sacked and given a great pay off by his disgruntled Chairman AbV for taking on the old guard and losing is now keeping the Old Guard and Losing Friedel Gallas so my advice to him go back to plan G Goals and play to our srtenghts attack install a quicker younger Lloris play both Strikes one scores the other has great hold up they will both keep Arsenals defense worried and they will both create more space for each other to exploit. If you don’t Arsenal will find away past tired 41 and 35 year old legs and score especially from corners and Wallcot speed. Coys no matter how he performs i hope we win because all that matters is Spurs WIN

  14. JohnnyB
    16/11/2012 @ 4:49 pm

    Yawn.

    Pointless opinion passed off as fact.

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