More than anything else, I will remember the 2012/13 season for the biggest divide amongst supporters of Tottenham Hotspur I can recall in all my 25+ years of following the club. Whilst a large proportion of the fanbase have been won over by AVB’s passion and modern thinking, despite a sceptical start, there is still […]
A United Front
More than anything else, I will remember the 2012/13 season for the biggest divide amongst supporters of Tottenham Hotspur I can recall in all my 25+ years of following the club. Whilst a large proportion of the fanbase have been won over by AVB’s passion and modern thinking, despite a sceptical start, there is still a prominent voice of resentment towards him following the removal of Harry Redknapp.
Perhaps though Tottenham fans have always been this divided, and the growing influence of social media and online discussion serves only highlight this division in a way that wasn’t possible before. Personally I’d argue that White Hart Lane itself has been a different place this season, regularly emanating an unpleasant atmosphere combining both nervousness and expectation.
Whilst under Redknapp we’d frequently come flying out of the blocks, attacking down the wings straight from kick off and whipping the crowd into an expectant frenzy, AVB’s approach differs. He prefers a more methodical and tactical approach to games, which can generate a tepid early mood. This season I have seen the lack of an early goal cause discontentment, jeering and arguments amongst the fans, the type of which were previously unheard of at White Hart Lane.
A lot of this dissent seems to stem from the poisonous atmospheres of the first two home games of the season, which saw Spurs toil to a draw against Norwich and West Brom. Shorn of three of the most prominent players of our recent history in Luka Modric, Rafa Van der Vaart and Ledley King, the depleted team struggled to adapt to AVB’s new style of play.
A good proportion of fans also failed to adapt to the new boss and style. They were in no mood to be patient and offered little encouragement during the games, which ended with a cascade of boos. White Hart Lane has struggled to recover from these initial setbacks and the atmosphere this season has frequently been one in which opposition teams are able to take an advantage. By frustrating Spurs early on visitors know that the fans will grow restless thereby transmitting their anxiety on to the home players, giving them the edge.
The stadium hasn’t been the only place to suffer from negativity, the online world has been equally upsetting, perhaps even more so. I’ve generally found Twitter and Facebook thoroughly depressing places to be from a Spurs perspective.
The ‘AVB out’ voices that emerged after the two home games, have gradually become quieter as the team started clicking in fits and starts, but they still rear their head immediately after any defeat or flat performance. Looking on the official Spurs Facebook page after any negative result reveals pages of comments calling for AVB’s removal and Redknapp’s reinstatement – ‘he doesn’t know what he’s doing’, ‘he failed at Chelsea’, ‘the team looks worse under him’…
I saw enough in the first game of the season at Newcastle to suggest that AVB was going to be a progressive and sensible Spurs manager – despite the defeat- we looked organised, passed the ball well and had a clear game plan. I found the negativity towards him following the aforementioned home draws astounding. Granted we didn’t play brilliantly and we drew games we had earmarked as wins but to generate such negativity so early on in a new manager’s reign was counter-productive and definitely not the Spurs way.
The level of expectation, the demands of the fans and the anger about Redknapp’s removal created a counter productive level of hostility towards the manager and the team. AVB was portrayed as a comedy figure and a failure by the media for struggling at the bastion of progression and patience that is Chelsea, an impression that was accepted by a proportion of the Spurs faithful.
However, despite the early season issues and negativity, here we are with two games left still with a reasonable chance of attaining Champions League football for 2013/14. The amount of outstanding attacking performances over the last nine months can probably be counted on one hand but it is a testament to AVB’s ability to get the most out of a less than stellar squad that we are still there or thereabouts.
AVB has had Tottenham playing to our strengths and adjusting tactics according to the opposition. Results may have been ground out at times, and we may have been over reliant on Gareth Bale for our memorable moments and a vast percentage of our points, but there have been contributions from others.
Hugo Lloris and Jan Vertonghen have proved to be astute signings, Aaron Lennon has had a memorable season and Mousa Dembele has proved to be a fantastic and energetic addition to the midfield. His central partnership with Sandro, prior to the Brazilians cruel injury was developing into a formidable one.
Unfortunately, the loss of Sandro, the affect of various injuries and the sheer volume of games has had an impact on Dembele. The Belgian appears to be running on empty at this critical stage of the season, but next year with a fit Sandro and an astute purchase or two alongside him points to a bright future.
This season with a more clinical striker and a creative/dynamic ‘in the hole’ attacking midfielder, we’d have been over the top four finish line by now. However our squad has had to cope with major losses.
Clint Dempsey has come up with some crucial and point-winning goals but his overall contribution suggests he should be no more than a squad player next year. He was never a replacement for Van der Vaart, just as in the same way Dembele was not a like-for-like replacement for Modric. Our bench has also suffered greatly this season with the departure of international class squad players.
In previous years we have had players such as Niko Krancjar or Roman Pavlyuchenko to call upon in a moment of crisis, this season AVB has precious little in the way of game-changing talent. Yet despite this hindrance AVB has guided us to an almost identical position to last season, this is a clear indication in to his abilities.
I don’t want to go off on a tangent about Daniel Levy and his spending/negotiating habits but essentially AVB didn’t get the midfielder he wanted in Joao Moutinho. He didn’t get the striker he wanted in Damiao or any one of a number of other targets. But we have to accept the game has changed from a financial point of view. For us to be where we are despite the financial dominance and advantage of Man City and Chelsea speaks a lot for AVB and perhaps even Levy.
There is no argument that the “Top Four” are now where they are because of their finances, yet we still we managed to breach their ranks last season, ahead of two clubs with huge resources and spending power. Tottenham achieved this by sticking to their plan and spending style that we have been used to for over ten years. Had it not been for arrival of a certain Russian or Sheikh, there is every possibility we’d now be an established top three club playing regular CL football. We have the sixth biggest turnover in the Premier League yet we are still pushing for the top four whereas Liverpool are nowhere near.
Regardless of whether we qualify for the Champions League or not though, next season I’d love to see a united club with a positive fan base existing in harmony and propelling the team to better things through an atmosphere of encouragement and positivity.
There will always be setbacks but the key to winning things is how you bounce back from them. Whilst AVB is crafting his team and developing his style of play, I believe a united and encouraging Tottenham fanbase will make a huge difference.
I’m not talking about blind unconditional support of everything our club does, just an atmosphere that’s intimidating to the opposition, making them realise that our boys will be backed to the hilt until the final whistle blows. The effect of a positive atmosphere like that in the second half against Sevilla in 2007, or against Man City at home this year, has proven to be so beneficial.
AVB comes across as a humble, honest and decent man with a clear thought process and style. Struggling to instil his beliefs into a team containing such delightful characters as John Terry and Ashley Cole, should not be seen as failure.
The former Porto man has shown a serious amount of bravery and self belief to return to the lions’ den of the Premier League so soon after his less-than-dignified exit at Chelsea. His passion on the touchline is infectious and endearing, and with the right support I firmly believe he can go onto be one of the most progressive and successful managers in the modern Spurs era.
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22 Comments
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10/05/2013 @ 3:34 pm
Very well said. I’d like to add that the trauma of finishing 4th last year, and Chelski then achieving the most improbable result and claim OUR CL place, along with Levy then doing the totally unexpected by sacking good ol’ ‘arry and hiring the Chelski reject, AVB, it’s no wonder we fans were basket cases this year.
Whether we end up 4th or 5th this season, at least AVB and Levy will have a rather straightforward summer to make us better next season.
10/05/2013 @ 8:07 pm
Can someone please tell me what AVB has actually done well? On too many occasions he has set us up too defensively, picked too many players out of position and made very poor substitutions (one game excepted, City at home). We are 5th only because time-after-time-after-time Gareth has dug us out of a very big hole. Take Wednesday’s game, we are playing ok and then bang, Siggy scores with 10 minutes to go. Come on AVB, this is your big chance to show you can take a risk and make a big decision on a big night. We need to win so will you get Carroll on to play a killer pass or Defoe to score again out of nothing……………nope, AVB does nothing and is content to see the game out for a draw. It’s just plain dull and not the Spurs way. Unless Newcastle can do us a favour, we will miss out on the CL due to the fact that AVB seems unable to kill off teams (we have the next but worst record in the league for dropping points having been in front). Yes, he lost some big players which makes his decision to sell VDV all the more ludicrous as he was the player who would have made all the difference. I actually don’t care where we finish because the main reason I go to White Hart Lane is to be entertained and this season I haven’t been. I know AVB is a nice bloke, popular with the players too, but surely we need more than that.
10/05/2013 @ 8:41 pm
Utter twaddle, My Eyes.
Who did you expect “to be entertained” by at WHL this season with Modric and VDV gone? Parker? Dempsey? Naughton? Alfie Conn? AVB could only work with the materials he had at his disposal.
You talk about the points dropped having been in front. What about the points gained having been behind or drawing? Care to do a profit/loss on that? And other than the game at Anfield, how many points have we dropped since Christmas compared to the points we’ve gained?
He’s “unable to kill off teams”? You mean he should be able to kill them off with Dempsey, Defoe and Adebayor?
We were “playing okay” on Wednesday and “then bang, Siggy scores”? No, we were being outplayed – but Siggy scores because AVB brings him on!
I know you’re a nice bloke, but surely you can do better than this.
10/05/2013 @ 9:18 pm
You’re right, I can do better, so here goes. Sold VDV, mistake. Took too long to start Lloris, mistake. Playing two defensive midfielders, mistake, Playing Gallas in any game, mistake. Playing Naughton at LB, mistake. Playing Benny in midfield, mistake. Playing Dembele too deep, mistake. Playing Dempsey in midfield, mistake. Couldn’t decide whether to take Europa seriously (said he did but then didn’t play strongest team), mistake. Doesn’t play Carroll enough, mistake. Playing Dempsey in midfield, mistake. Starts games negatively, mistake. Doesn’t change things when it’s very clear they need to be, mistake. Makes far too many like-for-like subs, mistake. Waves the team backwards when we’re in front, mistake. Shall I go on? The reason we have the points we do is purely down to Bale papering over the deficiencies of the very average AVB. Nice bloke though.
10/05/2013 @ 9:27 pm
I mentioned playing Dempsey in midfield twice, my mistake!
10/05/2013 @ 9:35 pm
I don’t know the details but I’m pretty sure it wasn’t AVB’s decision to sell VDV – he was always going to go back to Germany because of his wife (prior to NYE escapades). And I thought he actually handled the introduction of Lloris into the team in a really impressive manner. Friedel had done nothing wrong and was one of our players of last season – Lloris was pretty much signed before AVB’S arrival and he handled his introduction to the team with dignity and fairness to Brad at no expense to the team. We have lost the heartbeat of our team yet through accident or design AVB has got us where we are and deserves support and backing for a season where he will have hopefully built a team with the players and style he is working towards.
10/05/2013 @ 9:56 pm
I respect your views Tom but VDV was very vocal in his desire to stay with Spurs before AVB made it clear he wasn’t going to be in his plans. As for Friedel not costing us he most certainly has and is one of the main reasons you and I won’t be in Amsterdam next week. The non-dropping of Brad was all very nice of AVB but illustrates the lack of the ruthless streak required at this level. I simply don’t believe AVB is capable of building anything and gets by on individual player brilliance alone.
10/05/2013 @ 11:32 pm
I respect your views as well MEHSTG, and this proves my point about the fanbase being split at the moment. I’m happy to be corrected but I recall VDV going from being highly vocal on Twitter frequently during his time at Spurs until the end of last season, and then remaining pretty silent during rumours of a possible return to Germany, and he hasn’t really ever said anything about wanting to remain at Spurs since then. I’d just like to see what AVB can do with a team he has built and will be happy to be proven wrong with regard to his abilities after enough time has passed for him to be judged on them.
10/05/2013 @ 8:43 pm
And to sum up: “what has AVB actually done well”? He has got us a record number of PL points after 36 games with a squad that has nothing like the flair and depth of Redknapp’s squad last year. That’s what!
10/05/2013 @ 9:25 pm
…..and there was me thinking it was down to Bale. No, it turns out it was all thanks to AVB because……because….because, because you said so! That’s what!
11/05/2013 @ 1:48 pm
So it was “down to Bale” simply because YOU say so – as opposed to me thinking it was down to the manager? Forgive me but I’ve absolutely no idea what your logic is here!
Am not trying to be smart because you’ve made a number of really interesting points, but you’re on the one hand saying that Harry overachieved last year (a man the players had stopped playing for) and on the other hand condemning AVB for underachieving this year with a clearly inferior squad. See the contradiction? (And Arsenal were better last season than this, but you’re ignoring the fact that Chelsea are better this season than last.)
And: you condemn AVB for selling VDV and also condemn him for bringing back Friedel – ie for being ruthless and for NOT being ruthless. Either he is or he’s not.Which is it? It can’t be both. (Would you not agree that AVB handled the Friedel/Lloris situation with thoughtfulness and tact?)
And: “doesn’t change things when it’s clear they need to be”. To repeat, the number of points we’ve won coming from behind gives the lie to that.
And: you criticise him for Gallas. Would you not agree he had to be used occasionally for rotational purposes following Kaboul’s injury and that it was no bad idea to use Caulker relatively sparingly rather than risk destroying his confidence?
And: you go to the Lane “to be entertained”. Again, what were you expecting from the Dempseys rather than the Modrics?
Maybe you’ll be proved right and AVB is indeed incapable of “building anything”. But is it not reasonable to postpone making such a judgement until he’s had at least a second season, and one with better players at his disposal to allow him to build HIS team?
11/05/2013 @ 3:07 pm
I think you put your case well Lee but would still like specific examples of what AVB has done well?
To clarify, we may well have an inferior team/squad to last season BUT the point is it’s now, ironically, better than Arsenal’s whereas as last season it wasn’t. As for Chelsea, they had a better team/squad than us last season and have improved it this so still do. Last season then, we overachieved by finishing above Chelsea. This season we SHOULD be finishing above Arsenal as we are better than them but may well not do. So, no contradiction on my part.
Now that we’ve cleared that one up, let’s move on to Bale. Yes, I think we are where we are only because of his performances and goals. If you think otherwise fair enough we will have to agree to disagree.
I believe AVB sold VDV (my 4th all-time favorite Spurs player after Hoddle, King and Ardlies) because he didn’t rate him which is possibly the worst assessment of a Spurs player by a Spurs Manager that I have witnessed in the 40 years I have been watching us play. As for Friedel/Lloris, yes he handled it with tact alright and by doing so cost us vital points.
Gallas? No, never. Don’t forgot, he was picking him in front of Dawson who he was trying force out of the club. Madness and again cost us vital points, 2 points out of the first 9 with Gallas starting and trying but failing to hold onto to narrow leads rather than go for the second and third goals.
Yes, I go the Lane to be entertained. You are correct, Dempsey does not entertain me but remind me who bought him? VDV did and remind me who sold him? But it’s not really the players I blame as I remember finishing 10th in 80/1 but boy-oh-boy was the football good to watch. The fact is we still have enough good players who if organised properly to start with, tactics changed and subs made when necessary are perfectably able to entertain AND finish 4th (er, a bit like last season).
To finish, I actually want you to be proved right with AVB building an entertaining and successful side. I just don’t think he can.
11/05/2013 @ 3:12 pm
corrections: marblecitycat not Lee. Ardiles not Ardlies. Apologies.
12/05/2013 @ 8:15 pm
ME: Clearly we are – as you put it – going to have to agree to disagree, which is fine. But I still can’t take seriously you giving Bale the credit for where we are now – while giving no credit, or very little, TO THE MAN WHO CONVERTED HIM INTO A STRIKER THIS SEASON!!!
Bottom line, I think you’ve been far too critical of a manager who, being in his first season, was bound to make some mistakes (Exhibit A: underrating Dawson) and was always going to be learning more about his players, and they about him, as he went along. You can compare him unfavourably with Harry on any number of fronts, but you’ve also overlooked or ignored the fact that Harry in 2011-12 was in his third full season as Spurs manager, so therefore had no excuse not to know what he was doing.
Re 1980-81, come on – that team had Hoddle, Ardiles, Galvin, Crooks, Archibald and Villa. It had every right to be entertaining! And sorry, but I’ve been supporting Spurs too long to be prepared to put up with entertaining-but-insubstantial also-rans any longer. (Not the 80-81 team, I hasten to add.)
If by his third season AVB hasn’t built an entertaining and successful side, I’ll happily concede you were right and I was wrong. Fair enough?!
11/05/2013 @ 1:46 am
I really like the sentiment of this article. Social media is a nighmare when spurs do not win that is for sure. Personally I cant bear to go on it after a game. The amount of slaggings the players get is unbelieveable. I have seen every player named as not good enough I have even seen it said of Bale! The point is over the course of this season all of the team have played their part in getting us here. That has to include the management team. Early on in the season when Hudd was playing he was slagged each and every time to fat too slow lost his touch. Then when he wasnt playing he should be in the team brigade pipe up. It pretty much goes like that for a lot of the team. Parkers crap now player of the season last year! It is horses for courses and using what you have to the best effect you can. AVB needs time to develop the squad, we as supporters should support thats our job.
11/05/2013 @ 8:59 am
“We as supporters should support, that’s our job”. It’s a nice soundbite and I agree with it but where we do differ is I believe if something is wrong we should be able to say so. Take Fulham at Home and Benny trots out to start in midfield, did you really support that? I didn’t as it was so clearly wrong. Result? We lost. Basel Semi-Final at Home and Gallas and Brad start. Did you really support that? I didn’t as it was so clearly wrong. Result? We went out. Wigan Away and Hudd is paired with rather than instead of Parker. Did you really support that? I didn’t as it was so clearly wrong. Result? We drew a game we needed to win. There are numerous other examples of AVB’s failings and despite having the 4th best team/squad in the League it is now touch and go whether we will fulfil our potential and finish 4th. Last season we had the 5th best team/squad, as Arsenal still had RVP’s 20 goals, yet we over-achieved as Harry was able to get the best out of players like Adebayor who needs a different approach (see John Crace’s book: “Harry’s Games”, out this week and available at all good bookstores!) than AVB’s boring one-size-fits-all. Let’s hope we do qualify and that Levy then rescues AVB with a couple of new signings. Tottenham Hotspur, Tottenham Hotspur, I’ll support you evermore, I’ll support you evermore!
13/05/2013 @ 1:51 pm
I appreciate that AVB has made some mistakes this year however I am still confident that he is the right man for Spurs and will take us forward. I also agree that the lack of support is somewhat odd considering this is his first season with us, we have a far weaker starting 11 and squad than last year and have also been plagued with injuries to key players yet we have equaled our points total from last year with one game remaining. I personally don’t buy into this idea that we have a better squad than Arsenal either. We both weakened in the summer however I still think that they have a better squad albeit only marginally.
The thing that really gets me is the revisionism from people who are pining after Harry again. MEHSTG, you mentioned a long list of mistakes that AVB had made but everyone seems to be forgetting the plethora of **** ups ‘arry made. Redknapp after all was the one who signed Gallas, he constantly would play VDV on the right when Lennon was out which, I would argue, is worse than playing Naughton at LB seeing as we had players like Pienaar and Krancjar waiting on the bench. AVB doesn’t play Carroll enough? How many youth players do you remember in Harry’s teams? Harry never looked like we would be able to get one over on United and was responsible for an embarassing 5-2 defeat against Arsenal, with 11 men on the pitch, as he just watched as we sat back and ceded possession to them for 90 minutes (without changing anything when something clearly needed to be changed). He was also the man that, in a must win game, against Aston Villa, brought on Scott Parker instead of Defoe and settled for a draw when a loss would have made no difference to our chances of getting 3rd if Arsenal dropped points on the final day. At least against Chelsea the point has meant that we can now afford Arsenal to draw one game instead of needed them to lose at least one.
Let’s also not forget that Harry was seconds away from letting Bale go to Nottingham Forest before an injury to Benny forced him to keep him at Spurs so let’s not try and paint Redknapp as the perfect manager as he was also prone to a lot of mistakes, as is any manager. We currently have 69 points which in any other season would have been enough to secure top 4, a loss in our final game would equal last season’s total, a draw would equal our record points total in the premier league and a win will set a new record. What more can AVB really do to win support of the fans given we have weakened considerably since last year and are doing no worse than we were last year?
14/05/2013 @ 8:21 pm
I need to correct two of your errors. You say the point at Villa made no difference but it did as meant that Arsenal had to win their last game (they only finished one point above us in the end, 70 to 69 both with a GD of +25) whereas had we lost at Villa, Arsenal would have finished above us with a draw (both would have had 68 points and a GD of +24 but they had scored more). You also say “Newcastle had lost 2-0 earlier in the day” but this is also not true. I went to Villa and can clearly remember watching some of the Newcastle game live on TV at HT (they may have finished a little before us but no way was their game over before ours started). We were also down to 10 men early in the 2nd half so although I, like you, would have brought on Defoe not Parker, perhaps you can now see why Harry protected the point.
14/05/2013 @ 8:14 am
Spot on with every single point Adam.
14/05/2013 @ 11:29 am
I guess Adam’s well written but somewhat mistaken comments prove the point of your article Tom, that the Spurs fan-base is split over AVB. I don’t pine for Harry (the point at Villa was actually to stay in front of Newcastle as he gambled that Chelsea wouldn’t win the CL) albeit the standard of football was so much better due to his attacking philosophy compared to AVB’s more reserved approach. Take Sunday’s game, a microcosm of our season in my opinion. Plenty of mistakes (although I did like the look of the back four) with no need for Hudd and Parker, no need to try and outmuscle the opposition (we should have tried to pass around them) and why introduce zonal marking but ultimately we get a lucky break (not Bale this week) with a sending off 78 seconds into the second half and end up winning. Was this down to AVB, in my opinion, no.
14/05/2013 @ 7:07 pm
Sorry, I didn’t mean to suggest you were pining after Harry but I was trying to point out that all manager’s have made mistakes and AVB isn’t as incompetent as you were making out when listing the mistakes that he had made this season.
I don’t buy the idea that we were trying to stay ahead of Newcastle as, due to their largely inferior goal difference, we only needed to equal their results to finish ahead of them and, seeing as they had just lost 2-0 earlier in the day we could afford to lose the game. I agree the football has not been as swashbuckling as it was last year although a quick look at the stats and we have actually only scored one less league goal with a game remaining and we always have a high amount of attempts on goal each game but we have lacked a striker who is lethal enough to convert those into goals.
I agree about defending from set peices as well (although we have been awful at that for as long as I can remember). I am confident next year will be a different story altogether, with a fit Kaboul and Sandro, I see the team playing at a much higher pace as it will cut out a lot of the long hollywood balls we have seen from Dawson and Parker’s habit of slowing the play right down. Not that they are bad players but we have more capable people on the injury table at the moment.
I can see that we are at an impasse as neither of us will turn and I can see why some people are anti-AVB, and perhaps next season I might share your opinion but, given this is a transitional season, we have a young, relatively inexperienced manager we aren’t exactly doing too bad. Let’s not forget that Ferguson was average for the first few years in charge of United and look where they ended up. Perhaps we should postpone this debate until the end of next season after we see what he can do with a whole summer and getting a squad that is more in line with the way he wants to play!
15/05/2013 @ 6:40 pm
I agree, I feel we will all be in a better position to judge AVB come the end of next season. We’ve had a great debate on here regardless.
My overarching point right now is that if we win on Sunday then we will have a record PL points total. For AVB to manage that in his first season at Spurs, shortly after having his confidence shot at Chelsea, losing key players etc…I just think he deserves a great deal of credit for that. A united club and fanbase next season could see us achieve something special.