Andre has left the building. The man who promised much delivered very little. It could have been great, in the end it was just a touch too mediocre.
AVB: The man who denied us
The Andre Villas-Boas project, objective or any other AVBism you can throw around is over. Rather like some of the football I have seen at the Lane this season I am once again left emotionless by it all. I try to sum up some anger, I search for something vociferous to say yet I can’t do much other than shrug and sigh. Not the greatest of emotions when you are attempting to write what you are feeling.
Having been at an appointment Sunday, one I couldn’t and to be honest didn’t want to get out of, I saw the game unfurl from a detached distance. Even driving home I remained emotionless, it wasn’t until I searched my inner masochist and re-watched the entire game did something fire up inside me.
My resolve in AVB was broken and I vowed to give the former Porto man both barrels, but then he was sacked. Here once again I find myself left underwhelmed by it all. Even in his sacking he disappoints. Even in his firing AVB has left me devoid of emotion and denied me and the rest of us the chance to rant.
[authquoteleft text=”My resolve in AVB was broken and I vowed to give the former Porto man both barrels, but then he was sacked[/linequote]
The passion that defined his early career at Spurs was gone by Sunday evening, he knew it was coming. He was Ned Stark waiting for the downward strike. What happened to you Andre? Where did the passion go Andre? Where is the drama, what happened to the man who would fist pump and karate chop?
I have been a staunch supporter of Villas-Boas since he walked through the door. As a fan of his Porto team I wished he had joined us first not Chelsea, and despite his project failing with the Blues, I was delighted he arrived at N17.
Young, vibrant, idealistic, full of emotion and talent, he was the ideal man to take Spurs forward, or so I thought. He was a change from the man who spoke in the “I” he was now a man who looked at the collective. This focus and PR quips were enough for us to forgive him his initial failings, after all season#1 was all about transition wasn’t it? Yet halfway into season #2 he continued to deny us that thing that we all vehemently wanted, passion, fight and grace.
As this ill fated second season started to unravel, AVB was left wanting. Yes he had to implement seven new players, but for a man who had a plan, it wasn’t plain to see what the actual plan was. Denied of a left foot blaster to snatch victory from a draw, we had to rely on a penalty or three. Our football stuttered, the form dipped and White Hart Lane became a free-for-all.
Newcastle, West Ham and Liverpool all came and went with three points. The failure of Chelsea and United to do the same can now only be seen as indictment on their own team. In a preview for the 2013/14 season I said it was essential that Spurs started performing at home, they never did. Time and again we were toothless at home. AVB denied us that fortress feeling. White Hart Lane went form being the place where teams sat back, to one where they brazenly attacked us.
[linequote]season#1 was all about transition wasn’t it? Yet halfway into season #2 he continued to deny us that thing that we all vehemently wanted, passion, fight and grace[/linequote]
I should have realised the day he criticised the fans after the Hull game that we were doomed. Regardless of how positive the two following 1882 games made me feel, I should have seen then and there the issues.
However being wise after the fact is easy. Just as it is for the AVB haters to turn around and say “I told you so.” The truth is you cant predict the unpredictable. Spurs this wonderfully infuriating beast can’t be tamed, cant be pigeonholed and analysed 18 months in the future. It was always going to end one of two ways, success or failure.
Had AVB achieved something brilliant, something more tangible than a record points haul and an impotent 5th place finish, those doubters would have dispersed amongst the believers. However failure is where the wheel stopped turning. Those haters out there sitting back and proclaiming themselves Nostradamus incarnate shouldn’t dare take any pleasure from this turn of events.
This is your club as much as mine or any other poor soul who has invested not only time and money but emotionally into the Lilywhite way. Nobody who claims to be Spurs should be feeling anything bordering in smugness at AVB’s sacking, if you are then kindly step away from the club many of us hold dear.
Those that never joined the ranks of AVBelievers need to realise, you aren’t some tactical geniuses who should now form a committee to select the new manager, it was 50-50, a guess. It may have been right but what glory does that bring you? Does it make your life supporting Spurs any easier?
[authquoteleft text=”Those haters out there sitting back and proclaiming themselves Nostradamus incarnate shouldn’t dare take any pleasure from this turn of events[/linequote]
He allowed the most expensive player in the world to blossom and thrill us, he gave us a victory at Old Trafford and beat Arsenal at home. They may not be the greatest achievements but in 18 months you are limited as to what you can achieve unless you have the luck of Roberto Di Matteo and Chelsea.
AVB may claim he was a victim of circumstance at Chelsea, but ultimately at Spurs he has been a victim of his own failings. Had he won more and lost less, or lost those he lost by less, he would still be a manager. It’s a simple algorithm.
All the best for the future Andre, may you bring more passion to your next set of supporters.
[author name=”ARLombardi” avatar=”https://si0.twimg.com/profile_images/378800000190788876/b1d0a1120760e39338a815ea5827d7f8.jpeg” bio=”I read, I write, I edit for The Fighting Cock” twitter=”ARLombardi[/linequote]
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24 Comments
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17/12/2013 @ 10:43 am
Agree with all, except the bit about it will end in success or failure. It always ends in failure, at least I’m lifetime. No title or challenging for one is failure if we are a big club. I’ve never seen us do either.
17/12/2013 @ 12:10 pm
Arguably we were challenging for the title when we were under Redknapp and had the 13 point lead over Arsenal…..before Harry flushed it down the shitter.
Brief maybe, but nice to see, if even in a small amount.
The potential was there when we still have Modric, Bale et al. Just a shame it wasn’t kept together and we didn’t have the man to make it all work.
17/12/2013 @ 10:45 am
Brilliant analysis – and it sums up my feelings. I started off as a believer, hoping the Chelsea debacle was all about the tossers in the dressing room and that he would come to The Lane with passion and a point to prove. For a while it looked possible, but then it became clear that when things were not going well there was no Plan B. Too slow in the build up. no real penetration – and no pattern of play to enable talented players to use their talents to the full – or to flourish as a team. Contrast with Liverpool on Sunday: fast, direct and. crucially, looking as if they had actually met and played together before! In the end AVB did not manage to get the team playing as a team and making the sum of the parts look like an attacking force. Things must get better – COYS.
17/12/2013 @ 11:35 am
I take great pleasure from the fact that AV no Plan B has gone because it was for the good of my club. I don’t get all this “he’s our manager therefore he must be backed” nonsense. No, no and no again. He was ruining the team and our traditions and therefore the best way show your support for the club was to say so rather than bury your head in the sand. We have bought six top quality players (plus Chadli) and the fact that All Very Boring failed so miserably says it all. I’m no Nostradamus and don’t need to be as ONE look at the “project” should have been all it took to work out that he was clueless. Bale merely papered over the cracks last season. We have the players and state-of-the-art training ground in place now and just need a half decent manager to make it click. How difficult is it to ditch the inverted wingers (what a farce that was), pick Erikson and Lamela (class footballers), always play Sandro (how was he sub against Chelsea and West Ham), never play Naughton on the left (ridiculous selection) and finally increase the tempo. The future is now bright again and I’m looking forward to watching us play football again as opposed to this containment rubbish I have had to sit through.
17/12/2013 @ 11:37 am
So you’ve us how you feel. Then you have a message for all the (so called haters). Then you gloat on AVB’s behalf about two wins he got on our behalf.
Do you really have anything to say rather than all this waffling. I hope you get pleasure fron these articles to yourself.
17/12/2013 @ 12:11 pm
Why don’t you draft an article in response? The Fighting Cock boys would happily post it.
17/12/2013 @ 12:27 pm
Got a quiet afternoon planned, send it through, the more articles the merrier
17/12/2013 @ 11:40 am
Superb analysis. I originally thought avb a bad signing and came round to admitting I was wrong and thought he was doing a fantastic job, the future, though never guaranteed, was looking very positive. However our lack of a left back (ok unfortunate with Danny’s injury, but why let ekotto out on loan with no proper cover) completely baffled me, you cant play a right footed player at left back. Lack of goals yes, but plenty of top strikers says its the system rather than the quality. Hopefully new manager will sort things out, rather than throw his toys out of the cot and fall out with all and sundry. We definitely have as good a squad as we have ever had.
17/12/2013 @ 1:08 pm
Good article with a fair bit of truth in there but you’ve just told another version of the story – your version. We each have our own version. Personally, I was undecided on AVB from day 1 due to his troubles at Chelsea but I was willing to give him a fair chance as his professionalism was refreshing. But there were some shaky performances throughout that 1st season and ultimately Bale papered over it all. AVB’s professionalism just seemed to turn into good PR soundbites and saying the right thing but ultimately meaningless. The football was dull last season; possibly it’s been even duller this season. He’s looked utterly clueless as to how to manage his squad and the new signings, and persisted with a dull, impotent brand of football. For some of us, alarm bells were ringing right from that fated Hull City match and even before the questions were coming thick and fast as we limped past opponents with lucky penalties and seemed incapable of creating genuine goal-scoring chances for our striker(s). I’m afraid I am mighty relieved he has gone. Not smug at all but relieved. Maybe we can get our Spurs back. We have a very talented squad. We just need someone who knows how to get the best out of it.
17/12/2013 @ 2:10 pm
I must agree with Jay, but I think that nobody should feel badly about what’s happened to AVB as he has been paid millions to do a job. As to whether he has failed is open to question, but he certainly can’t be accused of getting the team to play exciting or attractive football. There has been some mention about how Harry lost his way over the England job & in part I am sure that is true. Remember though, Harry didn’t have a squad to chose from, he only had a tired team & when Levy should have given him a forward or two in the Jan. transfer window, he got nought. What would he have achieved with £100m plus?
17/12/2013 @ 2:10 pm
Its a pity I have been a Spurs fan since I was 9 years old I am 61 now. I live in the Midlands and get to see Spurs play at the lane whenever I can. I see them when they play at Villa or if other midland sides play them I go there too. I like you am stumped over the team and the demise of AVB I feel sad and lost for words really like yourself.
I was excited by this young man coming in but loosing. Modric and Bale and over the past seasons Berbatov and Carrick it is hard for a team to loose its best players like this. Harry and the England offers caused a dip in our season and always there appears to be a lingering attempt to undermine the club spirit somewhere in the press. I did not like seeing the picture of Emmanuel Adebayor and Benoit Assou-Ekotto tweeting there five fingers in the daily mail this is a pity and a sad reflection on the loyalty of players in todays football. I will continue to support as ever..Please not Capello. JB
17/12/2013 @ 5:33 pm
Eriksen, Paulino, Lamela, Soldado, Vlad and Capoue will now start to show their class as they will be allowed the freedom to express themselves. There was nothing “exciting” about AVB who without any doubt whatsoever was the most negative manager in our history.
17/12/2013 @ 2:27 pm
With no champions league admission in 12 years and no new stadium and the expulsion of all our best players and managers should Daniel Levy not be looking for a new job?
17/12/2013 @ 5:34 pm
Levy bought £100M+ of talent so not sure what else you want him to do?
17/12/2013 @ 3:15 pm
Avb lost his best two players two summers running…..and Rafa vdv. He tried to replace them with a team of signings. He failed but often the failure was the players not his. Will Dawson be sacked for being slow? Will soldado be sacked for not hitting the target when through on goal or chadli for heading over……or defoe for missing 4 sitters at Sunderland and Fulham? A manager can only do so much and is the easy scapegoat. Its not FIfa 2014 where each manager controls the team. Its more complex than that…….some fans dont get that and maybe avb didnt either. He maybe thought that if you pick Player A, B and C and tell them to do x y and z then it will work. Fans can delude themselves by believing in the omnipotent manager……managers cant.
17/12/2013 @ 8:20 pm
Logically then, players should just form a collective and pick the team and tactics themselves. Why even bother with a manager at all?
17/12/2013 @ 3:44 pm
Unless Levy and Baldini leave, nothing is going to change. Capello, Hoddle etc aren’t going to waltz in and save the football club from sliding back to mid-table mediocrity.
People may have misgivings about AVB, but that shouldn’t be done while ignoring the two biggest elephants in the living room.
17/12/2013 @ 8:16 pm
Like it or not, Levy and Baldini are pretty astute businessmen. For the most part, they have assembled a talented squad. You use the word ‘mediocre’. Which of these does that accurately apply to? Lloris, Walker, Rose, Vertongen, Chiriches, Capoue, Sandro, Paulinho, Eriksen, Lamela, Townsend, Lennon, Soldado, Holtby. None, I’d wager. There’s no reason at all that a decent manager and motivator can’t mould the group into top 4 material. I think that’s what Levy and Baldini assumed their then manager would be doing…..
17/12/2013 @ 8:54 pm
Rose and Townsend are mediocre (the first time I have ever disagreed with anything you have said!) but the other 12 are top, top players. All we need now is Laudrup.
17/12/2013 @ 9:06 pm
Haha, ok. Maybe they are ‘above average’ mediocre ;-) They both have good potential though…
Sadly, I’d say Laudrup is a long shot.
17/12/2013 @ 8:17 pm
Come on guys. We’re not at the bottom of the Premiership, propping up the table. We’re not a team full of has beens or mediocrity. We are well positioned at a point in the season where there is still much to play for. We have a team full of players that plenty of other PL teams would love to have.
AVB is gone. I’m sorry it didn’t work out. At the start of his reign I thought we were at the start of a journey to somewhere special. I think that maybe we still are. The captain of the ship has walked the plank. The ship is still afloat though. Probably time to leave the sailing metaphors behind though, before icebergs are mentioned.
The players were clearly struggling under AVB. A new manager will come in and, whoever that man is, he deserves our support. There’s plenty of reason to be optimistic. We’ve all seen worse times at Spurs where all we expected was mid table obscurity and a revolving door of mediocre managers and players. Being a Spurs fan has never been a comfortable journey. However, there’s real potential in the squad, a new stadium on the way and we’re still reasonably positioned to get something from this season.
Be of good cheer. It’s Christmas. What’s done is done. Look forward to the New Year. Coys!
17/12/2013 @ 8:26 pm
Chris, shove that Christmas cheer shit up the nearest reindeer’s arse ;-)
17/12/2013 @ 10:13 pm
Hey look, I tried! I suppose pessimism is the natural lot of we Spurs fans. Why fly in the face of Tottenham way? lol
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