AVB: The Waiting Game

Even within the first few minutes of, the frustration in the stands at the Lane last Saturday was palpable. The lack of movement, backwards passing, and predictable forward play served as a stark reminder of just how different this Spurs team is to the (often but not always) dynamic blitzkrieg of football we saw under Harry for much of last season.

Watching Sigurdsson and Hudd at the heart of our midfield struggling to find a decisive ball through the solid Wigan defence felt like another world to the days of Modric and VDV inventively carving the opposition apart, and while personally I would never condone booing, it is all too easy to appreciate the concerns of a home crowd fearing that what finally looked like the real deal may be turning into yet another false dawn.

Yet many would do well to heed Huddlestone’s recent call for patience – as hard as that may be. Perhaps the biggest difference between Harry’s Tottenham and AVB’s Tottenham is that Harry was a temporary fix that ended up doing a brilliant (but ultimately short-sighted) job, whereas AVB has been hired to oversee the long-term success of the club. As such we’re still very much at the beginning of the journey. The much discussed summer transfer dealings have left us weaker in some areas and stronger in others, but one thing is certainly clear – it is far from the finished article as far as AVB is concerned.

[linequote]This current Spurs side is still very much in the infancy of AVB’s plans, with much still to look forward to.[/linequote]

The new manager may have had clear ideas of the players he wanted (Moutinho, Willian) when he arrived, but he also only had a few weeks to get to know his new squad in person, and to see what they are (and aren’t) capable of. Whether in January or next summer I fully expect to see AVB get a proper opportunity to shape the team in a way that best fits his vision for the club.

For the time being it’s worth keeping in mind that with the current squad his hands are tied more firmly than those of a reluctant guest of Boy George. With more time to identify realistic targets I’m sure AVB and Levy will have a more productive working relationship than was ever possible when Harry was at the helm. However right now he’s trying to make the most of a mixed bag of leftovers from Harry’s team, and new players that seem to have been taken from the list labelled ‘compromise’ – even Lloris and Dembele if rumours are to be believed.

Throw in a completely new way of approaching games and a series of injuries to key players, and it becomes easier to see how this current Spurs side is still very much in the infancy of AVB’s plans, with much still to look forward to. Unfortunately in order to take the two steps forward that will help to provide consistent success in the future, we need to – all of us – take one step back. This means that the expectant crowd viewing games with the high points of the last two seasons firmly in our memories must accept that there will be teething problems initially.

It takes time to get the foundations in place. If we can play the waiting game instead of expecting immediate results, the Lane could be rocking for years to come.

[author name=”Jerry” avatar=”https://www.thefightingcock.co.uk/wp-content/themes/tfc4/images/tfc-logo-final.png” twitter=”” tag=”Jerry[/linequote]