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AVB appointed by Zenit

It will be interesting to see how AVB gets on in this role.

It's such a shame that we sacked him prematurely and appointed a novice as his replacement. There's clearly something about the guy that prompts big clubs (or clubs with big budgets, as in Zenit's case) to appoint him.

Whatever some Spurs fans say about him the facts are that his overall record at Spurs last season and this season was good and the club (and fans) should have stood by him at least until the end of this season.



posted on 18/3/14

AVB made a bit of a pigs ear managing teams in this country imo. His man management skills let him down and he appeared to fail to motivate the players when the going got tough.

He has an Inflexible tactical approach to the game , combined with questionable man management skills. He is probably a step up in in comparison with Sherwood who is a complete rookie, but imo the hype which surrounded him when he took over Chelsea and a lesser extent Spurs in unwarranted. He's got too many flaws to make him a top notch manager.

comment by Chronic (U3423)

posted on 18/3/14

AVBs big mistake was his mismanagement of the squad for Europa league - travelling and playing full strength teams on shoddy pitches at the back of beyond, against teams that our under 21s would have beaten.

the problem was that this almost always then cost us in the next league game, where we would drop points.

and he never ever learned. he is one stubborn puppy and that was his downfall.

posted on 18/3/14

AVB made a bit of a pigs ear managing teams in this country imo. His man management skills let him down and he appeared to fail to motivate the players when the going got tough.

He has an Inflexible tactical approach to the game , combined with questionable man management skills. He is probably a step up in in comparison with Sherwood who is a complete rookie, but imo the hype which surrounded him when he took over Chelsea and a lesser extent Spurs in unwarranted. He's got too many flaws to make him a top notch manager.
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You make some reasonable points. I would just say that AVB's reputation for being a bad man manager is a legacy of his time at Chelsea. I would not say that his time at Spurs proved he was a bad man manager. I recall Gareth Bale making a point to hug AVB after scoring that equaliser at West Ham. Also, we developed a knack under AVB of winning or drawing games late on. Many of those situations were down to Bales' brilliance, but not all of them. I remember Clint Dempsey getting an injury time equaliser against Fergie's Man U at WHL. My point therefore is that the team could not have done that without character and team spirit and the manager has to take credit for that.

Finally, I would agree with you that AVB was what I would call stubborn rather than inflexible when it came to tactics. But a manager has to back his own beliefs and not just cow tow to the crowd. I think recent weeks have proven that 442 is not all it's cracked up to be.

comment by SB&S (U17757)

posted on 18/3/14

SAF got 3 years to show success at Utd but things were a little different then. I wonder how we would have felt if AVB had stayed and got his way over not playing Adebayor? Would we be screaming for an AVB lynching by now?

posted on 18/3/14

Fair points Gazza.

He wasn't helped by your transfer policy imo, but from what I saw of Tottenham when he was there was a team which persisted with a high line defensively even against teams who were set up to exploit it and secondly a bunch of players who's collective heads went down when faced with adversity.

I'm guessing here but appeared to me that the players weren't particular motivated to play for him and the same thing happened with Chelsea with a more talented squad.

posted on 18/3/14

comment by ShortBack&Sides (U17757)
posted 49 minutes ago
SAF got 3 years to show success at Utd but things were a little different then. I wonder how we would have felt if AVB had stayed and got his way over not playing Adebayor? Would we be screaming for an AVB lynching by now?
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Given the fact he did fack all last season I'd be surprised. Ade should go along with BAE in the summer.

posted on 18/3/14

from what I saw of Tottenham when he was there was a team which persisted with a high line defensively even against teams who were set up to exploit it and secondly a bunch of players who's collective heads went down when faced with adversity.

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High line, yes.

Heads go down etc - load of ballacks. He stopped us conceding late goals and made us much stronger in tough away games. Thing is, with a pressing and passing game when you're caught out you will be time and again ie: you come up against a team better at countering than you are attacking.

With time our possession play would've got better and we'd have started putting more cohesive moves together. I reckon so anyway.

posted on 18/3/14

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posted on 18/3/14

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posted on 19/3/14

These points of a player carrying the manager are ridiculous. A manager has a set of players with different abilities and makes the most out of it; Bale playing brilliant is something AVB made the most out of. Barcelona being carried by Messi/ Liverpool by Suarez/ PSG by Ibrahimovic. Honestly, my brain boils reading comments at times.

Who do you think Tottenham are to be expecting 4th place and exceptional performances. First come wins which AVB was getting. Tottenham are the 3rd best team in London let alone England.. 4th isn't ours to lose but should be pretty happy that we are even competing for it.

Then i read articles of how Van Gaal would be a mistake LOOL Faacking hell. A manager who has won everything is not good enough for Spurs. When will our fans understand that we are not as good as the usual top four and a managers job shouldnt rely on achieving it or not.

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