How happy are you with AVB?

[SpurSince57]

Oh how witty...but, again, managing to avoid answering something you don't want to answer.

Perhaps you should just stick inside your competency level, and then you wouldn't have to revert to diversionary tactics

Comparatively, yes. I've always believed in the maxim that brevity is the soul of wit; your inability to use one word when eight will do suggests you don't. And if I were you, I really wouldn't dwell too long on competency, at least when it comes to creating a structured English sentence of more than six words.

Enough of your bleating and ballsachingly tedious windbaggery.

 

[tippspur59]

I wish AVB the very best of luck at Spurs but I have to say I am not convinced at all that he is the right man.

 

[Abdoujaparov]

Wrong choice. Guided Chelsea to their worst league finish in over a decade and it was a rash move to sack Harry.

 

[SpursSince1980]

Hiring a new manager always comes with risk -- can't be avoided. There is no such thing as a sure thing, unless you are City, and can spend vast sums of money on super stars. Taking nought away from Mancini, but the fact is, most managers in the top leagues could coach that team and get them up near the top, and winning trophies.

Thing is, AVB was well regarded by those inside football before his Chelsea appointment. Things didn't work out for him in the short term, and perhaps if he'd been given a longer leash it might have turned up roses. I just hope that we the fans exhibit a modicum of patience. If that means we don't qualify for CL this year -- so be it. It's more important that we are building for a sustainable future. If i see positive signs along the way, i'll be thrilled.

i think we should all be pretty chuffed with this appointment. It's wrong to assume that this guy was considered 'damaged goods' after the Chelsea debacle. Believe me -- those who know their salt, fully understand that a small bad batch does not make him a crappy manager. If anything, it just demonstrated -- yet again-- what an impatient douchebag Abramovich is.

 

[marvel]

Wrong choice. Guided Chelsea to their worst league finish in over a decade and it was a rash move to sack Harry.

AVB had a better points average in the league than RDM. Under AVB they were 2 points behind us!

 

[Woland]

AVB's achievements at Porto demand respect, but after the fiasco of Ramos and Comolli, I cannot help suspect that Levy is once more attempting to appoint in his own image: a technocrat, dignified, restrained, a touch ruthless, not one of the lads. I imagine it will all be much more "professional' from now on; let's hope our football does not lose its smile.

Exactly. Moreover, Levy's tired of DoF-ing and getting overly involved in football matters, I believe.

I don't think your description fits AVB properly though. Dignified and restrained he ain't. We're all too quick to forget his cringeworthy staged celebrations with Chelsea's Portuguese players (once) as though the lonely air-punching with everybody avoiding him (throughout the season) was not awkward enough. Man-management is not his strongest skill. Having the ambition to start a revolution, waging a war against the senior players is all good but then cracking under pressure does not 'build legacy' for me. Ruthless he is not too. He was undermined by owner, yes. He's talented, overambitious and stubborn which is can be seen in his managing style, tactics, and public speaking.

Maturity is what he lacks and this concerns me the most. Spurs and AVB looks much better fit on paper than AVB and Chelsea. But his immaturity may undermine him so many different ways. The way tactical ineptness tarnished both Jol and Redknapp, and bad man-management derailed Ramos, despite their achievements (who would have thunk stop-gap Harry would be a success with Tottenham?).

I will remain sceptical. Unless AVB's learned an awful lot within the season on Stamford Bridge and has grown up massively.

 

[roosh]

However, if we are in 5th or 6th early or even midway through the season but we see clear signs of an overall improvement, that would not be a terrible thing would it?

I wouldn't worry too much about early in the season, but if we were 5th or 6th midway through the season then I find it difficult to imagine how we could see clear signs of an overall improvement; unless you mean signs that we were improving from that position, as opposed an overall improvement from Redknapp's tenure.

What I meant though, was if we finish in 5th or 6th - 6th moreso - then people might start to get on his back; it depends on the overall manner in which such a finish materialised too, though. 5th or 6th mightn't be seen as being as big a disaster at spurs as it was at Chelsea, so he might be given that much more leeway; but the comparisons with Redknapp will be inevitable.

Of course, it is possible that we do worse than 5th or 6th, just as it is possible that we might do better. We'll just have to wait and see.

 

[Rout-Ledge]

Wrong choice. Guided Chelsea to their worst league finish in over a decade and it was a rash move to sack Harry.

Not rash to sack Harry. He was painfully short-termist. Whether AVB is the right man to guide us into the future remains to be seen, but how long could we go on with Harry bringing in admittedly good players heading into retirement?

 

[Antilokhos]

If this works out, it's going to be brilliant. It's a riskier hire than Blanc would have been, but this is probably the highest upside we have on a manager that we could realistically get.

I'm very happy that Levy did not shy away from a riskier pick and went for the big move.

 

[fatpiranha]

The more I think about it the happier I am with this appointment. I do feel that Harry had taken us as far as he was likely to. AVB is a risk but the upside is obvious. If not for his time at Chelsea I think we would be pretty much unanimously optimistic considering just how stellar his time with Porto was. IMHO Chelsea was analagous to Brian Clough going to Leeds; an accident waiting to happen, but saying AVB is a poor manager because of what happened at Chelsea is like pointing to a soldier who has been run over by a tank and saying he should have worn a bulletproof vest. If anything AVB will have learned from his Chelsea experience and be a better manager for it, and a better manager than the guy who took Porto to 4 trophies in one season ... well I don't blame Levy for taking a punt on that.

 

[yiddo]

As previously mentioned, he is a risk but as would any be currently.

I feel he may need to do quite a big overhaul for our squad to fit to his system. This may take longer than the current transfer window so I hope that now we have committed to this, that we see it through all the way.
If Modric doesnt want to be part of this, let him go and get a replacement.
If VDV doesnt buy into it or doesnt fit into the system then let him go too.

Got to give AVB the freedom and time to prove he can recreate what he did at Porto. The likes of Falcao, Hulk & even Moutinho were not world beaters when AVB first started.

I am reading a lot of press reports saying that top 4 is a minimum target for AVB..... that for me is just setting him up for failure. For me top 4 should be a stretch target at best this season.

 

[paino]

Chelsea were 5th when AVB got sacked. They finished the season 5th under RDM. Hardly an improvement league-wise. I refuse to take their CL and FA cup triumphs seriously. They won both on stout defending and pure luck. We all know the senior players hounded him out of Chelsea. He's now got a younger more responsive squad to work with. I can't see any of our squad crying to levy because he doesn't like AVBs methods. A year ago I was jealous that Chelsea had him. I liked Harry but I wished we had a young dynamic manager who could actually scout talent. We should all be excited for the future.

 

[hodsgod]

I am convinced he is the wrong choice, I would of course be delighted to be wrong.

 

[Dezzydez]

Welcome AVB! Best of the bunch we could realistically get. I think he has inherited a much more positive squad than Chelsea with less caustic characters. I am feeling optimistic especially if we get manage to get Moutinho in due to AVB.

 

[jamesc0le]

somewhere between

1. Positive about the appointment
2. Skeptical, not convinced

basically ,meh. not sure of his man-management ability, and we've seen how important this trait is at spurs
hopes he proves me wrong and that i'm a disloyal ****

actually fuck-it i hope he bombs hard then we can get Zola

 

[Singaspursofsixspence]

For what it's worth, I am impressed already having seen his opposition scouting report of Newcastle, and am delighted he has brought in coaches to address the two main areas that we have been craving : Fitness and Opposition scouting. I also think that any criticism levied against his man-management skills, I think thats an area the likes of Sherwood (& maybe Sir Les) could address since they have the reputation and respect of having actually played as professional footballers before. Lastly, AVB was signed as a Manager for Chelsea, so would be interesting to see him in a Head Coach role where he solely concentrates on 1st team tactics, selection and affairs, and have a Technical Director assist with the other aspects.

Only downside I see from his appointment is I'm not too sure how the transfer committee works, and who has how much say to who we should sign or be sold, but I supposed Mr Levy would still have some major decision making involvement.

 

[spursphil]

I'm very happy with the appointment of AVB, a young manager with great idea's about how the game should be played. One thing i have learned in over 40 years of watching football is, managers need time to put their stamp on a team.
As mentioned before about Clough's time at Leeds, he was the right man but at the wrong club.
The great Bill Shankly wasn't an instant success at Liverpool, going five years i think before winning a trophy, the same goes for Fergie at united. Our own Keith Burkinshaw suffered relegation in his first season in charge, only to bounce back with a fantastic footballing team under his command.
So i don't see AVB's time in charge at Chelsea as a failure, it was far to short to make those assumptions, failure on the part of Chelsea to give him time maybe.

With the moneybags clubs like Chelsea and City, it is making competing extremly difficult, we need a long term plan to develope our own players and a scouting system to spot young emerging talent, coupled with a football philosophy of a style of football played from the youth teams to the first team, thereby insuring a seemless transition through the ranks.

I'm hoping AVB will become our new Burkinshaw.

 

[Kendall]

If this works out, it's going to be brilliant. It's a riskier hire than Blanc would have been, but this is probably the highest upside we have on a manager that we could realistically get.

I'm very happy that Levy did not shy away from a riskier pick and went for the big move.

What makes him more risky than Blanc?

 

[jonnyp]

Very sceptical, even more so after reading he doesn't want Ade.

 

[EJWTartanSpur]

Chelsea were 5th when AVB got sacked. They finished the season 5th under RDM. Hardly an improvement league-wise. I refuse to take their CL and FA cup triumphs seriously. They won both on stout defending and pure luck. We all know the senior players hounded him out of Chelsea. He's now got a younger more responsive squad to work with. I can't see any of our squad crying to levy because he doesn't like AVBs methods. A year ago I was jealous that Chelsea had him. I liked Harry but I wished we had a young dynamic manager who could actually scout talent. We should all be excited for the future.

They actually finished 6th, behind Newcastle, so that only further strengthens your point.