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Rafael van der Vaart exclusive: "Leaving Tottenham was the most stupid decision of my career"

Kiedis

Well-Known Member
Aug 4, 2013
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Watching him huff and puff trying to cope with a high pressing system wouldn't have been great for anyone.
 

guate

Well-Known Member
May 12, 2005
3,270
1,486
I remember when he nut megged that little gobby prick Wilshere and just smiled at him as he rolled on by.
Definitely one of the most charismatic players we've had in a Spurs shirt for a long long time
 

greaves

Well-Known Member
Dec 6, 2006
6,118
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The keyword in the quotes for me is 'Fun'. That's what I expect at Spurs - adventure, verve, risk. And Redknapp himself played a part in that, for all his so-called problems.
 

Gaz_Gammon

Well-Known Member
Apr 16, 2005
16,047
18,013
"And Harry [Redknapp] — he was like your dad. I would give everything for that man;

That was one great team, and you can now see why. Often ridiculed Redknapp knew how to gel a team.
 

yankspurs

Enic Out
Aug 22, 2013
41,883
71,188
I love and miss VDV, but I have to be the contrarian here and go against the AVB hate parade this has brought along. He told VDV that he wasnt first choice so he bailed? First off, in what world is that not a motivational tactic to get someone to prove himself and become an even better player? Second off, didnt he leave because of personal issues with his wife?
 

Matthew

Well-Known Member
Aug 29, 2012
4,597
15,867
always remember the newcastle game on saturday evening, when we absolutely battered them 5 0, i think it was, one of the best first half of football ive ever seen us play, even saha got a couple!
 

lol

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2008
6,651
6,082
by far my fav spurs player. more so than bale. yes bias
 

Block D Spurs

Active Member
Sep 2, 2014
319
234
That 2010 / 2011 & 2011 / 12 team very good... don't forget the great defense.. Gomes Charlie daws leds BAE.... VDV was just fantastic at scoring from the loose ball, knock downs.. etc, Everytime I saw him in his 2 years at WHL 60 mins he was subbed... Knackered... but gave us a high % chances to win.
 

LSUY

Well-Known Member
Jul 12, 2005
24,010
66,826
Reading that article and some of the comments on here about how we passed on Suarez, Cahill and Dzeko has made me realise we really are the Sisyphus of football.
 

chetil

Active Member
Aug 18, 2012
93
206
I still have Rafa's shirt on my wall, and my desktop wallpaper is him celebrating a goal with "The game is all about glory" in the background. He was one of the few players who truly fit that statement, unique talent and a winner's mentality that today's team lacks.
 

bubble07

Well-Known Member
Dec 27, 2004
22,959
29,896
Reading that article and some of the comments on here about how we passed on Suarez, Cahill and Dzeko has made me realise we really are the Sisyphus of football.
In other words you get what you pay for! Opportunity's like that do not come often and if you miss the boat then you have to wait a long time for another.
 

Buggsy61

Washed Up Member
Aug 31, 2012
5,551
8,921
He was a proper Spurs player alright.

Best memories - Villa away when his touch and finishing was sublime and also Goons at home when he made a monkey out of Jack Wheelchair (I think he nutmegged him a couple of times).
You could set your watch by when Arry subbed Defoe for him after 60 minutes.
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
18,106
45,030
I did and anyways always suspected he pushed VDV out.

VDV is in my top 5 of the modern era at spurs and this had reinforced that.

I guess we all read the bits of the article we want to read.

I read that and immediately saw this:

"It was a little to do with everything. It was private things, but also when what's his name [Andre Villas-Boas] came he said to me 'you're not my number one' and I had played two years, like, unbelievable, so for me it was really strange that he said that to me...

And the bit in bold immediately confirmed to me what I always suspected, which was that he moved back to Germany to try to save his marriage.

We all know the story about AVB telling VDV that he wasn't an automatic selection. That does show what a poor judge of footballers AVB could be, but it also reflected the degree of indulgence that VDV required: rarely up to finishing 90 minutes, needing an attacking formation to be built around his skills [and his ego] and not the best at tackling or closing down.

None of that adds up to him being "pushed out". It adds up to him needing to leave for personal reasons and AVB failing, foolishly, to give him any reason to stay.


P.S. I love him referring to AVB as "what's his name". Mischievous.
 

TottenhamMattSpur

Well-Known Member
Aug 31, 2012
10,925
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I guess we all read the bits of the article we want to read.

I read that and immediately saw this:



And the bit in bold immediately confirmed to me what I always suspected, which was that he moved back to Germany to try to save his marriage.

We all know the story about AVB telling VDV that he wasn't an automatic selection. That does show what a poor judge of footballers AVB could be, but it also reflected the degree of indulgence that VDV required: rarely up to finishing 90 minutes, needing an attacking formation to be built around his skills [and his ego] and not the best at tackling or closing down.

None of that adds up to him being "pushed out". It adds up to him needing to leave for personal reasons and AVB failing, foolishly, to give him any reason to stay.


P.S. I love him referring to AVB as "what's his name". Mischievous.
I think it's well documented that he went with Sylvie. We all accepted that at the time and it softened the blow of him leaving.
 

Sweetsman

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2011
6,673
6,588
Jason Burt of The Telegraph, and a friend of AVB, told me categorically that AVB did not want VDV to leave.
 

Sweetsman

Well-Known Member
Jan 30, 2011
6,673
6,588
I guess we all read the bits of the article we want to read.

I read that and immediately saw this:



And the bit in bold immediately confirmed to me what I always suspected, which was that he moved back to Germany to try to save his marriage.

We all know the story about AVB telling VDV that he wasn't an automatic selection. That does show what a poor judge of footballers AVB could be, but it also reflected the degree of indulgence that VDV required: rarely up to finishing 90 minutes, needing an attacking formation to be built around his skills [and his ego] and not the best at tackling or closing down.

None of that adds up to him being "pushed out". It adds up to him needing to leave for personal reasons and AVB failing, foolishly, to give him any reason to stay.


P.S. I love him referring to AVB as "what's his name". Mischievous.
Actually, he comes across as an idiot. He assaulted his ex-wife, which some of you schmucks may conveniently pass over.
 

davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
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Jason Burt of The Telegraph, and a friend of AVB, told me categorically that AVB did not want VDV to leave.

I don't there is any inconsistency between that and what VDV (and everyone else) is saying. Only a fucking idiot would have "wanted" Rafa to leave and AVB is not one of those.

But AVB wasn't a sufficiently skilful manager of delicate footballer-egos to induce VDV (a) to stay, (b) to feel valued and important and (c) to fill a useful role in his intended team formation and tactics.

The whole squad was coming off nearly four years where they had a manager who knew how to make footballers feel good and feel part of a team. The camaraderie and team spirit of that lot, as VDV says in that interview, were off the charts. It was AVB's signal failure that he did not know how to preserve and augment that - I'm not even sure he could see the value of it.
 
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davidmatzdorf

Front Page Gadfly
Jun 7, 2004
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Actually, he comes across as an idiot. He assaulted his ex-wife, which some of you schmucks may conveniently pass over.

And he was mortified by it. He made a mistake in an emotionally upsetting situation and he knew it and he acknowledged it.

I don't recall any bullshit excuses or attempts to blame his wife. I don't recall any lawyers being drafted in to shift the responsibility.
 
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