Ruthless AVB outcasts senior players as he bids to make Spurs title challengers

[voxy28]

http://www.goal.com/en-gb/news/2896...sts-senior-players-as-he-bids-to?ICID=HP_HN_1

SPECIAL REPORTBy Greg Stobart

One criticism of Andre Villas-Boas’ brief and ill-fated spell as Chelsea manager was the way he tried to shake up the squad too soon and fell out with a number of popular players.

The Portuguese learned the lessons from his treatment players like Alex and Nicolas Anelka at Stamford Bridge by treading carefully when he first took over Tottenham, but he is now again showing that ruthless man-management streak.

This time, he has the backing of the board, is secure in his role and comfortable making big decisions that he feels will benefit the team in the long run.

Emmanuel Adebayor, for example, is unlikely to feature any time soon as he trains with the reserves. The Togolese striker has been hit by personal tragedy recently but training ground sources claim the pair fell out a number of times last season and Villas-Boas believes his poor attitude in training has an adverse affect the rest of the squad.

Indeed, Spurs tried desperately to sell Adebayor over the summer - or to allow him to join another club on loan - but nobody was willing to match the striker’s mammoth wages, with a pay cut out of the question, and he was reluctant to leave London.

It means Adebayor remains at White Hart Lane but has been cut off from the first-team squad, much like Benoit Assou-Ekotto before he was granted a loan move to Championship side QPR on the final day of the transfer window.

In the Cameroonian's case, it was again a question of attitude. Assou-Ekotto was involved in Spurs’ pre-season tour in Hong Kong for the Barclays Asia Trophy but on his return was told he was surplus to requirements. The left-back was ordered to stay away from the first-team.

Other players, including Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, have been involved in training ground arguments with Villas-Boas and their playing time has suffered for it, with the latter currently well behind the club’s stated schedule as he recovers from a foot injury.

Villas-Boas is keenly analytical of the mentality of individuals and the squad as a whole, and spoke after Saturday’s win over Norwich of the need for winners; players who hate to lose and raise their game when most needed.

As Spurs prepare to kick-off their Europa League campaign against Tromso on Thursday night, Villas-Boas can pick from a squad he has built having spent the best part of £100 million on new signings over the summer with the full backing of the board.

The depth of the club’s squad, plus the growth of his own power base, means Villas-Boas has no time for players who display a lack of commitment or question his authority as manager.

He admits himself that the biggest challenge this season will be assimilating the seven summer signings and, with a new team made up of different nationalities, build a culture and team spirit - not to mention on-pitch tactical understanding - for immediate success.

For those reasons, Villas-Boas has sought to play down talk of a title challenge for Tottenham this season, insisting the focus is on finishing in the top four and qualifying for the Champions League after missing out by just one point last term.

His public statements have also been a message to his famously ambitious chairman Daniel Levy, who has privately spoken of his belief that Spurs can challenge for major honours as early as this season.

Summer transfers and managerial changes mean that any one of six clubs could win the title this summer, and Levy feels Spurs have a shot, with a top four finish the minimum and most important requirement.

Villas-Boas, for his part, believes Tottenham can win the Premier League next season if they continue to follow his blueprint. So far, he is getting his way.

 

[voxy28]

To be honest, I dont give a hoot to those slackers if Siggy can work his ass off to get into the first 11.

 

[Damian99]

Gotta give this guy everything he needs/wants imo.

And one of the reason we have under achieved are because of slackers as the guy above calls them.

 

[spurslenny]

I have a man crush on AVB. What a guy

 

[Damian99]

Villas-Boas is keenly analytical of the mentality of individuals and the squad as a whole, and spoke after Saturday’s win over Norwich of the need for winners; players who hate to lose and raise their game when most needed.

Never a truer word spoken and another of our problems over the years.

 

[JUSTINSIGNAL]

I don't see a problem with AVB excluding players who he feels do not fit into the collective winning mentality he is trying to breed.

 

[Tottenham_God]

I'd let him fill me up with his warm load

 

[Mr Pink]

I don't see a problem with AVB excluding players who he feels do not fit into the collective winning mentality he is trying to breed.

Totally agree. In fact if the above is accurate I'd be delighted as it totally endorses the notion that AVB is a winner himself. He wants that reflected in the collective group and in the eleven he picks at any time on the field.

Doesn't matter who the name is, if they aren't on board with that then I'm in complete agreement in terms of how AVB feels best to handle those situations.

 

[Chris Flynn]

'Villas-Boas is keenly analytical of the mentality of individuals and the squad as a whole, and spoke after Saturday’s win over Norwich of the need for winners; players who hate to lose and raise their game when most needed.'
As much as i really like him as a player, been one of my favorates for years and this is the first time i have said anything negative about him ever...........can we really say that this describes Lennon? I'm very sad to say i can't. He's not really a 'when the going gets tough' player. Maybe his future after this season isn't with us unless this changes. Sigh

 

[Fergus]

And here's me thinking "outcasts" was a plural noun.

 

[Gassin's finest]

Ruthlessness is fine when it's deserved (ie Adebayor) but you do need a certain flexibility when dealing with different personalities, which AVB may need to appreciate as his career progresses. Players like Ekotto have a certain relaxed attitude to the game, and yet when they play they are as good as anyone. Redknapp made comments regarding Benni along the lines of "he won't even know who we're playing, if its a cup final or anything. But when he goes out there he'll just play. That's the person he is".

Of course hard work and a committed attitude is what you want, but no two professionals are the same. You're dealing with people not commodities, despite the fiscal outlay. Then agan, I take most of the "reports" with a pinch of salt these days.

As for Lennon, large sections of our fans seem to write him off year after year, to the point where David Bentley's signature was considered an upgrade on his delivery.. but time after time he proves his worth.

 

[Yid-ol]

And here's me thinking "outcasts" was a plural noun.

Ade and BAE

It also talks about Defoe and Lennon, but to be fair, I think both were getting replaced anyway and Lennon picked up an injury.

 

[Mr Pink]

Ruthlessness is fine when it's deserved (ie Adebayor) but you do need a certain flexibility when dealing with different personalities, which AVB may need to appreciate as his career progresses. Players like Ekotto have a certain relaxed attitude to the game, and yet when they play they are as good as anyone. Redknapp made comments regarding Benni along the lines of "he won't even know who we're playing, if its a cup final or anything. But when he goes out there he'll just play. That's the person he is".

Of course hard work and a committed attitude is what you want, but no two professionals are the same. You're dealing with people not commodities, despite the fiscal outlay. Then agan, I take most of the "reports" with a pinch of salt these days.

As for Lennon, large sections of our fans seem to write him off year after year, to the point where David Bentley's signature was considered an upgrade on his delivery.. but time after time he proves his worth.

To be honest I think we can trust AVB's ability and judgement with these sorts of things. These players earn huge money, he's the manager and they should be on board with his ideas and requirements. It shouldn't be a case of AVB having to adapt to different personalities - they should be adapting to his methods and ideas, and most importantly they should be realising that the collective comes first. AVB I'm sure will lavish praise when its warranted, but he doesn't have to be obsequious in nature to some of these guys - just because they expect preferential treatment.

All this having to adapt to different players is underling and exacerbating the problem with the culture of the modern day footballer.

Get with the programme or sling your hook - that would by my attitude. We want winners here, not a bunch of over paid cry babies.

 

[thinktank]

Other players, including Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, have been involved in training ground arguments with Villas-Boas and their playing time has suffered for it, with the latter currently well behind the club’s stated schedule as he recovers from a foot injury.

Really? First I've heard of that.

Anywho, Defoe could have spent his whole time buying AVB cakes and telling him how much he loves gingers and he still wouldn't get anymore time on the pitch...because he's not good enough!!

Lennon has been injured and will struggle to get in the team now anyway as we have other quality options where before we didn't.

Ade - ultimate pisstaker/lost cause.

Benny...yeah, benny

You can't, on one hand, admit that we have a big squad and more depth and quality and then say that players are being treated 'roughly' and ostracised.

I suppose GS had to write something though...that's his job, right.

I think AVB has finally come out of his hypersensitive phase after his chelsea experience and is now toughening up more, as is needed, to get the quality out of the team we need. I hope he becomes more ruthless with his subs now as well , as he's been way too sensitive with them imo.

He's finding his balance.

 

[sloth]

Ruthlessness is fine when it's deserved (ie Adebayor) but you do need a certain flexibility when dealing with different personalities, which AVB may need to appreciate as his career progresses. Players like Ekotto have a certain relaxed attitude to the game, and yet when they play they are as good as anyone. Redknapp made comments regarding Benni along the lines of "he won't even know who we're playing, if its a cup final or anything. But when he goes out there he'll just play. That's the person he is".

Of course hard work and a committed attitude is what you want, but no two professionals are the same. You're dealing with people not commodities, despite the fiscal outlay. Then agan, I take most of the "reports" with a pinch of salt these days.

As for Lennon, large sections of our fans seem to write him off year after year, to the point where David Bentley's signature was considered an upgrade on his delivery.. but time after time he proves his worth.

I think the point with someone like BAE is not so much that he's at fault for his character, but that if AVB's trying to foster a winning mentality then there's no room for a Benny type player in the team. this is why BAE has been shipped out, and I dare say one of the qualities we'll look for in new recruits is a strong will to win. I love BAE, and I think he's a well rounded person with his priorities in exactly tyhe right place, but unfortunately they're not the qualities required at clubs which win things!

 

[Kiedis]

Thought it was strange to see Lennon mentioned. He was heavily praised by AVB and was even handed the captains armband on one occasion last season.

Maybe AVB expected him to grow more with added responsibility, and Lennon failed to do so. I'm still a bit puzzled, from the shift he puts in when he plays, I'd never thought of him as unprofessional. Hope he'll come back into favour, as he's one of my favourites.

 

[michaelden]

I hadn't heard of the training ground bust ups before. Any truth in them or just a throw away comment by the author to justify his article?

 

[Basil Brush]

AVB appears to be extremely single minded and ruthless and that can definitely be a strength. However in a sporting environment, you have to be careful as you are still dealing with humans, not robots. They still have emotions and ups and downs.

I just hope AVB is not too stubborn to not see any mistakes he may make. Almost complete opposite to harry as a tactician and man manager. We will see how it goes but I am backing AVB.

 

[onthetwo]

AVB has standards that players need to reach and it can only be good for the team overall if he holds everyone accountable to them regardless of age, transfer fee or anything else you care to mention.

 

[theShiznit]

If his (Ade's) attitude is so rotten and poisonous...

Why are we letting him train with the development squad?
Are we hoping he helps them develop a can do/will do mentality.

Doesn't ring true to me. Obviously he is being disciplined for something but if it's for that reason then putting him with youngsters is just crazy.