With the high probability of Andre Villas Boas becoming the new Tottenham Hotspur manager in the near future, TPiMBW has taken an objective step back from his recent Chelsea venture to analyse just how Andre Villas Boas proposes that his teams play their football. English Premier League fans may be aware that he possesses facial hair styled to perfection and presents himself as the immaculate gentleman, but his time at Chelsea didn’t present him with the opportunity to get his concepts across – Tottenham however, is a whole different proposition.
What to expect: André Villas Boas is a manager to believes that the strength of his team is focused around a particular system and as we saw at Chelsea, is a manager who is consistent with his proposed style of play, even through poor spells. But don’t write him off just yet, to judge him on his Chelsea performance would be unwise.
With the ball: AVB prefers his team to be patient in possession and ‘pick the lock’ at the right moment. One of the key factors for his failure at Chelsea has often been suggested that AVB was lacking a creative midfielder, one just like Modric. A breed of creativity and flair that was also present in his Porto side through the talent of Joao Moutinho. André Castro was Joao Mouthinho’s understudy at Porto and under the supervision of Villas Boas appears to have become a play-making clone of Mouthinho.
Villas Boas has also demonstrated at both clubs he likes to play a formation with two dynamic, fast and goal scoring inside forwards/wingers. Sturridge and Mata were instructed to take up these roles at Chelsea and both did a reasonable job at adapting to AVB’s ideologies, however neither are naturally players positioned on the flanks. At Porto AVB boasted the skills and pace of Varela and Hulk, two players that Lennon and Bale are more than a match for, two game changers.
The basis of AVB’s strategy is that when his side are in possession, the pitch is made as big as possible by spreading the formation out wide and utilising the space created by getting the wide men on the ball as often as the centralised play-makers.
AVB is clearly a firm believer in the old footballing proverb that ‘possession is nine-tenths of the game.’ The logic behind this belief is twofold. If you have the ball, the other team cannot score and secondly, if your team have the ball the opposition become exhausted chasing you down. This therefore has two desired effects, one is that the opposition are so tired than upon winning the ball from you, they are easier to press and tackle in the following moments of play; secondly, their attacks become slower and a lot more predictable: either through a resort to long ball or the struggle to retain possession and get a foothold in the game. ‘Keep ball’ has the potential to act as a virtuous cycle.
Without the ball: AVB presses high up the field and is unlikely to sit back against anyone, not even Man City or United. One particular issue at Chelsea was that of a slow back line and it would be fair to say they failed to cope with defending any immediate counter attack.
AVB conducts his team in this way so that the pitch is made as small as possible for opponents: by squeezing up the back line and using the off side trap aggressively – the opposite to when in possession. This tactic requires quick defenders to successfully cope with any threat of the long ball over the top.
Pressing in the right areas and at the right times can lead to a significant source for lots of goals:
“A study in 1988 of 16 international matches showed that possession was won 13% of the time in the attacking third. A staggering 66% of goals scored were from this 13%.” Paul Cooper
The above image was taken from an excellent article about Brendan Rodgers’ pressing approach and shows just how effective high pressing can be – the left back in the above image is limited to route one or to play the ball back to his goal keeper, who is also likely to play a route one ball. Route one football more often than not results in the ball being turned over back to the defending side.
While Rodgers and Boas represent different schools of football philosophy, their approach to pressing is similar. Rodgers relies on the concepts derived from Tiki Taka football, AVB however you could argue takes much of his concepts from Rinus Michels’ totaalvoetball of Ajax in the 1970′s, a type of football that Michels actually called himself ‘pressing football’:
“I would describe what the journalists call ‘total football’, as ‘pressing football’. To me, this expression seems to put the emphasis on the type of football I was trying to create with Ajax and with the Dutch national team in the 1974 World Cup. What I wanted to create was a game in which all ten outfield players pressed forward all the time – even when we didn’t have the ball!” Rinus Michels, ex Ajax Manager and creator of ‘totaal voetball’
Differences however, lie in the rigidity of structure in formation between total football and Villas-Boas’ approach. Many would argue here that Tiki-Taka is simply a rebrand of Total Football, however there are many differences between the two that have come around as a response to player strengths within a team.
AVB likes players who can defend from the front and attack from the back. Full backs with attacking qualities would prosper in AVB’s tactical approach.
While the formation above shows both Modric and Van der Vaart both within the midfield axis, it is likely that Sandro will have a larger role to play. However, during AVB’s Porto days he played both Mourinho and Fredy Guarin in the same midfield - possibly suggesting that given he expects his team to be in possession more often than not, two ball playing midfielders would be acceptable.
Lastly, Jermaine Defoe may well be offered a lifeline and find a regular spot in AVB’s tactical approach. Radamel Falcao was a player who simply scored goals. Of course, there is nothing simple about scoring goals and the player who is selected to play up front is expected to be in the right place at the right time – all the time:
“The big thing is everybody says it’s being in the right place at the right time. But it’s more than that, its being in the right place all the time. Because if I make 20 runs to the near post and each time I lose my defender, and 19 times the ball goes over my head or behind me – then one time I’m three yards out, the ball comes to the right place and I tap it in – then people say, right place, right time. And I was there ALL the time” Gary Lineker
While the same players are all listed in the formation above as the familiar faces we saw under Redknapp, the most fundamental changes come from the pressing and build up play differences of the two styles of football.
Conclusion
AVB’s tactical foundations are based around a fluid passing game but in a strict and rigid formation. He has a track record in showing a belief that players should be selected that fit his system and not a system chosen to cater for the best players.
The possible appointment of AVB would represent a move away from Redknapp and his adaptive tactics to fit the best players in a side to Villa Boas’ approach to fit players to a system, a selection of the best team, not players.
Clearly, the key for AVB succeeding at Spurs comes down to whether he is able to keep players: Luka Modric and Gareth Bale in particular. Both are players who fall perfectly into place with his tactical set up and as Chelsea saw, it is not easy to implement AVB’s ideas without the correct typology of player in each given role.
The philosophy that AVB will propose aims to provide “freedom by design”, freedom of creative football by an implementation of structure.
The potential sales of both Bale and Modric however, would not be all doom and gloom as both would demand such large fees, which would therefore allow Villas Boas to actually go out and purchase players who fit his system – an opportunity he was never truly given at Chelsea. Don’t be too surprised to finally see AVB recruit some of his old Porto friends this time around.
It is worth reminding yourself however, that Tottenham have a youth player more than capable of stepping up to the big stage next season, a player who fits the creative midfield role like no other english player and impressed from start to finish in the NextGen Series last season: Alex Pritchard.
And Villas Boas is not one to be afraid to choose a youth player and allow him the opportunity, after all AVB’s career has been built around opportunities offered to him despite his age, and let us not forget… he is still only 34 years old himself!
“great moments…are born from great opportunity” Herb Brooks from the movie ‘Miracle’ 2004
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Categories: Chelsea, EPL Index Featured Article, EPLIndex Tactical Report, Tottenham Hotspur
Tags: ajax, Andre Villas-Boas, AVB, AVD Tottenham Tactics, Chelsea, formation, hotspur, Manager, NEW, next, passing football, possible, premiership, pressing football, Redknapp, rinus michels, season, Spurs, tactics, team, Total Football, Tottenham, Villas Boas new spurs manager, Villas Boas Spurs, Villas Boas Tactics, Villas Boas Tottenham, Villas Boas Tottenham Tactics
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Wow, fantastic article, very well thought out, and educational as well in terms of how teams go about there business in a 4-3-3 and how that differs from other systems. Thanks for this, and gives me a lot more faith in AVB as our next manager, hopefully for years to come as our new training ground gets broken in and a new stadium under way. Lots to be excited about at THFC at the moment, COYS!!!
Interesting article.. I regularly scan over the news from Australia and it is nice to see an article with some depth of thought!
nice! It almost convinced me to hope he gets the job…
i think this would be great for tottenham a new formation and strategy even if we sell bale and modric we will have plenty of transfer money available then and in the formation remove gallas and input vertonghen and i would prefer a new striker brought in the defoe and a new goal keeper is well friedel was excellent for most of the season but his age showed nearing the end of the season as his body tired, i also find his reflexs to be off sometime. To be honest i see modric leaving and bale staying. The soon we sign a new manager and give him some transfer money the better so we dont lose out on the likes of luuk de jong to newcastle. I have also read that sturridge may consider coming to spurs with AVB as he was a regular under him and doesnt get much game time at all with di matto
I actually agree with you that there are a few new players needed. I was reluctant to put any non-tottenham players into the formation above purely because I didn’t want to be accused to created a fantasy spurs team!
A world class striker is the top priority in my opinion, but put a price on that and name the player! De Jong would be a good signing for any side in the premiership but not necessarily a world class signing – who knows, he hasn’t been given the opportunity to show how well he could play in a better league (no disrespect meant to the eredivisie there!).
Thanks for the reply anyway! much appreciated as always
**to have created a…**
great article mate very informative hopefully it the system works for us
Congratulations, a proper piece of writing! Avb is not the naive, arrogant useless manager everyone has made him out to be! Levy knows this and will support him, unlike his previous employer!
I am really starting to warm to the idea of AVB! he is Young plays good football and with the right players his formation will work. really hoping he will bring some of are youngsters through! You are also right about pritchard he is going to be a great player! i hope are line up next season is something like this!
Butland/Lloris
Walker – Kaboul – Vertonghen – BAE
VDV – Sandro – New
Lennon —- Daimao —- Bale
“New” replacement for Modric
I’m surprised at the omission of Parker in your select xi – I do think Sandro will play, saying that… but do you think there could be space for both Parker and Sandro alongside a more attacking minded Modric/VdV? I’m curious as to your opinion on Parker (as a non Spurs fan), from the outside looking in I thought he was doing a fantastic job at Spurs
He’s a great player but Sandro is just too good to leave out. Sandro just gets better and better every game he plays from a defensive and attacking perspective!
I like parker and think he has done a great job but think Sandro is a better all round player! And he will be even better with a longer run of games i personally think Sandro can become one of the best CDM’s in the world he is a class act! My line up was also based on what i thought AVB would choose in the article it say’s he likes to play 2 attacking forward thinking midfielders and one defensive midfielder andAVB likes younger players so can see him choosing Sandro over Parker.
I think everything you have said is so well thought out and you have a talent to get over what you mean easily, great stuff! ..I had the Sando, Parker ‘Issue’ as soon as Harry signed Parker, Sandro played both games V Milan and was brilliant! The best display by a holding midfielder Iv’e seen, he dominated both games and broke up any sort of attack Milan came up with.. It really was a special performance to watch, and from a player with so little experience and so young.. outstanding!
Harry then dropped him and continued to leave him out,and on top of that went and got Parker in!!, talk about a way to destroy such a young players confidence, and Harry did the same to Defoe, dreadful management. But as it has worked out we now have two strong defensive midfielder’s and that offers us up a chance to rotate them without losing any sort of quality in that position that is so important to us.
We need players of a high quality through out the squad so rotation becomes a reality and we aren’t far off having that in all honesty. Just need a manager that wants to do as best as he can for Spurs, we have the product now we need someone to deliver the end results ..And for me AVB fits that role perfectly.
I agree with Sandro over Parker. Where does that leave Huddlestone though?
Brilliant article, should put to rest many (like me) yids who are excited and nervous of AVB. This article if you are right only leaves his personality in question; is he arrogant and likely to alienate players or others at the club? I wouldn’t blame anyone for alienating ***** like Terry and fwank so I’m prepared to cut him some slack on that issue. Really if its not Guardiola/Rijkaard/Txiki I probably am swayed by the article to prefer AVB over Blanc/Deschamps, seeing Moyes/Martinez as definitely no go’s.
Good god .. tactics where will it all end?
I so hope we get someone who rotates the squad, looks at our pitiful record at set-pieces and is more than a mercenary, someone that gives enough of themself to satisfy the demands of probably the most demanding set of fans in the land.
Great article. Alex Pritchard looks class. Let’s hope he gets given the opportunities to shine for Spurs.
Good article. We must not be to quick to judge AVB. He trys to play football in the right ways, which is good. Also he is a better tactician then redknapp. He had half a bad system where he didn’t have the dressing room, he needs to get a coach who the plays respect and listen too. If we sell mods (hope he stays) Joao moutinho would be a good replacement.
What about Huddlestone? He’ll be a good Modric replacement then all the oney can be spent on a top striker
Very interesting and indepth article to read.
I’m not sure I agree with Defoe just because of his height being an issue when he plays up on his own. But that said Bale loves to whip in a low cross, and Lennon is incapable of hitting a high cross anyway.
If we took all the above article as 100% correct, one of the first changes would have to be both Lennon and Ekotto. Lennon lacks too much confidence to be scoring regularly, and is often predictable despite his pace.
Ekotto is a very slow thinker, his ability to pick out a pace requires him to stop, look up, look around, taking in the sights, make judgement, commit to a decision, and then dummy the on coming player who presses him down, and then finally pass……
We clearly need to look at a younger keeper to, although I do feel Brad can give us another 12 months.
Based on the above system, Sandro is more suited to the midfield over Parker, who relies on attacking players drifting into the goalkeepers “D” area on the box. This means parker is able to read their movements closely and just get in last minute blocks. But as we’ve seen, when he is too slow, or out of place, we suffer. Sandro on the other hand presses much higher up the pitch and loves to counter attack faster than Parker.
You’re right about Defoe, I too have concerns that he might not be right for AVB… but who knows. when he joined Chelsea he gave the playing squad he had time. Albeit that had a disastrous ending, middle and start to that story – but he did give the playing squad the opportunity – he also didn’t buy in too many at Porto.
Not to suggest he won’t buy anyone in this time though – just to suggest that Defoe may get his opportunity.
But a striker should be AVB priority IMO. Goalkeepers, A Gallas replacement and anyone leaving replacements etc etc should be made after the forward.
I saw Sandro as a more complete midfielder than Parker so possibly playing in front of him alongside Modric in the trio. It would suit his pressing play like you say.
I too agree about Defoe…and see him now as the supersub impact man, if we can keep him happy with that role. What is refreshing is that you’ve mapped this out with players we ACTUALLY have, not knowing who or indeed if we will sign. so many articles have Damiao/Remy/Ade in there and its pointless speculating, instead work with what we have if he were to take the reigns tomorrow. And I agree too with a lot of others here, you yourself TPiMBW having corrected it, Sandro will almost become first on the sheet in that midfield, maybe at the expense of Parker and certainly in the longer term now that he’s 31. Question is, if we lose Modric, can we cope with Parker/Sandro/VDV as the 3 and strenghten elsewhere? would give VDV the role he craves. Anyway, very good article, I’ve tweeted it but couldn’t find your handle to credit =)
I also have pretty high hopes for Livermore under someone like AVB, another one that makes me question quite how we try and spend any Modric money if he does go. I don’t know if you look to exactly replace him…. anyway thats for another article! #COYS
Really good article again Jed. I’d advise all those that have read this article to click on Jed’s author name TPiMBW and check out his previous blogs on this site (includes Italian national side analysis and Brendan Rodger’s tactics for Liverpool). Also please do visit his blog too. Some great stuff there too.
Well good old Jed mentions nothing about AVBs man management abilities which are below zero on a scale of 0-10.Of course maybe you and gtood old Jed arenh’t too fussed about his man mangement “abilities” since he is sucn a tactical gennius.The Albert Einstein of football tactics aye? More like Albert Steptoe.
I am, of course! But some squads need man managers more so than others. I’m not at all saying he’d be good for spurs or not in that sense – it’s a subjective issue that neither you or I could conclude. You cannot take Porto or Chelsea and come to any conclusion there – at one club he was brilliant and at the other he wasn’t.
and i had to google Albert Steptoe… – lol.
you a chelsea fan Mike?
Very interesting article, and very well written. That’s some fantastic analysis of the AVB approach and certainly seems to be the most accurate that I’ve read so far.
It will be interested to see how the Tottenham players fit into this new approach, considering that the players being named are very similar and therefore may feel the need to just do as they did before (i.e. van der Vaart sitting behind the top man instead of being involved with the midfield triangle).
Good articel but leave out Sandro at your own risk. I would create a team that has him in it as he was far betetr than Parker once he became matchfit. I see no room in CMF for VDV and Modric and would have Sandron next to Parker for ALL away matched whereas at home I might be tempted by yr midfield but WITH sandro
Parker – Sandro – Modric is the midfield trio I should have put down in the formation on reflection. Sandro is IMO the most complete midfielder in terms of attack/defence and would offer something the others down in terms of pressing high up the field aggressively.
Its great to see Sandro and Lucas (of Liverpool) getting so much praise – it’s not like Brazil is mass producing players like this. a rare breed for certain
Great article, must admit after reading this AVB could be a good thing for Spurs. I would also push forward Tom Carroll to make the first team, his passing is excellent and is in a similar mould to Modric IMO. Sandro can certainly play the box to box midfielder position perfectly and perhaps under AVB we might even see players dropped to rest them rather than throwing them out week after week when clearly they are either tired or just in poor form.
That amazes me regarding Bale saying he needs to consider his future as there is no Champions league but I remember at the back end of the season Bale was playing like a donkey and didn’t get involved game after game. If he had pulled his finger out along with Modric perhaps we would be in the Champions league as we would of beaten Norwich and QPR!
Tom Carroll, Andros Townsend, Danny Rose, Jake Livermore, Steven Caulker and Kyle Naughton. I expect a few of those to get a real opportunity.
Caulker is also a player who has proved his is quality as Swansea this season and may well be the player to fit alongside Kaboul.
Great that Spurs have so many players who are likely to become premiership players in the future… whether they all get the chance at Spurs or not is the question
agreed tom carroll has always impressed when i have seen him, and i would also try townsend, TO DARE IS TO DO.
Souleymane Coulibaly must be one or two years away from doing something special with the first team as well if he’s really as good as they say – he did so well at the U17 World Cup last summer… which I wrote a short report on – see here – http://thepathismadebywalking.wordpress.com/scouting-reports/world-u17-best-xi-with-8-subs/
You said AVB plays inverted wingers, yet you placed Bale on the Left & Lennon on the right! & we all know that Bale didn’t impress when used on d right. Another point is you talked about a high-line of defence needs FAST CB which “chelsea does not have”, is Gallas (who was left trailing by slow Drogba), Kaboul & crocked King faster? So who says they won’t fail too. High pressing game is very much energy-draining! Do you think old Parker can do that effectively every game? One vital thing you failed to mention is “MAN MANAGEMENT” ability to make majority of the playing & none playing member of staff happy. This is an area Harry excelled in & contributed immensely to his success, same with Di matteo & was rewarded by outstanding performances from Lampard,Cole, Mikel, Kalou, Drogba even Torres! Look at the way he treated Anelka, Alex & a couple of backroom staffs. I don’t hate AVB, in fact I believe he’s technically sound, but needs to be more diplomatic & flessible. So don’t get too excited if he comes to Tot like I did when he came to chelsea!
As a manager you must learn from your mistakes and you have to think that every individual would wish to improve on his last performance. Just like players try to improve I’m sure managers do too. AVB proved he could do it at Porto, although a different league, they also had star players. Personally I don’t think there are as many big egos in the Spurs squad as there were at Chelsea.
your right about Bale/Lennon… although Bale has proven he can score goals from either side of the forward (on the right for Wales).
Gallas – seems to be the player a few have expressed their concerns over. King I fear is coming to the end of his career.
Caulker (loan at Swansea) is a player who Spurs have back this season and could potentially step up to Tottenham’s standards. Who knows?
All I know is that AVB isn’t a wheeler and dealer (neither was Harry in his own words) – at Porto he inherited most of the squad and at Chelsea he wanted to stick with what he had. So maximising what Spurs already have is likely to be the first option.
You are right about his Man Management – I nearly included a part about this in my article but it became too subjective. He failed on all accounts at Chelsea. He succeeded on all accounts at Porto. So who’s to say what will happen at Tottenham… the squad is younger than chelsea’s (maybe, w/o research!)… and this might play in his favour.
Some managers are great man managers, some are great tacticians… few are both.
Chelsea need a man manager… Tottenham have had one of those for the last few years and (although I still can’t believe they sacked Harry) they don’t want that anymore evidently.
Well, I should have said this earlier, that this is a Very very nice,well researched & thought-provoking article, not like some lazy writing common these days. And the comments would also justify that.
The fact you mention Kaboul as slow blows your whole argument out of the water. Kaboul is one of the fastest CBs in the PL. You don’t get a faster back four than Walker Kaboul Vertonghen Ekotto.
Glad some one who knew for certain could confirm that about Kaboul – wasn’t 100% sure that he was that fast but had seen him on a few occasions looking unbeatable for pace. Thanks Ben
Tanx for your comment. But is Kaboul faster than Luiz? Yet what happened? I think apart from speed, another problem is that the CB plays with his back to his post, while the opposition striker is on “his shoulder” facing the post. So if there’s a true-ball or ball over the top, the striker is already on the run while the CB tries to TURN & then accelerates! Another factor is the common style of play in the EPL in which there’s little or nobuild-up play, instead just get the ball & “attack the post” with long balls leaving the opposing players (defenders) little or no time to get back into positions. And remember high-pressing game often draw players out of position! Lastly,just want to know, how many clubs in the EPL employs highline of defence week-in week-out?
The ‘theory’ and ‘tactics’ are all well and good but the FACT remains that players win football matches. Football games are played on the pitch and not on a white board. AVB inherited a Porto side with Hulk and Falcao up top and Joao Moutinho in midfield. In fact 90% of the Porto team which won the Europa Cup with him was inherited.
Expansive pitch, wide play, high line defending is nothing new and has been used and tried by various coaches for years. Some succesfully others unsuccesfully. No one can fault AVB on his commitment and desire but that alone is simply not enough. As a football tactican he is completely naive with no plan B when things go wrong or not to ‘theoretical’ plan. His over riding and main problem is that he has no concept of man management and is basically a bully. He is vendictive toward players that fall foul of him which then tends to have a knock-on effect in the dressing room. Remember when Chelsea played Napoli in Italy for the quarter finals of the Champions League? He put a fit (but out of favour at that point) Ashley Cole on the bench and played a poor right back in Jose Bosingwa as Chelsea left back that night. That little episode blew up in his face as well. The story of how both Alex AND Nicholas Anelka were treated by the man are now legendary at Cobham. Neither were allowed to use the players car park any longer, were forced to train with the reserves and were even ‘banned’ from the clubs’ Xmas party! The senior Chelsea players organised their own ‘private’ party at a popular London Chinese restaurant for their former team mates. From the outset and with the players at his disposal you cannot play the same way against Arsenal, United, City et el as against Wolves, Bolton and Blackburn simple as. You cannot play in the same fashion away as you can at home. The players knew this but AVB could not see it?
When AVB was first appointed he refused to look at new players to bring in to the club as he ‘wanted to get to know his existing squad’ on their Asian tour. For the un initiated, the Mata deal was already being negotiated by the club as was Lukaku and Romeu from Barca. Chelsea had been strongly linked with Aguero for the previous 3 seasons to the degree that the player himself was quoted in the press saying how he would love to play with players like Drogba, Terry and Lampard. When Kun Aguero was sold to City last summer there was not a peep out of Chelsea for his signature. AVB wasn’t interested. He would rather ‘get to know’ the likes of Salomon Kalou, Florent Malouda and Danial Sturridge than buy a world class player like Aguero!
One could go on and on about the poor team selection, poor tactics and bad dressing room at Chelsea during AVB’s short tenure. What some people fail to realise is that because of Roman’s desire to get things absolutely right at Stamford Bridge, the Chelsea squad, more than any other squad in the Premiership know what it is like to work under different Managers/Coaches. It is basically the same players and squad that worked under Mourinho, Grant, Scollari, Hiddink, Ancelotti and AVB. Ask yourself why these same players can ‘do it’ under the likes on Mourinho, Hiddink, Ancelotti and now Di Matteo but NOT under Grant, Scollari or AVB? The answer lie’s in the poor man management of the latter three culminating in the lack of success on the pitch. As I said, it is ALL to do with players and not simply white boards and tactics! KTBFFH
I agree with you on most actually – the man management total failure at Chelsea and if all is true re: bully, it would appear he felt the need to fight for authority.
I’m not sure I completely side with your opinion that the white board doesn’t matter. In my view there are two distinctive types of managers – those who dictate tactics – Van Gaal, Michels, Rodgers, Martinez etc. And great man managers – O’Neill, Redknapp and Allardyce.
Each of the two has a different impact on how good a set of players can be on the field.
It’s when a manager has both great man management and tactical dictatorship – Mourinho, Guardiola, Bilic, Ferguson, Wenger… all of who are considered the best managers around, at least by the fellow professionals anyway.
In my view AVB falls straight into one who doesn’t necessarily have great man management skills but fantastic tactical dictatorship.
Chelsea are or were crying out for a man manager like di matteo or mourinho. Other successful managers also failed there by attempting to ‘go the other way’ in my view.
Tottenham are in a different position… they’ve had one of the best man managers – and did well IMO, but (unbelievably) sacked Harry and are making an obvious decision to now look for a tactical background.
The sec on point you raise is also an important one I have raised elsewhere – AVB’s unproven spending record in the transfer market. However, if Bale and Modric leave against his wishes, he will almost certainly spend… how he spends that will be interesting.
I don’t think we should completely write him off because of his 100% failure at Chelsea… but be wary of the question marks that were raised at Chelsea… not least his refusal to change system or play players who don’t suit…. but who knows, when you’re winning no one questions a thing.
thanks for you comment
absolutely well said!
i do not understand what’s wrong with AVB to want spurs & EPL again;
also, what’s wrong with spurs to want AVB??
Well you have convinced me of AVB qualities.
Then again by the way you write I would even buy a rusty tractor from you even though I live in a city!!!
haha thank you Perry that is actually one of the best compliments I have seen in ages! if you wanted the balanced argument and I’ll leave you to weigh it up – AVB has yet to truly prove his is a great/good man manager and hasn’t ever really gone about buying too many players – so if Modric/Bale leave it will be interesting to see his approach in the market.
Again thank you for the comment
Fantastic article, brilliant research done into the tactics used by AVB. Pleasure to read!
Thanks Dan. Hopefully AVB will be successful at Spurs and we’ll actually see his ideas work this time around!
Best article I’ve read in a long time, fantastic breakdown, hope to read more from you
thank you Patrick! great to gain a few readers
I totally agree with Alan Frank.
AVB’s was successful only once in his short career and that has happened at a club in his own country and under certain conditions and with a certain squad including top players like Hulk and Falcao where probably his managerial skills and abilities happened to match those of the squad players. Nothing else. He is totally inexperienced, he looks rather naïve than quick thinker and intelligent, he obviously doesn’t have a strong personality and a winner’s character, he looked clueless when Chelsea was behind in the score or when couldn’t win a game and he has failed at his first attempt to coach a club abroad. I really don’t understand why this inexperienced manager could be a candidate at a club like Spurs.
I just hope that if he joins Spurs he would prove me wrong.
I disagree here about inexperience since he has been coaching in the professional game since he was 16.
And if you are to say “AVB’s was successful only once in his short career ” then you could also say “AVB was unsuccessful only once in his short career” – not many managers (bar mourinho and a few others) are successful 100% of the time.
Alan Frank does mention a number of issues to be wary about – but also remember that SPURS and Chelsea have a completely different set of players with different mind sets.
But at present, neither you or I are correct/incorrect since the only end to this debate would be for AVB to go out and either fail/succeed.
Great to have all sides of the debate though – he’s certainly not one that will win EVERYONE over
I agree with this article 100%!!
Everyone keeps saying AVB failed at chelsea but when you compare his match stats to Di Matteo, AVB’s are better!!! I dont have them to hand to post but I read them in a post not long ago! I feel AVB WILL work at spurs!
Get him to sign levy!!!
COYS!!
First I have to tell you that I liked and found interesting your effort to analyse to such extend AVB.
You are right when you say that we only express suggestions and everything has to be proved on the field.
Personally I didn’t like his “look” at Chelsea. He really looked clueless to me. Personally also I like and prefer intelligent persons who also have a strong personality (to be able to deal with other persons and to convince them) and a winner’s mentality given that football is a competitive sport. AVB didn’t give me such an impression. I always aim Spurs to have the very best among their staff.
Can anyone see Tommy H fitting into this model? Felt he was a big loss last season…
absolutely – he’s a really good player who will hopefully thrive in a midfield role.
Caulkner, Pienaar and others will now also be reconsidered in terms of what future they have at the club now surely…. both would fit right in
An excellent and intelligent piece of writing. I already felt that AVB could be the answer for Spurs and this article has cemented that belief.
We need a new approach in the football world of crazy transfer fees and wages where we can produce our own talent and marry them with the odd outstanding marquee signing.
The opening of the new training facility is a step in the right direction and should hopefully provide us with players for the future.
A new manager with vision and a project (AVB) will fit in perfectly with the way that Spurs are moving forward.
The fans have got to be patient and, if we finish 6th or 7th next season but can see that progress is happening then l for one will be happy.
Id love to see Moutinho in a Spurs shirt if Modric leaves.
Nice article. I just hope that the gutter press don’t try and sabotage AVB’s career at Spurs. They are a vindictive bunch and the fact that AVB holds them in contempt and that he’s replacing media darling ‘arry make me a worried panda.
Avb is in a hurry to put things right in ths the way he did at chelsea. Is he not going to to bring 10 commandments the way he did at chelsea.remember he was not considrate when he banished some chelsea players from the team.his formation has no alternative has we have seen at his time in chelsea. Well the article i7 cool and informative. Keep it up.
IF this does happen, then AVB will get the support of the club; especially Daniel Levy.
On the Modric subject. This should satisfy him. He wanted to goto Chelsea so he could play under AVB. Modric, as much as Redknapp lauded him, still sacrificed him when Lennon or Bale were out. I’ve said all along, everything has to flow through him. Under AVB, we could see this happen, which in-turn helps Spurs greatly.
Great article though.
WOW what a well thought out article, this has to be bar far the best ive read about ABV, a great insight to the way he operates.
thankyou for this as it has totaly changed my way of thinking towards the man, also totaly agree that a new striker would be needed and defence after. will be keeping your blog in faves list, looking forward to more from you.
Thanks David that’s really encouraging! I can promise that the next couples of articles I have lined up will be some of my best work yet – two really inspiring stories that I hope I do justice! They aren’t stats or tactically focused so probably not right for this site but keep an eye out! Thank you again
look forward to reading them mate, not all good stories have to be about tactics or stats
lol! thanks mate. yeh monday morning… be on the site then. I’m not bigging my own work up – it’s the guy I’m writing about, story writes itself. unbelievable in my eyes. let me know what you think after you’ve read it. I hope i do it justice!
Just have to say fantastic article what a great read during work hours lol… if all goes well it looks like he could be our man!!!
first they will play a high line and will leak lots of goals;
second, they will get a kick in the teeth now and then, as AVB is not mature, wants obedience just not of the right kind;
for AVB to have changed his man management would take him easily 5 years if he knew what to do;
by the way, what of spurs’ problems are they hoping AVB will sort out????
i think AVB is utopian and he does not understand much of what he is doing!
The fact he won the Europa cup, kills your arguement! more established managers with better squads have tried & failed the sides he beat were no mugs. Sorry just my opinion.
This a brilliant article and as a trainee Sports Journalist, it is quite refreshing to read such a well constructed article. I do believe AVB is more suited to Tottenham than he was to Chelsea and as you said we have the players to really thrive in his formation. I do think we need more quality in strength in depth- I mean we need to get cover for Lennon and Bale and i think a player like Dries Mertens- Belgian winger who plays for PSV and scored 21 goals this season is the sort of player that can play on both flanks but also score goals which is important in a 4-3-3. I think that this formation really utilises our strongest position in terms of squad depth which is central midfield- Modric, Huddlestone, Parker, Sandro and Livermore our are strongest group of players who all could play and thrive in a 4-3-3 formation which will in turn force us to rotate. I think a world class striker is the main priority- whether its an up and coming player like Leandro Damiao or an amazing player like Edison Carvani- its wishful thinking but he would simply be AMAZING at Spurs- we just need to find someone who can consistently put the ball in the net. Vertoghen will replace Gallas and hopefully Hugo Lloris will be wearing the No1 shirt next season. With those changes plus AVB proving that he has learnt from his mistakes and also improving his man management skills, I’m sure he and Spurs will be a brilliant partnership!COYS!
thanks for that comment – means a lot to hear things like that. Please have a look t the Rodgers Liverpool article which is similar. Best of luck with your studies and don’t give up getting to where you want To go!
What a fantastic read!! It is the best article i have read in ages. Then reading Alan Franks article brought me back to earth. But then again. If i was in a job were i made mistakes and got sacked from it. I would try something different and learn from the mistakes i made. Im sure that if AVB was appointed he would be a great success. Chelsea paid £13m for him. Then sacked him while he was in 5th place with an ageing team. So what do you think he can do with a much younger team that is hungry for success??
Go for it Mr Levy.
Brilliant article.
Was surprised to see the mention of Alex Pritchard, hasn’t really been mentioned much elsewhere. Thought he looked brilliant in the first game against Inter last season, but that’s the only time I’ve seen him. Have you got anything more to say about him? Read he was about to be snapped up by QPR a few months ago on a tribunal, hope he is in Spurs’ plans for the future.
Yeh IMO he looked fantastic in all the games that he played at the NEXTGEN – I think all the game footage is on that site somewhere. Along with Aston Villas Gardner – looked a class above. I think he’s been on the spurs bench before too despite being so young – unsure on that though. Also don’t forget the striker Coulibally = wow
Guys please check this article out on this site too by Kate Cohen: http://www.eplindex.com/14831/andre-villas-boas-succeed-liverpool-failing-chelsea.html <– he was linked to LFC job earlier so a report was written then too but this time with his Porto tactics & formation. Interesting read too to whet your appetites.
Wow, another great piece written and reported.
link sandro with giovanni behind defoe…..scott parker drops deep to the D……..modrich cash to fund the cherry on the cake……any suggestions ??
Why is every one selling Modric, he has not said he wants to go and DL has not said he is fo sale
One of the best Spurs articles I have ever read, Im thinking you as our next manager lol. But seriously it is a gamble taking on AVB & the media will be on his back all season, but never will we have a manager more determined to succeed & prove his doubters wrong! I say welcome to the Lane AVB!
Didnt Dimateo get sacked from the baggies?
Haha i will prepare a CV! Thank you though!
Thank you all for the feedback. Please read Alan Frank comment for the flip side view… Football is subjective and there is no right or wrong – jut well balanced arguments! Keep the comments coming!
Great article. We should welcome AVB and have no fear of losing players. Besides the money that would come in for reinvestment, people forget what a good youth team we have: Pritchard, Carroll, Townsend, Caulker, Baby Drogba, etc. Striker situation however needs sorting out. We are in good shape. COYS!!!
Well Done, the effort you put into this artcle shines out. I can’t help the biggest factor with AVB is his recent baggage. When someone like Daniel Levy sacks Harry… and unless there is stuff we don’t know… u can’t think he’d see AVB as an upgrade can you!?… thats the headache i’ve had for the last few days
@rob,
you are wrong mate, lennon is one of our best players, people always knock him for his crossing yet last season he created a lot of assists and has always scored important goals for spurs when needed. having lennon on the tram sheet worries the opposition and he is not predictable as he is actually uinpredictable and can stop and change direction in an instant leaving defenders for dead, i cant see another winger to be able to do his job and ekotto has been great dont knock him.
well written.. and balanced & matured comments here too. hardly follow through with all the comments after reading the articles.
impt qn now is, have we got AVB yet??? whats the latest??
Perfectly said and covers everything,
I still believe If we can keep Modric & Bale (I think we will) that we are only two – three players off being the team to beat.
We need a quality striker as we actually do have one of the best midfield’s around, with no one to finish a large percentage of the chances we create.
Striker Is critical (I’d like Leandro as he would fit with Defoe perfectly,and I rate Defoe and always have, I could see him becoming top notch had Berbatov not kept him out the team for so long, followed by Redknapp Ignoring him.
Leandro offers that Drogba like Striker great on the floor and brilliant in the air, the quality we have been missing since Berbatov, we can then go 4-5-1 If needed. .
We need quality CB or even two! Kabul has done brilliantly without receiving the best reviews at times, Dawson will hopefully be back as he is a good steady player that works his ass off and every team needs a Daws, Steve Caulker had a great season with Swansea so should be in the Squad and not loaned out.
Gallas is knocking on a bit now, an injury is always a worry, and with no more King we are led to believe we are signing Vertonghen, so we really could do with another quality CB that is versatile and would give us the option to rotate and keep players fresher and stronger towards the end of the season.
We needed exactly the same players when Redknapp arrived & never got them!
It just needs a Manager that wants success with an ambition and ability to get success, AVB offers that and more.
He also will be wanting to prove his doubters wrong, and seems the sort of man that would go that extra mile to achieve it.
BRING HIM IN…AND BRING IT ON!! UP THE MIGHTY SPURS!!
Rarely do I say this to anyone. But you know your football well you should consider writing articles professionally. I say that even though this article is geared towards the team I support. But to be honest even if you wrote about most other teams I’d still find it a very interesting read. I’ll be following you on this site for sure.
ALL the talk of tactics by TPiMBW just makes one wonder whitch team he supports . Sounds to me to be a PR man for AVB
So he’s also the PR guy for the Italians and Brendan Rodgers too? Click on his name in the author’s area and check out his previous articles. He loves the tactical side of the game – and researches the philosophies and does a brilliant job to boot.
I’m actually and rather unfortunately a Cardiff city fan! But like Statto days I’m obsessed with football philosophy so maybe that’s why it might come across tht way!
So you can imagine how painful the success of Rodgers has been for me!!!
I didn’t know that you were a Cardiff fan. That must have been tough to see Swansea do well. I guess you’ll be doing something on the Laudrup philosophy soon?
I say Frank Rijkaard should given a shout
It’s safe to say that your article will help me sleep better at night. Thanks for the fantastic insight!
This article and the following comments give a lot of food for thought.
It’s a very well researched and written article so well done for that.
It’s also nice to see constructive comments and the original author taking all points on board and not just arguing to defend their side, again well done.
I will certainly be a regular to this site now.
I think Parker will not fit in at all – he showed at the Euros that despite his heart and work rate he gives the ball away too much – I expect Sandro and Huddlestone will get in in front of him.
I expect to see Moutinho and or Oscar come in whilst Modric exits.
Not sure about blooding youngsters he really messed up with Josh McEachran who should have got in ahead of Mikel , Mireles and Romeu.
I loved your article and truth be told I’m starting to feel a bit more optimistic about AVB taking over Spurs. I also like that your presumed starting eleven is made out of players actually playing for Spurs and not rumored ones. That aside I still took the liberty of putting together what I think would be a splendid spurs starting eleven for the 2012-2013 season right here:
http://imageshack.us/f/151/tottenham1213.png/
I thought I’d add the 100th comment. Ensuring this is the most commented on article on the site. Well done Jed once again!
what an article, I am glad that, I found such a masterpiece. Profoundness in details.