Andre Villas-Boas has impressed this season, his debut as Tottenham manager, finishing on a record 72 points and taking Spurs to a Europa League quarter final. Spurs just missed out on Champions League qualification, finishing 1 point behind North London rivals Arsenal and 3 points behind Chelsea in a season which saw them lose key [...]
When you’re sitting in the pub with your mates, picking your favourites of the Premier League, the one position that has to be the hardest to choose a winner for is the right-back. It is not in any way as easy as left-back, with Ashley Cole usually taking that spot, and Leighton Baines coming through [...]
Ok, so Landry was talking about the ‘other’ type of football, however the sentiment remains true for ‘real’ football. One of the most beautiful things about the beautiful game is the potential for a freak, unexpected result. An incredible, unbelievable result. There’s nothing that neutral football fans enjoy more than seeing an underdog grabbing a [...]
Wednesday night sees what could well be the decisive match in the Premier League’s fascinating race for the Champions League spots. Tottenham finished two places above Chelsea last season but had to make do with Europa League football after the Blues’ Champions League triumph in Munich. This season the two have been locked in a [...]
Ashley Cole has dominated the England left-back spot for many years, first breaking into the team against Albania in 2001, back when Sven was in charge. Wayne Bridge provided a little competition from 2002 until his last appearance in 2009. Since then we’ve seen Leighton Baines come into his own at Everton, being linked with [...]
The first thing I noticed about Mousa Dembélé was his technique, every shot, touch and pass had something I haven’t seen in a player. Nothing was quaint or delicate, the ball was always moved deliberately and powerfully. He’s a great player to watch. Martin Jol has gone even further: He has definitely become an important [...]
Manchester United are well-known for making a comeback and Arsenal have scored more goals in the last 10 minutes of matches than any other team this season, but which teams out of the top 7 have actually been the best at coming from behind this season? We have taken a look at how well the [...]
In the final segment of the series looking at Andre Villas-Boas’ revolutionary tactics at Tottenham Hotspur, we acquaint you with the changes surrounding the club’s strike-force and Gareth Bale. You can find the previous parts here: Parts 1 & Part 2 Under Harry Redknapp, Spurs usually played with Emmanuel Adebayor upfront, while Rafael van der Vaart [...]
In my second part of how Andre Villas-Boas has rebuilt and reshaped Tottenham Hotspur, we look into the new defensive set-up of the team. Part 1 can be found here: Analysing the Club’s Tactics Under AVB Part 1 Since taking over the managerial helms at the White Hart Lane, Villas-Boas has inherited a new set [...]
Despite a worrying slip in form which could eventually undo all Tottenham’s hard work this season, they have to some extent already exceeded their fans expectations this term. The biggest and most obvious change that the new manager Andre Villas-Boas has brought to the North London outfit is in their style of play. The former [...]