Festive Cheers return to the Lane as Tim’s Spurs Overpower Stoke

On the morning of 16^th December, Tim Sherwood was making his way to the Spurs Lodge to oversee the training of the development squads, Emmanuel Adebayor was still out of the first team picture, Spurs had been plunged back into crisis the day before by the Liverpool trashing, had not kept a clean sheet in the league since the 3^rd of November and had not scored more than two goals in a league game all season. Fast forward two weeks and Adebayor is the focal point of a promising partnership with Roberto Soldado, Spurs have scored three goals in two of their last three matches and also finally kept a clean sheet again with a good, emphatic win against Stoke. Maybe Tim Sherwood is right after all. He had said tongue in cheek at one of his earlier press conferences that if he does well and still loses the job, he'd simply join Real Madrid! Perhaps he knows more about this management lark than his CV would suggest and he might yet surprise us all.

Tim Sherwood has made some bold calls since taking over, not least the decision to switch to 4-4-2. It was a bold although reasonable decision to bring Adebayor back into the team given the lack of goals. He has clearly given the team a licence to attack. There was a feeling that under AVB, Spurs played with the handbrakes on. However the fact that Sherwood has yet to start with a defensive midfielder in his line up shows where his emphasis is. Goodness knows what AVB must be thinking watching Adebayor perform as impressively as he has in the last four games. Considering he has hardly played any football this season, his interplay with Soldado has already yielded goals, assists and looks quite promising. Tim Sherwood deserves credit for that.

Sherwood made another brave call in handing Zeki Fryers his first start for Spurs and also playing him in his natural position of left back. While Fryers still has a lot of improving to do, he gave Spurs a level of natural balance that the right sided Kyle Naughton never did when he played there. He needs games in that position, either at Spurs or out on loan to get better in the same way that Kyle Walker and Danny Rose did. Incidentally, Kyle Naughton, playing in his natural position of right full back had arguably one of his best games for Spurs. For all the tactical trends in modern football, playing footballers in their natural positions can be ridiculously effective. Tim Sherwood will do well to remember this lesson as he moves forward.

Mousa Dembele and Paulinho were highly impressive in central midfield and it is a massive blow that we are now going to lose Paulinho for at least a month due to the thuggery of Stoke City’s Charlie Adam, who is developing this unwelcome habit of injuring Spurs better players whenever he play his team. He had previously injured Gareth Bale as well with an ugly tackle.  Paulinho has impressed since arriving at Spurs and when he plays really well, Spurs tend to play really well. The good thing is you sense there is a lot more to come from him and Tim Sherwood will do well to get it out of him consistently. He will also have to find a way to get Mousa Dembele performing consistently.  He has brilliant dribbling skills and the ability to change direction. His distribution however and his goal ratio for a player of such talent has so much scope for improvement. His well taken goal against Stoke yesterday was a welcome start.

It was also great to see Aaron Lennon get on the score sheet and also making runs off the ball and providing decent crosses. Lennon is an experienced player now and a level of consistency is needed from him on the right and indeed should be expected, with his pace. This is particularly important as Andros Townsend appears to have gone off the boil a bit. Speaking of Townsend, it was perhaps inevitable that after his impressive start to the season and explosion on the England scene, there would be a dip in form. He now needs to knuckle down, learn the lessons and fight his way back to the level that had him almost guaranteed a world cup squad spot. On current form and given the number of right sided young players in form, that can no longer be taken for granted.

All in all seven points from three premier league games and a return to the attacking principles we love is a decent start to Tim Sherwood’s career as Spurs Manager. It means we end a tumultuous year on a high and head into 2014 with everything still to play for. The loss to West Ham in the league cup was an irritant that would probably be forgotten as Manchester City are strong favourites to win it. Managers among other things have to be lucky to survive in this business for long and we are about to get an indication of how good and how lucky a manager Tim Sherwood will be. Tough tests wait in the league as we start the new year with a tasty clash with in form but beatable Manchester United followed by a FA Cup third round tie at Arsenal.  As Tim Sherwood himself said, time to get the tin hats on. Here’s to an exciting 2014 at the Lane.

Exit wounds all round as Andre Villas Boas falls on his sword

The end was brutal and mercifully swift. Andre Villas Boas had cut a dazed and lonely picture on the pitch as Raheem Sterling scored the fifth goal to complete Liverpool’s demolition job and leave him at the mercy of Daniel Levy’s judgement. Like a peasant at the mercy of a Roman Emperor. AVB has off course been here before with a certain Roman Emperor down Kings Road. He had survived to tell the tale and he was now plotting to overthrow the said Roman Empire, now being overseen ironically by his mentor and one time friend, Jose Mourinho.  To his credit, he did not hide from the after match press conference. He took the predictable grilling from the press pack while trying grimly to hang on to his credibility for all it was worth, but he looked a beaten man, with all the confidence of a turkey, who knows what it’s like to be stuffed at this time of the year. And so with one downward point of Daniel Levy’s thumb, the era of Andre Villas Boas, 39^th manager of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club and 11^th to lead the first team (including caretakers but not directors of football!) since the reign of King Daniel Levy was consigned to history.

So why or where did it go wrong for AVB? How should we judge AVB as a manager? And is Daniel Levy any closer to establishing our great club firmly back in the big time?

To answer the first question, one has to look no further than Gareth Bale. Bale was AVB’s gift and curse. Since 2010, Bale has been Spurs star player and inspiration. Despite the presence of outstanding players like Luka Modric and Rafael Van Der Vaart, Bale gave Spurs a swagger we have not had since David Ginola flicked his admittedly gorgeous hair all over White hart lane. AVB’s great success in 2012 was inspiring even greater performances from Bale and adding at least another forty million pounds to his transfer value. The 2012/2013 season did much to restore some of AVB’s credibility, so much so that Paris St Germaine came sniffing for his services. With Bale’s world record transfer however, AVB was exposed. While Spurs spent heavily in the transfer market, the three players AVB wanted more than any other escaped his grasp. From day one on the job, Joao Moutinho has been his number one target. The midfield general that will set the tempo for Spurs. The others were Hulk and Willian. But for Jose Mourinho at Chelsea, Willian would have been delivered. The other players would have enhanced the squad. However, the Hulk deal never looked like materialising and Moutinho ended up at moneybags, Monaco. This made this season a very testing one for AVB. He also appeared to ignore Adebayor rather too hastily. Undoubtedly, none of the signings have shone consistently, nonetheless, he started solidly enough. The alarm bells first rang when West ham mugged us at the Lane. The dissenting voices among fans, critics and press increased due to an increasingly discernible lack of tempo.  However it was the manner of the heavy defeats to Manchester City and Liverpool that really sealed his fate. For such an astute tactician, AVB seemed unable to affect some matches and confidence looked alarmingly fragile.

So was AVB a success or a failure? At first glance, the answer is obvious. After all, you don’t get sacked for being successful do you? However, the evidence is not so conclusive. AVB loves his statistics and would take comfort from the fact that statistically his win percentage in all competitions places him third highest on the all-time list of Spurs managers. Statistically he has the highest win percentage of any Spurs manager in the premier league era and no Spurs manager in premiership history has ended the season with more points.  Set against that is the fact that no trophies were won, semi- finals or finals contested, no champions league. A harsh indictment perhaps, but Spurs have moved up a level since Daniel Levy became chairman. Previously unheard of sums of money are now being spent on players regularly and most crucially, recent managers have been in no doubt about what is expected of them when they join Spurs. Most Spurs fans will just about tolerate a lack of trophies if the team is playing entertaining football consistently and at least challenging for the big prizes. This has been AVB’s chief crime this season and left him without a safety net when results turned against him. AVB has however won a league title in Portugal, a league tougher than Holland, Belgium, Switzerland and Scotland. He remains the youngest manager ever to win a European title and has earned the respect of players like Willian, Moutinho, Falcao and Gareth Bale. And yet, AVB has yet to complete a second season at ANY club he has managed.  AVB still has plenty of admirers in the game, talks a great game and there are plenty of managers with far worse records than his. His credibility will be the source of much debate. I can only conclude that, in spite of his success with Porto, outside of his native Portugal, Andre Villas Boas has not been a lucky manger so far.  

So where does this leave Levy’s ambition for Spurs?

Like Roman Abramovic at Chelsea, Daniel Levy has always wanted an A-List manager to take Spurs into the big time. Unlike Abramovic at Chelsea, he has not been able to bring the very best managers to Spurs. Glen Hoddle was a populist if welcome move. Harry Rednapp was a desperate move to avoid the threat of relegation and turned out better than expected before imploding because of the England job that never was. Juande Ramos was a rising star in Spanish football following his work with Sevilla but struggled to adapt outside of Spain, Jacques Santini had overseen one of France’s worst tournament performances prior to taking over while Martin Jol established Spurs as top five, top six  but could not make the final break through.  All of the above are decent managers in their own right. However Levy has wanted more from his managers since dispensing with Glen Hoddle. His tenure at Spurs has seen a cross between the extravagant spending of Chelsea and the financial prudence of Arsenal. However, without completely going one way or the other, Spurs have been at a sort of halfway house, tantalisingly close to a breakthrough but not quite getting there. Ecstasy and agony been delivered too closely, too often to be good for the old ticker. 

His chosen one, perhaps surprisingly is the previously untested Tim Sherwood. A Redknapp protégé who is well thought of at Spurs due to his work with the development squad which has given us Harry Kane, Tom Carroll, Andros Townsend and most recently the promising Nabil Bentaleb.  How will he get on? Time will tell, however If history is any judge, Tim will have to outdo his mentor and show the tactical suaveness of a fancy continental coach. Above all, he will need to be lucky.  In one sense, he already is by getting this job. It is a far healthy situation than most managers walk into mid-season. Spurs are still within breathing distance of the top of the league in this most open of seasons and have a decent squad of players. Now Mr Tim Sherwood must walk the walk. It’s already squeaky bum time. A sensation Spurs fans have felt far too often in recent times. In fact Daniel Levy’s tenure at Spurs can be summarised as a squeaky bum ride. It’s never dull at Tottenham Hotspur Football Club. 

St Emmanuel gives Spurs the gift of three points at Saints’ grotto

Some felt this was a good time to play Spurs, without a manager and having conceded thirteen goals in the last four league games, including five in their last league game. Others felt that it was a good time to play Southampton, given their own patchy form without a win in five league games before yesterday’s match.  The more mischievous observers thought it was a good opportunity for Southampton manager Mauricio Pochettino to audition for the Spurs job given his impressive career to date in English football. What no one foresaw at the start of the week was that a striker who had not started a single league game for Spurs this season would make the headlines.

Emmanuel Adebayor missed pre-season and has not trained with the first team this season, having at various times trained with the reserves and even on his own. Yet he was arguably Spurs best player in the midweek Carling cup quarter-final defeat at home to West Ham (again!! painful I know) scoring with a fabulous volley and on Sunday, produced another fine performance, scoring two classy goals and creating a few assists as well. Adebayor has always divided opinion. To some, he is a world class striker who just needs to be loved and believed in, be the main man. To others, he is a luxury, a lazy striker who only turns in his best performances when he is playing for a contract or wants a transfer. What is undeniable is that he has all the attributes of a top striker, but has been frustratingly inconsistent, not just at Spurs, but throughout his career in English football. One great season followed by an indifferent one, followed by inevitable speculation about his future and then a transfer. Just once, I would like Adebayor to dedicate three years to a single club without any thought of moving and apply himself fully to achieving something. It would be a first; however Spurs are a club hungry for success. So desperate for success in fact they have been changing managers with all the desperation of a love starved woman changing boyfriends at the first whiff of trouble.

Back in the autumn, when Spurs still had a miserly defence but were struggling to score goals, I suggested that an Emmanuel Adebayor with a point to prove may just be the trump card for Spurs Champions league ambitions during the business end of one of the most open and unpredictable seasons in premiership history. Even Adebayor himself boasted that despite new strikers at the club, he expected to end the season as the main striker and top scorer. Three goals in a couple of good games do not begin to fulfil that prediction.  However, with twenty one league games left and only six points off the top of league, an FA cup third round tie against Arsenal at the Emirates and a Europa league round of thirty two tie against Ukrainian side Dnipro, there remains plenty to play for and a massive opportunity now presents itself to make good on his boast.

It was a brave if not totally unexpected call from caretaker manager and ex Spurs midfielder Tim Sherwood to reinstate Adebayor straight into the starting line-up after taking over from the sacked Andre Villas Boas. It was also reasonably predictable that he would adopt the 4-4-2 formation favoured by his mentor Harry Redknapp. Tim however showed real belief in his judgement by starting without a specialist defensive midfield (shades of Ossie Ardiles famous five) and then bringing on Nabil Bentaleb, an 18 year old youth team player ahead of internals Etienne Capoue and Lewis Holtby. The teenager did well while he was on the pitch and follows a line of players from Spurs youth team like Steve Caulker, Harry Kane, Tom Carroll, Jake Livermore and Andros Townsend. All these players have progressed to the fringes of the first team under Tim Sherwood’s watch and this as well as results in the ensuing games will be his audition for the Spurs managers’ job. He is talking a good game and seems personable enough with the media. However, truth be told, he will hardly set the pulses of Spurs supporters racing, at least initially. Possession is nine tenths of the law though so Tim as interim manager is in contention. 

AVB, his sacking and the managerial situation at Spurs will be discussed in a later post. For now, Spurs faithful should draw some comfort from the fact that the last interim manager to follow AVB managed to lift the Champions league and the FA cup.  Spurs are not in the Champions league. The Europa league, FA cup and top four would do nicely though thank you very much. Now there’s an exciting thought to warm the cockles this festive season. Calm down dear, I hear you say. Ah well, we can always dream. That’s what fans do. What IS realistic though?

Pain at the Lane as Liverpool and Suarez Rip Spurs Apart

As John Cleese so memorably said, "It's not the disappointment, it's the hope I can't cope with". Hope and excitement had preceded the start of this game among the Spurs faithful who turned up in their thousands at White Hart Lane. Spurs had recovered reasonably well from the last great thrashing. This was the game that would complete our recovery and set us up for a happy Christmas with winnable games throughout the crucial period. Manchester City even set the mood music by thrashing Arsenal 6 – 3 the previous day. The sight of Jack Wilshere giving the finger and a clearly irate Per Mertersacker berating Mesut Ozil in no uncertain terms for not acknowledging the fans at the end provided an amusing backdrop. Just beat Liverpool, five points behind Arsenal, game on. Simples.

Ninety painful, deflating minutes later, players and fans trudged way, dazed, head dropped and hopes dashed again. Luis Suarez had bitten us where it really hurts (metaphorically this time of course). In truth, from about the 12^th minute, Liverpool had taken control of this game. Raheem Sterling gave Kyle Naughton an absolute roasting on the left flank. It must have come as a relief to him when he was substituted for the second half. Michael Dawson, Etienne Capoue and Kyle Walker probably all wished they were by the end of the game. Such had been the caning. Everyone knew that Liverpool’s Inspiration was Luis Suarez, yet no defender got close to him all afternoon. In midfield, players who on paper looked much better than Liverpool’s midfielders were overrun and overpowered by the intensity and energy of Joe Allen and Jordan Henderson, two players who without being disrespectful do not excite even Liverpool fans.

To compound the mystery for Spurs fans, Adebayor and Benoit Assou-Ekoto tweeted a picture appearing to poke fun at a painful result. No Spurs supporter left White Hart Lane feeling they had just witnessed a great game. Whether you agree with a manager or not, players are employed by clubs and the very least that fans deserve is for players to show they care.  It was crass, disrespectful to teammates and reflects badly on players that haven’t exactly been indispensable. The players that played cannot be accused of not caring, they tried, gave everything and the pain as well as probable embarrassment was obvious at the end.

So where did it all go wrong? Moussa Dembele always looks good on the ball, but was ineffective and simply has not done enough to create any consistent attacking impetus this season. Nacer Chadli arrived at spurs having created the most number of assists in the Dutch first division last season. However, he has hardly shown anything like that form. Aaron Lennon has simply not looked the same player he has been for us. Paulinho had one of his least effective games for Spurs, the game seemed to pass him by and his sending off for a high challenge on Suarez though unfortunate and unintentional was justified and summed up his wretched afternoon. Roberto Soldado had rightly been given the start after his hat trick in midweek. However, Spurs did not have a single shot on target during the entire game. This against a defence featuring prolific own goal scorer Martin Skrtel, a defender still finding his feet in Mohammed Sakho and a full back in Jon Flanagan with only a handful of premiership games to his name. One has to feel sorry for Soldado. He was brought in to score goals. He is not scoring goals, but he is not missing many chances because he hardly gets any.

There is a pattern emerging in Spurs play this season, which is not doing us any favours as the record on one home win in six league games show. The slow build up and possession play is great in continental competition and serves us well in away games. However, the intensity of the premiership demands that we sacrifice a bit of the patient build up and have the confidence to really have a go at visiting teams. Spurs have only showed that in flashes this season and on Sunday, our worst home defeat in 16 years, Liverpool had far too much snap, crackle and pop for Spurs more sedate style. Their energy levels and the confidence in their passing were impressive and Brendan Rodgers and their players deserve credit for their performance.

What Spurs are lacking more than anything is an inspirational leader on the field. Since late 2009, Gareth Bale has not only played consistently well for Spurs, he has been a galvanising influence on the rest of the team. His performances raised the energy and confidence levels of the whole team. Spurs were never out of a game while he was on the field. That, as much as the player himself is what we lost, when he moved to Real Madrid. Liverpool found theirs in Suarez, Arsenal in Ramsey and Ozil this season, Manchester City, well take your pick but you get the picture. Sometimes great managers inspire great teams that lack great, inspirational players. Jose Mourinho and Sir Alex Ferguson come to mind. Looking around the Spurs dressing room, you see a lot of very good players, but you don’t see a consistent, inspirational match winner. Until this newly assembled team finds its identity and it’s heroes, players who other teams worry about, players who while they are on the pitch, the game is never lost, AVB who is a very good manager, but not yet a great one will have to find a way to inspire great performances from this team. Can he do it?

Speaking of Andre Villas Boas, media speculation on his future will once again intensify. As I mentioned in an earlier post, that is an unfortunate occupational hazard these days and all managers take premier league jobs fully aware of this. The only immunity is winning and winning well. To be fair, AVB accepted full responsibility for the performance. Will Spurs chairman Daniel Levy be patient with a manager who has NEVER managed the same club for two consecutive seasons and give him a chance to get it right or will he cut his losses, admit he made a mistake and pull the plug on “The Project”? The normal rule of business, where Daniel Levy has excelled does not always apply in running a big football club. He must hope his next decision is the right one. AVB must hope he is given the chance to bring his vision of a successful, entertaining Spurs side to life. We poor fans must hope we win the next game. Hope. That word again. So damn positive. So damn painful.   

Gutsy Spurs survive Stadium of Light to end week on a high

In the helter skelter world of premiership football, where fans have notoriously short memories, a week is long time and two weeks can seem an age.  A very long time ago, two weeks to be exact, Andre Villas Boas celebrated his 50^th game in charge of Tottenham by watching his team lose humiliatingly at Manchester city. Bookies had him as favourite to be the next manager sacked. Ravenous hacks tore into him with indecent relish and that overused word ‘crisis’ hung over Tottenham. Two a league wins and a creditable draw later, Tottenham sit in sixth place, three points off second place and (albeit with a vastly inferior goals difference) and a not insurmountable eight points off the top. The cloud of crisis moving swiftly up the M62 to Manchester united and manager David Moyes who must have felt really lonely as United lost back to back home matches in the league for the first time in 12 years.

While AVB is entitled to a spot of self-satisfaction after a good couple of weeks, this most unpredictable of seasons has shown that positions and prospects can change rapidly on a few results. He must therefore be aware of the danger that still lurks. Apart from Arsenal, no other team has shown the level of consistency that can allow it’s fans to relax, safe in the knowledge that their team will live up to expectations. In the absence of any such momentum, only the form of our key players and the emergence of an effective pattern of play is the basis on which our prospects for the rest of the season can be judged.

Hugo Lloris is undoubtedly one of the best keepers in the league and his ability to play as a sweeper does give Spurs an extra dimension at the best of times. However, he does not seem as authoritative as he was before his sickening collision with Romelu Lukaku a month ago. He is still an excellent shot stopper, but has not looked as commanding on crosses and one-on-one situations since his return. He may need a few games to get back into his groove, but as we head into the busy December period, Spurs can ill afford the kind of mistake that allowed Sunderland to take the lead on Saturday.

Etienne Capoue showed his versatility by playing as a centre back and had a good game at the weekend. However, While the ruggedness of Michael Dawson is not in doubt, he looks susceptible to pace. It is noticeable that Tottenham have not played as high a defensive line as they have in the past,  though this is still a core part of AVB’s football philosophy. Jan Vertonghen and Vlad Chiriches, who has really impressed since his debut, appear to be the best centre backs we have while Kaboul regains fitness. Kyle Walker has played well recently at right back but for all the decent signings made in the transfer window, the failure to sign a left back to compete with or cover Danny Rose has severely compromised our play down the left this season.

   

The midfield has been a bit of mixed back all season. Paulinho has impressed both defensively and in getting forward to pose a goal threat as he did at the weekend. Lewis Holtby has been busy and tried to create things when he has played. Dembele has not been firing on all cylinders although there are signs in recent games that he is coming into some form. His ability to keep the ball and run with it is fantastic. If only he could spray passes like Tom Huddleston, he would be some player. Sigurdsson made a decent start but seems to have gone off the boil a little. Other than Paulinho and perhaps Andros Townsend, Sigurdsson seems the only other midfielder with goals in him. Of the others, Sandro has been his usual belligerent self. Lennon and Townsend have played well without inspiring while Nacer Chadli has yet to really show the form he showed in Holland.

Attack has been a problem for Spurs for a few seasons now. Gareth Bale’s heroics and a great season from Adebayor, while on loan from Manchester city have disguised the problem for the last three seasons. Jermain Defoe will always score goals but never enough to carry a top four team on his own. Soldado has made an underwhelming start to his Tottenham career, but he has enough pedigree and class to believe he will come good soon. Key to this will be the form of Christian Eriksson and Erik Lamela. Both are very young and exceptionally talented. They clearly need time to adjust to the frenetic pace of premiership football and find their consistency.

In terms of the football style, AVB’s history suggests he is committed to possession based attacking football. Spurs players are young, hungry and receptive enough to adapt to this philosophy. Given the number of new players signed in the summer, this was always a transitional season. Perhaps AVB should have dampened expectations a bit to give himself some room for manouvre while he blended them in. In the circumstances, Spurs have slogged their way like a boxer on the ropes into contention for Champions league qualification without ever playing their best. That is either promising or worrying, depending on whether you are an optimist or a pessimist.

Last December, Spurs recovered from a patchy November to collect thirteen points from a possible eighteen. With seven on the board already and testing matches against Liverpool, Southampton, West Brom and Stoke, we’ll know a lot more about Spur’s prospects after December.

A word on a much liked former Spur’s boss. In 2004, a Dutch coach (Martin Jol) with a growing reputation and managerial ambitions joined Spurs as assistant manager. Thirteen games later the head coach (Jacques Santini) was sacked after poor results and said coach became manager. In 2013, a Dutch coach with a growing reputation and managerial ambitions (Rene Meulensteen) joined Fulham as assistant manager. After thirteen games, head coach (Martin Jol) is sacked and said coach becomes manager. It’s a funny old game. Good luck for the future big Martin.

How do you solve a problem like the British sporting media?

It is often said in some celebrity circles that all publicity is good. Not so if you are a premiership manager under pressure to deliver results, realistic or not. Few managers have got the better of the behemoth that is the British sporting media. This ‘establishment’ take few prisoners. Jose Mourinho had an easy-ish time mainly because, he produced results, but also for possessing the kind of charisma that had the stuffy, old media hacks blushing and drooling like lovesick teenagers over his every utterance as he gleefully filled their column inches. Arsene Wenger won their respect as his revolutionary methods transformed Arsenal, but as soon as he started losing key players and the trophies dried up, the knives were sharpened. Even for a Spurs fan, it was unpleasant to see at times. Indeed, only Sir Alex Ferguson lasted long enough to choose which sections of the media to give his time and thoughts to after surviving the early underwhelming years at Manchester United. So, as much as I understand Andre Villas Boas’s gripe with certain sections of the media, I worry for him in a prolonged face off with the press pack.

And so it was that Manchester united, a club whose recent identity has been shaped by Sir Alex Ferguson pitched up at White Hart Lane, with a manager (David Moyes) who only a few weeks ago after some iffy results was the subject of much commentary about his capacity to successfully succeed Alex Ferguson to face a Tottenham side under growing pressure and whose manager Andre Villas Boas has been subjected to some fairly intense scrutiny in the wake of last week’s humiliating defeat to Manchester city.    

In the circumstances, Tottenham played well in a match where the momentum swung frequently from one side to another, (ironically with less ball possession than an opponent for the first time this season). Overall, it was a good response to a traumatic result last time out. Manchester united played well in stages, especially Wayne Rooney who always looked dangerous. This was a fixture that has historically always been entertaining, if not always profitable from a Tottenham perspective. The players showed some fight, showed that they were united and behind their manager and Vlad Chiriches impressed again. I can see him becoming a crowd favourite before long. They stopped a Manchester united team that had been in recent good form and had enjoyed previous visits rather too much for Tottenham’s taste. As much as Spurs fans would have liked a win, most would have left White hart lane, satisfied with a point. Rot stopped.

The sub plot to this fixture however was more about the scrutiny on the respective managers. More specifically from the point of view of some mainstream sports writers, what the teams’ performances this season say about the competence of the managers. This matters because of the significant capacity of the media to influence public opinion which often impacts judgment. One hopes this influence is overstated but I am not convinced. In the week leading up to this match, a few newspapers had speculated on the future of Andre Villas Boas in the wake of last weeks’ drubbing. Managers from Fabio Capello to Luis Enrique and Michael Laudrup have been linked with the Spurs job. Even Harry Redknapp (bless him) dropped his two pence worth. Any of us could have had AVB's success at Porto - but he was out of his depth at Chelsea and he is the wrong man for Spurs proclaimed Neil Ashton, writing in the Daily Mail with almost palpable indignation as he shredded AVB's record, using of a series of stats and circumstances to buttress his judgement, which to my mind was reached with rather indecent haste. What’s the beauty of being Villas Boas? It’s always someone else’s fault was the considered judgement of Martin Samuel, another Daily mail writer of some considerable standing.

Now, I respect the opinions and previous work of Neil Ashton and especially Martin Samuel, whose work I devoured with great relish during my teenage years. However, I wonder if in their desire to be sensationalist these days, some of their considerations have become well, less considered. Martin Samuel built his entire narrative around the fact that AVB said Spurs players should be ashamed, meaning it was the players fault and potentially creating a division where there needn't be one. He actually said, ‘we should be ashamed’. To my mind, that’s inclusive of AVB himself. Listening to Neil Ashton in the post-match conference trying to justify his interpretation was unedifying for a writer of such standing. Neil Ashton’s piece was actually even worse and totally disingenuous in my opinion. The Portuguese league may not be the strongest in Europe but neither is Scotland’s. The achievements of Neil Lennon, Gordon Strachan and Martin O’Neill at Celtic or Walter Smith and Graham Souness at Rangers are no less significant. When Lyon and Rosenberg totally dominated the French and Norwegian Leagues respectively, the managers still had to build a team and defeat the opposition to win the titles.

AVB's Porto might have dominated the league, but he earned the right to manage Porto by keeping relegation threatened Académica in the top division. It's not everyday one becomes the youngest coach ever to win a European competition as he did in winning the Europa league. Sorry, I don't think any of us could have had that kind of success. Porto made clear what they think of his achievements by inviting him to be guest of honour at their 120^th anniversary celebrations. Even if the league was a walkover, history shows that cup competitions are generally tricky to navigate in any league in the same year and the Europa League, complete with Champions league dropouts is definitely never handed to you on a plate, even with Falcao and Hulk in the team. Criticising a manager after bad results and performances is fair game but a sense of perspective is needed and even if ‘all’ a manager did was win the league in Gibraltar, his previous achievements should not be belittled. It’s beneath respected journalists and comes across as a personal attack, despite Neil's protests to the contrary

Past success is of course no guarantee of future performance and AVB knows this as well as anyone in this business. AVB struggled at Chelsea undoubtedly. However Chelsea is a different animal to Tottenham and he has done better at Spurs. By most measures, he had a successful first season at Spurs, despite losing two of the best players in Luka Modric and Rafael Van der Vaart. I was impressed by how he handled Gareth Bale as well as senior players like William Gallas, Brad Friedel and even Emmanuel Adebayor, who can be a bit high maintenance. This season, despite losing his best player and trying to incorporate 7 new players into a playing style, after a third of season, admittedly Arsenal are out in front (10 points ahead), we are six points of second place and 4 points of third. Yes, we are not firing on all cylinders, but he has not become out of his dept after one horrible result at a Manchester city stronghold where most teams will leave with precious little this season. Knee-jerk, sensationalist reaction is not conducive to long term planning. Last season after a difficult period where spurs were dropping points, AVB showed he could turn things round and had a stronger second half of the season. Severe criticism was expected after a result like last week. Spurs should not lose 6 – 0 to any team these days. However, balance must not be eschewed in the pursuit of sensationalist headlines that would look out of place even in an Arsenal fans magazine.

To AVB, I simply say this, sections of the British press can be quite antagonistic at times. They have got previous and I understand your irritation with some of them this week. I believe most Spurs fans feel that you are a bright young manager, doing a decent job while still developing, with the potential to be very successful in football management. We respect your previous achievements and would love it, really love it if you could do it here. We understand it takes time and some matches can be frustrating. You have rightfully said your piece. Don’t let any attempt at feral journalism upset you anymore, or worse, distract you. Now ignore the media as best as you can and get on with the job of rebuilding our great club. You have earned that right.

The Engineer dismantles Spurs grand project

The word crisis can often be overused in a football context and no one would deny that life occasionally throws up a proper crisis to put football in particular and sport in general in its proper perspective. However, for Spurs fans everywhere, it would be pretty hard to escape the feeling of a crisis developing at Tottenham in the aftermath an absolutely wretched afternoon at Eastlands.

The last time Spurs suffered such a heavy defeat, John Major was still British Prime Minister, a French professor was in charge of Arsenal, a German driver was dominating Formula 1 and the German football team were beating us at Wembley. Clearly some things haven’t changed. So humiliating was this defeat that by the end of this miserable afternoon, even City fans, perhaps out of sympathy couldn’t bothered to do their now familiar Poznan celebration anymore and were reduced to clapping saves and tackles by the Spurs players.

It’s bad enough that we went into the game as one of the lowest scorers in the premiership, (albeit with the most amount of shots at goal, which in itself does not reflect particularly well on our strikers’ shooting accuracy) at least we could take pride in having the second best defensive record in the premiership. We’ve mastered the art of defending, counter attacking, our away record has been outstanding and Spurs fans were quite happy to sing, ‘one – nil to the Tottenham’ (admittedly through gritted teeth), all the way to the Champions league. Except, someone forgot to tell Pellegrini and his City slickers.

City coach, Manuel Pellegrini was affectionately nicknamed, ‘The Engineer’ during his time in Spanish football because of his studious approach to the game and the methodical way his teams are set up to play football. His team are the highest scorers at home in the premiership by a country mile and in Sergio Aguero and Alvaro Negredo (more on him later), they had one of the form strike partnerships in the country, maybe even in Europe. The Engineer certainly dismantled a Spurs team that has not functioned particularly well in recent weeks.

The rot set in for Spurs as soon as the match kicked off. Hugo LLoris, kicked lazily to a city player and his initial save, although decent was not decisive enough to clear the danger. To give him his due, city winger Jesus Navas still had a lot to do but improvised brilliantly to chip Lloris from a tight angle. Spurs wingers, Aaron Lennon and Andros Townsend could do worse than watch clips of how a speedy winger can bring variation to an attack. Spurs recovered but never really looked threatening despite dominating possession yet again. City’s attack, with their tails up were all over Spurs from then on and by the time Sandro was pictured being sick on the pitch, most Spurs fans probably felt the same way.  

Speaking of City’s attack, Aguero’s class was already well known to premiership watchers. I was more intrigued by the shoot out between the two Spanish strikers, Negredo and Soldado. But for Messi and Ronaldo, these two have would be the biggest noises in La Liga as they have been the top scoring Spanish players for the last two seasons. Both were sold to English clubs last summer, Soldado for £26 million and Negredo for £23 million.  On the evidence of what we have seen so far this season and especially yesterday, it is fair to say that City have got far better value from Negredo than Spurs have had from Soldado.

Soldado scored almost 60 goals in two seasons with Valencia, a pretty impressive tally. However, careful analysis of his record shows that almost all his goals have come from inside the six yard box. He has not looked mobile and able to create chances for himself. Negredo on the other hand has looked very mobile, agile and able to get involved in the build up play. In addition, he is good in the air and able to create chances for himself. Admittedly, it helps if you have the class of Aguero, Jesus Navas, an inspired Samir Nasri and a buccaneering Yaya Toure rather than an ordinary looking Lewis Holtby, an underwhelming Lennon, a strangely subdued Paulinho and a player in Erik Lamela who talented he might be is still adjusting to life in the premier league.

Another issue arising from this and recent performances is the lack of creativity in this side. Tottenham have dominated possession in every match they have played this season. That takes some doing in the frenetic world of premiership football and should be respected. However, almost every game has exposed an alarming inability to manoeuvre the ball creatively into dangerous goal scoring positions. By not scoring goals, the defence is under increased pressure not to concede. When goals are conceded, everyone is under increased pressure to score which then exposes the defence even more and the vicious cycle is continued from match to match as pressure builds. The irony is if Spurs could just fix this and score more goals, they appear defensively sound enough despite yesterday’s aberration to defend leads and pick teams off on the counter attack. This is the conundrum that Spurs Manager Andre Villas Boas has to fix pretty quickly as the pressure intensifies.

In AVB’s defence, although this was his 50^th match in charge of Tottenham (some celebration!), it was effectively only his 12^th match in charge of His own team in only his second full season in charge. Last season, he took Harry’s team, minus star midfielder Luka Modric and took them to within a point of the promised land of the Champions league with a record points tally. He is now constructing a brand new team and as yet, no one has risen up to take the over mantle of match winner or game changer from Gareth Bale. However, as AVB will know too well, a manager is only as good as his last good season. The premiership is an unforgiving coliseum. More successful managers than AVB such as Carlo Ancelloti, Roberto Mancini and even Harry Redknapp have bitten the dust and AVB still has a lot to prove as manager after his miserable spell as Chelsea boss.

With Arsenal, Chelsea and both Manchester clubs in the mix, Liverpool stirring again and even Southampton punching above their weight, qualification for the Champions league while building a new team and establishing a new playing identity was always going to be a challenging task. The sick feeling felt by Spurs fans come from expectations being unrealistically high in a way that England footballers approaching a tournament know only too well. This was as a result of over £100 million being spent in the summer transfer window.

In spite of this poor run, AVB deserves time, even if the mad scramble for Champions league places can sometimes skew the judgement of chairmen and fans that ought to know better. The history of the premier league shows that stable long term management will give better returns in the long run. The open nature of this season means that a few results could put us back in the title race. Then again, we may not even make the Europa league unless we win a trophy. Either way, let AVB, the man with the project plan, lick his wounds and get on with it. That’s out best hope.   

So its Manchester United next. I’m off to the betting shop to place a bet on Spurs losing Six – Nil. If they do, I will win big, if they don’t, it will be an improvement. Either way, I will feel a lot better than I do today. The tribulations of being a Spurs fan.

AVB needs more goals to keep Spurs juggernaut flying

This match, more or less typified Tottenham’s season so far.  Spurs fans don’t know whether to laugh or cry right now. It depends on if you are a glass half full or half empty person. A point at Everton is more than Jose Mourinho’s Chelsea managed and not many teams will have fruitful trips to Goodison park. The bottom line is Spurs are firmly in the mix for a top four finish. Even though Spurs have not scored enough goals, I don’t think that AVB is setting up spurs to be defensive, nor is their play actually defensive as they consistently dominate possession.

Watching the match unfold, a familiar pattern has now emerged to spurs play. An increasingly impressive back four, with Sandro providing an impressive shield in front of them as they pressed high up into the opposition’s half. In midfield, Dembele, Holtby, Eriksson, Lennon, Townsend and Lamela, offer AVB enough forward players to attack opponents through the middle and also in the wide areas.  Paulinho, for my money the most consistent of the summer arrivals so far also offers a goal threat and gets himself into some promising positions. However, the forward players have just not quite gelled yet.  The fact that Lamela has openly admitted to struggling so far and Eriksson has also been inconsistent show that the attacking part of the equation is still a work in progress. That there is much scope for improvement in spurs’ forward play should offer a lot of encouragement for spurs season.

In the circumstances, AVB is quite right to focus on results. Spurs have a tradition for playing swashbuckling football and fans demand that as a mere minimum, however they no longer have a monopoly on style, even in north London. Tottenham fans however have a new reality. Champions League football is the new sexy football.  The late goals conceded last season ultimately cost a Champions league place and Andre Villas Boas will argue that if he gets Tottenham to the Champions league, his approach would be completely vindicated.  

Lone striker, Roberto Soldado has had a mixed start to his first season in English football. He sure knows how to take a penalty and his record in Valencia suggests he is suited to playing as a lone striker. However, he does not strike me as someone that likes being involved in the build-up play. He is a striker whose first or second touch tends to be a shot towards goal.  Jermain Defoe is more mobile, dynamic and has evolved his game to be more involved in the build-up play. There will always be an understandable clamour for Defoe whenever spurs are struggling to score goals because of his record. However Soldado is better suited to the 4-2-3-1 formation that AVB favours and so should be allowed to develop his game by playing regularly.  Defoe still has plenty to offer spurs and in a season where there are hopefully many games to play, Defoe will get his fair share of games.

Hugo Lloris should have been substituted after his collision with Romelu Lukaku.  I trust that AVB would never put results before a player’s welfare. I also trust the judgement of the Tottenham team doctor, Dr Shabaaz Mughal, who was among the heroes that saved the life of Bolton midfielder Fabrice Muamba when his heart stopped beating during an FA Cup match at White hart lane in March 2012. Many may applaud Lloris’s bravery after being concussed. However, three things swing the argument for me; Lukaku, who is a big, strong guy, himself had to go off, his knee strapped and packed with ice shortly after the clash. Secondly, a second incident could have aggravated the situation. Finally, with ten minutes to go, we had a decent back up in Brad Friedel. All things considered. It was undoubtedly risky, it was the least pragmatic option and it was unnecessary. A decision that that puts a player’s welfare first should not be any of these things.

Travel savvy Spurs restore confidence with classy win at the Villa

This was no thriller at the Villa, but the Spurs faithful would not mind one bit. AVB’s boys needed a good performance and result after their last outing against West Ham. Aston Villa did not hand Spurs victory on a plate. However, Tottenham never looked like losing this match. The only questions were whether they would score the goals needed given their relatively poor scoring record and whether keeper – sweeper Hugo Lloris would give supporters another heart in mouth moment.

In the circumstances, Andros Townsend (more on him later) rounded off a dream week by scoring direct from a cross and gave a strong all round performance. Roberto Soldado also looked sharper than he has recently as he clinically finished off a slick Spurs move, scoring his first premier league goal from open play in the process. Other players to impress were Kyle Walker who linked well with Townsend down the right flank, Lewis Holtby who was busy in the creative role as Eriksson was left out. Sandro protected his back four with bristling aggression and Paulinho cruised through the game without breaking sweat. It was also good to see Vlad Chirices start a premiership game. Undoubtedly, the Romanian international will get roughed up in the premiership in the coming months as he adapts to the English game, however, given time and space, he has intelligent ball distribution skills that can only enhance Tottenham’s possession play.  

So as we approach the first quarter of an interesting season, Andre Villa Boas, who turned 36 last Thursday, can reflect on the fact that despite defeats to West Ham and Arsenal, his team have made their best start to a premiership season. That start has been necessary because despite being one of the most open seasons in premiership history and some surprising early results, the main protagonists (Manchester united excepted) have moved menacingly to the top of table. No prizes are won in October, but you can put yourself in contention and create good momentum going into November and December.  Spurs have the joint second best defensive record in the premiership. That is a solid foundation and deserves credit. However, they also have the joint fifth worst scoring record in the premiership. That needs to improve as some teams already have a goal difference buffer that is almost worth an extra point and Spurs will probably need to break their premiership points record again to be sure of champions’ league qualification. Still, the squad looks strong, has great potential and there remains much room for optimism.

It’s been a quite remarkable six months in the life of young Andros Townsend.  May 2013 must seem a life time ago.  Back then, he had come back from his ninth loan spell, he was charged by the FA with a breach of betting rules, given a three month ban (suspended till 2016). Aaron Lennon was ahead of him in Spurs first team, Gareth Bale was not going to be sold. He had voluntarily withdrawn from the England under - 21 squad for the ill - fated European championships and he faced a battle just to get back in the under - 21 squad, never mind the senior England squad.

Given the array of midfield talent that pitched up at Tottenham over the summer, Andros had every right to worry about his Tottenham future. However, he has raised his game brilliantly and he is now a realistic contender for a place in the England squad for the world cup in Brazil. For Spurs followers, there is something really heart warming about seeing a proper home grown player (Andros has been with Tottenham since he was eight) coming through the ranks and succeeding at the highest level. His maturity in the spotlight, especially over England Manager, Roy Hodgson’s comments was very impressive. Well done Andros. Long may it continue.

A word on Roy Hodgson, who bravely gave Andros Townsend his big chance against the better judgement of some, including Spurs coach AVB. Roy Hodgson is not racist and there was nothing inappropriate about his comments. He would have made the exact comment if Gareth Bale had been playing instead of Andros Townsend and no one would have batted an eyelid. That settles it for me. I actually find it quite endearing that in the middle of a tense game, Roy Hodgson sought to lighten the mood in the dressing room by joking and Andros Townsend had it right when he stated that he took it as a compliment. He got the context and it should never have even been a story. To paraphrase a legendary sports journalist, ‘enough of that crap. Let’s get on with the football’.

Big Sam Decks Andre the Young with Tactical Masterstroke.

We have had better Sundays at White Hart Lane. Tottenham did not play badly, but losing three nil at home to anybody is an embarrassing score line. However in the midst of the customary wailing and anguished gnashing of teeth that is the lot of a Spurs supporter, after an embarrassing defeat, West Ham deserve credit for the way they set about dismantling their more fancied opponents. Ravel Morrison impressed in a way that bodes well for both West Ham and England. Big Sam Allardyce did a Mourinho and played with no recognised centre forward packing his midfield to deny Spurs time and space. Big Sam has regularly opined that if his name was a more exotic sounding Sam Allardici, he would have a higher profile and bigger clubs chasing him given his achievements. Big Sam is not everyone's cup of tea as a manager but 'the British one' does have his admirers and in his usual understated manner,  he will no doubt use his weekly newspaper column to explain further why his tactical outmanoeuvring of the more celebrated Andre Villas Boas is evidence of his managerial brilliance. Again.

Our Andre and his troops meanwhile must now lick their collective wounds during the international break as the climax of the world cup qualifiers take centre stage for the next two weeks. One of the signs of a great team is its ability to recover from a setback like Sunday's. Spurs must regroup in the way that (through gritted teeth) Arsenal responded after a disastrous home result against Aston Villa back in August. Ironically, Spur’s next match is against Aston Villa.

AVB has much to ponder during the international break. There is no sense of crisis at Spurs, but some amber lights are flickering. In defence, Jan Vertongen seems to be feeling the effects of missing most of pre-season. He is too good a footballer to be suffering second season syndrome, but he just has not been his usual composed self so far this term. Given that he has spent most of his international career at left back and covered the position many times for Ajax, perhaps he should play there in place of the right footed Kyle Naughton while Danny Rose recovers. Kaboul or Chirices can partner Dawson in the centre to give the back four a more natural balance and Vertongen is less exposed as he recovers sharpness.  Someone needs to get in the head of Kyle Walker to rediscover the right back of last season before he suffers the indignity of losing his England squad place to Arsenal’s Carl Jenkinson.

In midfield, AVB must hope that Etienne Capoue returns quickly and stays fit for the rest of the season. The man is a beast and Tottenham’s best defensive midfielder. AVB also needs Aaron Lennon fit as an alternative to offer width along with Andros Townsend when the centre is congested. Speaking of Andros Townsend, some West Ham fans chanted, ‘You’re just a cheap Gareth Bale’ every time he got the ball. With no ‘Bale out of Jail Card’ to call on anymore, Townsend is indeed a cheap version (free in fact as he came through the youth system).  He has however progressed a lot over the past year, has put himself on the fringes of the England set up and in time, might just proof a very useful alternative rather than a poor man's Gareth Bale. AVB also needs his midfield to be more adaptable. West Ham disrupted Spurs flow by having an extra man in midfield and rotating forward leading duties, while Spurs still had a back four with no recognised forward to pick up and did not adjust accordingly.  

Attack is the area of most concern. Six league goals is the lowest goals ratio of the top 15 in the premiership. It is simply not good enough in a season when goal difference may decide the fate of teams. As unpalatable as it may be for many Spurs fans who would have been happy to see him sold in the last transfer window, A fit Adebayor with something to proof may be really crucial to our hopes, an effective plan B if you like. It is great that he is back training with the first team and the sooner he comes back, the better Spurs prospects.

In spite of this set back, there are many reasons to be optimistic, Spurs had the joint best defensive record until Sunday and even now still have the third best defensive record despite Sundays’ aberration. The squad looks strong and able to handle a full season’s rigours. In addition, Tottenham have dominated possession in almost every game this season, averaging 58 per cent. A team that keeps the ball longer in theory have a better chance of scoring and winning games. This is really where AVB’s boys are still a work in progress. There are plenty of good footballers at Spurs and in spite of their first really bad result of the season, they’ll be fine.

The Y word. Tottenham fans have done brilliantly to reclaim the term from abusive fans and in so doing, diffuse some of the uncomfortable  tension that often dominate football some football grounds,  Nevertheless I strongly feel that it is time to consign the use of the term to history. To the extent that black footballers would not be expected to call themselves the N word or display shirts showing this on the football pitch, a term, no matter the context, that has no place in mainstream society should not be allowed on the pitch. Ultimately it is a supporter’s prerogative what they call themselves and good luck to the Met Police trying to prosecute. However, if Spurs supporters stopped using the term, it would be easier to identify and prosecute those fans who use the term as an abusive gesture as today’s society is far less tolerant of abuse. Let’s move on. On and off the pitch.

When Andre met Jose............................ again

The build-up to this high noon showdown at White Hart Lane was unsurprisingly less about Tottenham against Chelsea and more about Andre Villas Boas against Jose Mourinho. Journalists ravenously peeled away at the carcass of a broken relationship between two marquee managers, hoping for an explosive media skirmish. AVB to be fair was quite composed, honest and open in his answer. However, he also betrayed his true feelings in this response, "our break up happened because I was ambitious to give him extra, I felt I could give him much more. But Jose didn't feel the need for somebody near to him or in another position as an assistant, and because of that it was decided that it was time, after Inter Milan, to continue our careers apart." Or “Jose’s record speaks for itself but I am very proud of what I have achieved” code for “Jose did not value me enough but I have proved myself as a manager. Just look at my record”. This was more than just another game for AVB, he wanted to beat this Chelsea team and Jose Mourinho knew it.

Jose Mourinho for his part normally loves pre-match hype as they invariably focus on him and his Machiavellian sense of theatre rather than his players. However, he was clearly irritated in the build-up to this match, refusing point blank to answer questions about AVB, the pre-match handshake was the sort normally reserved exclusively for Rafa Benitez, his old Liverpool adversary and if Chelsea had somehow scored the winner, I half expected him to go sprinting down the pitch as he famously did nine years ago when his Porto side scored late to knock Manchester united out of the champions league.  Jose was not confident he could win this match, but he damn sure did not want to lose it. Not to this Tottenham. Not to Andre Villas Boas.

In the first half, Spurs played some fantastic football. Eriksson played a part in yet another goal, scored by Sigurdsson who is responding to all the midfield arrivals by playing really well and scoring. Kyle walker set up an attack with a delicious back heel that almost ended with another goal by Paulinho. Dembele shimmied, twisted and generally swaggered his way through the first half. There was real purpose and energy about Spurs play and one sensed that Mourinho, looking distinctly unimpressed in the dugout was relieved to get to half time with only one goal in it.

Jose then pulled off the tactical masterstroke (who would have thought of that?!) of bringing on Juan Mata for the second half. He improved Chelsea’s play to the extent they dominated until Fernando Torres got sent off. Torres was unfortunate to be yellow carded a second time but his cynical foul on Jan Vertongen earlier and subsequent attempt at gouging was nasty and deserved a red card on its own. Despite a late flurry from Spurs, 1-1 it finished. Honours even and no manager lost face.

On reflection, Chelsea were beatable on Saturday. It just needed better finishing, which brings me to Senor Roberto Soldado. His goal scoring pedigree is unquestioned; however, he has yet to score from open play this season. While after six games, it is too soon to make a judgement, it is already apparent that he is not the type of striker to create his own goal scoring chances. Might he benefit from a couple of games on the bench while Jermaine Defoe, with the world cup in his sights is unleashed? Also a fired up Emmanuel Adebayor with a point to proof (either to spurs or potential buyers) brings a very potent alternative to Spurs attack. I don’t get the impression he has been a disruptive influence and even If he eventually leaves, he is still a Spurs’ striker right now and I hope AVB gives him a chance and does not cut his nose to spite his face on this.

If the transfer window had shut on 22^nd August 2013, Willian Borges da Silva would have turned out for Tottenham against Chelsea. It didn’t and one week later, he was signed, sealed and delivered in blue. Jose Mourinho enjoyed using his press conference to admire his own audacity in hijacking the transfer and to taunt Tottenham and no doubt AVB in particular. Spurs signed Christian Eriksson and got on with it. Willian was conspicuous by his absence on Saturday. Willian old son, you’re welcome at the Lane anytime. We promise you a warm welcome. The sort of welcome reserved for Mr. Sol Campbell.

Jose Mourinho has had far more to say about Tottenham this season than at anytime during his first tenure at Chelsea. From mocking Spurs over the Willian deal to, “Tottenham are the champions of the transfer window” or “Tottenham are a big title contender” To paraphrase a famous Portuguese coach Jose himself might know very well, He's worried about us, he's always talking about us - it's Tottenham, Tottenham, Tottenham. He is one of these people who is a voyeur - he likes to watch.

Enjoy the view Jose, Spurs are coming after the top four again and we supporters would really, really love it if we finish above your Chelsea. I suspect a certain Andre Villas Boas will be quite pleased too. 

Spurs have another reason to love Wales

One nil to the Tottenham does not sound er very Tottenham does it? The best defence in the league so far, one goal conceded in eight competitive games. Tottenham managers are not supposed to do defensive discipline. Even George Graham left his famous defensive discipline at the other end of Seven Sisters Road and had the decency to serve up a few goal fests just to satisfy Tottenham’s thrill seeking faithful! No, AVB is not your typical Tottenham manager. The man with the Project Plan seems to be striking a fine balance between making Spurs hard to beat and playing attractive football. The winning goal, a delightful cross from the outside of Lamela’s foot followed by a sumptuously flicked back heeled finish from Paulinho summed up this side perfectly. A goal made in South America, scored by an English team, built by a very European coach.

It may sound clichéd, but this was not your typical defensive, one nil smash and grab raid. Spurs dominated possession, carved out many chances and but for goal keeper David Marshall, Cardiff were on for a heck of a hiding. This, the same Cardiff who gave Manchester city a bloody nose three weeks ago and just the type of game Spurs of old could be trusted to make a mess of. The same is true of the other one nil wins this season and when they lost, Arsenal looked more like the away team, finishing the match with seven defenders on the pitch as they clung on desperately. Spurs have been creating chances and have had more shots at goal than any other team in the premiership. Someone is going to get a real trashing at some point in the season. I would love it if the unfortunate team were Chelsea next week. Just Luv it!

Spurs have now made their best start to a season in five years and although nothing is won in September, it is a decent platform. In the first six games of last season, they did not keep a clean sheet, dropped five points in the first three games and conceded damaging goals in the last 15 minutes of those games. Their opponents were Newcastle, WBA, Norwich, Reading, QPR and Manchester United. They missed out on a 4^th place by a point, 3^rd place by three points and 2^nd by six points.  At least six to eight points were dropped against West Brom, Norwich, Fulham, Stoke and Wigan. Spurs seemed determined not to make the same mistake this time even without Senor Bale.

One of most impressive, yet overlooked aspects of last season was how often Spurs finished games as the stronger side, winning games in the last minutes and salvaging draws from losses. This was no accident after the indifferent start to last season. I remembered an interview around December in which William Gallas talked about how AVB tweaked the team’s training to focus on the last 15 minutes of games in order to cut out the late goals. The headlines were understandably hugged by the ‘most expensive one’ and when he did not score, the team mostly struggled. Spurs have continued the strong finishing pattern this term and it bodes well for the rest of the season, especially given that this is a team still getting to know each other and developing a playing style.

It is noticeable that Hugo Lloris has had a few excitable moments recently. He was quite marginal against Tromso in midweek and again against Cardiff in dashing to make clearances. AVB's preferred style of pressing up the field means that Lloris plays almost as a sweeper. He is undeniably a great goalkeeper and seems to relish the sweeper role. However, he needs to be careful not to push his luck too much or he could find himself taking an early bath.

A word on Vladimir Chirices. Romanians will be able to live freely in the UK from January 2014 under the terms of the European Union treaty. So why on earth did it take the home office almost three weeks to grant a work permit to a Romanian international when non European players have had it issued in a day? The Tromso match would have been ideal to make his debut and build crucial match sharpness ahead of tougher tests. Maybe we should send Franco Baldini to sort out future work permit hearings. He gets things done.

AVB’s grand project gets lift off.

I headed for White hart lane on Saturday excited but nervous.  It really did feel like the season was just started.  The early skirmishes had seen Tottenham pick up two scrappy wins and lose the north London derby. Norwich had become the type of team spurs had struggled to beat, even with Gareth Bale as their champions’ league ambitions had faltered on the back of dropped points to the likes of Norwich, Stoke and Fulham.  Ah Gareth Bale. In the last 20 years of following Spurs, many really good players have left against the fans wishes. However, only three players have been so truly great for spurs that the phrase, “build a team around him” could be applied. Sol Campbell, Jürgen Klinsmann and Gareth Bale.  Players so consistently brilliant, that they gave the crowd a lift just by being in the starting line-up.

 

It is undeniable that the loss of Campbell set back the development of Tottenham, he was replaced by Goran Bunjevcevic.  A talented player who struggled with injuries while Campbell went on win trophies.  Likewise, Klinsmann’s departure when he left to win the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich while we were left with Chris Armstrong, an honest willing professional who did a decent job in the circumstances, but you get the picture. In the seasons following the loss of both Klinsmann and Campbell, expectations were significantly lower and the extent of Spurs ambition was a decent cup run and giving the other lot down Seven Sisters road a bloody nose.  However, in the last three seasons, Tottenham had become serious challengers for the champions’ league places, losing out during the last two seasons by a single point. This is why the loss of Bale was so significant. With the potential to mortally undermine any champions league ambitions for the foreseeable future.

And yet, expectations were not only of a champion’s league push, but a title challenge. Yes unlike 1995 and 2001 when massive players left for next to nothing, a world record 86 million pounds was delivered to the lane and promptly spent, with some change on 7 really good players. Still, without Bale, was this optimism wildly misplaced? Would the taunts of the N5 lot ring loud again? Who will drive this team forward? Step forward Andre Villas Boas. The project manager has a plan.

It is fair to say that the arrival of AVB had a mixed reaction at best. A bit like Roberto Martinez at Everton. Trophy winning pedigree tainted by a whiff of failure. However, in getting the best out of Bale and marshalling Spurs to a record points tally, often showing astute tactical acumen along the way, he endeared himself to the Spurs faithful and crucially the trust of Daniel Levy. So much so that when AVB requested a technical director, something Levy had previously dispensed with, Levy granted him his wish and the well-connected Franco Baldini pitched up. In so doing, Spurs transfer policy went forward by several notches. Between Levy, Baldini and AVB, they managed the seemingly impossible feat of raising expectations and optimism despite selling their biggest star. Even the hijacking of the deal to sign Willian has become a mere footnote in a truly unforgettable transfer window.

So the ‘project’ started afresh on Saturday and the early signs are promising. Christian Eriksson looks a proper Spurs player with his close control and ability to see a pass. Big things are expected on Erik Lamela once he settles in and Roberto Soldado really does come alive in the penalty box (as befits a man who scored all 24 of his La Liga goals last season from inside the box). Tougher tests await and Cardiff on Saturday will tell us a bit more about spurs prospects this season. Still the project looks to coming along nicely and the project manager has every reason to be content.