My, how the tables have turned. As this season started it was being billed as one of the most open in recent years with many teams given a fighting chance of challenging at the top end of the league, and Spurs definitely being one of them. But now, is Spurs manager André Villas-Boas just one game from the sack?
It’s not just that he could be one game from the sack, it’s the fact that this game is against reigning champions Manchester United, after Spurs have faced a trip to Norway on the Thursday night, which really puts AVB in a difficult position. There are rumblings from the notoriously difficult to please Spurs fans. “Harry Redknapp”, “Jürgen Klinsmann”, “attacking football”. All things that they would like to see introduced (or rather, reintroduced) to White Hart Lane.
One thing that has put AVB under pressure is their seeming inability to score goals. For Spurs fans to see their team struggle is one thing. But for them to see the team struggle while not playing the ‘Spurs brand’ of attacking football (with flair) instantly gives the AVB naysayers the opportunity to feel justified in their boos.
Another stick used to beat AVB is the fact that he was backed with £107million pounds worth of recruitment. True, Spurs did see a lot of big names arrive in the summer. But let’s not forget that the vast majority of this activity was funded by the sales of players like Scott Parker, Tom Huddlestone and Steven Caulker. Oh yes, and Gareth Bale. So the actual funds put up by the Spurs hierarchy were minimal.
And while all of these signings are a blessing for Spurs and will probably see them alright in the long run, that doesn’t mean that immediate success is guaranteed. A manager much more experienced than Villas-Boas could struggle to blend 7 or 8 brand new first team players speaking a variety of languages into a cohesive team overnight.
Players at Spurs are adapting to playing for a new club, in a different league than they are used to, in a strange new country to them, with players who they are unfamiliar with. This could quite easily be the reason for Spurs disjointed looking attack that has yielded an alarmingly low number of goals.
Spurs do have a tendency to sack managers quickly and abruptly if things aren’t going well. Martin Jol and Juande Ramos were both sacked in the month of October after less than impressive starts to those respective seasons, despite initially looking promising. Thus resulting in Spurs essentially starting from scratch again. Spurs would be well served not to make the same mistake again now.
Had Spurs gone to Man City last Sunday and scraped a draw, or even lost in a more respectable way, there would be no talk of AVB’s future in the press. But the nature of Tottenham’s capitulation at the Etihad has made people sit up and take notice. There is no doubt that AVB got it completely wrong at Man City. It’s also fair to say that he was off the mark as his Spurs side lost disappointingly at home to West Ham and Newcastle as well. But a new manager wouldn’t be able to change the majority of Spurs problems.
A new manager would not be able to help players like Erik Lamela adapt any quicker to life in England. It takes as long as it takes. AVB has made mistakes as all managers have and do. He is also learning from his as all others do. He needs to get more out of his forwards. He needs his side to produce more goals. But he already knows this.
The more temperamental Spurs fans would be well served to look back over the last 30 to 40 years and see if their team have ever looked better. Just in the last decade Spurs fans would have killed to be in the position they are in right now. 8 points off the top of the league and just 2 points off of the Champions League places. Many a season has passed for Spurs before now with huge money spent on the likes of Sergei Rebrov and Hélder Postiga while Spurs languished in mid-table mediocrity with no hope of European football on the horizon.
Incidentally Spurs play away at Norwegian side Tromsø in the Europa League on Thursday night, looking for a win to keep them top of their group. Europa League football is a prime example of how many Spurs fans have lost sight of where they have come from. It was something that was long sought after and never obtained for the club, but has quickly been dismissed as an unwelcome distraction now that it’s common place.
I hope Tottenham decide to stick with AVB, you don’t get anywhere with knee-jerk reactions. But with the football world as it is, no one can expect to keep employment long with performances like the one that Spurs showed at Man City. I believe AVB is the right man to lead Spurs forward. But he could certainly do with a few results now to make his life just a little bit easier. A win against Man United this weekend and all will be quickly forgotten.