Get used to the puns, you’ll be seeing a lot of them.
There appears to be a real disconnect with what has been reported as being the fans mood to the appointment of Andres Villas-Boas, to what we have been reading. I say ‘we’, as, if you’re reading this, you’re more than likely to be somebody who seeks out an online opinion, as opposed to those who read the red tops and listen to TalkPoop radio, and among ‘us’, there appears to be universal approval. Andres is ‘one of us’, or certainly, we’d like to think he is; modern, a student of the game, theoretical, an absorber of facts and opinion to devise strategy. AVB: The Champo Generations, thinking mans, Carol Vorderman Manager.
He’s not someone who’s easy to label. He’s not the happy-go-lucky, wheeler dealer, cockney wideboy, rent-a-gob. He shuns the Redknapp-style catch phrases in favour of ‘phases’, and speaks of ‘transitons’ and ‘low blocks’. It’s easier for these people to relate to the easily digestible ‘well, we had to go for it, so I threw Crouchy on… etc’ type of viewpoint, than of a man who’s spent his youth meticulously picking apart the smallest facets of the modern game. The same people who cry out for an English ‘La Masia’, and singularly fail to acknowledge any of the components that make it tick. ‘Well they just tell ‘em to ‘old onto it and give it simple’. Anything more complicated and it’s ‘football’s not a science’, ‘football’s not played on a tactics board/computer’. ‘Watch out for the big centre-half on set pieces’, versus horizontal and vertical penetration *snigger*.
Could it be plain old jealousy from these so-called journalists? A handsome, educated young man who has achieved more footballing success at the tender age of 34, than these windbag chair softeners have in their 50-odd.
The smear campaign has already begun. Apparently, employing a manager is a ‘gamble’? Did you hear about this? If only we could get hold of that crystal ball that Manchester United used all those years ago before employing Fergie. How remiss of our chairman to gamble, rather than get the clairvoyants in.
Also, he has to tap into that most basic of human physical, social and professional survival skills and ‘learn from mistakes’. Well, well Mr Villas Boas, did you hear that? You’re going to have to do something that only EVERY OTHER PERSON ON EARTH has the ability to do. Reckon you can manage that? Are you sure, it’s a tough one?!
Initial impressions are positive. Spurs themselves announced that the first thing Mr Villas Boas did after signing his contract was to check the state of the training pitches. A lot of this blog is in support/recognition of this article from the Telegraph (bit.ly/nvV9XJ), and an attention to detail is part of a more modern and professional approach. Like many Tottenham fans, I just want a dedicated professional doing his best for our Totters, not someone who takes their eye off the ball and singularly fails to do what they’re employed to do. I don’t expect the title, but I do expect to see direction. A point to it all, an ethos, a philosophy. I like hearing things like having dossiers prepared on the opposition. I’m not too keen about having our players being told to ‘run about a bit’. I too have contempt for the gutter press and don’t mind if our manager does. Scowling answers to their contemptable questions will be welcome. All the better if they’re laced with a little wit. Less rent-a-quote, flippant responses designed to get a giggle from- and give a headline to- the redtops and talkpoop’s of this world, and more facts. Or better yet, keeping things to one’s self.
Believe it or not, I like the term ‘project’- it gives the impression of a far more professional approach to a club that has, sadly, descended into a bit of a used car dealership in recent times. It’s how successful organisations with a strategy and goals talk- Apple, Microsoft, Google, the people that make Angel Delight. Why should Tottenham Hotspur be exempt from this? And if it’s a relationship you’re looking for, both chairman and manager speak the same language. Again, no surprise to see Levy getting his name dragged through the gutter in all of this as well. The weak will always try to sabotage the strong, particularly when they have no way of pigeon-holing their intentions.
My only worry? The players being a bit too thick to take his ideas on board. It would be unfair to label all English footballers ‘thicko’s’, and all of the European mainland philosophical geniuses, in a footballing sense, but I do fear when I look into Kyle Walkers dead eyes, or read about the youth team popping off to nando’s to fuel up before their big PES session, or whatever it is the kids are doing these days to avoid work, mind expansion and responsibility. Buying a couple of lads with long, fancy, European names should help…
So Mr Villas Boas. I say to you, welcome. I would also say ‘ignore the press’, but like most of us with half a brain, you can see through their shallow agenda… and certainly won’t be trolling any blogs for tips on what to do.
In other news, because Google are gaylords, this site is no longer on NewsNow. Something to do with corrupting the blog with something or other. I’m far too lazy to work out what the problem is, so it’s back to just talking into the darkness. If you have found this blog, well played. Why not tell your friends or pets who might support Tottenham and be adept enough to use the interbox?
