"Away from home we play with no fear"

[Modric THFC]

Spurs boss Andre Villas-Boas: "We looked like the away team, we played in a difficult atmosphere with almost no support. We have a wonderful set of fans but they can do better. Away from home we play with no fear and we need that atmosphere at White Hart Lane.

"We don't need the negativity that was in White Hart Lane today."



Reality of it

Crystal Palace 0:1 Tottenham
****e performance saved by a Penalty

Arsenal 1:0 Tottenham
Dont need to say anymore

Cardiff 0:1 Tottenham
Got out of jail with a last minute goal form Paulinho

Aston Villa 0:2 Tottenham
Absolutely turgid first half where we couldnt pass it past the half way line. Scored a ridiculously lucky goal then got overrun and managed to sneak a goal on the counter


I can't see any difference between home or away league performances.
Norwich at home was the best we've played all season.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Can you imagine what the reaction would have been if you know who had said that?

I think the fans should get behind the team for duration of the game unless we're 4 or 5 nil down and boo the RESULT.

 

[Danishfurniturelover]

The difference is away from home we play teams who come and attack us a little more so we have more space to play. I like avb as a man i really do and as a coach he has potential but he has to learn how to do something different when we can not break teams down.

We had the same problem last season, we are still bedding in players so i am not to concerned but if we are still struggling to break down teams that sit behind the ball when March comes around i will be worried.

 

[Armchair Expert]

The acid test comes when some of the bigger boys begin to visit the lane then. I think we should be grateful teams don't come out and go for us because we don't look solid at the back to me, not at all. I don't think Vlad and Daws would fancy movement and pacey attackers.

I also don't see any difference between the home and away performances. We are equally as blunt and lacking in attacking philosophy both home and away. There was always going to be a gelling period with all the upheaval but a few chinks of light in terms of performances would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Modric THFC]

Can you imagine what the reaction would have been if you know who had said that?

I think the fans should get behind the team for duration of the game unless we're 4 or 5 nil down and boo the RESULT.

To me its truly a Redknapp type statement. Its and attempt to deflect attention after from his failings and pointing the fault at someone else.

 

[Jurgen the German]

Has anyone got the number of the bloke who used to be the Shelf drummer? I know he blagged his way into the ground, but I'm sure the club can subsidise his ticket for sake of the atmosphere?

 

[the dza]

The acid test comes when some of the bigger boys begin to visit the lane then. I think we should be grateful teams don't come out and go for us because we don't look solid at the back to me, not at all. I don't think Vlad and Daws would fancy movement and pacey attackers.

I also don't see any difference between the home and away performances. We are equally as blunt and lacking in attacking philosophy both home and away. There was always going to be a gelling period with all the upheaval but a few chinks of light in terms of performances would be greatly appreciated.

We had Chelsea at The Lane already -- did well first half, in the 2nd, I think the sending off got us out of jail because they were getting well on top. In the end though, we only let in 1 goal. I think the team can defend under pressure, even if the likes of Walker/Dawson do it all a bit "last-ditch" rather than Baresi style.

 

[harr1984]

To me its truly a Redknapp type statement. Its and attempt to deflect attention after from his failings and pointing the fault at someone else.

To be honest its about time a manager of ours said something along these lines. You can't use the fact we were poor as an excuse, even during the Redknapp era the atmosphere at WHL has been to put it politely, poor....

 

[diego_maradona]

I'd love for AVB's criticism of the fans lead to a wake up call for all of us to get behind the side. Realistically we know it's not that easy for the fans just to suddenly sing more. Some people are just like that. They are nervous in the ground, always fearing the worst. It's just in their nature. It's like if they think any different they are tempting fate!

I have a mate like that BUT the major difference is he will stay quiet. He won't contribute to making it a toxic atmosphere full of negative groans and constant criticisms. I think thats important.

 

[ringo]

I'm not sure what to make of AVB's comment. I'm assuming he thought that it might encourage people to should/sing/encourage the team more.

It is an interesting dilemma. A lot of people pay what they probably consider to be a reasonable sum of money to watch Spurs. They probably don't earn £10k plus a week. And in theory they are within their rights to sing, not sing, (even abuse the team -although I don't condone that, and wouldn't myself) as they wish. For many of us football is a quasi-religion..we will always support Spurs, we will always sing.

However, while some fans will always moan, no matter how well we play, a lot of fans just want to be entertained. We've not just started playing dull football, we have been doing it for a while now under AVB. Although the team is under no specific obligation to entertain, presumably just to do its best, I think it is a bit rich to criticise the fans given the way we are playing at the moment.

 

[thfcsteff]

Can you imagine what the reaction would have been if you know who had said that?

I think the fans should get behind the team for duration of the game unless we're 4 or 5 nil down and boo the RESULT.

The difference is it's taken AVB how long to say something critical of the 'supporters'? But this is not about your old mate...;-)

 

[Mulletperm]

Question.
Do other managers critisize their supporters as an excuse for their team's poor performance? I don't remember hearing something like that before.

 

[scaramanga]

I'm not sure what to make of AVB's comment. I'm assuming he thought that it might encourage people to should/sing/encourage the team more.

It is an interesting dilemma. A lot of people pay what they probably consider to be a reasonable sum of money to watch Spurs. They probably don't earn £10k plus a week. And in theory they are within their rights to sing, not sing, (even abuse the team -although I don't condone that, and wouldn't myself) as they wish. For many of us football is a quasi-religion..we will always support Spurs, we will always sing.

However, while some fans will always moan, no matter how well we play, a lot of fans just want to be entertained. We've not just started playing dull football, we have been doing it for a while now under AVB. Although the team is under no specific obligation to entertain, presumably just to do its best, I think it is a bit rich to criticise the fans given the way we are playing at the moment.

If I were playing in front of our current home crowd I'd play it safe and avoid the spectacular so as not to incur their wrath too.

It's a chicken and egg question which I suspect will divide fans down the middle. IMO the atmosphere's been going downhill since well before AVB got here and our good results have been in spite of the crowd. I'm not sure why anyone would do it, but it's like someone cloned the West Upper and spread them all around the other stands.

 

[scaramanga]

Question.
Do other managers critisize their supporters as an excuse for their team's poor performance? I don't remember hearing something like that before.

I don't remember hearing a crowd as bad as at WHL before.

Actually I went to Reading's home ground once, that was worse.

 

[Nezza]

However, while some fans will always moan, no matter how well we play, a lot of fans just want to be entertained. We've not just started playing dull football, we have been doing it for a while now under AVB. Although the team is under no specific obligation to entertain, presumably just to do its best, I think it is a bit rich to criticise the fans given the way we are playing at the moment.

I agree with a lot of what you say, but surely a Spurs team should always set out to entertain? If history means nothing, and results are more important than style we'd all go and support Chelsea.

We don't. And there are reasons why we don't.

 

[Mulletperm]

I don't remember hearing a crowd as bad as at WHL before.

Actually I went to Reading's home ground once, that was worse.

Come off it Scara, there are plenty of home fans who are ****-poor. I was watching the Utd/Stoke game the other day and the 'Theatre of Dreams' was like a morgue, until their 3rd goal when they acted like they'd just done the treble.

Managers should not be using the fans as a spacegoat for his and his team's shortcomings.

Bang out of order.

 

[scaramanga]

Come off it Scara, there are plenty of home fans who are ****-poor. I was watching the Utd/Stoke game the other day and the 'Theatre of Dreams' was like a morgue, until their 3rd goal when they acted like they'd just done the treble.

Managers should not be using the fans as a spacegoat for his and his team's shortcomings.

Bang out of order.

There are plenty and currently we're up there with the worst of them.

 

[ringo]

I agree with a lot of what you say, but surely a Spurs team should always set out to entertain? If history means nothing, and results are more important than style we'd all go and support Chelsea.

We don't. And there are reasons why we don't.

I agree. I'm proud to support a team with a reputation for playing with a certain style. But there is no actual obligation to play that way, other than history and tradition. That is why the choice of manager is so important - in a sense he is the custodian of our club's values.

 

[superfaisty]

I think AVB really only has one style of play home or away rather than training the players jn another formation or style. It doesnt work at home when teams park the bus and im surprised that its taking AVB so long to show some flexibility in style especially at home.

That said if you touch yourself each week the least you can do is support the team no matter how turgid they're playing- by all means boo at the end of the game of it helps you but its not going to help the lads thats for sure.

 

[King of Norway]

I don't think our home support is any worse than the home support of the vast majority of other PL clubs. I've been to a few different grounds now. If the home team plays well, their fans will (perhaps) do well. If the home team doesn't play well, the support will also be poor. It's the same everywhere. I actually think we are better than a lot of other home supporters. At some grounds, home fans will hardly ever get a song going at all.