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Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

Today's performance was dominant from start to finish.
It was as comprehensive an away performance as you could expect to see.
Encouraging to see Sig break through and do something of great note (nice to be proven wrong today, here's to being proven wrong many more times this season) and Dempsey had another fine game (that ball for the third goal was superb).

Foy needs to be called up for the Bale booking as it totally changed his game. My mate heard him and Lennon at a corner during the second-half, Lennon said to Bale "That booking was awful" to which Bale said "Yeah mate, I'm bricking myself"...it absolutely compromises the way he plays.

Well done again to AVB, who's system is getting closer to full tune-up every week, who has managed the goalkeeper situation superbly and who managed to rest Walker today with no side-effects. I look forward to him having a nearly full-strength squad soon and hopefully what he wants in the window.

A great day at the office.

I disagree. Up until the first goal the game was close and Fulham had the best chance. We really struggled to create chances. Fulham are a good side, but they're not in great form. I wouldn't expect us to just go out there and beat them, but our performance wasn't even particularly good, never mind dominant.

We did look solid at the back for most of the game though.

Still plenty of room for us to get much better.
 
I disagree. Up until the first goal the game was close and Fulham had the best chance. We really struggled to create chances. Fulham are a good side, but they're not in great form. I wouldn't expect us to just go out there and beat them, but our performance wasn't even particularly good, never mind dominant.

We did look solid at the back for most of the game though.

Still plenty of room for us to get much better.

Agree with you. I think we are scoring at the right times though which is helping us greatly. Last week West Ham could have turned into a totally frustrating one had Defoe not scored just before half time. Yesterday Sandro scored I think against the run of play and that helped us out. Then you can go further back int he season and look at Manure game us scoring the third soon after their first.

Yesterday was pretty solid without being unspectacular. It was actually an efficient performance. Last year although we won 3-1 it was pretty open and they hurt us a lot.
 
One of my main concerns with AVB was stubborness. I'm absolutely delighted that he has realised that with the current squad that he needs to abandon 4-5-1 and play with two banks of four, a number 10 and a striker. It's what has worked for us so well the last two years, and no surprise to me that since we've switched back to those tactics we are back to looking good. I expected 7pts from the 9pts so to get 9pts is absolutely brilliant! Well done AVB and the boys!
 
Agree with you. I think we are scoring at the right times though which is helping us greatly. Last week West Ham could have turned into a totally frustrating one had Defoe not scored just before half time. Yesterday Sandro scored I think against the run of play and that helped us out. Then you can go further back int he season and look at Manure game us scoring the third soon after their first.

Yesterday was pretty solid without being unspectacular. It was actually an efficient performance. Last year although we won 3-1 it was pretty open and they hurt us a lot.

I'm starting to think that it isn't co-incidence with how we are scoring. I've long thought that his 'methods' would be defined as ultimately the 4-3-3 he will want to implement, but I think there's something else in it too. It's that he wants us to be totally adaptable and be able to carry out varying plans in the middle of a match. So we have to be totally comfortable if we are sitting back looking to come through an expected onslaught (e.g. Man United away) but also comfortable if we must pass the ball on the deck and stop the game becoming a direct battle (West Ham) and also comfortable drawing teams out (Norwich at home).

I think this is one of the reasons we've looked so inconsistent this season but at the same time we now have a share of third place. We can look poor in games but the Liverpool game for example we sat back because we had a 2 goal lead to protect with a slow centre back pairing. So us sitting back was the plan for that match if we were going to win it. Once we score, we have lately become pretty solid in riding out the fightback from the opposing team lately. And then we go again. Matches play out in stages, and players need to be able to adapt to all of them, and make the right decisions in each. There will be stages where you are on top, stages where you are under the cosh, stages where the crowd is frustrated, stages where the game has had the life sucked out of it. There will be times where you want to suck the life out of the game yourself. And I'm staring to think AVB's methods are as much about being able to adapt to every different stage of the game and execute the plan for it, as it is for him to implement a system that we play too every single week. The performance against West Brom for example was striking in that there seemed to be massive gaps all over the pitch, like some players were doing one thing and others another. They didn't all know exactly how this new way of working worked yet. The Norwich game next was better in terms of everyone being on the same page, but the fluency and confidence wasn't there. But we've built it up through the season and are really coming into our own now.

This is what Defoe talks about when he says there is a clear and distinct plan for every single game. He has made that point in a number of interviews, and it seems to go beyond what previous managers of done if he is so surprised about it. More than simply pin pointing weaknesses, I guess they have complete strategies for different stages of games and ways of carrying out each one of them. I would also guess that this is why he has liked to play Gallas. I read somewhere last year that he liked Mata to be his 'tactical leader on the pitch' or something like that. Basically Mata would be able to decide when the play needed to be slowed down, quickened up etc. On Wednesday you could see in a break in play that Gallas was coming over to the midfielders, telling them what needed to be done. You probably need someone with that experience and that confidence, that winning mentality to be able to tell the players what needs to happen, and with the leadership qualities that they will listen and buy into it.

I think eventually we will get to a point where we do have our own distinct style and way of playing and we will incorporate that more with the different strategies in the middle of the game. But right now, while we don't quite have the players for it, to have a share of third place and getting these wins is actually excellent. I think it needs repeating again - the loss of Modric, Rafa, King. The injuries to Kaboul, Assou-Ekotto and Parker. The unavailability of Adebayor. The fact that he has us so high up the league with Jermain Defoe as lone striker and an out of form - until recently - Clint Dempsey supporting him is pretty amazing. I mean, Defoe? That one track minded pure poacher who can't bring others into the game? But no, in spite of people saying AVB is too stubborn and sticks too strictly to his methods, he has adjusted his plans to bring the best out of a player that many (including me) would have gladly sold in the summer and we are being rewarded for it.
 
All AVB needed was a bit of time to get his ideas across to the players, shameful how some fans turned on him after a few games and i hope they are now beginning to see that if we back him fully then the goods times are coming.
 
All AVB needed was a bit of time to get his ideas across to the players, shameful how some fans turned on him after a few games and i hope they are now beginning to see that if we back him fully then the goods times are coming.

What does turning on him actually mean? Criticising him? yeah he deserved criticism doesnt mean people turned on him. For example I criticised him certainly but never turned on him. The performances were dreadful and lets be honest whilst theyre not dreadful now they are still not that great - Liverscum for example. Its certainly improving though and for that I give him credit.
 
What does turning on him actually mean? Criticising him? yeah he deserved criticism doesnt mean people turned on him. For example I criticised him certainly but never turned on him. The performances were dreadful and lets be honest whilst theyre not dreadful now they are still not that great - Liverscum for example. Its certainly improving though and for that I give him credit.



Well on forums and at the game there were plenty who were calling him a fraud, a brick manager, he did not have a clue. Even at the end of the game yesterday there were some in the pub saying they wished that Redknapp was still our boss.
 
All AVB needed was a bit of time to get his ideas across to the players, shameful how some fans turned on him after a few games and i hope they are now beginning to see that if we back him fully then the goods times are coming.

A lot of people are just short term reactionary thinkers. Nothing is proved with AVB yet. He hasn't proven himself to be an excellent manager for us, or a bad manager for us. It will take longer than a season before he can be judged in my view. Just look at Gerry Francis all those years ago. First year and a bit in charge was fantastic but a couple of years after that? Oh dear!
 
Well on forums and at the game there were plenty who were calling him a fraud, a brick manager, he did not have a clue. Even at the end of the game yesterday there were some in the pub saying they wished that Redknapp was still our boss.

Well theyre the ones you take no notice of. Similar to the people who never took to Harry (I can name a few). Its all hidden agendas. They have their reasons and generally its non footballing reasons The majority on here took a while due to the performances being fairly dull and boring. Im one of them.

Anyways onwards and upwards
 
A lot of people are just short term reactionary thinkers. Nothing is proved with AVB yet. He hasn't proven himself to be an excellent manager for us, or a bad manager for us. It will take longer than a season before he can be judged in my view. Just look at Gerry Francis all those years ago. First year and a bit in charge was fantastic but a couple of years after that? Oh dear!

As i have said on here many times he needs time to get his ideas across so in a way i agree with you, what i found hard to understand is those who were writing him off after a few defeats.
 
Well theyre the ones you take no notice of. Similar to the people who never took to Harry (I can name a few). Its all hidden agendas. They have their reasons and generally its non footballing reasons The majority on here took a while due to the performances being fairly dull and boring. Im one of them.

Anyways onwards and upwards

i agree that there were some ( and still are) those with agendas against AVB, that is why we still get some saying " how would we be doing if Redknapp was still here" he is gone and its history, time to move on and look forward not back.
 
As i have said on here many times he needs time to get his ideas across so in a way i agree with you, what i found hard to understand is those who were writing him off after a few defeats.

Agreed. But I can't understand those that also proclaim that he WILL be a major success either and I prefer to judge him on what actually happens rather than what may or may not happen. But until he has his own players it's unfair to judge him.

But the last three games he has earned some major kudos in my view because he has shown he can be flexible regarding formations and he isn't just a 4-5-1 one trick pony. I have no doubt that over successive transfer windows he will purchase the players to play 4-5-1 and we'll play it more often than not, but until he has those players he needs to play to the squad's strength. And that is two banks of four with either two forwards in front of them or a lone forward and a number ten. I am loving that AVB is now playing that formation and that when Dempsey plays now he isn't playing central midfield but just in front of the midfield four. I think with our players we look a lot better balanced that way and it's been a major contribution to the last three fantastic results. I think that has reflected better on AVB than anything else so far and I can't wait to see what he can do with the players he actually wants at the club!
 
Well theyre the ones you take no notice of. Similar to the people who never took to Harry (I can name a few). Its all hidden agendas. They have their reasons and generally its non footballing reasons The majority on here took a while due to the performances being fairly dull and boring. Im one of them.

Anyways onwards and upwards

Good post. Basically ignore the extreme idiots. Those that are in love with AVB and those who hate him are as bad as each other and just aren't worth debating with as it simply won't be rational.
 
Agreed. But I can't understand those that also proclaim that he WILL be a major success either and I prefer to judge him on what actually happens rather than what may or may not happen. But until he has his own players it's unfair to judge him.

But the last three games he has earned some major kudos in my view because he has shown he can be flexible regarding formations and he isn't just a 4-5-1 one trick pony. I have no doubt that over successive transfer windows he will purchase the players to play 4-5-1 and we'll play it more often than not, but until he has those players he needs to play to the squad's strength. And that is two banks of four with either two forwards in front of them or a lone forward and a number ten. I am loving that AVB is now playing that formation and that when Dempsey plays now he isn't playing central midfield but just in front of the midfield four. I think with our players we look a lot better balanced that way and it's been a major contribution to the last three fantastic results. I think that has reflected better on AVB than anything else so far and I can't wait to see what he can do with the players he actually wants at the club!

Yep no one can be certain that he will be a huge success here, but all the signs are ( imo) that he will certainly improve our team play and he has already shown that certain players will look better with his training ( Defoe, Lennon are jusr two who look far better).
 
Yep no one can be certain that he will be a huge success here, but all the signs are ( imo) that he will certainly improve our team play and he has already shown that certain players will look better with his training ( Defoe, Lennon are jusr two who look far better).

See I don't agree with that. Lennon and Defoe have always fluctuated with form and tend to go on good runs. I don't think AVB has done anything special to get extra out of them. For example, Lennon's best form at the club was last year and he is still young so naturally is going to get better. Defoe has always been a streaky player. I rate them both highly though, always have.

Our team play isn't as good as the last few seasons in my view. But I am putting that down to a manager trying a new system. We revert back to the formation and style of play we have been playing the last two seasons, and the net result is 9pts out of 9.
 
When people say he 'deserved criticism' earlier on what does this mean? What exactly was he doing wrong? If we accept that implementing new ways of thinking, tactics and coaching methods will take time, is he then doing something wrong because of a natural bedding in period?

What I'm trying to say I guess, is that the people who backed him from the start even through the results and performances weren't great deserve a bit of credit for sticking with him and seeing a broader picture, rather than simply saying he's doing something wrong because we didn't see an instant boost in performances.
 
See I don't agree with that. Lennon and Defoe have always fluctuated with form and tend to go on good runs. I don't think AVB has done anything special to get extra out of them. For example, Lennon's best form at the club was last year and he is still young so naturally is going to get better. Defoe has always been a streaky player. I rate them both highly though, always have.

Our team play isn't as good as the last few seasons in my view. But I am putting that down to a manager trying a new system. We revert back to the formation and style of play we have been playing the last two seasons, and the net result is 9pts out of 9.

Well Stop! Hammer time but having seen most of the games this season i feel that both are involved more ( in general play) then thay have been. We have played much more as a team then we did under Redknapp and it will improve as the season goes on.
 
When people say he 'deserved criticism' earlier on what does this mean? What exactly was he doing wrong? If we accept that implementing new ways of thinking, tactics and coaching methods will take time, is he then doing something wrong because of a natural bedding in period?

What I'm trying to say I guess, is that the people who backed him from the start even through the results and performances weren't great deserve a bit of credit for sticking with him and seeing a broader picture, rather than simply saying he's doing something wrong because we didn't see an instant boost in performances.

Too early to judge either way. Let's be honest, we've just got a great 9pts BUT Liverpool at home we were poor for 70 minutes, and until we took the lead against Fulham we didn't look sparkling either (although being away from home the performance was good). The funny thing is, AVB has STOPPED being experimental and gone back to what we did last season and we look better for it. Personally I don't think AVB has done much wrong. Rating Livermore over Huddlestone a bit of a wow moment for me, but he seems to have addressed that too. I just think AVB has realised that he doesn't have the players in the squad to play the system he wants us to play, and therefore has compromised. And that is brilliant management.
 
Too early to judge either way. Let's be honest, we've just got a great 9pts BUT Liverpool at home we were poor for 70 minutes, and until we took the lead against Fulham we didn't look sparkling either (although being away from home the performance was good). The funny thing is, AVB has STOPPED being experimental and gone back to what we did last season and we look better for it. Personally I don't think AVB has done much wrong. Rating Livermore over Huddlestone a bit of a wow moment for me, but he seems to have addressed that too. I just think AVB has realised that he doesn't have the players in the squad to play the system he wants us to play, and therefore has compromised. And that is brilliant management.

I agree that he has adjusted how we play to the players that suit - although I think he did that a lot sooner than you do - and I think he is also operating the meritocracy which means that Livermore got picked over Huddlestone at the start of the season. Simple reason being, Huddlestone had been out injured for a year. Livermore had been in the team. So he keeps Livermore in and Huddlestone fights his way back, and then plays well enough once in the team to mean Livermore, who was never key to anything anyway, now has to fight himself to get back in. Good management there and keeps the players competitive. Both will probably eventually be moved on but until then he's doing well by them all.
 
Well Stop! Hammer time but having seen most of the games this season i feel that both are involved more ( in general play) then thay have been. We have played much more as a team then we did under Redknapp and it will improve as the season goes on.

You want my honest opinion? I don't think you liked Redknapp and you're letting it cloud your emotions. For 15 games last season we were playing our best football since the 80's. The whole team was fluid and played some lovely stuff. I am not sure what you regard as playing as a team, but for me this season we have been too reliant on Bale and I am looking forward to seeing what we can do without him. I don't think we have played well as a team yet this season, we look very disjointed at times. But we are also playing a much more rigid system this year and it will take time for certain players to adjust.

Lennon was my player of the season last year. People blame all sorts of things for our bad points return after the turn of the New Year, but during that run of games our performances weren't that bad but we just couldn't create much. All of that co-incided with Lennon being injured. He returns for the last few games and we end up with an excellent 10pts from 12pts. No co-incidence for me.
 
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