Andre Villas-Boas - Head Coach

[Kenyan Spur]

I feel that from some posters it's not criticism, but simply branding AVB as a failure because they're either unhappy about Redknapp's sacking or AVB being his replacement. They're simply not willing to give him a chance, it's almost as if they can't wait for a bad result so they can come here and have a go at him. Some times the comments aren't at all reflective of what actually happened last match.

Since we're actually doing well results wise (some claimed we had to do better than previous seasons to even begin justifying the change) it's the performances that's used as an excuse. Our most recent matches have been at the level you'd expect from our squad. Now that we're becoming more settled we haven't really looked that different from how we played last season, so why call it a complete shambles? How many times in the last 3 years did we not have 20 something shots at goal, but struggle to get something from a game?

It takes time to change how we play, especially if you're missing key components, without sacrificing results for a period. AVB has managed to keep us in the fight for top 4 while slowly trying to instill his ideas into the team. It's still a work in. progress and IMO you can't really expect to see major improvements this season. Expecting us to immediately become a much better team and fight for the title, considering the changes we have undergone this summer, would be foolish.

While we have some very good players, we don't that one world class player to conjure up some magic. Sometimes we will struggle to break down teams, just look at United and City this weekend. The idea that most teams should just roll over for us is not only disrespectful towards the other clubs, but extremely unrealistic. While there might be less quality in the league now there's no lack of hard working and defensively well organised teams.

Why not give the players and the manager a real chance to prove themselves? We've already seen improvement from how we were in pre-season and the early stages of the season.

Great post. Agree 100%

 

[metalgear]

results A

would give that a C myself - some very poor results, some fantastic results but overall more or less the same as the previous season

achieved with much less compared to last year. recall what happened immediately after we sold keane and berbs? we actually lost ade for a good 3 months or so to late transfer and hamstring.... speaking of which if the injury situation alleviates we have a chance at a much stronger and better setteld team for the second half of the season

 

[Pandy]

How many shocking results have we really had this season? Every team has them, every season. Unless we were to be challenging for the title it is utterly unreasonable to expect us to win every game that we 'should' win. We also beat United at Old Trafford for the first time in my life. Strange results happen.

We have had a lot to adjust to - major changes in personnel both on and off the pitch, subsequent alterations to tactics (the 'high line' is not something which is perfected overnight), we've had constant injuries to our most important players (how good was Kaboul last year?). Yet we are still comfortably in the hunt for 4th and realistically 3rd. Anyone who thinks AVB has done a bad job is quite frankly, without exception, an unrealistic fool. If the second half of the season is not an improvement on the first half, then yes, he wouldn't have done a good job, but to this point it is wholly fantastical to believe we should be much higher than we already are.

 

[JerusalemMan]

Scary to think we've not beaten Norwich, West Brom, Wigan or Stoke at home. However we are still joint 4th. Every side has been shocking this year.

In isolation yes.
Pre-season, it would have been scary/shocking.
But within the context of the season so far and witnessing how those teams have done...it is at least understandable if not palatable. Well, not Wigan. But the other 3.

 

[thfcsteff]

In isolation yes.
Pre-season, it would have been scary/shocking.
But within the context of the season so far and witnessing how those teams have done...it is at least understandable if not palatable. Well, not Wigan. But the other 3.

Wigan was awful, just awful...the only really shocking performance I have seen this season. Norwich was not fantastic, West Brom was weird as I felt the first half was a landslide, and Stoke was Stoke, the same sort of game as the last couple of seasons. BTW, after that Wigan game, AVB just came out and said it as it was.

 

[ArcspacE]

FM gone wild again as is usual on this board.

So for the people who rate AVB's results a C (almost a failing grade), a real question.

- What did you realistically expect? what would have been a B+ result at this point?

Excellent post

 

[DHSF]

Excellent post

Explain how that is an excellent post? I would love to understand the justification for grading our results so far at anything other (specifically) above a 'C'?

Raziels cool but I would have expected that post from someone who had no sense of ambition, purpose or expectation at the outset of the season (sorry Raziel)

If someone said we won't beat any of those four teams at home - you would have said that was brick and we would expect to beat at least one. The most disappointing thing out of those results were the lacklustre and lackadaisical performances

 

[SUIYHA]

To be honest, the only response I have basically leads me to conclude that nothing he does will get you off his back. You are obviously someone who expects a certain thing to be done in a certain situation, and if it doesn't happen then it's wrong. There's no discussing that simply because any tactical observations made in previous replies have been rendered as 'not reallys' by you here, and as such, you have a very 'set' POV when it comes to tactics. I only hope that at some point (far sooner than later) you are able to enjoy some (or all) aspects of THFC and our manager's work.

I'm more than happy for a manager to do something I didn't think about myself earlier if it changes the game in our favour and helps to get a result. Like I said earlier, I hadn't thought of taking off both our full-backs against Arsenal to pack the midfield, which worked extremely well in the second half. What irritates me is when a manager doesn't spot something that is very simple, such as that we are struggling to find space in the final third and nobody is picking out our players and that our most creative passer is sitting on the bench.

Hmmm..fair enough. I think I have confused you with another poister; perhaps Indianspurs.

Tbf, we can all say 'we should have started x as this was obviously the thing to do because of y'. I myself do it. But often those are just gambles that can come off or not. A second when a players switches off/on leading to a goal scored/conceded changes the whole feel of the message board.

For example, if Siggy had scored his header near the end, do you honestly think you would have bemoaned AVB's tactical decison making then?

Another thing is that you seem to give detailed posts on what AVB 'should obviously have done' but it's mostly after the fact. You don't seem to post pre-game in the omt stating the 'obvious selections that AVB should clearly make' (I haven't found any in the SToke OMT: by all means correcr me if i'm wrong) and this seems to be unfair to me.

So, in the interest of consistency and foresight, can you tell what our starting line-up, formation and subs should be against Villa on Boxing day?
I am intrigued to read what your views are on how we should approach the game; then we can havbe a discussion afterwards about how things went right/wrong/diabolical.

Cheers

I rarely post in the OMTs during a game because I'm....you know...watching the games!

But as for pre-game analysis, I will post in the Villa OMT as to how I feel we should set up and why.

 

[Rossi22]

Explain how that is an excellent post? I would love to understand the justification for grading our results so far at anything other (specifically) above a 'C'?

Raziels cool but I would have expected that post from someone who had no sense of ambition, purpose or expectation at the outset of the season (sorry Raziel)

If someone said we won't beat any of those four teams at home - you would have said that was brick and we would expect to beat at least one. The most disappointing thing out of those results were the lacklustre and lackadaisical performances

What would you grade last season's results as? And if we're using that as a yardstick to grade this season's then I think that's unfair considering we have a weaker squad now.

 

[DHSF]

What would you grade last season's results as? And if we're using that as a yardstick to grade this season's then I think that's unfair considering we have a weaker squad now.

We have moved on from last season. You can't have it both ways you can't one minute talk about forgetting Harry and the next moving the goalposts and talk about last season.

I am grading AVB - he wasn't here last season. Last season the results against those teams yielded better results than this season. I would still grade them as a C but not sure how that is material when we are, like I say, giving half term grades so to speak.

 

[Rossi22]

Well if where we are is a C then what is an A? Top of the league? We're one point worse off compared to last season's fixtures and a win today means we're 1 point better off, I doubt you've graded last season's results as a C and if you have then I don't really know what you're expecting from this club.

 

[thfcsteff]

I'm more than happy for a manager to do something I didn't think about myself earlier if it changes the game in our favour and helps to get a result. Like I said earlier, I hadn't thought of taking off both our full-backs against Arsenal to pack the midfield, which worked extremely well in the second half. What irritates me is when a manager doesn't spot something that is very simple, such as that we are struggling to find space in the final third and nobody is picking out our players and that our most creative passer is sitting on the bench.

We knew that if he was smart he'd go 3 at the back at the filth. He waited a spell to see if we could just be solid with 4-4-1 and it didn't happen due to schoolboy errors. With regards to our 'most creative passer being on the bench' I am intrigued as to who you are referring to? Obviously I know your comment is made in context to some specific matches and not the season as a whole...

 

[Kenyan Spur]

Well if where we are is a C then what is an A? Top of the league? We're one point worse off compared to last season's fixtures and a win today means we're 1 point better off, I doubt you've graded last season's results as a C and if you have then I don't really know what you're expecting from this club.

Good point.

If we are a C know, sitting 4th., what would we need to be a D. B or A

 

[Kingdawson]

Please please can we now all accept our away performances compared to our home performances is like night and day?

since the WBA game i called that if we continue this pressing game at the Lane we're going to encounter real real problems this season and it's proven to be the case. Away from home i said we'd get a lot of good results and Defoe as a lone striker will thrive in this system and get a good goal return and that looks the case also.

We're an AVB tweak away from being a very dangerous team but he has to adopt a different strategy at the Lane that's for sure.

 

[Kingdawson]

Good point.

If we are a C know, sitting 4th., what would we need to be a D. B or A

Results wise we're a C+ but it's very fine margins. Not letting stupid last minute goals in vs Everton, WBA and Norwich would have seen him get a A- from me.

 

[Rossi22]

Please please can we now all accept our away performances compared to our home performances is like night and day?

since the WBA game i called that if we continue this pressing game at the Lane we're going to encounter real real problems this season and it's proven to be the case. Away from home i said we'd get a lot of good results and Defoe as a lone striker will thrive in this system and get a good goal return and that looks the case also.

We're an AVB tweak away from being a very dangerous team but he has to adopt a different strategy at the Lane that's for sure.

Are you saying that us pressing is the reason we've been poor at home?

 

[Mr. Green]

Please please can we now all accept our away performances compared to our home performances is like night and day?

since the WBA game i called that if we continue this pressing game at the Lane we're going to encounter real real problems this season and it's proven to be the case. Away from home i said we'd get a lot of good results and Defoe as a lone striker will thrive in this system and get a good goal return and that looks the case also.

We're an AVB tweak away from being a very dangerous team but he has to adopt a different strategy at the Lane that's for sure.

I don't think it's entirely down to us. Our performance/style was very similar to the two previous home games.

We scored two only after they opened up a notch (taking off injured Baker), and added two more after they virtually gave up. Had this was played at WHL, I doubt Villa would even try to cross the half-way line. And we would be lucky to nick a win.

 

[Mr. Green]

Results wise we're a C+ but it's very fine margins. Not letting stupid last minute goals in vs Everton, WBA and Norwich would have seen him get a A- from me.

Ever think it might be due to "D - luck".

On the other hand, IF the ref didn't send off Ade, we made it 2-0 up against Everton and scored one vs. Stoke, would it became "A - result" for you?

 

[Kingdawson]

Are you saying that us pressing is the reason we've been poor at home?

Oh you're damn right it's part of the reason.

It's not the fact that we're pressing but it's the overuse of the pressing. We're so hell bent on regaining possesion that we're behaving like headless chicken rather then behaving in a calm and composed manner. Giving the opposition more possession and letingt them feel comfortable is the way to tactically break them down imo otherwise they'll just keep doing what they're doing and we'll continue failing to impose ourselves in the game.

 

[Kingdawson]

Ever think it might be due to "D - luck".

On the other hand, IF the ref didn't send off Ade, we made it 2-0 up against Everton and scored one vs. Stoke, would it became "A - result" for you?

Luck? it's not luck when the opposition have done more than enough to win at least a point.

anyway to answer your rather weird question...yes it would have been an "A" if all those things happened..but they didn't? i mean what are you getting at lol.