From Sunday Times journo Duncan Castles
http://sulia.com/channel/soccer/f/6b30001f-6cff-4bce-9bb6-1a9814513b3d/
Anyone think The Sun has an agenda against Andre Villas-Boas? #THFC #CFC
It is hard to read the reports of Andre Villas-Boas' first weeks at Tottenham Hotspur and not suspect a campaign to undermine the man Daniel Levy chose to replace 'people's favourite' Harry Redknapp.
On the morning of the most challenging fixture of Tottenham's season so far – an away trip to Manchester United – a newspaper who Redknapp provides a column for reports that “Unhappy Tottenham stars held showdown talks with Andre Villas-Boas over his training and tactics.”
The claim is that the coach's players have complained about “gruelling double training sessions - sometimes staged just 24 hours before a match – left them too tired to perform in Premier League matches this season.” In addition the players are supposed to have complained about Totternham's tactics, telling Villas-Boas “they would prefer to play a more attacking system.”
It's an interesting assertion given that Villas-Boas has not used a single double training session during the season proper. (Like most modern coaches he employed doubles sessions as part of Tottenham's pre-season fitness regime, but there have been none since.)
As for complaints about tactics, a close friend of the coach says that Villas-Boas has received none whatsoever. The story is described as “outrageous”.
It is also interesting to note Gareth Bale's response when asked if Redknapp's summer dismissal made him consider his own future at Tottenham in the close season.
"The manager situation wasn't really my worry either,” said Bale in an interview with The Guardian. “It was more a case of whether the club wanted to go forward and be ambitious. I spoke to the chairman – he talked to me privately – and he told me about his plans and what he wanted to bring to Tottenham. It was exciting. We're going in the right direction. We've made some great signings. We've got a new training ground, we're planning a new stadium. It's all looking bright.
"He [Villas-Boas] is very approachable. If there is a problem, or something we feel is not right, his door is open. He wants us to work that way: together, the players and staff, and if there is a problem we can always share our ideas with him and he will take it on board.”
