I've felt the same way since before the season even started Mud, hence the thread I started about 'feeling a bit flat' about it all.
This is in no way calling for Redknapp back etc. But I resent the fact that we're no longer the team playing the most exciting football in the league, as we were prior to the Emirates Marketing Project game we lost in January (which is when the rot started).
The media were loving the way we played and it felt amazing to support that team. The performances this year have been an almost polar opposite of those days. Obviously not helped by the departure of Modric and VdV, but even when Modric was out we played fast, flowing, attacking football. We just seem a bit clueless and stagnant at the moment.
I think this sums it up. I was actually quite pleased when Redknapp was moved on, mainly for non-footballing reasons it has to be said. I was delighted with the arrival of AVB, because I was lead to believe he was a master tactician who played exciting football. I disregarded what had happened at Chelsea because it's a joke of a club and some great managers have failed, or declined, there due to the interference of their Chairman. I wasn't even that bothered by him falling out with certain Chelsea players, because he wasn't the first Chelsea manager that had done so.
But I haven't been at all impressed with the performances so far. Replacing Modric and VDV was never going to be easy, they were two thirds of the flair of our side, but VDV would have happily stayed at Spurs and letting him go was our choice. Modric was just inevitable and even if we had qualified for Champion's League and Redknapp had stayed, I still believe Modric would have gone.
I keep hearing fellow fans telling me that our league position is great, and there is nothing to worry about. But the fixture list has been kind so far, and I actually believe we are down on points to where we should be this season with the opposition we've played. We've only played 9 league games and 5 of those were against the teams currently occupying the bottom 5 positions in the Premiership at present (although this may be a false reading on those teams if they've had a harder run than usual). Our next game? Against the team that is 6th from last in the Premiership. This clearly shows our opposition so far generally hasn't been that tough, and that means we have much harder games to follow before this half of the season is out. Worse still those dropped points were at home against teams we should be beating. Hopefully we'll turn that around by beating teams that we shouldn't be beating (like the Utd result) but if we truly are going to turn that around then our performances must improve dramatically because right now they are very poor. We lack guile, cohesion, creativity and tempo.
My initial delight in AVB coming in has also curdled a bit. It's early days so maybe he is finding his feet, but we are too needlessly defensive, we seem unfit, we lack leadership and we are too reliant on Bale. He can't do it all.
I also don't subscribe to AVB being some sort of long term project. Football doesn't work that way anymore, and even if it did a manager has to prove that he is worthy of being given time. Not just given it for the sake of it. We don't make top six this year, and halfway through next season we don't look like making it either, then there is a real chance AVB will be gone. Even if we get top four this year, then I'd wager AVB won't be Spurs manager in 4 seasons time. We'll either get rid of him the first poor season he has, he'll move on to a bigger club or he'll fall out with the Chairman. Long termism in modern football is basically being able to look beyond this season to the next season.
Looking back it is easy to become spoiled and I think we have been spelled over the last few seasons. Under Redknapp played some great football at times, same with Ramos and Jol. We've also had some great players in the likes of King, Carrick, Berbatov, Modric, VDV and Bale. This season we aren't attractive, we're defensive minded which in hindsight we should have been prepared for. Mourinho's teams are the same (forget Real Madrid, outside of two or three teams the rest of the Spanish league is there to serve as whipping boys to the two giants.) and Mourinho is AVB's role model. So probably not surprising we've adopted a 451 and that we pile men behind the ball when we lose it, have everyone back at corners and that we are more than content to defend a 1-0 lead against even the weakest of opposition. But it's just not Spurs is it? Or at least not the Spurs I grew up watching.
I think if we're winning games and performing well in the league then AVB will, deservedly, be cut slack regardless of how dire the performances are. The problem AVB has is that so far we haven't played well, we haven't played entertainingly and if our results do start to reflect that he'll come under a lot of pressure.
But it's not all bad. The Man Utd result was great (if somewhat lucky in the second half, but we sure due some luck against Utd), I think the message he sent out regarding Friedel/Livemore was a good one (doesn't matter how old or young you are, if I think you are playing well you keep your place in the side even if you're keeping out a superstar from the side) although the definition of how a player is playing varies on opinion, his handling so far of Adebayor has been commendable too.
One thing that has surprised me is that when AVB first came to Spurs is that so many experts were talking about this high tempo, high line, pressing game. I haven't seen that with us at all. If anything we sit back and invite teams on us. I wonder why AVB has changed his tactical stance on this, or whether the high pressure, high line thing was just media perception to begin with.
