Premier League Nonsense

Andre Villas Boas’ coaching credentials are incredible. Despite never having played the game he worked alongside the late Bobby Robson and Jose Mourinho, earned his coaching badges and won the Portuguese title with Porto.

With that background, Chelsea appointed him as the latest in a long line of successors to Mourinho; no doubt hoping a Jose clone would be able to restore some success to South West London.

It never happened. Rumours were rife that AVB, as he is near universally called, had lost the dressing room and it was inevitable that owner Roman Avramovich, never the most patient of owners at the best of times, would swing the axe.

AVB’s first foray left him bloodied with question marks hanging over his ability to handle big name players but with a far healthier bank balance than when he arrived.

Half a year later and he is back in London. This time with Tottenham Hotspur. Another club who don’t believe in the old adage that patience is a virtue. Harry Redknapp had led the club to 4^th place in last season’s Premier League but they still missed out on a Champions League place thanks to Chelsea’s penalty triumph in May.

Despite his fate at Chelsea last season it does seem Tottenham fans are willing to give their new Portuguese gaffer the benefit of the doubt.

It has certainly been a rough pre season with protracted talks with Real Madrid over the fate of Luka Modric, their influential Croatian midfielder. Daniel Levy, the club’s main man, was determined to squeeze every last Euro out of the Spanish champions who played hardball of their own. In the end Real were reported to have paid 33 million pound for their man, some way short of Levy’s valuation.

Following Modric out of the door were Rafael van der Vaart, who returned to Germany, and iconic central defender Ledley King who finally called an end to a career blighted by injury.

Noises coming out of White Hart Lane suggested they were ready to bat in the big league. They brought in Emmanuel Adebayor after a successful loan season last campaign, but hardly a positive influence in the dressing room, and a couple of signings from Fulham; Moussa Dembele and Clint Dempsey.

Also added to the squad were the Icelandic Gylfi Sigurosson after a promising season with surprise package Swansea City.

The signing of French national keeper, and captain, Hugo Lloris was a surprise. Despite being strongly linked all summer, Spurs already had experienced keepers on their books. The confusion deepened when AVB said the new man was not guaranteed a starting place after an inspirational performance by incumbent Brad Friedel last weekend kept Norwich City at bay for so long.

Players who captain their national team don’t take too kindly playing second fiddle to anyone and one can’t help but feel AVB is storing trouble the longer Lloris warms the bench.

Tottenham fans though remain unhappy. After seeing their club linked with names like Willian, Leandro and Joao Moutinho, they felt a bit short changed when it was Dempsey, an experienced US international who hit 23 goals last season for Fulham, who came in at the last minute for an estimated 6 million pounds.

Jermaine Defoe, their striker who recently signed a new contract, has described the pre season in the Tottenham dressing room as chaos. No one knew who would be there from one day to the next. Michael Dawson was on his way to Queens Park Rangers, pushed down the pecking order by another summer arrival, the stylish Belgian international Jan Vertonghen from Ajax, with AVB deeming him surplus to requirements. Then he stayed.

Midfielder Tom Huddlestone was on his way to Stoke City before he came on as a substitute against Norwich, earning a straight red for his cameo (a red that was later rescinded).

Boos echoed round White Hart Lane after the Norwich game. It was the second home game they had seen three points become one right at the death and after three games they had just two points to their name.

The frustration though appears to be mostly aimed at the way Daniel Levy runs the club. He had spent so much time trying to milk Real Madrid on the Modric deal, he was not focused on bringing in the types of players AVB felt the club needed.

They see a broken squad, a legacy of the Redknapp era. Despite finishing fourth last season, the club endured a miserable end of season, winning just seven of their last 19 games, a run that included that debacle away to Arsenal when they saw a 2-0 lead become a 5-2 defeat, and they recognize any new man in charge needs time and funds. Qualities Levy has shown he does not possess.

The fans may, for now, be forgiving of dropped home points but AVB knows that managers’ honeymoons never last long. His fate however may be less linked to how he gets his players to gel on the field but how he handles players like Lloris and Adebayor off it.

First printed in Jakarta Globe