After the loss the against City we all saw the negative articles questioning AVB's position in football let alone at Tottenham.
The loss at City certainly did not show a team that were happy with their manager or that they were paying any attention to his tactics. Numerous "journalists" then pounced on AVB to state he had no place in football (bringing his previous success at Porto into question), but as other managers have said it was unfair.
What these writers looked at was that he made silly mistakes and had seemingly learnt nothing from them.
However Sandro has finally broken the silence and I for one am delighted that the players are coming out, but for all the right reasons.
In a recent interview he stated:
"Everyone likes him [Villas-Boas], we have to play for him and everyone is doing that on the pitch."
“It [criticism] happens to any coach if you do not win games. He knows we are here and we showed him what we are going to do [for him] yesterday. I play for him every game and I think everyone was amazing yesterday.”
For me I like the guy [AVB] and he comes across well (until he takes things to heart and allows it to detract from his job).
The likes of Dembele and Vertonghen have both come out and criticised their manager for not playing them or not playing them in their preferred position, but that is really down to injuries (so suck it up lads you are supposed to be pro’s).
It has never been one particular thing or player/ staff to blame for the poor form at the club, but rather a collective of issues.
That all seemed to be put to rest against Utd, but just one game does not show a thing. With a newfound confidence you would expect for them to push on from there. If Sunday was not a clear indication that the players had sorted their heads out I don't know what is. So only time will now tell.
Consistency is and always will be key. The team must learn to trust the tactics set out in front of them, but the manager must also play to his team’s strengths (not just what he feels comfortable with).
I wish that our players would be more like Sandro and come out fighting for their manager, that is what the fans needed to see, that they believe they are in it together.
Come tomorrow night we shall see just how much the players are behind AVB, as they face a manager less London rival in Fulham. If there is ever a time to show your grit, determination and unity it is against a London rival. If the team put in a convincing performance tomorrow I feel that it demonstrates that it was a mixture of bad luck and small issues in the past and that they have the confidence to put it behind them.
More of it lads let's here you scream and shout about how much you trust your manager let's see some unity for once not some childish sulking
COYS!!!
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