When Levy sacked ‘Arry and appointed good old AVB, eyebrows were raised to breaking point. A young, to a certain extent unproven, manager is always a risky choice, particularly in the EPL with our merciless media but we know Levy likes a risk. But how much time will he give AVB to restructure the squad and get Spurs into the top 4?
In his last job, AVB opted to change Chelski from top to bottom, remove the ‘old guard’ and install his view of football on the squad as quickly as possible. This went dramatically wrong, as a combination of his youthful naivety and some HUGE egos contrived against him to put him out of a job after a mere eight months. But it’s important not to read too much into this – at Porto, although admittedly it was a weaker league, he won the title and the Europa League. He clearly formed a strong bond with his players, with Joao Moutinho particularly liking being under the management of AVB.
As a Spurs fan, I seriously hope that Levy gives AVB the whole season, as his system needs time to be imposed on the young Spurs squad. AVB’s high line and formation will be a bit of a shock to the system for the team, who got used to an effective system under ‘Arry, but with time the team will gel together with the system. If we get a good start, say 10 to 12 points from 5 games, then morale will be high and the team could challenge for top 4 or even the title. But a bad start should not make us panic. Despite being extremely infuriating, it’s understandable that we will have a slow start, and as long as this does develop into some decent, flowing form then we can still have a good season.
Levy just needs to give AVB the financial and moral backing that he needs to achieve success. Another rash decision will help nobody. So please Mr Levy, keep AVB for a while. Let him grow as a manager and let the team grow under him. We will achieve success, but don’t expect us to be top at Christmas. As a wise man once said, patience is a virtue.
By Alex Beck
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