AVB’s Demise [by Gary Watton]
AVB’s Demise [by Gary Watton]
It might be considered bad manners to kick someone when their down, but hey let’s engage in a bit of schadenfreude and take delight at Tottensham’s latest misfortunes.
First of all, their recent form is a stark reminder that Gareth Bail-out was carrying that club last year and that they probably over-achieved because of his presence.
Secondly, I noticed on my internet travels that the departed AVB was a huge success at FC Porto before he couldn’t resist the temptation of filthy lucre on offer from our beloved club. Clearly AVB should have stayed where he was and spent longer cultivating his reputation in Portugal before jumping far too quickly into pastures new.
What was most ludicrous about Andre’s appointment at Chelsea and to an extent at Three Points Lane is that he was telling people the same age as him how to play Premiership soccer when he himself has scarcely played any football in his own short life. It was illogical in the extreme.
Although Mourinho and Wenger are exceptions to the rule, the accepted wisdom prevails that any half-decent manager will have had a welter of experience of having played professional soccer. This has applied to the likes of Busby, Ferguson, Nicholson, Shankly, and Stein – folk who are constantly heralded as amongst the greats in football management.
Even Garth Crooks [that chap who takes himself sooo seriously as a football pundit] conceded the other day that AVB is way “too immature”.
We of a blue persuasion can still remember his increasingly tetchy post-match interviews which only served to develop his siege mentality and alienate him from everyone. Perhaps AVB is the ultimate example of fantasy football. If you have ever imagined how easy or difficult it would be for you or your friend or neighbour to manage a team, then you only have to look at AVB. He came to London and started messing about with idealistic nonsense, such as instructing teams to defend too far up the pitch.
When you are defending against tall but slow strikers who thrive on crosses, then that is fine. When however you are defending against pacey players, then playing the offside trap about forty yards from goal is suicidal as we discovered one October afternoon when we dismally made an average Arsenal team look good and they proceeded to whip us five goals to three. Theo Walcott must have thought that it was his birthday and Christmas rolled into one.
AVB might be best advised to take a breather, lick his wounds and then have a bash again in Portugal or somewhere else on the continent. I wish him well. He meant well at Chelsea and is probably a good and intelligent bloke, but he was out of his depth.
While I have more sympathy for the hapless AVB than a lot of Chelsea boo-boys appear to have, I do reserve my contempt for Tottensham supporters [and others]. Why? Well, back in early 2012 when AVB was ditched by Chelsea, the usual chorus of jeers surfaced from other supporters about how Chelsea had “no class” and no patience and that AVB had a project at Chelsea which would take longer to bear fruits. In truth, Roman was right to axe AVB. Keeping an under-achieving manager longer is merely prolonging the agony and allowing him to fail longer. Remarkably, Robbie the caretaker certainly took care of us in May with Champions League and FA Cup success, thereby vindicating the sacking of AVB.
It is now so sweet to see the hypocrites who mischievously urged Chelsea to keep faith in AVB come to realise that he is surplus to requirements at Tottensham and not all he was cracked up to be.
Clearly it was the ludicrous Levy’s dream to see AVB given lots of time by Tottensham and upstage Chelsea – a vision that was nothing more than delusional. Tottensham harboured hopes that AVB would prove Chelsea wrong. Well that didn’t happen. Maybe in future, our detractors should think twice before scoffing at our managerial revolving door as it seems to be contagious. Levy, like Mr Abramovich, realises ultimately that Champions League football is of paramount importance.
AVB has twice been jettisoned by a London club because each time he has failed to persuade his employers that his team would qualify for next season’s Champions League. Tottensham have perhaps understandably axed the young maverick while there is still sufficient time to salvage their shambolic season. Funny how Chelsea copped so much flak when we did precisely the same back in early 2012.
Talk about double standards.
Gary Watton http://sporthistorian.blog.com/Chelsea
Who remembers him?
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=M5gL0Oj72tM
entirely the author of his own downfall at chelsea — stubborn, petulant, insecure and inexperienced — something amply proven by the high backline, a system which as you say didn’t work with JT and didn’t work with Dawson for precisely the same reason — and yet he persists – all front and shiny hoarding, all bun and no meat, AVB
It’s not soccer – it’s never been soccer – it will never be soccer
PLEASE stop using that furking American word.
We invented it – we get to name it!
Good article apart from that!