Murmurs from the stands, rebellious comments from within the squad and a relentless examination under the media spotlight have once again cast doubt over the future of Andre Villas-Boas. The season may only be three games old but already discussion has turned to which manager will win the annual sack race and a growing number of the nation’s press are seemingly eager to see the 34-year-old claim the honour. With such an intense scrutiny over every aspect of his managerial methods, is Andre Villas-Boas set to suffer another demoralising exit from English football?
The departure of Harry Redknapp from Tottenham was greeted with a mixture of surprise yet inevitability. Redknapp hardly ‘failed’ during his four-year stint in North London, having been cruelly denied a place in the Champions League thanks to Chelsea’s heroics, but in spite of this there was a firm consensus that he had taken the club as far as he could. Enter Villas-Boas, a man who had failed at the helm of ‘the best team in Europe’ and yet was considered by chairman Daniel Levy – and perhaps Levy alone – as a better alternative.
The appointment left a bitter taste in the mouth of the nation’s press, who had not only seen their ‘golden boy’ overlooked for the England post but replaced by a man who they had only recently helped contribute to his dismissal. Look close enough and the backlash has been significant, The Sun poured scorn over Roy Hodgson and England’s performance against Ukraine, just days after singing their praises in Moldova.
Hodgson is perhaps fortunate that England fixtures are few and far between compared to Villas-Boas, who can provide a daily source of disdain. Just last week The Independent ran a piece essentially ridiculing Villas-Boas for failing to land the vacant position at Burnley in 2010. The copy includes no mention of the sensational record-breaking season he would go on to enjoy with Porto, and instead focuses on the “jargon” that decorated his CV and powerpoint presentation.
The timing of the article confused me somewhat until I realised that the international break would provide no new material for his mockery. The source for the story is ex-Burnley chief executive Paul Fletcher, who is unsurprisingly plugging the upcoming release of his book. Fletcher questions whether any of his players would have understood the word ‘solidificate’ before adding,
“Tommy Docherty used to say he never said anything to his players that his milkman wouldn’t understand.”
Now who else does that remind you of?
The saga involving Hugo Lloris is both hilarious and concerning in equal measures. The transfer should have sparked praise for yet another inexpensive acquisition of a highly-rated individual. Instead the focus shifted on the pecking order in Tottenham’s new sizeable goalkeeping ranks. Now, any new signing never expects to go straight into the first-team even if it’s pretty obvious that they will. Every new arrival announces that by ‘working hard’, I can ‘put myself in contention’ and hopefully ‘give the manager a (selection) headache’. So why should this deal be any different?
Villas-Boas had just watched Brad Friedel put on a goalkeeping master-class against Norwich, was he meant to drop a man who had just excelled on his 307th consecutive game in the Premier League? It was a catch 22, a decision that was inevitably going to cause casualties.
“Brad is doing extremely well and deserves to be playing and he’ll continue to do so. Obviously the competition increases for him but the place is his because he is a tremendous goalkeeper and he deserves that spot.” (Daily Mail)
Suddenly there are stories emerging that Lloris is apoplectic with rage and is seeking the fastest ‘clear the air talks’ in history. Both statements were gross exaggerations and then Didier Deschamps waded in.
“I saw what Villas-Boas said. These statements surprised me.
“From a sporting perspective, this move makes no sense,” (Mirror)
What should have been a simple puff piece concerning a manager praising his player escalated into a classic case of sensationalised reporting that made a mountain out of a molehill.
While Villas-Boas doesn’t warrant all the criticism that comes his way, he does have a worrying habit of providing the ammunition for the gun pointing at his head. His ‘attack’ on the media in the wake of Chelsea’s victory against Valencia last season did little to improve his public image and perhaps destroyed any hope of building a fruitful relationship with the nation’s journalists.
“Here we have given everyone a slap in the face.
“It is unfortunate for you guys in the media because you have to report on a brilliant win for Chelsea and we qualify first in the group. It is difficult for everybody and today this is difficult for you.” (BBC)
It’s not all one-way traffic in the ‘smear campaign’ directed at Andre Villas-Boas. In fact, the Daily Mirror’s John Cross and The Sunday Telegraph’s Jason Burt have continued to protest against his harsh treatment and Cross even believes the Spurs boss can still enjoy a successful campaign.
“I’m sure AVB accepts that he is going to be under the media microscope because he made so many mistakes at Chelsea.”
“It’s how he deals with that. I actually think Villas-Boas will be OK. It was a shame he didn’t get the men he wanted during the window, but I think Spurs will end up competing for the top four this season and that will be a good return for AVB.” (Life’s a Pitch)
As harsh as it sounds, I don’t think the mass media have forgiven Villas-Boas for not living up to the comparisons with Jose Mourinho. Both men can be quite defiant and stubborn but ‘The Special One’ articulates himself in a way that evokes humour whereas his successor only seemed to promote hostility. Should Tottenham fail to pick up their first victory at Reading on Sunday then I fear the media witch-hunt could send the aspirations of Villas-Boas up in flames.
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