Our series of articles continues as we assess the installation of Andre Villas-Boas to the Tottenham hotseat. The club confirmed the former Chelsea boss as their new head coach on a three-year contract on Tuesday, with Villas-Boas filling the vacancy created by Harry Redknapp’s departure from White Hart Lane last month:
Sacked at Stamford Bridge back in early March following a series of underwhelming displays, part of his Blues compensation package stipulated that Villas-Boas was unable to move to another Premier League club until July 1. After finalising talks earlier this week, club chairman Daniel Levy has wasted little time in appointing the 34-year-old and, despite being previously linked with the likes of Roberto Martinez, David Moyes and Laurent Blanc, Levy revealed the reasons behind the decision to appointment Villas-Boas, going on to say:
“I am delighted that Andre has agreed to become our new Head Coach. He has an outstanding reputation for his technical knowledge of the game and for creating well-organised teams capable of playing football in an attractive and attacking style. Andre shares our long-term ambitions and ethos of developing players and nurturing young talent, and he will be able to do so now at a new world class Training Centre”
The History
As a 16-year-old, Villas-Boas was appointed to Porto’s observation department after impressing his neighbour, and the club’s then-manager, Bobby Robson following a discussion on football. Robson arranged for the youngster to study for Uefa coaching badges and, after obtaining a Uefa Pro Licence, Villas-Boas briefly took charge of the British Virgin Islands national team before becoming assistant coach to Jose Mourinho at Porto.
After following Mourinho to Chelsea and Inter, Villas-Boas branched out on his own in the 2009-10 season, taking charge of Academica in his native country. Guiding the club to 11th place, his impact was noted amongst Portugal’s elite clubs and Porto came calling the following year, installing Villas-Boas to the hotseat in June 2010. His time there was an outstanding success, with the club remaining undefeated all season in the league, as Villas-Boas led them to four trophies, including the domestic double and Europa League.
Again, his tenure lasted just a single season as Chelsea came calling after his trophy-winning exploits echoed around Europe, with Roman Abramovich splashing out a £13m compensation package in order to obtain his services. Villas-Boas’ time at the Bridge was far from impressive, though. The players failed to adjust to his high pressing game and rumours of dressing room unrest abounded, with many of the Blues’ senior players questioning Villas-Boas’ man-management skills. A defeat to West Brom left the club sitting in fifth place with two months of the campaign remaining and Abramovich, as is his wont, moved to dismiss the Portuguese boss just nine months into a three-year contract.
The Previous Regime
Taking over from Juande Ramos in October 2008 with the club stranded at the foot of the table after picking up two points from their opening eight games, Harry Redknapp engineered a comfortable climb to survival. His three full seasons in charge saw the club finish (4th, 5th, 4th) and, somewhat ironically, the club only missed out on Champions League football for the season ahead after Villas-Boas’ replacement, Roberto Di Matteo, steered the Blues to victory against Bayern in last May’s final.
After a couple of opening back-to-back defeats against both Manchester clubs last term, Spurs turned their season around and dropped just two points from their next 11 league games. As the campaign unwound, however, displays on the road proved their downfall, with the north London outfit registering a single victory in their final 10 away games. From an attacking perspective, Redknapp’s side finished as the fourth highest scoring team with 66 goals, while at the back, they had the fifth best defence, conceding 41, with nine of their 15 clean sheets coming at the Lane.
The Season Ahead
For all the talk of failure in his first foray into Premier League management, it’s worth noting that at the time of Villas-Boas’ dismissal, Chelsea were just two points behind Spurs in the table and still in the Champions League and FA Cup – all this despite the in-house squabbling and certain players’ inability to adhere to his demanding tactics. Success at Porto has shown that Villas-Boas’ methods are more than capable of working – he just needs the right environment and set of players for his approach to flourish.
Levy has already hinted he is keen to hand the new man in charge a substantial budget in order to give him every chance of success. New faces can be expected at the Lane this term, then, with a more youthful approach to acquisitions seemingly on the cards:
“It is important that we now look to develop the potential within the squads at all levels, whilst strengthening the First Team in the summer in key positions with players who will become part of the future success of the Club.”
At the back, the high defensive line requires plenty of mobility and long-term target Jan Vertonghen from Ajax would bolster the centre-half area and settle in alongside Younes Kaboul, though Ledley King’s retirement could promote Steven Caulker into the first-team squad, after the latter impressed on loan at Swansea last term. The attacking forays of Kyle Walker down the flank seem suited to the new approach, with the right-back offering plenty dynamism from out wide, though Fantasy managers may be a little wary of clean sheet returns – Chelsea picked up six in 26 games under Villas-Boas due to their susceptibility to counter-attacks.
In the midfield area, the club have confirmed the capture of Gylfi Sigurdsson from Hoffenheim earlier this afternoon as they go about the process of rebuilding. The Icelandic international was outstanding during his loan spell at Swansea last time round and is likely to be targeted by many after averaging 5.7 points per game during his stint at the Liberty. His price across the Fantasy games is likely to be less costly than Gareth Bale or Rafael Van der Vaart, suggesting Sigurdsson will afford the best value route into the Tottenham midfield.
The future of Luka Modric looks key to the new manager’s future planning – the Croatian seems set to move away, which would afford Villas-Boas plenty budget to reinvest in his squad. Joao Moutinho has been heavily linked with a move to the Lane and, like Sigurdsson, would fit seamlessly into a 4-2-3-1 or 4-3-3. There are, perhaps, question marks against Rafael Van der Vaart – the Dutchman’s dodgy hamstring problems may well struggle to cope with the new tactics, while the same could be said for injury-prone Aaron Lennon. Gareth Bale finally broke through as a genuine Fantasy asset last time out and is surely set to thrive once again – while Sigurdsson’s price will be more budget-friendly, ignoring the Welshman could come back to bite many Fantasy managers.
On the right, while a move to reunite with Chelsea’s Daniel Sturridge has been mooted, the Spurs fans will be far more enthusiastic over reports suggesting the possible acquisition of Alan Dzagoev – as shown in the recent Euro 2012 tournament, the Russian could be an intriguing prospect, all the more so if he is classified as a midfielder and Villas-Boas opts for a 4-3-3. The central striking role is another which is up in the air at the moment. Emmanuel Adebayor racked up 17 goals and 12 assists last term but has since returned to parent club Man City after his season-long loan spell came to an end – although the Togo international has been linked with a permanent move, Marseille’s Loic Remy may be more in line with their acquisition policy; at 25-years-old, he is three years younger than Adebayor and has been on the club’s radar for some time.
Analysis of the opening schedule for the season ahead shows that, while trips to Newcastle and Man United in Gameweeks 1 and 6 respectively may well prove problematic, Spurs have a superb run of fixtures from Gameweek 2-5 which looks filled with potential for Fantasy managers. Villas-Boas’ side have three home games (WBA, NOR, rdg, QPR) and a trip to one of the promoted clubs, offering him the perfect platform to appease the doubters and get Spurs off to a strong start. The potential is there, then; all that remains to be seen is whether the lessons learned from his previous stint in London can be applied.
