What we did not realise was that Europe's juggernauts would be pounding on our door with a suitcase of cash and a pen calling for his signature after just one season. Especially when that season only just met expectations.
Oil-rich Paris Saint-German are looking for a replacement for their title-winning and seemingly Real-Madrid-bound coach Carlo Ancellotti and our man is top of their list.
Reports claim the Ligue 1 champs want him on a short-term contract until Arsene Wenger becomes available to serve out a footballing dotage in his home country.
But are Spurs within their rights to expect a level of loyalty from AVB? Of course we are, but it works both ways.
This time last year, the acronym AVB raised a smirk throughout football, so great was the debacle of his eight-month Chelsea reign.
Fresh from winning the title and the Europa League with FC Porto, he arrived on our shores heralded as a footballing Sherlock Holmes - memorising dossier after dossier and scrutinising the game under a magnifying glass.
Within months Villas-Boas went from hot property to hot potato, wonderland to wilderness, Chelski to Hell-ski. Nobody wanted him. His record was tarnished, his card marked. Despite his youth, he was labelled as 'finished' - in this country at least.
Within months Villas-Boas went from hot property to hot potato, wonderland to wilderness, Chelski to Hell-ski. Nobody wanted him. His record was tarnished, his card marked. Despite his youth, he was labelled as 'finished' - in this country at least.
So when he was linked with succeeding Harry Redknapp in the Spurs hotseat, it appeared the worst possible tonic for having our Champions League spot nabbed by AVB's resurgent former club.
The Blues had given us the blues and, worse still, their past failure was about to become our future. Nobody gave Villas-Boas a chance but stubborn chairman Daniel Levy saw it through. AVB became the Tottenham boss.
The Portuguese had a slow start but knuckled down. Consistency, then support, followed. As well as a 3-2 win at Old Trafford - where we had not won since 1989.
The Blues had given us the blues and, worse still, their past failure was about to become our future. Nobody gave Villas-Boas a chance but stubborn chairman Daniel Levy saw it through. AVB became the Tottenham boss.
The Portuguese had a slow start but knuckled down. Consistency, then support, followed. As well as a 3-2 win at Old Trafford - where we had not won since 1989.
Even losing out on Champions League football, AVB was once again a credible name.
And it was Levy and Spurs that gave Villas-Boas the platform to clear his name and to turn his career around.
At Spurs, he seems less distracted than with Chelsea, much more comfortable in his surroundings. Most Spurs fans now believe he has us on the right track and, given the right backing, he can help us progress as a football club.
And therein lies the other side of this coin - backing from the board.
And therein lies the other side of this coin - backing from the board.
It may not even have crossed AVB's mind to move on but it is now mid-June and the club has remained very quiet over both contracts and transfers.
Why should he show us any loyalty if we are not going to support him in his vision for the club, especially with the possibility of a glamour stint in Paris.
Arsenal have announced their intention to spend, crowing about their increased financial clout now that years of investment and money-saving has come to fruition.
And whilst talk may be cheap, AVB needs some signs from the chairman that
he will be allowed to do his job.
With PSG waiting in the wings, now is the time to show some direction. That could be deciding Gareth Bale's future, or making some changes to the squad in time for pre-season.
AVB is clearly some way towards restoring his reputation but it's now Spurs who must act to make sure we're not left picking up the pieces of our own. Levy's stubborn side clearly paid off at the start of AVB's reign - hopefully it won't contribute to an early finish.
he will be allowed to do his job.
With PSG waiting in the wings, now is the time to show some direction. That could be deciding Gareth Bale's future, or making some changes to the squad in time for pre-season.
AVB is clearly some way towards restoring his reputation but it's now Spurs who must act to make sure we're not left picking up the pieces of our own. Levy's stubborn side clearly paid off at the start of AVB's reign - hopefully it won't contribute to an early finish.
No comments:
Post a Comment