da pinnacle： Tottenham are currently going through a customary ropey period of form down the home straight, having lost back-to-back league games against Liverpool and Fulham, but with the psychological scars from last campaign’s limp finish still present, will they collapse under the strain under Andre Villas-Boas like they so obviously did under predecessor Harry Redknapp.
da cassino online： From being referred to as ‘borderline Aspergers’ and talk of a dressing room ‘crisis’ over quotes that the player and manager unbelievably talked about training to one another and as part of a collaborative group, the media have sought to undermine Villas-Boas’ authority at every turn this season and continue to paint him as some sort of hapless idiot, sorely out of his depth. Sadly for the them, though, it hasn’t quite worked out given that the club still remain (just about) in the driving seat for a top four finish this season, four points ahead of rivals Arsenal in fifth, with Arsene Wenger’s side in possession of a game in hand.
After the Fulham defeat last weekend, Villas-Boas admitted that the way the club fell away from towards the end of last term was a factor in their mindset, telling reporters: “It’s been a difficult month for us. If we are able to find our form, our confidence, our wins, then we can invert that cycle that happens normally with Spurs. You can’t hide from what has happened previously with Spurs. You just have another opportunity to fight. Whatever is written and compared to the past is fine, we just have to make sure we are able to fight against it.”
Of course he is referring to how the club somehow contrived to blow a 12-point advantage over Arsenal and finish a point behind them in 4th; a loss of form that ultimately cost Redknapp his job after Chelsea went on to clinch the final Champions League qualification place following their unexpected triumph in the final over Bayern Munich. Chairman Daniel Levy had his excuse and he quickly set about getting rid of a manager who had openly flirted with the England position for months and dithered over a new contract.
One of Redknapp’s biggest faults was his lack of squad rotation, which seriously hurt his side in the second half of the campaign, an issue compounded even further by the truly baffling January business the club did. Following the 5-0 win over Newcastle in mid-February last season, in the remaining 13 league games, Tottenham lost five games against Arsenal, Manchester United, Everton, Norwich and QPR, picking up just 16 points in the process.
Redknapp couldn’t make his mind up whether the England job, his health problems and the court case hanging over his head were a distraction or not, but it’s clear that their form suffered hugely and finishing fourth in a three-man race was an embarrassing end to proceedings. To put their slump even further into context, between February 25 and April 21 last season, they picked up a mere six points from a possible 27 on offer, recording just one win in nine games.
Villas-Boas doesn’t face quite the same sort of crisis of confidence just yet, but three defeat in quick succession off the back of a 12-game unbeaten run will have hurt his side, no doubt. As run-ins go, Tottenham’s isn’t the easiest either, given that they face Swansea (away) Everton (home), Chelsea (away), Manchester City (home), not to mention plucky underdogs Wigan and Southampton. It’s a far more testing sequence of fixtures than Arsenal have to play through and the seven-point gap opened up during their north London victory last month seems a world away.
There’s an inevitable resignation about this mini-slump at a crucial time; snatching defeat from the jaws of victory has been the Tottenham way for as long as many fans can remember. Villas-Boas has struggled to find the balance between the club’s league commitments and their Europa League journey of late, making bizarre team selection after another, including lining up 4-4-2 away at Inter Milan, starting Benoit Assou-Ekotto on the left wing and playing Scott Parker as the deep-lying playmaker. Seven of the 10 outfield players who started against Inter also started against the Fulham, five of whom played the full 120 minutes at the San Siro and the spine of the side is visibly tiring.
The Portuguese’ desire to win the Europa League is admirable considering the disdain Redknapp treated it with, but it is directly impacting on their league form at a key period. Losing out on Champions League football could mean Gareth Bale departs this summer rather than next and he is going to have to prioritise, for he can no longer wage war on two fronts at once. A small squad is being stretched to breaking point and crucial players such as Moussa Dembele are running on empty.
Tottenham will go into their clash against FC Basel as overwhelming favourites to progress, but with a game against David Moyes’ side three days after the first leg at home, how Villas-Boas deals with rotating and keeping his squad fresh will speak volumes for how he intends to cope with the games coming thick and fast between now and May. Lessons must be learned from last season and Redknapp’s failure to strike the right balance, otherwise they put both campaigns at risk in the pursuit of glory and history could have a funny way of repeating itself.
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