Tottenham boss Andre Villas-Boas is a constantly calm and composed figure -you’ll rarely see an animated touchline display from the Portuguese, and his monotonous tone in press conferences often suggests a deep level of logical rationalisation behind every word.
But could there be more pressure on the Spurs gaffer to deliver this year than first meets the eye? Considering the wealth of finance that’s been at his disposal this summer, the successes of his predecessor and the openness of the Premier League this season, can AVB actually justify not qualifying for the Champions League come the end of May?
The Portuguese’s £107million spend during the previous transfer window, smashing Tottenham’s record transfer fee three times to land Paulinho for £17million, Roberto Soldado for £27million and Erik Lamela for £30million, was the largest total expenditure of any Premier League club in the summer, slightly edging out traditional big spenders Manchester City and eclipsing the likes of Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool by some way.
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You could certainly argue that AVB was entitled to such a luxurious free reign in the transfer market; not giving the Spurs gaffer the opportunity to compensate for the departure of Gareth Bale would have been a grave error on Daniel Levy’s part. At the same time, although Tottenham lead the spending charts this summer, selling the Welsh wonder to Real Madrid, as well as Scott Parker, Tom Huddlestone and Steven Caulker to other Premier League clubs meant that the Lilywhites’ incomings and outgoings essentially broke even, barring a few million pounds.
But even so, £107million’s worth of transfers, even if it’s come at no actual cost for Tottenham, is still a huge opportunity wasted if it doesn’t get the North Londoners any closer to Champions League qualification. Similarly, upon Villas-Boas’ arrival at White Hart Lane, Levy splashed out £60million on new talent, including the likes of Hugo Lloris, Moussa Dembele and Jan Vertonghen, to help kick-start the Portuguese’s White Hart Lane revolution.
Along the way, the Tottenham chief has been incredibly accommodating to his manager. Levy brought in a new technical director in the summer in the form of Franco Baldini in a bid to secure AVB his desired transfer targets, and back in 2012, the Spurs boss was handed a lucrative three year contract, believed to be worth £15million according to the tabloids, which currently puts him as the fifth highest paid manager in the Premier League and just £1million per-year behind David Moyes at Manchester United. Spurs fans will be quick to point out the regular inaccuracies of the British press, but Levy’s offer in 2012 must have been competitive enough for Villas-Boas to resist the urge to jump ship to lavish overspenders PSG a year later.
Overall, that’s £160million invested in AVB over the last two seasons, in addition to £15million on him personally for his management abilities and the hiring of a new technical director to aid his efforts in the transfer market. For that kind of support financially and structurally, Levy will be undoubtedly expecting a positive return from his manager.
Last season, the Portuguese went some way to pay back the Tottenham chief by overseeing the Lilywhites’ highest points total of the Premier League era, but as time goes by, it becomes glaringly obvious that Villas-Boas is yet to trump the feats of his predecessor Harry Redknapp.
With considerably less financial backing – in fact, the current QPR boss spent less than £40million throughout his two final campaigns in North London – and without the talismanic influence of a come-of-age Gareth Bale, Redknapp achieved two top four finishes at White Hart Lane in the space of three seasons, originally taking over the Lilywhites when they were at the bottom of the Premier League table back in 2008.
A rare few of the Tottenham faithful would trade-in the current Spurs boss for old ‘arry, but time is ticking for AVB to deliver before the difference between himself and his predecessor becomes disturbingly noticeable. He’s received continuous support from Levy, has been privy to an unprecedented level of finance for a Tottenham manager and possesses at his disposal arguably the most talented Lilywhites roster of the last twenty years.
Granted, the Tottenham project is still very much a work in progress. Their summer spending was almost exclusively invested in players under the age of 25 who haven’t plied their trade in the Premier League before – Paulinho for example, is still transitioning from the very different world of South American football.
At the same time, with just a year left of his three year deal at the end of the season, financially and for the sake of stability, it could make more sense on Daniel Levy’s part to let the Spurs boss try and accomplish his ultimate vision at White Hart Lane in a final term rather than go back to the drawing board.
But amid what appears to be the most open, uncertain and equalising Premier League campaign to date, you’d expect a squad headed by one of the most talented managers under the age of 40 in Europe, that’s seen £160million’s worth of investment in new personnel over the last two years, to begin effectively challenging the established order of the English top flight.
The lilywhites are currently in a strong position meet that ambition, with twenty points from their first 10 games putting them fourth in the table and on track to qualify for the Champions League come the end of the season.
Failing to do so however, and serious questions will have to be asked of AVB, especially in the modern climate where the ultimate responsibility for final league standings rests firmly on the shoulders of managers to such an extent that Alan Pardew’s three year reign at Newcastle makes him the second longest-serving gaffer in the English top flight.
And whilst head coaches are often the scapegoat for some questionable performances from the players, Villas-Boas has no excuse if his Lilywhites side fail to capitalise this season.
He’s been continually backed by Daniel Levy in every sense, he’s been given free rein in the transfer market and an almost blank cheque to spend on new recruits over the last two years, he has an incredibly strong squad at his disposal that includes some of Europe’s hottest young talents and twenty established capped internationals, he’s paid good money for his services and has a unique opportunity to take advantage of the significant shift in the balance of power at the top of the Premier League table.
To put a long story short, Champions League qualification is on a plate for Villas-Boas and Tottenham this season, and quite frankly, finishing up in fifth place is not good enough. AVB may seem an eternally composed and calm figure, but he’ll be well aware that he needs to deliver come May-time, or it could be his head on the chopping block.
Should AVB get the axe if Tottenham don’t qualify for the Champions League this season?
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