Can AVB manage all these weapons?

Article by Brent Weber

It has been amazing to watch the transformation of this club during the summer transfer window. Last campaign, we were struggling to field a proper XI for Premier League and Europa League matches at the end of the season due to injuries, lack of depth, and an overall lack of quality throughout the squad. I encourage you to watch a few re-runs from last season to see how different the roster is this season compared to last year. Kaboul and Sandro were out due to injury. Townsend was on loan at QPR. Lennon, Dembele, Parker, Adebayor, and Bale played with nagging injuries the entire second half of the season. Our lack of depth took a big toll on Spurs last season and this fatigue played a big part in our 5^th place finish last year. AVB was not forced to make many line-up decisions because he had very few options.

Thanks to the work of Spurs management, we have a very different but very good problem this season. How do we keep players satisfied with playing time? AVB could actually struggle to find quality minutes for all of these players. The new additions of Paulinho, Soldado, Capoue, Chadli, Chiriches, and Lamela, along with returning players Kaboul, Sandro, and Townsend, have made us a very strong and deep squad. Now there are rumours of Eriksen, Balzaretti, Hernandez, and countless others coming into White Hart Lane. I don’t think Baldini is done so there is no telling who is coming or leaving right now. Spurs will essentially be 2 or 3 players deep at every position on the pitch. We have come a long way in a short time! This is exactly opposite of our situation last season. In my opinion, AVB struggled with this situation at Chelsea but I think he has improved drastically as a manager and will handle the talent better at Spurs.

Spurs could potentially play up to 60 matches this season so AVB should be able to get all the players ample opportunities to compete. In addition, most of our players start for their international teams, so breaks are rare during the season. Strength in numbers is a nice weapon to combat fatigue. AVB should be able to keep good rotations and keep his players fresh, minimise fatigue, and hopefully avoid injuries. Even with a good rotation, the probability of all players staying healthy throughout an entire season is low, so our depth should definitely come into play and keep us competitive against the top clubs also competing in Europe.

Even with all the matches, there will be times when AVB will be challenged to keep all these players happy and motivated. I feel that AVB will use Cup Matches to keep players engaged and we all know the Europa League is very important to AVB, so he will field a strong side during this tournament. In the past, we were not able to compete in League Cup, FA Cup, Europa, and the Premier League because we just didn’t have the quality depth needed. This season should be much different. Players will want to play hard in each of their opportunities in order to showcase their talents, impress AVB, and compete for first team roster spots. Competition for these first team spots will be tough this season!

Baldini and Levy are giving AVB the weapons to strongly compete in all competitions. The goal is to make Champions League, and I think this is the number priority for AVB. However, I truly believe that silverware is a real possibility this season. There is no reason Spurs cannot field a competitive team in every single match this season with our current roster depth.

I believe AVB is the perfect coach to navigate these tough waters. He is motivated to succeed in the Premier League. It is rumoured that he turned down PSG and Real Madrid, so he is obviously dedicated to building THFC into a championship level club. He is a totally different manager compared to his time at Chelsea and he has quickly developed into a player’s coach. He is honest with his players. He respects his players. He protects his players. He communicates well with his players. He will rotate his players and find opportunities for each player to contribute which will keep them motivated and unified throughout the season. His players will respond and contribute when AVB calls on them to produce.

Only time will tell if I am correct, so hopefully at the end of this season, I will be writing about trophies won and the upcoming Champions League draw!

@BrentWeber73

COYS!

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