Reaction to Villas-Boas’ Appointment at Tottenham

After two weeks of rumour and speculation on the identity of Tottenham’s new manager, it was revealed on Tuesday that Andre Villas-Boas had been appointed as Head Coach on a three year contract. Spurs fans were relieved that the waiting was over and have greeted Villas-Boas’ appointment with good favour, giving it cautious support, excited by the potential in both the coach and the team while realising that Daniel Levy has taken a gamble, given the problems that occurred during his short stay at Chelsea.

Other news from White Hart Lane has been encouraging since the appointment of Villas-Boas – Gylfi Siggurdsson opting to join Spurs over Liverpool, Steven Caulker signing a new 4-year contract and other possible signings in the pipeline – which is helping to keep everyone positive.

On the wider football front there have been mixed views expressed on the issue.

Daniel Levy’s remarks in the official announcement explains the thinking behind the appointment which ties in with the remark made by Harry Redknapp in an interview following his dismissal, that the owners were looking to take the club in a new direction.

Harry Redknapp (speaking after his dismissal in mid-June)

"“I didn’t want to leave but they made a decision to go in a different direction.”"

Daniel Levy (on the official site announcing the appointment)

"“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.”"

Giving the appointment their full support were two former Tottenham captains:

Gary Mabbutt (on Skysports)

"“He was a protege of Sir Bobby Robson – it was actually Sir Bobby Robson who groomed Villas-Boas to be a coach. He then followed with Jose Mourinho, working with Chelsea and with Inter Milan with him. Those people gave him credibility – they realised he had a great future ahead of him as a coach.”"

Alan Mullery (Skysports)

"“for Villas-Boas to come in – young, good ideas, I think he’ll do very well….i think he will learn from his experiences at Chelsea….Supporters will expect him to do better (than Jol and Redknapp) because he’s been given the opportunity by the Chairman…..he’ll want to prove everybody at Chelsea wrong and everybody at Tottenham that he is the man to do the job.”"

Not so forthcoming with their support were two former Spurs stars:

Glenn Hoddle (former Tottenham player and manager)

"“I’m surprised, I did not think that is the way Spurs would go. It’s more than a slight risk because of the way things didn’t work out at Chelsea.”"

Gary Lineker (former Tottenham player on Twitter)

"“AVB it is then. Very important at this stage to be positive about that decision, so I’ll shut up.’"

A former Spurs player who is clearly still a fan, reacted as many fans have but is behind the appointment and looking forward to an exciting future for Tottenham under Andre Villas-Boas:

Micky Hazard (on Twitter)

"“Ok guys it’s AVB maybe not all our choices but he’s chosen so we back him 100%. He is our manager and with our support onwards and upwards.”“‘I’m Happy he preaches the style suited to our style so am looking forward to watching us next season COYS ”“Well new manager sorted, welcome to THFC AVB now for some big names to follow, exciting times at the lane, can’t wait for Newcastle ‪#excited“"

The appointment and other activity surrounding the club during the past week has re-kindled interest and enthusiasm with pre-season training about to start next week. With this matter sorted and some new players to be signed, this summer is proving more positive than had been expected after the disappointing end to last season. At the moment things are looking better for Tottenham than might have been thought possible a few weeks ago. Long may this positivity continue.

What was your initial reaction to the appointment and has it changed over the past few days?