This week we were able to sit down with Uncle Menno from SBN's Tottenham blog Cartilage Free Captain to exhange questions and answers about each others' clubs and the match this weekend. These are Uncle Menno's answers to the questions from our side.









Coming Home Newcastle: I've been a fan of AVB from a distance - having settled in at Spurs now, how would you rate his overall performance? For a bonus point, who is the better coach: AVB or Jason Sudeikis?

Uncle Menno: If you were to take a poll of all Spurs fans, English and otherwise, you'd find we're rather split over our adorbs Portuguese manager. There's a distinct contrast between the system put in place by AVB and the freestyle tactics of Harry Redknapp, which we dubbed "FRAAB" (short for "f*#$-in run around a bit"). AVB has a system that he likes, and it's taken a year plus now for us to adapt to that change. The growing pains were acute at times last season, but I don't think there's any question that it's working -- despite an anemic offense we're still tied for second in the league with a rock-solid defense. When AVB's system clicks, it's beautiful football, but like any other system, it's a grind when it breaks down or when teams park the bus against us, and it's clear that AVB doesn't allow the same level of personal freedom in his players that Redknapp did. For some Spurs fans, that's okay. For others, it's a reflection that we're no longer playing "Tottenham football."

Where AVB gets docked points in my mind is in his team selection and his substitutions. Most of us haven't understood his determination to make a Paulinho-Dembele central midfield partnership work, and are often left scratching our heads at some of his mid-game adjustments. He's got a brilliant football mind, overall. I don't think he's the best in-game tactician, and he has a tendency get out-coached during games by the likes of Roberto Martinez and Brendan Rodgers.

Overall performance? I give him a solid B.

As far as Sudeikis, I'd rank him well under AVB in terms of tactical awareness, and just over him in terms of media relations. I'd give him a 6.5 on the Redknapp Affability Scale.

As far as Sudeikis, I'd rank him well under AVB in terms of tactical awareness, and just over him in terms of media relations. I'd give him a 6.5 on the Redknapp Affability Scale. Also, LOL. As far as Sudeikis, I'd rank him well under AVB in terms of tactical awareness, and just over him in terms of media relations. I'd give him a 6.5 on the Redknapp Affability Scale. Also, LOL.

CHN Reader submitted question: Do you believe in Andros Townsend, or do you simply think he’s a product of ‘new winger hype’ like SWP , Walcott, Lennon, Young, Oxlade-Chamberlain etc. etc. before him?





UM: I think you could gauge my opinion of Andros Townsend as "cautiously optimistic." Andros was one of the guys in our youth academy that we've had our eyes on for a few years now. He's been highly regarded at the youth and U20 level, and we all wanted him to come good. Strangely enough, most of us expected Tom Carroll , and not Townsend, to be the youth player to have broken into the first team by this point.





Townsend is an incredibly direct player with gobs of pace, almost the archetypal young English touchline-hugging winger, in a Premier League that's beginning to evolve away from that sort of direct play. He's had some great matches where he's taken teams by surprise with his ability to beat defenders and his long-range shot. In that sense, it's understandable why the media is tripping over themselves trying to make the (lazy) comparison of Andros to Gareth Bale . Andros showed flashes of that at QPR, and his play in the early part of the season is a big reason why he's kept £30m signing Erik Lamela on the bench. But Andros is also very, very young, and at times shows a tendency to not pick up his head and see what his teammates around him are doing. Lately he's been way too prone to rip off a long range shot towards Row Z, and he gives up a lot of possession when he's off his game. Also, I think that teams are starting to figure him out a bit, much like they did with Bale.





Townsend's a form player, and he's deserved his early starting role. No-one else fills that sort of direct role in the Spurs offense. I also think that with some time and maturity Townsend can turn into a very important player for Tottenham Hotspur , but he needs time to develop, and the comparisons to Bale aren't helping him. Honestly, I expect him to cool off and eventually be replaced by Nacer Chadli Gylfi Sigurdsson , or Lamela. But hey, play the hot hand while you can.



