Spurs head coach Andre Villas-Boas used yesterday’s 2-2 draw with Manchester United as a platform to launch an attack on those members of the press who he believes have a personal agenda. Andre defended his team but also took the opportunity to defend his own integrity and credentials as a manager.

“A couple of people insult my integrity, my human values, my professionalism and one of these people is sitting over here,” he said, referring to the Daily Mail reporters in particular.

“It insults the success that I have achieved in other clubs and I don’t think it’s fair. I think it’s a lack of respect and an attack on a person’s integrity.

“I don’t want to undermine other managers. You can easily compare situations. We have sat above Man City before and above Man United before and we haven’t seen any kind of these personal attacks to somebody so I think that is unfair.”

When the Mail’s Neil Ashton got involved in the issue, Villas-Boas replied,

“You can easily understand. I don’t need to explain. I think you have always chased people, you attack people. You don’t attack them by the front, you attack them sitting when you write. You attack integrities, you attack competence, you attack the integrity of the person, their human values and you don’t even know that person. We never got a chance to sit down and speak about it.”

We’ve all seen the Mail round on Spurs as a club but has Andre overreacted to the situation? While his frustration is clear, nothing is likely to change as a result of his comments.

 

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13 COMMENTS

  1. Anybody should be able to defend themselves especially against someone like Neil Ashton who has yet to be a success at something. If Brian Woolnough could see how Ashton comperes his show Sunday Supplement he would turn in his grave!

  2. I’m delighted we have a manager that will fight – god forbid he becomes a mini-Mourinho, but that us and them attitude created a fight and drive in the team that won them titles. Maybe the rants at the fans (which I agreed with), referees and now media (including Alan Sugar) are all part of the us and them attitude. It seems the players are responding and fighting for him, so as long as the attitude in the players remain I hope he keeps up.

    • If he feels the press has treated him unfairly, then he has the right to talk back (to his own peril I might add). And yes, some of these pieces are harsh. Now if it were the fans, I would say, you need their total respect. Everything is game unless they are threats on life, physical harm, or personal insults at you or your family. Criticism is part of the game, and done fairly and respectfully the better. AVB was right to defend himself.

  3. I will rather he fight back by getting us more good results. That’s only 1 decent result in so many games. Lose the next 2 and he will have the media all over him again. He is just fighting a losing war when going up against the media.

  4. Chuuk,
    I and many others have seen a media agenda against Spurs over the years and I am more than happy when a Spurs manager calls them out about it. That talentless pack of media hyenas deserve all they get. I would prefer AVB showing a spine rather than our previous non reader hanging out of his window giving impromptu inanities.

    • I agree, it would seem there is an agenda against Tottenham, but then again, after the results we have had to put up with, it’s not hard to uncover some of the ugly truths of our own undoing.

  5. Every club fan thinks the press is against his club. Right or wrong depends on which side of the divide you are on. But AVB should shut up. If he wants respect, then he should give it. Just beaten arsenal by one goal and seven points ahead and he goes ahead to tell his friends in the media that Arsenal are on a spiral of Negativity. That’s an indirect insult on Arsene so he shouldn’t complain when he get it in equal measure. He had better win the league or get fourth spot unless the media will blast him to smithereens

    • I disagree. I have followed just about every AVB press conference, and he conducts them with respect and thoughtfulness on who he is talking about most of the time. Very positive figure even if he doesn’t acknowledge the reality some of the times (lol). His comment last year on Arsenal was just his opinion on the matter. Hard for me to hate that club as they are pretty damn resilient and are mentally tough to break. It’s a small group of their fans I hate (including my brother in law). Still, I think the comments from the mail have gone too far, and AVB has done well to call them out on it.

  6. There were two specific comments that AVB was annoyed about. Firstly Ashton said that anyone can win the League in Portugal. …..just like any talentless hack can write for the Daily Mail (the paper that supports our fuhrer). The second problem was that Ashton said that AVB had said the players were an embarassment after the Man City game. The aim of that ? To create a rift between players and manager presumably. AVB had actually said that the whole club should be embarassed by the result, himself included. So no wonder AVB called Ashton out in public. Is it immature? Maybe…..is it anything to do with Allardyce? Not at all.

  7. THINK AVB SHOULD ACCEPT ITS ALL PART OF THE GAME HE PICKS THE TEAM SO ITS DOWN TO HIM, THE PROBLEM HE HAS IS ITS NEVER HIS FAULT ALWAYS SOMEONE ELSES ALL BROUGHT ON HIMSELF

    • Where do you get the information that it isnt his fault? Name an occasion when he has blamed the team or individual players? Or when he has refused to take responsibility? Dont believe the Press agenda.

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