Andre Villas-Boas arrived at Tottenham on a tide of optimism. The young Portuguese manager had been dismissed by Chelsea, yes, but many felt that he and Tottenham would be a dream combination.
Villas-Boas enjoyed a strong first season, securing 72 points along the way, but it all seemed to go downhill for the Portuguese after talisman Gareth Bale was snapped up by Real Madrid. Villas-Boas was never able to fill the hole left by the Welshman despite multiple big money signings, some of which are on display below, following Bale’s departure.
Hugo Lloris
The French skipper had a pretty forgettable night, but has been immense for Spurs over the last few years. Image Source: Twitter.
Michael Dawson
Cue Luis Suarez-themed nightmares for the now Hull City captain. Image Source: Twitter
Kyle Walker
Walker was a big part of what was a very formidable defensive line at Spurs and was recently made the most expensive defender in the world. For like, five minutes. Image Source: Twitter
Etienne Capoue
Capoue himself admitted his time at Spurs was "difficult", making only 24 league appearances, flattering to deceive in each and every one of those. Image Source: Twitter
Alessandro Nesta: Chennaiyin
Another of Chennaiyin's heroic Cup-winning squad in 2014. Signed by former Italy teammate Marco Materazzi in November, Nesta played alongside Mikael Silvestre and made just the three appearances. Image Source: Twitter
Sergio Garcia
Following 17. Soccer. Some Spanish Athletes. Angela Akins (obviously). Sponsors. While Garcia is a fairly active Twitterer, he’s definitely not spending hours browsing his feed. (Photo source: Twitter)
Kyle Naughton
Naughton was never more than a Kyle Walker back-up at Spurs. Well, when he wasn't out on loan (which was a lot), of course. Image Source: Twitter
Aaron Lennon
Lennon was lightning at Spurs, and left many a defender for dead. However, his end product let him down, managing 29 goals during his ten-year spell in North London.
Image Source: Twitter
Nacer Chadli
No surprise that Chadli struggled at Spurs when you consider the mammoth Gareth Bale shaped shadow he was playing under. He did, however, score 25 goals during his time there, which isn't bad at all. Image Source: Twitter
Sandro
Just like his haircuts, Sandro divided opinion during his time at Spurs. Image Source: Twitter
Roberto Soldado
A return of seven goals in just over 40 league appearances probably was not what Villas-Boas had in mind when he splashed the cash on Soldado. Image Source: Twitter
19) West Brom – Jay Rodriguez (10 goals)
A smart signing by Pulis. Image Source: Twitter
Erik Lamela
Injury meant Lamela missed the majority of last season, but has proven to be one of Villas-Boas best signings since his arrival. Image Source: Twitter
Lewis Holtby
Hailed as the 'bargain of the century' by Villas-Boas, the young German never established himself at Spurs, recording only 25 league appearances for the Lily Whites. Image Source: Twitter
Andros Townsend
Townsend spent most of his Tottenham career loan hopping all over England, only making 50 league appearances for Spurs in a six-year spell. Image Source: Twitter
Gylfi Sigurdsson
13 Tottenham goals was a decent return for probably the only beardless Icelandic footballer around. Perhaps thats why he could never really break into the starting line-up?
Image Source: Twitter
Jermain Defoe
Somewhat of a cult hero at Spurs, Defoe scored over 130 goals during two spells at White Hart Lane. Absolute crime that Roberto Soladado was ever started ahead of him. Image Source: Twitter
Ezekiel “Zeki” Fryers
Apparently, the now Barnsley employed Zeki Fryers made as many as seven league appearances for Spurs! Who knew?! Image Source: Twitter
After an embarrassing 6-0 thrashing at the hands of Manchester City, a 5-0 home loss to a Luis Suarez-inspired Liverpool was the final straw for the Spurs hierarchy and Villas-Boas was sacked the next day.
Perhaps tellingly for Villas-Boas, who is now at the helm of Chinese Super League side Shanghai SIPG, only three of the above players are still at Tottenham.
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