Tottenham Hotspur manager Andre Villas-Boas was critical of the club’s home support following Sunday’s 1-0 win over Hull City, but is it all just a byproduct of recent success? David Talisman writes…

The atmosphere at White Hart Lane is terrible. This is a fact. I’m a season ticket holder, am at every match and have been going regularly for about twenty years.

However, since we got good under Jol, teams come and park the bus (the irony being that that phrase was coined for us.)

AVB’s system dictates that the centre backs and holding midfielders play low-risk or no-risk passes until an opportunity to play between the defensive lines arises.

When the teams don’t venture from their own third, let alone their own half, this is difficult.

Need proof? How did Barcelona do the last two occasions they played away to the mighty Celtic?

I defy anyone to get excited and shout when the centre backs and defensive midfielders are playing it amongst themselves.

Teams come to time-waste. Whenever Spurs got any momentum going yesterday, a Hull player would inevitably go down injured.

At one point one of their players resorted to throwing the ball into the stands when we had a goal kick. He was booked but still, it’s annoying.

At best this is gamesmanship, at worst it’s outright cheating and is simulation just as much as taking a dive in the box. I think a lot of the crowds frustration came from this.

Smart defensive FOOTBALL tactics are one thing, but frankly Steve Bruce has a f*cking nerve coming out and complaining when he clearly instructed his team to come out and cheat.

He needs to shut his fat mouth. If only he was the only manager to do it.

I don’t think anyone can argue that we have been especially good in our play this season.

By contrast, everyone is raving about how good the Scum and Livercrud have been. What’s the points difference between us?

We will find form. It will happen. Everyone was saying how it would take time for the squad to gel. Eight games is not giving them time.

Those above us have been firing on all cylinders and haven’t pulled away. Chelsea are the ones to worry about. They haven’t looked great but look where they are. It’s the same for us.

That being said, I don’t think anyone goes to a game and becomes excited and loud because of their league position.

When a team is set out to defend, you try to overload and overpower them. This isn’t happening.

This is because there hasn’t been enough time for individual partnerships within the XI to develop.

Keane-Berbatov, Assou-Ekotto-Bale, van der Vaart-Crouch, van der Vaart-Adebayor, van der Vaart-Modric, Walker-Lennon: these were partnerships that were instinctive and tore teams apart. They haven’t had time to develop.

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