12 months of Harry Redknapp at Tottenham this weekend.
Two points from eight games,
Two points from eight gaaaaaaaames,
When Harry took over,
We had two points from eight games.
Read 'em (stats below) and weep non-believers. Spurs have the R-Factor and 'arry has proven the doubters wrong and even managing to appease the free-flowing purists. We play football. We play with players in their correct positions. Square pegs in square holes. Nothing overly complicated. No need for head-scratching. And the fans actually believe in the team. It's not perfect, not yet. But it's better than what came before it by several country miles. The stats:
League games P38 W19 D8 L11 F59 A45 Pts 65
Others games P14 W8 D 3 L3 F34 A17
Joyful reading.
We've been on the up since he arrived. He turned a squad of misfits into a unit that work hard for each other. Got the simple things right, driving forward consistency and pride. Yeah sure, we all know there are still questions to be answered and the squad still lacks depth in certain areas - but considering what he's done with the current set of players - any additional ones will only make us stronger.
Happy days.
So, what's remaining on the fix-list?
The '4th' striker issue
Pav is sitting in the abyss at the moment. If sold, then its time we either promote one of our young lads from their loan or we buy a new striker (nothing more than £5M-£7M) who has the potential and patience to break into the first team.
Cover for Wilson Palacios
It's still a massive problem for me this. If he gets injured we don't have anyone to slot into his place. Jamie O'Hara will be back with us in January if you believe what you read and there's also the possibility of the Brazilian Sandro signing for us - although I'm uncertain how much of a midfield enforcer he actually is. We need cover here. A young understudy or possibly, if Harry really wants to mix it up, an alternative. Anyone know any players with the qualities of Carrick? Apart from Carrick himself.
Heart of the Defence
Ledders will only ever play one-game-per-week. Woodgate is still lost on the sidelines (does the club have a comeback date for him?) which means Bassong and Dawson are the only two remaining central-defenders with Huddlestone as cover. It's not ideal, and its all a bit fragmented. Is Troy ready (or good enough) for a promotion? Or do we look for another CB in the Championship that might be able to grow in stature at our little Prem club? We need to eliminate the potential for ready-made excuses here. Lose Bassong - without King and Woody - and I wont be getting much sleep.
David Bentley
Will he ever manage to make it beyond 20 Prem league appearances for us? He isn't even making much noise about the fact that any remote chance for an England place has evaporated into non-existence and his lack of league games is almost certainly the final nail in the coffin. Not that he ever really had a chance anyway, but as a player, you always think (and hope) you do. At least you should do. Either he's given up or he knows he is on his way in the new year. I guess he has no control over his destiny at the moment as he can't actually play football to prove to himself and Harry that he can offer us something. Sadly, Bentley can only play on the RW. He's not component enough to play in the middle or anywhere else. Either way, something has to give on this. It's embarrassing and frustrating for all concerned.
There's more (feel free to suggest) but I think many of the other fixes come with natural progression (like bossing teams when we go 1-0). The goalkeeper conundrum needs sorting, which can be resolved by playing Gomes, IMO. Set-pieces have been forever in a state of flux and hopefully these will improve. And of course, every season is the season we await for Jermaine Jenas to finally come of age and discover self-belief and confidence. Sigh.
Anyways, thanks Harry for a more than decent 12 months at the helm.
COYS.