Options

The BBC are saying it's barely credible that Harry has lost his job and yet still cite the fact that the relationship between him and Levy was broken beyond repair. They don't appear to be the only ones in the media struggling to come to terms with this announcement. There's a consensus, a controlled outrage that this decision is one they are refusing to accept. What with that other relationship, the one between Harry and the tabloid/broadsheets/Sky, being of far greater importance to their every day existence. It's akin to them losing one of their own. How dare Daniel Levy do this.

Yes, in terms of financial clout and stature you can argue that Spurs were in some ways punching above their weight. I don't believe that myself but some will point towards Man City and one or two others and suggest we have no right to finish above them because of the money they can and have spent. As I mentioned last night on the blog, nobody is going to argue (well some of you might) against the fact that Harry has achieved some measurable success at Spurs. But it seems the crux of it is being completely ignored. It should have been solely about the football. If it was just about the football Harry might have kept his job (although the media seem to be punching very lightly on our end of season form when referencing it) but there's no way a chairman can continue to work with his appointed manager if their relationship appears to have less spark than David Bentley's Spurs career.

The irony of 'Harry to England' and the impact it had on Spurs season completely and utterly lost on our bestest friends in the tabloids and beyond. The moment Harry got Paul Stretford involved you knew it was end of days and it was only a matter of days.

It will be interesting to see whether Harry remains as gracious as he has with words shared in the official club announcement.

"I have thoroughly enjoyed my time at Spurs and am proud of my achievements. I have had a fantastic four years with the Club, at times the football has been breathtaking. I am sad to be leaving but wish to thank the players, staff and fans for their terrific support during my time there."

It's been good fun, let's not deny that.

So, what are the options? Names that I can think of that might have some ilk of feasibility to be linked with us (some perhaps in reality more tenuous than others):

Moyes

Capello

Benitez

Deschamps

AVB

Martinez

Blanc

Sherwood

Any more for any more? Would like to mention Klopp and Low. Bilic has already accepted a contract in Russia apparently. I added in Sherwood for laughs. I won't even mention Pep. Oops.

Harry Redknapp. Thank you and goodbye.

Two points. Eight games. We'll never forget the ride. Run out of gas in the end.

I thought it would be apt to go back in time to when Harry Redknapp was appointed Spurs boss and quote some choice paragraphs from a 2008 article (following on from a 2-0 home win against Bolton before we played Arsenal away). Times have changed in the space of four or so years. Our expectations have shifted. Interestingly, some of us forget (ignore) what that catalyst for the shift was. We didn't consider it at the time that a few seasons after his appointment we'd be gutted about missing out on 3rd spot in the league. Gutted and ironically disappointed at the very same catalyst that led to said progress.

And in comes the media whore that is Harry Redknapp. A manager with little integrity. Sorry 'arry, but it's true. His Pompey/Soton merry-go round will tell you all you need to know. Levy claims that he's had conversations with Harry in the past, suggesting that 'he almost got here' before. Shudder.

Yeah, he saved Pompey from almost certain relegation. But couldn't save Soton and also relegated West Ham. What exactly is so great about his CV? Have we now lowered our ambitions? Have we accepted a place alongside the likes of Blackburn and co?

Well firstly, scrap ambitions and comparisons, because that's what has got us into this mess in the first place - believing the hype.

We are now behind the likes of Villa and City. As they develop and progress, our work has to begin again. Maybe not quite from ground zero, but we are limping at the minute. Although in modern day football 5th - 8th spot tends to shift about every season so all we need to do is regain a bit of pride and form. And no matter the progression you make (that goes for Villa and City at the minute) - you still need to depend on one of the Top 4 having an off season if you. Which is rare. And even if it does happen, you might find hotel food conspire against you. So we are not that far behind if you go on recent Prem records.

The simple fact of the matter is - at present - we are bottom. The players were not playing for Ramos. Levy had to do something drastic. Sacking Ramos and co was the first part. Appointing Redknapp was the second. Because for the moment, the only thing that's important is remaining in the Prem.

Survival. That's it. That should be the mission statement for this season. And having tried every type of manager, we've now gone for the 'not really done anything, loves his money a bit, Sky and the tabloids love him a lot' type of appointment.

We've stopped acting like the 'big club' and just taken stock of our current predicament.

So, am I happy? Nope, unsurprisingly, I'm not.

Levy, for all his little boy lost innocence, is knee-deep in damage limitation and blame deflection. The players, having performed today well enough to claim 3 points are questionable commitment wise if you look at some of our prior performances (although, I'm happy to agree that Ramos wasn't helping himself with selection and tactics). New manager usually gets a reaction from the players, but I still can't get rid of this feeling that Spurs will never push on until they get rid of the vanity at the club. £15M+ for Bentleys hair is proving to be a hard pill to swallow.

Harry himself paid money for Kaboul and does select players out of position. Sometimes has three DM's in his team and still gets bullied by the opposition and generally isn't the most astute tactically. So, I would guess, it's down to his man-management to get things going again.

It's worked one game in. And come Jan, we might see the return of Defoe and one or two other players - including some very un-Tottenham like signings that might have some of us question wtf is going on (BRING BACK THE DOF!!!!!1111) but that's what we want isn't it? Players we NEED - and not superfluous signings. So, there is a positive, one hopes in his appointment. Although getting rid of the DoF and letting Jol sign his own players would have worked fine too.

So, is Harry an interim manager for the club? I hope so. Am I know being a hypocrite for suggesting we are too big for Harry? Call me that if you want. What I'm saying is, Harry isn't a great manager and has limits which will become apparent in a couple of seasons. But this all serves a purpose. A recovery period, washing off any remaining residue of the DoF era. It's the consequence, not of Comolli but of Levy. The buck does stop with him, and this I feel is the final sorry chapter of mismanagement. He's admitted it hasn't worked, so he has gained a final encore. And this is it. Harry will take us so far, and then Levy (if he's still around) will no doubt appoint someone new. We'll see how it all pans out. No point dwelling on this at the minute. If Levy suggests that Harry is the one to reclaim GLORY - then Daniel will be leaving us in the very close future.

If (there's that magic word again) Harry performs a miracle and is still knocking around with us in 4 years time then Levy will be deemed a genius and I'll have to eat a hat (preferably made of bagel).

In the mean time, I'll give him the benefit of the doubt (that's Harry). And do what any fan would do: Support the team with all my heart......and cry uncontrollably when it goes tits up. Again.

Well, I guess I got certain aspects of it correct. The main point that should be made and will probably be drowned out by a fair few is that regardless of Redknapp's inability to control his mouth and his lack of articulation and timing (and his contradictory statements that are based around reacting to the moment in hand rather than fitting into a more robust consistent bigger picture) - with all his faults he's achieved measurable success at Spurs. It's just that from that success we - he - could have achieved so much more.

When you look at the competition at the top of the table and the managers there, was there anyone else that could have done what Harry did? At that time, no. In the end, he's only guilty of being Harry Redknapp. That's Harry with all the good things and the bad. Much like I predicted he would be, even if he did prove me wrong along the way. The bad for me was not his media persona and love for car windows but his lack of cutting edge on the pitch when the chips were down. His man-mangagemnt skills don't always work when they're required the most. Harry is reactive to making sure he looks good at all times and walking slowly away from any blame. You've got to be accountable. So do we. We (the fans) have hardly covered ourselves in consistency either. Much like Harry, we've struggled to get to grips with the expectations that have continued to evolve over the past two seasons.

He was actually likeable when we were having success on the pitch. But then people tend to smile more when their team is winning and only point, complain and accuse when things go wrong. There was even a connection during his court case battle and during the immediate aftermath. But in the end, Harry looks after Harry and for the most part - we as a collective remain fickle but equally so ambitious and in love with our club. Something Redknapp was never likely to ever have.

Positives from all this? We've lost a manager but we're not 'in trouble'. Not unless in trouble is finishing 4th spot and akin to our past mid-table mediocrity (regardless of the fact we could have finished higher). We're not dizzy or confused or punched in the gut in tears on the ground. We've just sat down for a moments rest and a re-think. We have stability. There will be no mass change transitional season to follow. Not if Levy appoints quickly and appoints the right man and we go marching on.

(I'm sure that 'right man' comment will come back to haunt all of us, as most are already arguing the merits of certain potential appointments and disagreeing about them already).

Harry came in, fixed us up, got us playing like a team and got all the assembled quality playing to their potential (well, not all of them, the ones he didn't like he disowned to the detriment of the squad). The stats don't lie. And in that is the crux of the issue. We grew stronger and with others lagging around us, the opportunity was there to take advantage. We messed it up. Perhaps if Harry was younger or more willing to adapt. Perhaps if he saw eye to eye with Levy on the long term rather than short-term season-to-season moneyball strategies...perhaps if he was a little more shy in front of the camera. Who knows? He'd have got another crack at it next season. But alas, no. His lack of focus has seen to a not so surprising ending.

I should also cite the lack of investment into 'long term' signings in recent seasons. We'll soon find out if this was largely down to manager and chairman disagreeing on targets based on whatever the new man achieves in the transfer market.

In the end, that rather fragmented disassociated relationship he appeared to have with Levy dissolved into nothingness. Levy pricing out Redknapp from getting his dream job, a different catalyst to the one that started this journey. Redknapp then seeking a contract extenstion, with some irony. From the outside looking in. Harry voicing his position from tv interviews, the club remaining silent. The England debacle, the slump in league form...it's the right time for change. We would have moved on had the FA given him the job so this doesn't change much. I'm not going to knee-jerk and concern myself about whether this will impact transfers. Levy will have a contingency. So, all that's left to say is...thank you Harry Redknapp. When we were good, we were very good. We made it to the promised land people! We had our adventure. We wanted more. We might still get more but it will be with another leader. So thanks for the memories. It's a shame that you couldn't quite find the balance of team selection and contain the pressure to guide us just that little bit further forwards (and upwards). It's a shame you couldn't be completely committed to the Cockerel or at the very least disguise your true intentions.

Football, is a funny game, because had that margin of a point been two in our favour, had Chelsea not beaten Bayern...this blog article would never have been written.

Onwards.

#AskArry

via BetfairSports

Made me smile. Even with the scripting. Beats talking about Luka and contracts.

"I don't know what Mario is" - No chance of a cheeky bid then?

This is Redknapp

I see a number of you have misunderstood (misinterpreted) Redknapp's CL quote. Either that or simply taken it out of context and stretched it as far as you can for further ammunition aimed at the target on his back. Any excuse, right? Not sure why considering the amount of gold you can so easily find in his back catalogue.

It's Redknapp, he's hardly the most articulate. He has all the elegance of a brick through the window. If you've not seen it, I'm referring to the interview on SNN earlier today. He cited Champions League football, which included the utterance 'it's over-rated'. He was talking about money/contracts and how players use the 'ambition' of CL football as an excuse to earn ridiculous wages elsewhere (reality is players will move to where the money is). Don't even think this is the first time I've heard him say this. And yes, CL does equate to money...but say we had CL, would that see us compete against City and Chelsea for players? No, probably not based on what's already happened this summer with the Hazard whoring.

And yes, Redknapp is always going to deflect in some way, he's done it all season long. In this instance, his vocabulary sets him up to look dismissive more so than the actual point he was attempting to make. Although haters will hate and say that he's only hooking himself onto excuses rather than perhaps attempting to highlight positives. This is Redknapp, it's the way he's built. People need to stop berating him over a trait he will never lose. He's never going to change. Stick a microphone in front of him, if he needs 10 words to make a point, he'll use 100 and the point he makes will protect his own agenda. He'll always protect himself, whether he does it consciously or subconsciously. Get this...all managers do it. Harry just isn't very good at it. What he is good at is contradicting.

Save your energy for the excuses during the season, not outside of it, and not the soundbites used to entertain presenters of Sky Sports News.

Just my opinion.

The bigger questioning (re: the interview) should be over his contract and ye golden contradiction (told you he was good at it) regarding his one remaining year left and the impact it would have on our players (and our transfer targets). That and the fact he can't contain such matters for private consumption between himself and Levy. That was by far the more 'damaging' of his soundbites. But this is also of no surprise. Harry continues to bask in detachment and disassociation.

Watch the video here.

Nothing has changed from the opinions I outlined in my Regression series (click here, scroll down a little). He remains about the short term and about self-serving. Like most people involved in modern football. If he retains focus and if he and Levy work together during the course of the summer then we'll easily compete next season. Again.

Worms of disillusion

Dear Mr Levy,

What has become of us? After years of restraining orders and home invasions, I find myself somewhat isolated. On this occasion I am not outside your mansion hiding in the shrubbery, neither am I following you on one of your jaunts to the local supermarket or using my night vision goggles to watch your wife shower. No. I'm sat at home in front of my pc monitor and I type this without threat of a legal violation that a judge might frown upon. I do this not because I am weak or have surrendered the fight. How many times can a man protest in the same way before he becomes a monument to himself?

Do not misunderstand me. If I so wish to claim back old traditions I will be more than comfortable to strip naked save for a bagel to hide my blushes, and proceed to handcuff myself to a turnstile in protest. I still have that in me. Why only yesterday I waterboarded Chirpy. Why? Simply because I could. But still, here I am. At peace. Microsoft Word and my thoughts. No rage against the machine here just gentle gesturing and an electronic cuddle. Hopefully these poignant paragraphs will entertain you or perhaps inspire confidence in some way.

I had grand plans to anger up the blood and lay waste to the catastrophic season that we have only just left behind. I could so easily rape and pillage my way through 20k words of ranting, spewing vengeance and disparaging rhetoric with my contempt and disdain subtly shining through the cracks of the wall you will attempt to build in defence as I come charging towards you. But what would that achieve exactly? So rather than just point the finger and once more highlight where you’ve gone wrong I’m going to attempt to add a more positive spin to it. I’m offering you a solution to the problem at hand. From one Tottenham fan to another Tottenham fan.

Harry Redknapp. We appear to be stuck with him for another season. No compensation is forthcoming as the England job has long since passed. So if he left now you’d have to fork out the less enticing ilk of compensation, the one that goes the opposite direction from your wallet. Next season’s success is dependent on what we do in the transfer window before it closes. Between now and then we’ll know if we’ll be able to sustain another challenge. Considering we need a number of players to come in and a few to go out, that’s a monumental amount of business that needs doing in the space of three months. No dithering or indecisiveness can be part of this process. Agreed?

The problem with Redknapp is that he’s short term. Even though he has been with us a number of seasons it feels like we are reacting to each new season as if it’s the first we’ve had under him. There is no longevity in our plans. This is best illustrated by the lack of money spent in the transfer market for arguably key positions. Theorise away what might have happened had we bolstered the squad with top drawer quality rather than older bit-part squad players. But then you might have been saving up the war chest for when Redknapp walked. Which he hasn’t done. So, are we left not speculating for another season or do you take the initiative and sign players that the next manager can easily work with? Or do we continue to pluck away using the prior template that involves the both of you not seeing eye to eye on potential signings?

The other issue with Redknapp is that he’s reactive to whatever is happening at any given time, adapting his soundbites to fit into whatever position we happen to be in. Contenders, title contenders, top three, top four, fifth etc. There are more contradictions and hypocrisy to be found with our manager than there is with any politician. It’s like having a captain of a ship pretending to guide his crew to a far gone land, except when he looks down all he sees is a broken compass.

“If we keep going that way, we’ll hit land soon enough”

Blag. Hope. No drilled hard thought strategy. We've got a ship, we've got a crew, that's all you need to sail right? If we sink, that's not the captains fault. It's because we're Tottenham and we always sink. The blame firmly detached from the captain because the vessel is jinxed and has struggled to brave the waters in the past. Blame the owner that supplied the ship and the people back home wishing them luck on their voyage. It's their fault for desiring new land to be discovered and conquered.

We want Francis Drake. We've got Captain Birdseye.

That’s not to say he hasn’t done good. Redknapp that is (Birdseye has done wonders for my dinners). It’s not to say he isn’t a good manager. Look at the clubs above us, the money they have and the amount of years of experience they all share being in the same competitive positions year after year. Do we honestly think this is an easy achievement to be had? But then if the captain took a little more time to plan things out, fix the compass and navigate around the storms...

...then again, is that a pirate flag I see hoisted?

Fact remains, Redknapp has to be backed and be told clearly the objectives the club has, that’s your responsibility Mr Chairman. If he stays, there's no point everyone saying he's not committed if we're equally not committed. If it means we have to work with the short term ethics of Redknapp then back him in the short term by landing long term players that will outlive his managerial appointment and throw in a cheap signing, the type he likes to make to keep him happy. He doesn’t have a choice in the matter, make that so, if he doesn’t like it he can walk.

The stats don’t lie. During your tenure, has there been a more successful Spurs manager? In recent memory has there been one blessed with such a solid graceful squad of players? Have we played with such swashbuckle and assurance in the past decade as we do now? There will be no court case next season. No debate about England. Hopefully no heart palpitations other than the ones in the stands. So another season might prove to be the very best this manager can offer us, especially after so many harsh lessons learnt this past term. It might even give him the right amount of fire in his belly to once more prove people wrong. If it's better than 4th spot, then we're hardly going to complain. Unlike now. We're complaining now. It's strange, all these seasons in midtable, and we're...I can't wrap my head around what I'm meant to be feeling. Am I disappointed or not? Are we under-achieving? If so, compared to what? To the past or the immediate past we carved out from playing so well? Isn't this as good as we've ever had it? Isn't that enough..?

You need to...you need to...give him another chance. Yes...another...another...No...No...FFFFFFFFFFFFFUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU-

F*** this.

Who the f*** am I kidding here? I can’t do this.

GET RID OF THE CLOWN AND GET RID OF HIM NOW! We’re a shambles! Look it up in the dictionary. Shambles, picture of Tottenham being shambolic. It's what we are! We could have won the league man, the league! Yet we watched it disappear in a blink of an eye because our striker wasn’t born an inch taller! Who makes this s*** up? We gain a 10 point lead then we lose it, then we get ourselves back into a position where it’s in our hands and we choke up again. To add insult to injury an ex-player lets in three soft goals and Chelsea (the club Redknapp wanted to see beat Barcelona) win the Champions League final and we’re left looking into the abyss that is the summer wondering if Modric is going to be sold and whether we’re going to take the entirety of the three months to flirt with the idea of signing someone before giving Jenas a one year extension on his contract. I won't even go anywhere near the capitulation at the swamp.

I’m sick of this nightmare! Why can't I wake up man? Why can't I wake up? Am I awake or asleep? If I'm awake I want to sleep. If I'm dreaming I don't want to risk reality being worse than this so I'd prefer to have dreamless sleep. A coma. Do people dream in comas? How about if I'm knocked unconscious. Will I dream if I'm knocked out? Someone please knock me out!

I can’t take this pressure any more. Just sell Modric for £40M. Sell Bale for £40M. That’s £80M right there. Luka doesn’t score goals so what exactly is the point in using him as some form of statement of intent that we won’t be bullied into selling our ‘best players’. Defoe has been engaged more times that Luka has found the net, ffs. The bloke is over-rated. His image rights are hardly worth a thing. Take a look at him! Who cuts his hair? A DeLorean with keys to a 1970s barber shop?

“Oh look I’m Luka and when I get the ball I turn and pass it out to another player”

Amazing. We’re building our team around a player than can pass a ball that doesn't even want to be here. Astonishing stuff. What next? Loan a player that can kick a ball really hard and fast towards goal? Maybe in ten years time we'll buy us one of them. Or we just wait for Harry Kane to turn thirty.

£40M for someone who can recycle possession. Other clubs must be green with envy. I blame him for not qualifying for the Champions League.

As for Gareth. Well, he’s finished. His ego has consumed his talent. He had that one decent game in Milan and that was that. He thinks he’s Ronaldo, have you seen that? Have you seen him do his Ronaldo impression? You know, the copyrighted move where he sort of floats away from the left and roams into the middle and into space? No other player does that. That’s a blatant trademark infringement and to be frank this also cost us Champions League. Had he stayed on the left in every single game played we’d have finished 3^rd or better, what with all the crosses he would have supplied for our forward line attacking the box with intent. Such wasted intent.

Who else? Adebayor. He can’t trap or control a ball, his first touch is awful. In a match he might control the ball say 25 times but the 3 times he doesn’t? Christ, he hasn’t got a clue! It’s in those 3 occasions where he fails that's where we lose the game. Who cares about the goals he does score and the assists he gets. He doesn't always quite control the ball! He’s as responsible as Bale and Luka is for our failure. And he’s your failure, a testament to not splashing out the money for a long term forward.

And he’s a gooner. So is Gallas. Two key players in key positions both accountable and yet we wonder why we fail when we have players that do not have Lilywhite blood. The ones we do have in Lilywhite are not good enough when the team is failing. When we're doing well it's because that's how we're meant to be doing and if we're blipping it's because neither of you know what you're doing. I know these things, I read Twitter, so many unified voices can't be wrong. You're meant to do the opposite of what you do when you get it wrong before you get it wrong so you don't get it it wrong but get it right. Why can't you embrace hindsight once in a while?

And God forbid you spend that potential £80M on any new young world class players. How about you stick it into the NDP fund and we can sit back for another ten years whilst you and Haringey tickle each other’s bums. We’ve got no strikers, did you notice that? You’re going to sign a Belgian centre-back that nobody has ever seen play aside from You Tube clips but everyone is desperate to see signed just because he’s got a fancy name and isn't bad looking. In the mean time, David Bentley and Gio dos Santos are still star-jumping their way around the club earning thousands for what exactly? Fringe players? I’m going to try that at work, being a fringe player.

“Hi boss. What? No, no. I’m not going to do much work today. Perhaps an hour or so, nothing spectacular. I’m sure you’ll be disappointed with my output. I’m now going outside for a smoke, I’ll be six hours”

Money you do spend is spent on the likes of Pienaar and Khumalo for the sake of selling a few shirts in South Africa to cover the cost of importing prime meat into the club for the executive box five course meals. Does Khumalo actually exist? I tried to scan an image of his face with that Autonomy software thing but got nothing back from it. I claim he is nothing but a PR marketing ploy created by an out-sourced graphic designer to give the illusion of profit being spent on players. One for the future, right? Sure, whatever, maybe this will also be the year Jenas finally comes of age.

You are ruining our chances by hiding behind this fallacy of being a great chairman just because we compete on accountancy when our revenue and capacity is so much lower than so many other clubs. Stop hiding behind circumstance of stature. Why haven’t you sacked Redknapp for showing fragmented loyalty and disrespect? Why do you continue to employee a mascot that has a crack problem and deals in the stands on match-days?

When Redknapp does get his way, he signs Parker. Then proceeds to play him in every single game. Do you know why he burnt out towards the end of the season? Redknapp had him doing odd jobs all over the place. Chauffeuring to and from Sandbanks. Painting and decorating. Landscape gardening. Doesn't stop working that Parker, great work ethic, but Christ...give the man a rest!

King? Deadwood.

And as for Harry Redknapp himself, again I ask, why has a man that persists in palming off responsibility onto you still receive monthly pay cheques for his services? You’re paying him to blame you for everything that goes wrong. I’m not even sure Redknapp actually works for Spurs. I think he just turns up at training, walks around a bit on the touchline and then drives in and out of the car park to make it look like he’s being kept busy. He’s got Sky Sports News fooled with a simple roll down of the car window. He’s kept the façade up for so long you’ve just let it naturally play out. I'm right, aren't I? Ha! I knew it! It’s mental, utterly utterly mental.

Perhaps almost as mental as Fulop being paid off by a betting syndicate to throw the match at WBA. But that is ridiculous. We all know that is not the case. Far more likely you paid him off so that we would miss out on Champions League. My evidence? The fact that you’ve not written a letter to UEFA to attempt to force a rejuvenated precedence of complaint for them only allowing four English clubs into the competition. You losing your touch? No, never. It’s part of your game plan. Keep long suffering Spurs long suffering because it means you can counter all the cries for money to be spent with reasoned calm that we have to be fiscally careful due to loss of revenue. All softly softly slowly slowly making sure the ENIC investment isn't spunked on the risk that comes with pushing for progression. I’ve got you sussed out.

Yeah.

I lied Mr Levy. I’m not at home.

You heard me, I lied. Like you lie. We've got more in common than just our bald heads. I’m in your study, I'm using your lap top to type this letter. Earlier I used your downstairs toilet. I didn't flush. I had a curry last night. You do the math. That's right, I've broken into your house again. Screw the British justice system. I’m also naked. I'm sweating too. You'll have to have the place fumigated. Send me the bill, see if I care. Why am I naked? Because I can be. I do what I want. And yes, that's one of Chirpy's in the open pack of Chocolate Fingers. You'll work it out when you dunk it into your tea. Chicken and Earl Grey don't mix well. There's no escaping me Mr Levy.

By the way, technically speaking, I'm not actually completely naked. I'm wearing your socks. Well, one of them. You get the picture. Literally. I've sent you a text.

My blood is angered Mr Levy. Do something, prove to us you're in control.

I have to go now. Before I leave I’m going to drag my backside along the carpet like a dog does when its got worms. Because I too have worms. Worms of disillusion, eating away at this ring of fire that burns me so deep. No cream to soothe the heinous pain. Pain you have caused. We're all left scratching our backsides whilst you don't even come close to scratching the surface.

Yours betrayed once more,
Spooky

Paradox

Is there anyway to hope success for Roy Hodgson without England achieving it? No? Of course not. Everyone is doomed then. I hate the clique that is the tabloid media, with their pro-Redknapp obsession, already sharpening their knives as displayed with the usual bitter and stupid questions at Roy's first press conference. The nations favourite have rolled out a speech impediment joke so we can't be that far off from vegetable photo-shops.

Let's stop pretending to be surprised. We're all actually guilty of similar charges. They are meant to report the news. They are hardly unbiased and they will always push whatever agenda that's close to them. It's no different to any football forum or set of fans with a unified belief they relentlessly perpetuate. Well it is different in one way, tabloids have a far greater reach than any blog or message board or twitter time-line.

During the press conference, you could hear them squirm in their seats, unsatisfied and rejected for not having their chosen one to bestow safe questions to and catch the responding sound-bite like two lovers blowing kisses to each other. This summer will be a barrel of laughs.

Also worth noting the nations favourite hardly reports 'the news'.

Regardless of the FA only approaching the one man and also the fact that they are saying there was more than two people on the short list, it did feel rather ominous. When the new England boss cited Redknapp it was to say that Harry had left him an answer phone message to congratulate him. It almost appeared to be apologetic, like Roy was a little embrassed to find out Harry was being passed by. The FA wouldn't pay the compensation for Redknapp, a likely scenario.

What's done is done. Shame the ambiguity and the flirting has given us an excuse (and masked the real issue at hand) to surrender so many points but we've struggled since the start of the year and with just three games remaining, all that's left is for us to win them all to give ourselves the chance of redemption. Even if it still hangs in the balance, dependent on results in others games and a certain cup final.

We've not won away since December. We've got two away games up next. The final game of the season is at home against a former manager. Hardly inspiring when our recent win was against a side that had no desire. Tonight against Bolton we face a team fighting to stay up and they'll be more than up for it with Fabrice present. We haven't won there in the Premier League either.

If you had a spare ten quid, you'd keep it in your pocket.

Still, believe. It's a boring existence if you don't.

Today is the 5th anniversary of Dear Mr Levy.com.

The regression of Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham - Part IV

The progression regression of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham - Part IV

Daniel Levy

Our chairman famously said that he did not expect Champions League every season. The reasoning was that the competitiveness of the league would see teams share qualification. I can't believe for a second he'll be happy to miss out this year. Not just because of the importance of the money generated from gaining a top four place but also because we've had it in our hands and dropped it and appear disinterested to pick it up again. New stadium and retaining our best players along with attracting new players can sometimes be reliant on qualifying for the CL. But then we've only been in it the once and I'm sure if we miss out we'll still end up signing new heroes to appease the faithful. The risk is losing out if another monopoly is created but (IMO) that is looking unlikely. Chelsea and Arsenal will improve next season - but so will we. It's whether we have it in us to best the both of them that remains to be seen.

We can't be doing with more cheap and cheerful makeshift stop gaps. We need that sexy world class striker we've been lusting after for years and we need to be balls deep in it. We have to show the same strength again when it comes to clubs sniffing around our players. Regardless of whether Bale is wanted by X team or not, the tabloids will no doubt kick up a storm to populate their pages over the summer (although the Euro's might distract them a little bit and give us a moments peace).

Bale won't be sold. Can't see Levy allowing it to happen this summer. Luka on the other hand? Refer to what I wrote earlier.

Centre-back, right-winger, midfielder, striker (or two). There are plenty of incoming signings we need. Get it done early. Which means get the new manager in early. If this drags across the summer, kicking and screaming, it won't make comfortable viewing. Every window we say the same thing, and we get nothing until the very end and then we end up with something which always seems to feel like a stretch. This isn't about asking for the moon on a stick. We've seen the consequence of squad depth (lack of) this season and the cost of it.

I just want to clarify again. Yes, we've rotated. Yes, on paper we do look strong and arguably far stronger than most. But we are set up to play one way and one way only and the rotation of certain players is not always the strongest of option available to us but the only option. And when key players are either missing or not rested, it eats away at the team in a detrimental fashion that the manager has failed to get his head round and fix.

Our first eleven? Brilliant. Take one player out, we start to struggle a little. If your argument is the players coming in are good enough then it comes back to structure, instructions and the gaffer. If the gaffer and the chairman don't see eye to eye on transfer targets, it's never going to end well.

As important as CL qualification is to grow stronger for a title push, we should still be able to compete for other competitions instead of deciding they don't matter. Even as a supporter of Spurs, I've done just that this season. I now look at Athletic Bilbao with green-eyed envy.

Everything has been an afterthought this season in comparison to the league and yet we've still managed to shag that up. If you don't agree and we do have depth then why do we look like extras in The Walking Dead?

 
Harry Redknapp

Our previous manager lost the dressing room. We had a strong squad of players but no team in the true sense of the word. No unity and belief. The players did not want to play for their manager. It had gone from stale to rotten. As for the present day? Shades of Ramos, then? How ironic that Harry has managed to birth the very same thing he saved us from.

What Redknapp has achieved should not be scoffed but we have to be honest and admit he doesn't seem to have the concentration/focus/knowledge/love to guide us shrewdly to the next level. The level we're at has seen him attain stability. That's a good thing. The next level is hardly a mountain climb away. Yet this mole hill looks it.

Levy might have you think that Redknapp was someone he had looked at before, in the past, but the reality is probably nearer to being an appointment of a trouble-shooter. A fixer. Someone to get the team away from the bottom three and playing to expectations (based on players at the club). Harry has always been that for some of us. A tad detached. There's Harry standing and next to him, Spurs...an abstract object (as someone elegantly wrote on Twitter recently) he will use to his advantage until a more shiny object presents itself.

He succeeded in not only attaining stability but also pushing us onwards and beyond what we expected from a manager that had never managed a club this big before. This made people sit up and think that Harry had been waiting for Spurs all his life, that finally he was proving what he can do if he has top tier quality in his possession. We shared humble pie. We still had reservations, we still disliked some of his characteristics and habits. All part of the Redknapp brand package - we knew what he was like, it was no surprise. The small print is in a large font when it comes to understanding what makes Harry Harry.

What we're left with looking back at the past and present day is a distortion. He's a good coach, a very decent manager but the lack of extra dimensions to his football planning has left him cruelly exposed. Again. Last season and this season has plenty of damning evidence. As for that gap? Choke.

It doesn't help that he disassociates himself often with the club and the fans. The fact he never makes any sense when he talks, contradicting and changing ambitions based on the last game. One moment we have depth and don't need any players, the next he bemoans lack of depth. He tells the media what he thinks the media want to hear. It's all very basic and obvious. When it's going well, he'll bask in it. When it isn't, he'll look to blame or scratch the head. Or praise the opponents.

In terms of transfers, he has done some good (on the cheap) but Levy is usually the one signing the bigger name players. Harry is for the short-term. It has worked (Parker, Friedel) but equally so it hasn't (lack of rotation).

The biggest mistake made, the one that has probably cost us dearly is the failure to draw a line under the England job. That's when he lost the dressing room. Forget about the 'In the Know' exclusives and whispers. Doesn't take a lot to have it figured out by witnessing the body language of both players and manager. The lack of deceive commitment has failed us. Had that not happened, say if Fabio was still in charge of the national team, even with his (HR) tactical failings he'd have probably got us that 3rd spot or at the very least made 4th comfortable. But he switched off because he losses concentration and can't stay away from all the lavish attention the press send his way. Even now he isn't being criticised to the extent any other manager would be having thrown so much away so easily.

Top 4 was the objective at the start of the season even though many didn't expect or fancy us to achieve that (what with the manner of last season's poor run of form towards the end). But thanks to the quality of other clubs dropping significantly its now looking a wasted campaign.

Not sure what he'll be able to offer England. So many of the reprehensible players that make watching England grating are the very same ones he never stops talking about. The tabloids will continue to love him though. That's probably what matters most to him/them.

Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham? This will never be Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham. He might have the statistics to back him up but he has lacked the grace and measure. Yet he's still the best coach we've had for a long time. Although the true testament to this is the standard the next manager is able to attain with (more or less) the same squad plus new additions. Managing might be easier than it's being made to look. Or not, we'll soon find out.

There were moments though when you just thought, maybe, just maybe. Then he tells us, "I don't remember people like Martin Peters getting rotated, and they played in ankle-deep mud in those days", which is admittance that fatigue is not something he concerns himself with in modern day football because back in the day nobody suffered from it. I guess that means what? It's down to tactics? Anyone in the press want to ask him? Walter Mitty, anyone?

He's hardly endeared himself to the fans (you might have noticed). Although during the court case and just after it we sang for him. He applauded us and his words were heartfelt in appreciation for the support shown by the fans and the club. But then that was ruined from within with special thanks to the FA and John Terry. A job that he might not even be offered now thanks to the distraction it's had on his current one. Unless of course he knows he's got it. Which would explain things equally well.

Everyone should be grateful for that stability, he proved many wrong. But we need someone younger and modern and committed. Someone for the long term. Someone that wants to be part of the club beyond a cheap soundbite. The players appear mystified and confused. Redknapp has exhausted his chest of ideas, flat out. There's nothing to grab hold of.

If Harry isn't into us anymore, then best we get on the phone to the FA, agree compensation and let him go. In fact, I don't even care if the FA pass him by for the job. He hasn't stopped to consider us, so why not honour him with the same gratitude?

More importantly, we need unity in the stands.

The sentiment in '...and we of Spurs have set our sights very high, so high in fact that even failure will have in it an echo of glory' is being ignored.

The need for success, it can be ugly and discomforting, removing the enjoyment and love for the football itself. Turning fans bitter and twisting perceptions, pulling us further away from what it should truly be all about.

Above all else, we are Tottenham. Get behind the team, sing your hearts out and support them with everything you've got. This emotive stuff, it actually works wonders.

Love the shirt.

The regression of Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham - Part III

The progression regression of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham - Part III

Ledley King

Long live the King. There was always going to be a time when not training like an ordinary footballer would finally catch up with him. Ledley is no ordinary footballer. If he had more than the one knee, he'd be beyond the extraordinary player that he is. He's proven us wrong before. He might well do again but I'm hoping the player finally puts his own well being ahead of the shirt he wears and considers his future beyond football. A walk in the park is what Ledley has made it look countless times down the years but he doesn't want to rob himself of being able to do the same thing post-retirement. Offer him a coaching role, keep him at Tottenham.

We are so reliant on King that this has stopped us from truly moving on with building a solid foundation for the future at the back. We cannot wait for his cameo appearances and accept other players to simply adapt accordingly. Yes, he brings composure, maturity and leadership to the back four but then when he's injured/resting someone else has to slot in again. This can breed uncertainty. Caulker might be the future, we won't know until next season. We have Dawson and Kaboul. That's three. Is that enough? Probably not. We need another. King at the moment is showing signs of jadedness, as you'd expect he won't be up to the fitness of others what with the lack of training finally catching up with him. For so long this all sat comfortably in his back pocket along with several top Premier league forwards. He has to now consider putting Spurs ahead of himself. We need to consider that too.

For the past five years, every summer we except King to announce his retirement. He may still refuse to give in. I hope he doesn't take any of it lightly and does what he believes is best for himself and Spurs. Whatever he decides, his legacy will remain untouchable.

Luka Modric

If Levy knows the state of mind player and agent, and it's not good, he should make the decision the moment the season ends as I don't want yet another cryfest Daily Mail induced melting pot of petulance from Modric and Sky Sports.

If Levy does not want to sell him, then do the same as last summer and let everyone know this. If Levy does not want to sell him but believes player and agent will do their utmost to rock the boat, just get rid. It's not worth the instability. It might yet depend on the next manager in to influence whether Modric finally gets to write up his transfer request. We'll have to wait and see. But considering the media hell mouth that is about to rain down on us, we have to make sure we display the same strength and control.

Modric is another player suffering from a dip in form/burn out. He's a brilliant footballer. He provides the bullet to our gun. He's the heartbeat of our side. But we can't spend too much time scared and concerned about the possibility of him leaving. If he does, he's gone and that's that. We've lost better players in the past. You move on. He may appear to be indispensable, but the next playmaker/midfielder will offer us another dimension. Something new, something different. The negative impact is the possibility of making one of our rivals stronger.

 

Gareth Bale

Bale ties in perfectly (not so) with Harry’s flawed tactics and management. I’ve discussed this before. Remember Bale is only a kid and he’s one that went through a ridiculous amount of upheaval with injury and bad luck and was almost sent out on loan before catching his lucky break and then going from left-back to left-wing. No development or skilled managerial acumen here. Sheer luck found him back in the first team. It was lucky that we caught the kids rise to prominence before he disappeared into possible obscurity (or fame elsewhere). Confidence and self-belief has driven him forward. Do not under estimate what this can do for a player. He blossomed from a delicate flower into a rampaging monster.

Has he been consumed by ego and hype? Let’s think of this way. The more he plays the better he gets the more he learns to adapt. His development is key. The manager selects him and gives him instructions. You can see where this is going, right? When Bale destroyed Inter and surprised Europe in the Champions League he got doubled up on the league. He’s still found a way through and improved but the emphasis has shifted from left flank to roaming and what our manager is failing to grasp is the simplicity of discipline. Also, with Bale voicing the fact that he needs to be able to roam, the manager has influence over him. Which is something you would expect. But if the managers advice is not on key?

He should be an outlet on the left flank as a marauding winger. There are times when cutting in or running through the middle (or swapping wings) works and then there are times when spending most of the game doing so doesn’t. There is no control here. Bale has to believe he can be the best but this isn’t about believing the hype and having an ego. I’m certain he doesn’t go out there and think it’s all about him. That’s an easy punch to throw.

What we’ve seen is a drop in confidence because of the lack of impact when roaming which has made him lose composure and when you think too much the edge you get from instinctive play is lost. You end up attempting to do it all yourself because you're so self-conscious that you're not influencing the game.

It's all part of the learning curve.
 
Bale has phenomenal potential. Can’t see Levy letting him go this summer, so its best you support and defend the lad rather than allow the weight of expectation on your own shoulders weigh him down as long as he desires to wear our shirt*.

This could be evidence enough that Redknapp can't man manage a particular quality of player.

* Update: Bale on Football Focus today (Saturday 28th) saying he would review his position if we fail to qualify for the CL, the suggestion being he would consider leaving. Does the Spurs PR department have no control over player interviews? Is this the right thing to be speaking about at this point in the season considering the mess the manager and players have made of it on the pitch? What's best for yourself Gareth is to shut the **** up and play football for the club and fans you represent. Modern football is a self-preservation society for most where responsibility is an easily detachable commodity. Transfer request at the ready then. Get rid of them all and just pluck eleven fans from the stands.

Where's the heart sign now, Gareth? Too busy mugging me off.

 

The Rest

A quick run-down of the rest of our players.

Friedel - Quality. Has been one of most consistent performers. Short term. We need to resolve the issues of Gomes and the long term.

Kaboul - When confident in a confident defence, he's superb. Has shown great resolve this season.

Gallas - Thank you but time to move on.

Dawson - Might turn slower than a brick, but he's got the wallops about him as a defender. Brave and at times, alongside King, has looked composed. Can be left looking anything but at times. Injury hasn't allowed him to push on and prove people wrong/right.

Walker - Deserves his Young Player of the Year award. Development, from a defensive standpoint (positioning) should be the priority of the next coach. Not surprised he is making mistakes at this late stage. Hasn't stopped running. It's key that we have cover next season and actually use that cover effectively rather than ignore it and then send it out to Germany on loan.

Assou-Ekotto - Same with Benny. Hasn't stopped running. Re: cover, as above.

Nelsen - Stop gap. Can hardly criticise him. He is what he is. All our Jan signings were stop gaps.

Khumalo - Signed for the South African market? Makes a mockery of our transfer strategy. I'm sure the lad is a good bloke, seems honest and hard working but what role exactly was he signed for at Spurs? If he was any good he's have gone to a Prem side. He's struggled on loan.

Huddlestone - We've missed the options he can give us to aid with unlocking defences in those tight tight games. Apparently Redknapp wanted to send him to the MLS. Has he not been out injured all season?

Lennon - Liking the treatment room far too often. When he's at full fitness he can be one of our best players, running at the opposition. Also tracks back. We just need to give him help out on the right wing as he can't be the only out and out winger on that side in our squad. Pienaar was hardly like for like and not much liked by manager.

Parker - Tremendous signing. Gave Modric the freedom to recycle the ball to his heart's content. Burnt out.

van der Vaart - Fitness still an issue. Non-effective anywhere but behind the forward or in a three-man midfield ahead of the defensive players in the middle. A true professional who can and has galvanised our play on so many occasions. We need others to match his desire to be a winner.

Kranjcar - Not utilised to his strengths. Cruelly exposed when asked to play in the middle of the park.

Rose - Not enough games, we should continue to give him a chance. Might not be spectacular in any given way, but then how can you possibly ever follow-up on that volley?

Livermore - Determined. It's good to have someone promoted from the youth ranks into the first team and he's showing signs of making more of a career at Spurs than O'Hara managed. His future is probably dependent on the next manager.

Sandro - Not that much game time this season due to injury so not selected often enough and has looked out of sorts when he has. Might blossom in the middle as a direct replacement for Parker. That's if he sticks around and doesn't join Madrid/Barca/Milan. Has the tools, love his personality.

Adebayor - A forward that can play as part of a footballing side. If he scored more we'd be set. When he doesn't play, it shows up how one dimensional we are.

Saha - Short term cover. For the sake of a handful of game time.

Giovani - A mistake that the club just won't admit to and thus here he is, still at Spurs, priced out of moves away.

Defoe - Will never be first choice. Impact player.

Pienaar - Why did we sign him? Why did we let him go out on loan? According to Bill Kenwright in the back of a black cab, he's never coming back.

Bassong, Bentley - To be gone.

 

continued...

The regression of Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham - Part II

The progression regression of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham - Part II

Momentum and Mental Strength...dressing room lost?

Our form, aside from the opening two games of the season, was sensational. Here was a Spurs side winning consistently home and away and if we came unstuck (Stoke away) we bounced back. It's all very muddled currently. It’s a combination of ineptness and a devastating disappearance of belief.

The court case will have distracted everyone at the club. It would have taken a lot out of the manager and regardless of what the players have said in the past, its birthed uncertainty. Our form began to display signs of degradation around the same time. We kept winning games but the victories were not always convincing, although it’s always good to claim a win when you’re not playing well because that’s the sign of champions. Enter another variable. The media. Everyone was appreciative of Spurs. The pundits, other managers and even opposing fans. It’s how it works. Much like Harry Redknapp, everyone is reactive to what is happening at the time, so naturally everyone rated Spurs and talked us up.

I have no idea what Harry is like in the dressing room and whether enough was done to keep us grounded. Equally so, not sure Parker is one for the rousing speeches at Spurs. Easier done at a club like West Ham where he was infinitely better than the quality of players surrounding him. We have no Roy Keane type figure. King is a leader by virtue of his football (and his football has not been great this season). Did we start to believe in the hype? If so, surely the experienced players in our squad took responsibility? From the looks of it they either they haven’t or it was beyond their influence.

The City game destroyed us. An inch away from winning it and in the blink of an eye we lost it. There’s no doubt there is a lot to be said for experience (take a look at United and Ferguson). But we reverted back to the fragile Spurs of old when as opposed to the past when we didn’t have the players to back it up, we do this time and yet somehow we’ve still managed to p*ss it all away.

To compound things further, Harry’s tactics started to have a clear detrimental effect - as witnessed at the Emirates. Our first major run of form that was underwhelming saw us play okay in some of the games, but we were powder-puff up front and lethargic at the back. We lacked that much needed leadership at the first sign of trouble. There was no team reaction. With every game we waited in anticipation of there being a battle cry, a want and desire to reclaim some pride. But it hasn’t been forthcoming. The semi-final was the concluding cluster of catastrophe which has summed up the second part of the season with the QPR game an encore of hurt.

D Wolves 1-1 - Dropped points
L Man City 3-2 - Toe to toe, could have been 3-2 to us, wasn't, footballing Gods say 'no'
W Wigan 3-1 - A response
D Liverpool 0-0 - A stutter
L Arsenal 5-2 - A capitulation aided by naivety and a distinct lack of belief
L Man Utd 3-1 - Mugged by a patient experienced side that knew just how to pick us off on the break
L Everton 1-0 - Woeful first half followed by a clueless second which entailed just 'attacking' them with no game plan
D Stoke 1-1 - Dropped points
D Chelsea 0-0 - Congested the midfield then took a stranglehold of the game. Should have won. Since then we've gone to pieces, they've got two Cup finals
W Swansea 3-1 - An anomaly that had us believing again
D Sunderland 0-0 - Could not break down a team that just sat back and defended
L Norwich 2-1 - Pathetic display
L QPR 1-0 - Equally gutless, shapeless

DLWDLLLDDWDLL

Add to it the Chelsea 5-1 for good (bad) measure.

The drop in form crept into our game prior to the City game but that match at the Eastlands felt like a boxer coming off the floor from a technical knock-out to then win the remaining rounds only to lose the fight thanks to a late flurry of punches giving them a split decision. It was demoralising. If that game robbed us of our belief and that the Gods were against us, we deserved nothing from a game that meant everything when it come to visiting Arsenal. Here we witnessed a strange selection and an absolute joke of a choke. Unlike anything we’ve seen recently in league meetings against them. It was an unequivocal surrender. Tactically shambolic. Players switched off too.

We were ‘okay’ against Utd. This found myself (and one or two of you) thinking we simply had to find a moment in a game to rejuvenate ourselves. Confidence comes from winning but if you feel hard done by and you come through it against the odds it can inspire that spirit and fight once more and with it will return momentum. Except, with each passing game it never happened. Aside from the Swansea win where Harry actually showed some astuteness and away to Chelsea in the league the rest have been near diabolical. Nothing has changed sufficiently enough to warrant that all it will take is such a moment.

We look like a side that has lost sight of the grand prize and have given up. There hasn’t been enough coaching or hands on management to aid with navigating the players through this. And the players, for them to react in this way by not reacting. It has the touch of the Ramos about it. Now that’s irony we could do without. Has the dressing room been lost? Yes. Lack of decisiveness and commitment from the manager whilst he flirted with all concerned regarding the England job has impacted team morale and has deflected Harry’s thoughts away from Spurs to the FA headquarters. He hasn’t given us his full intention, so why would his players do the same? A teacher that sits at the front of the classroom, playing guitar and singing a sonnet to himself is hardly to going to capture the attention of his students who are too busy throwing conkers out the window.

The players haven’t exactly covered themselves with glory either but as witnessed under Ramos, good players can turn to bad players because of lack discipline and focus and belief in the man in charge.

Whatever happens on the training pitch isn’t good enough either. Forget set pieces and corners. This has been a problem for years (next man in can fix it - ha!). The lack of planning and preparation for each opponent seems to be non-existent. i.e. Let them cope with us. If they cope with us, break them down. If we can’t break them down, make sure you mention it in the post-match interview that we couldn’t break them down.

Who knows what might have happened had John Terry not allegedly said what he said to Anton Ferdinand. He should have gone. Instead Fabio did and the rest (Harry for England) fell into and then out of place (Spurs).

Fact is Harry Redknapp has already left Spurs. He left the moment the England job became available. The issue is not that the job has distracted Harry, it's the fact that Harry has allowed it to. Not sure what has been said by Levy on this matter in-house, but it would have been good for the club and the manager to have released a statement immediately off the back of the rumours to draw a line under it. They didn't. Harry whored himself as Harry does. It's impacted us but it's not the only reason. It does however illustrate the undying loyalty he has to himself.

Regardless of the 'outside of Spurs distractions', they mask the real problem. Harry hasn’t got the edge and he bottled it. We’ve got a manager who can control his own destiny when it’s going well but is limp when adapting to the occasion of elevated expectation and fixing problems of his own creation. Players, teams...they need instructions. They simply can’t completely rely on running around and kicking the ball forwards. As good as we can be when it flows, we’re not exactly reinventing push and run.

continued...

The regression of Harry Redknapp’s Tottenham - Part I

The progression regression of Harry Redknapp's Tottenham - Part I

I'm working towards something. It's fairly drastic but considering I've managed to contradict myself with a number of footballing beliefs I can only find redemption by first cleansing myself of this season's dramatics. This means I have to get it all out of my system.

It would be easy to give a knowing nod of approval towards hindsight and then dissect Redknapp’s tenure in relation to the 2012 season and our mental and physical collapse. Except most of the subject matter I’m about to discuss has been discussed before and many of us have/had given the manager the benefit of the doubt on numerous occasions.

He has built Spurs up to be a competitive team. There has always been fragmentation of opinion regarding his transfer dealings and his tactical prowess and in addition his working relationship with Daniel Levy. We’ve tolerated his sound-biting and the manner in which he displays loyalty to himself above all other things. Most take it for granted that anything he says publicly for the camera or mic is reactive to whatever is going on at that precise moment, suiting his own agenda to protect himself and whatever predicament we happen to find ourselves in. Except it's hardly ever 'we'. It's mostly 'them'.

The media adore him, a comforting extra shield of protection he wears like a badge of honour. Never heavily criticised, unlike some of his counterparts at other clubs. This isn’t to say that he should not take credit for what he’s done. He’s taken plenty of that already. Also, he deserved the right to give it a go at Spurs post-Champions League season. He’s failed. Even if by some miracle we suddenly start playing like a team and other results go in our favour and we qualify in 4th spot (which might not happen thanks to Chelsea), he’s still failed. I’ll explain the reasons why I feel this to be the case. I will also work my way through one or two other talking points.

I guess I should add a caveat here that I'm not setting out to knee-jerk or promote propaganda against Redknapp just because things have turned sour. There's a popular misconception that we're fickle and don't complain when things are going in our favour. That's partly true in some instances (don't change a winning formula for example, was one way of us attempting to deal with the lack of genuine consolidation in the transfer windows) but in most cases we've always admitted to weaknesses and shown concern in some of the decision making. Even when winning.

It's lengthy. So I've broken it up into four blogs. Read at your own leisure.



Transfer Windows

We are never going to know exactly what happens behind the scenes. Sorry to break the hearts of the ITK community but aside from leaked info from football agents its tricky to guess with any certainty what the dynamics are between chairman and manager when it comes to scouting and signing players. If we go by what Redknapp has said in the press (take the Scott Parker saga as an example) you could wager that the chairman wasn’t too keen on signing an ‘aging’ midfielder. With no technical director of football I imagine that Levy keeps an eye out for players that fit into the mantra of who we should be signing (ideally top class 20 - 26 year olds players for example that can provide longevity and that infamous sell-on potential to keep the accounts happy). Levy signed Rafa van der Vaart as a consequence of talking to Madrid in the past. We were given the chance when the Dutchman’s move back to Germany fell through. Opportunistic. A case of manager agreeing to it because the player is ‘top class’ and cheap and the window was about to close.

Did we need Rafa at the time? Maybe, maybe not. You can't say no to such a gift of a transfer and you therefore find a way to accommodate him. That’s what we had to do. For £8M we made it work (although his fitness has always been subject to a variety of question marks). Rafa has a winners mentality and we should have no regrets. But during that window, it was a forward we wanted more than anything. So in truth, we signed someone without having a strategy.

We’ve wanted a genuine forward to lead the line since the Berbatov/Keane partnership disintegrated. Seems to be the most difficult of tasks to accomplish, as with every passing window we shrug despondently at yet more tentative links that turn out to be nothing more than rumours and clubs using the media to leverage price tags or look strong in rejecting.

We’re stuck with a loan player, an old player and a player that’s in and out of the side.

In January we wanted/needed consolidation. Either the money isn’t there or it is but Levy doesn’t want to commit to spending masses of it because of the uncertainty of Redknapp’s future (even back in the new year this was a reason discussed). The money might well be available but chairman and manager are not on the same page if you go by consensus. Harry has turned his nose up at suggested Levy signings and vice versa.

I get the distinct feeling that most of the big name European and South American players we are linked with and supposedly interested to sign are ones that our scouting system target and report back to Levy who then presents to Harry. Harry has his own list of players he targets via expertly not tapping them up via the media.

Fact is, Redknapp thinks in the short term. Literally, from one season to the next. As witnessed by the players he has signed. Some of which have worked. The rest (the ones that arrived in Jan) appeared to be nothing more than cheap cover for the players we allowed to leave. Players that had to leave because they were simply not in the managers plans. Discarded.

To be fair he has got the 'money ball' touch about him. But we should not always be so reliant on cheap options. We've failed in the past when spending big but that doesn't mean we should not be brave enough to speculate in the present.

Our transfer strategy is lopsided.

It's a cluster of crazy if you take the words of Bill Kenwright (Everton chairman) to heart. He spoke to my brother-in-law (cab driver in London) this past week and stated the following about the Steven Pienaar transfer:

- Pienaar was desperate to join Spurs and only Spurs
- Kenwright offered him an increase in wages/new contract, the player rejected any further talks
- Signs for Spurs
- Within 6-8 weeks is back on the phone to Everton saying he hates it at Spurs, he's made a mistake and wants to rejoin Everton. Begs to be signed back asap
- Everton sign him back on loan
- Pienaar will never return to Spurs

Bill appeared to be genuine when discussing this and not that bothered with sharing Pienaar and Everton's experience. Equally interesting and damaging is the alleged comment he made concerning Levy and Redknapp. Pienaar was signed by Levy without Redknapp's knowledge or approval. Crux being that Harry didn't want him or even know he was about to be made a Spurs player.

The worst thing about all this? It's quite believable.

 

The Squad

This brings me onto the actual squad. We are so finely tuned a side that a single players injury can cause imbalance. We have a wealth of talent, audacious and vibrant and for most of the season hungry and determined. But there are some fundamental flaws in the squad. Again, nothing we don't know but concerns that were very easy to box up and place under the bed and ignore when we we’re jumping up and down on said bed having fun. Now the springs are broken we find ourselves on the cold hard floor without a clue what to do for entertainment.

Pound for pound we have a fantastic first team. Let’s not pretend otherwise. But our squad falters to deceive because it's not been handled with care. We’ve been unfortunate with one or two injuries but this happens to everyone and has happened to us every season for as long as I can remember. It’s no excuse. It does link in with our transfer strategy because say for example, in Lennon’s absence we had no natural cover for the right-wing. Playing Rafa or Bale there is not the answer. Playing either in that position is a solution to a problem created from within. Almost feels like we didn’t think about every position pragmatically and decide where our weakness might hurt us during the course of the season.

We've let players go out on loan which would have been better suited to rotation. Some of our first teamers play if their fit to play rather than being rested periodically to allow for a more sustained challenge across the season and avoid fatigue/burn out.

We have problems in key areas because of the risk that comes with the (successful) system we play and that lack of rotation early on has cost us. I guess you’ll argue why tinker when we’re winning games? Why should players struggle with fatigue in the latter stages of the season when we’ve shown disdain towards the League Cup, pretty much the same towards the Europa League and mis-mashed sides in the FA Cup? Well they do and they have.

You know how you've probably thought 'play the strongest line-up' a few times this season? Works when you show intelligence with selections rather than being completely reliant on certain players and combinations. Harry has rotated players but this is about rotating key players, something he's failed to do.

Parker has old legs. A brilliant signing, one that proved the Harry doubters wrong and equally the ones that did not trust Parker was up for the job (i.e. me). But when there was opportunity to perhaps rest him Harry didn’t. Sandro was injured, Livermore did came into the fold and Huddlestone won’t be back until next season. So with all the graft Parker provides if he’s out of sorts we are instantly weakened in the middle. Playing Niko there has proven to be suicidal. The same principle applies with Lennon on the right as mentioned. There is no genuine depth. And if there isn't you need a workable plan B which we don't appear to have. This in-turn affects tactics and fluidity which ends up with us constantly banging on the door and trying to kick it in rather than simply take the key out of our back pocket.

Up front we signed Adebayor (another Levy signing). A footballer in the true sense of the word that fits into our style of play. He can work the channels and link up. Sadly, he’s not a clinical finisher. If he doesn’t play we revert to two up front and all shape is lost and the midfield surrendered. We are smooth when it works, stutter when important elements are missing.

Our defence has a variety of question marks, prominently the centre-back positions. We need rebuilding here for the future. We were keen on Cahill so the Levy/Redknapp are more than aware of the issues at play here. We ended up with Nelsen. That sums it all up. King and Gallas look spent. Dawson’s injury hasn’t helped. Kaboul has shown promise but needs to play as part of a settled pairing. Caulker will no doubt be part of the squad next season having shown he can cope with the Prem at Swansea. Although we (club and fans) should not weigh him down with expectation. Which is why it's key to sign a new centre-back to give us complete strength and faith at the back.

The squad is light because of the way certain players have been dismissed and others ran into the ground. Our fringe players moved on. We've got no reserves, so our younger players are loaned out. The simple philosophy embraced by Redknapp is not a forward thinking ethos for success.

When things are going well you naturally build on the confidence and rhythm attained with each passing game. When you suffer injuries your resolve is tested. We’ve come through several tests during the first part of the season. So why has it gone so horribly wrong?

 

Tactics and Formation

Not really sure Redknapp believes he knows what our best line-up and formation is. He has enough about him to take a talented squad and make them play for each other. Back to basics, players in their best positions. Well, for the most part players in their best positions. He seems far removed from this particular trait currently. There is a naivety that sees him struggle with retaining shape. There are times when he has delivered (recently against Swansea). And his record at Spurs is a very strong one (in terms of win %). But he has limitations. Whether this is heavily influenced by outside story arcs or not, on the pitch we have failed when it was so easy to succeed (taking into account our pre-new year form).

The persistence with 442. Accommodating players when perhaps they are better dropped to the bench for the sake of team fluidity. Making decisions based on basic logic rather than tactical engineering (i.e. we can't break opposition down, so change to 2 up front). And so on.

Harry has no patience. He can’t wrap his head around the long game. It’s always a sprint, never a marathon. Everton away is a perfect illustration of ‘just go out and attack them, a goal will come’ team talks. No guile or intelligent game plan to break them down. Just keep on plugging away and it might just happen. The more it doesn't happen the more difficult it becomes to shake off the rust and morale will consequently drop.

There’s no doubting that we’ve played some of the best football in the league this season. When it works, it works. It’s easy to send out a confident team and just get them to keep working the way they’ve been working. Not much in this football lark he’d have you believe. Players need formation as much as formation needs players. When we don't play well, it's not because we're so miserable and calamitous in our performance (okay, maybe once or twice this season) but because we are not functioning correctly. You can almost see where it's going wrong, endlessly, without ever reaching a satisfying conclusion.

On paper and in practice we have been majestic at times. Then the same set of players look like headless chickens in a chaotic den of madness. I guess when Rafa said we never discuss tactics he was telling the truth.

One up front, three men behind the striker with Bale on the left and Rafa as the most forward midfielder. It works. It did work. Parker was a revelation protecting Modric and allowing the pixie playmaker to dictate possession. When it does work its magic. When it doesn’t nobody can find the wand.

The fundamentals are all wrong. There's no balance. There is stagnated application and misfiring effort. The midfield is isolated and without influence. The most forward players are detached from the rest of the team so we're left with few options when attacking. It always looks desperate rather than calculated. Adebayor ghosts to the already over-populated flanks where he finds our over lapping fullbacks running into space (have they actually stopped running this season?) and leaving plenty of available space behind them for the opposition to run into.

We've gone from the side asking all the questions to one struggling to answer them. It's comfortable for teams to have a go at us. We're making it easy for them. The manager is struggling to mix it up and refresh the team to bring back that lost belief. Obviously, there's always room for desire to impact the side, but even that appears to be AWOL.

 
continued...

Harry. Spurs. Knee-jerk here.

The catalyst  for this seasons epic blip is not the moment Fabio lost/quit his job as England manager. It's the moment our manager refused to draw a line under it. Redknapp should have come straight out and stated "I'm not interested in anything other than Spurs. Don't ask me about it, please respect Tottenham and the job I'm being paid to do". Even if he is interested in it, that's what the summer is for. No such luck. Did anyone expect it to pan out any differently?

Instead he whored himself like he always does. Focus is lost. Respect is lost. Court case probably rattled him a fair bit too. It's been discussed before, we all know this. It masks other issues at play relating to lack of decisiveness with selections. Actually no it doesn't, we can see them as well. It's all rather blatant and obvious. There's also the fragile mindset of our players that saw them so easily effected by it. Collectively, motivation is easy if everyone is on form, its more tricky if only a select amount of players give a s**t all season long. Lack of rotation, strange line-ups and a hefty sack of inconsistent soundbites...whatever happened to back to basics?

I don't know, perhaps it's too soon after the game to discuss all this. Usually when things are going well we all lap it up (fans and manager alike) and when things are not going well we react accordingly and criticise. Which is well within our rights to do so (as long as we attempt to retain some level of balance). Most of us don't, which more or less matches up to the way Harry handles it. Ironic that we are as fickle and reactionary to what is going on at the time and what best suits us - much like our much maligned manager. But then that's what we are meant to do. We want the best for our club, within the constraints of what we possess. Although every person will have a varying perception to the next person.

We're underachieving. That's my perception. In the past when we claimed we were underachieving it was misguided because the reality was we did not have the team to truly compete. We do now (be it one for the short term not the long term) and we're half way to ballsing it up. We can't have one of the best sides pound for pound in the country one minute and then claim we're over-rated the next. We're good enough. We are desperately letting ourselves down. That's more than perception (IMO), it's just another harsh reality.

There's nothing wrong in recognising the lack of leadership. The formation, selection and tactics against Arsenal, Man Utd, Everton and Norwich (Chelsea in the cup included) during this blip are pretty damning. Distinct lack of mental and positional preparation.

We've also muddled through all three cup competitions (Carling cup and Europe hardly bothered at all) with the league always the priority and yet somehow we've managed to surrender momentum in the only competition we've taken seriously.

The players are equally accountable. Far too many have switched off. Still it's better to be competing (and throwing it away) than it is to be sat dead in mid-table, right? Right? Someone? Anyone?

Five games left to make this article look stupid.

Latest Redknapp quotes

"Let's be honest, without me they'd be playing Championship football"

"It's going to be swansong for Luka. Chelsea will sign him, he's got to go there"

"If we win the cup its because I won it not because Spurs won it"

"I'm going to play Bale at centre-back, he's a natural, he can play anywhere and it's his best position"

"If you delve into history, I invented football in China just after I cracked time travel"