Cheeky bid for Gary Neville?

Been discussing attitude recently on this blog. My favourite statement at the moment is "No siege mentality, no determination to right the wrongs..." - a testament to the difference between us and the likes of Man Utd and one or two other clubs up there at the top. Carrick, when he left us for Old Trafford, was critical of the acceptance attitude at WHL. Players accepted defeat, it was something that didn't appear to hurt players enough. Harry has been citing Gary Neville's reaction on the sidelines during the City game as an example of togetherness. Players on the bench that kick every ball and celebrate every goal.

It's a constant wanting to play every game and win. Defeat is inexcusable. Carrick also famously cited how players sat in a comfort zone, with some not wanting to show up others and there was almost a culture of under-achievement on an individual basis, which obviously works its way through the team - so the overall mentality is one of mediocrity. This is all very much a generalisation, but I'm not alone in thinking we've been powder-puff for far too long, without leadership and guile. Far too many ego's. A stepping stone, an arena, where you prove you are decent enough to look upwards at a CL club to swoop in and poach.

Harry has began the process of change. Team spirit has evidently improved, be it on the pitch or on the bench. One or two sulky faces still persist, and I guess it's here that we lag a good light year behind the likes of United. But to achieve something akin to what Fergie has done at United is not exactly a peace of piss. We still have players who think as individuals rather than part of the collective of the squad. The more you win, the more unacceptable defeat becomes.

I love 'arry because he talks straight. No nonsense. Ok, so he talks a lot and has an opinion about everything, but what he does well is see what we see, rather than shrug and state that he's been left scratching his head.

How do we exactly go about building this mentality? How do Spurs players become Spurs fans? Easier said than done. Fergie's empire began in a different era of football. The fact that the Top 4 site in their thrones means that there is always another level for the modern player to aim for when he plays for the likes of Spurs, Villa, Everton etc.

I guess its partly up to us to support the team vocally - as ever - and Harry to gradually change the mind-set of the players. Losing has to hurt more than anything. Not that it doesn't (for us), but the players have to feel sick to see points lost.

Signing players like Wilson Palacios is how we work towards it. Players who work at a tempo that inspires others around him to match his tenacity. When we see the first example of a siege mentality then we can begin to smile a little more and the players - having experienced the very fact they can lift their game to a higher level - will know that if they can do it in one game, there is no excuse to fail in the next. We need a couple of giant personalities in the side that have an unnerving warrior stance out on the field, barking out orders to players, encouraging them and giving them what for if any heads drop down. It's the type of confidence that flirts with arrogance.

Every opponent should be treated the same. No discrimination. Go out there and pull the fuckers apart.

Vieira? Again? Harry is scaring me

Read this first. Ok, so let's summarise:

• We are "short" in midfield
• Lack of options are "scary"
• Three CM's are not enough
• O'Hara likely to return on Jan
• Interest in Patrick Vieira was "genuine"

I can't decide which one scares me the most. I'd say the continued and persistent obsession with Vieira is slightly ahead from the apparent realisation that we are lacking an additional CM. Considering we sold 2, sent 1 on loan and flirted for the entire summer with several targets, you'd think stating the obvious would simply illustrate our failure. Unless this is textbook Harry using ever so subtle kidology to get the best out of the bunch he has.

Reality is we do not need another CM. I know most are expecting Sandro in the new year. New breed Brazilian. Rather than run-down no bite Frenchman. Am I missing something with Vieira? If Harry does rate him and does think he can do a job, then that makes a lot of people - a lot of Spurs fans wrong. He looks spent for Inter and hardly ever plays. And when we all thought this horrific rumour had died a death, Harry goes and mentions his name not long after the former goon is saying how he thinks he can work well with Redknapp. How many days till the window opens? Don't answer that.

As for the rest of Harry's comments about being scared and lacking options...I don't think we need to fret much. It's a small compact unit, sure, we might be shagged if someone like Wilson gets injured but we spent the whole of the summer discussing this and hoping for an understudy to be signed, so lining up excuses doesn't interest me.

Between now and Jan, Hudd and Jenas can go about proving to Harry and us they can do a job - a proper one. And the CM we do look to sign in the new year is one that finally lays this sodding conundrum to rest for good.

Will Spurs 'mix it up' with the Top 4 next season?

Nice little article by Fox Sports with Harry Redknapp. Read it in it's entirety here. My commentry below relates to the sound-bites/quotes Harry made during the interview about the work required pre-season with signing new players and  the aim to push forward with some intent cometh next season.

"We'll be needing a few new faces around here, that's for sure"

"I know the spine of my team, the players I build it around every week, but I also know that there are several places I need to strengthen in, if I'm going to get this team challenging for proper honours"

Indeed. Centre-back, left-winger, central midfielder and a forward. And possibly another midfielder to cover Palacios. It's actually tricky to know who we plan to bring in as we don't quite know who will be sold.

Centre-back - We've got King, Woodgate and Dawson. We need another young quality defender as a long term Ledley replacement. I'm not keen on Corluka playing anywhere other than right-back.

Left-winger - We haven't had one of these for a while now. Again, it's dependent on whether Modric is set to remain out on the left and drift in. If he takes a role alongside Palacios then the money spent on a left-winger will have to be more substantial. Otherwise, a young up-and-coming player who is ok with a little bench warming might be the way to go.

Central-midfielder - Huddlestone and Zokora may well be on their way. The latter almost certain to go. If Hudd remains does he do so as cover for Wilson or cover for the position alongside him? Jenas played well with Palacios so he may well retain that role but the never-ending argument is that he is simply not consistent enough or bullish enough to be first choice. Which means we need someone with balls as big as our Honduran Panther with possibly a little more creative flair. Gareth Barryesque would do. Everton's Arteta is currently being linked, although something tells me this is agent talk so the player gets a nice new contract at Goodison Park. Unless they're skint, I can't see why they would want to sell. Whatever happens, this is the key to our success next season. We need a proper central midfield pairing, one that might not match Utd's or Liverpool's intensity over 38 games, but it's got to be able to compete comfortably with City, Everton and Villa.

Forward - Once we know where Bent and Pav's future lies then we'll know what type of player needs to be signed. JD and Keane will need a big strong more direct type of forward (but not the over-rated Jones or Cisse) or possibly a player of Berbatov's ilk. No pressure then. We also need to promote an academy player as a 4th choice option. This is the one key area that has me slightly concerned. We can not afford to make a mistake here. Not after the circus of last summers red-face disaster.

Stating the obvious with the above, and obvious is head-ache inducing.

As well as the team has progressed under Harry we still left lacking in certain positions. Simply put we are decent with what we have but only 6th place decent at the very best. Football is no longer a fair stage and competing with the Top 4 is becoming increasingly difficult thanks to the stepping-stone factor that we have experienced since Carrick left us for Utd. Signing players of that type of (potential) quality seems to be redundant if the team doesn't achieve instant success with them in it. There is no patience from the players. And too right some may argue because they know they can compete at the highest domestic level. The irony here is that how can we ever push on if they don't try to compete for that level with us? Constant re-building means that we are never out of transition.

So Harry and Levy have to be spot on with their signings. Otherwise, if we do falter again, then the likes of Modric and Palacios will start looking elsewhere for the silverware their agents will tell them they deserve.

Think of it like this. Look at Everton. They've held onto some of their star players for a while, but they will never be a Top 4 club because they can't attract Top 4 players. I don't mean this in a derogatory way because we are much the same in that we can't keep hold of Top 4 players we sign who then leave us to actually sign for a Top 4 club. So the only way (and I'm simplifying this) to break free is to actually get lucky and break up the monopoly the first time of asking if not the second.

Not easy is it? And while we re-build each season, the monopoly get stronger and stronger.

"I was looking at a player who'd come pretty well recommended to me recently. I flew to Italy to watch him in a game, but after ten minutes it was pretty clear that this was not a player I would want to sign. All the signs were wrong."

I like this. Because under the DoF that player would probably have been signed on the strength of Comolli or some random scout. Harry has bought some duffs in his career. Plenty in fact. But as Spurs are the biggest club he's ever managed (sorry Green Street, but its true) the pressure is a little more intense so I'm willing to bet we won't see any risk signings. Obviously, the Chimbonda fiasco remains the only hole in the wall of faith.

"I definitely have no regrets. This is a massive club. Great fans, plans for a new stadium and a properly run business. That's not to take away from Portsmouth or Southampton or West Ham. It's just that Tottenham was the logical next step for me and has been a massive challenge so far."

When asked where his next port of call will take him:

"No, no, Tottenham is the end of the road for me. It's a big setup here and I had to have a go, but when this is over, I'll move on and focus on other things."

For a media-loving sound-bite friendly football man, where better to strut and twitch your stuff than White Hart Lane? He'll never be offered a job at a Top 4 club (yes, I get the irony) so this is as good as it will get for him. And at least there's no chance of him doing a Judas and leaving to replace Wenger at Arsenal.

Think the pressure next season will be altogether something different. They'll be no-one to blame if we begin the season badly other than the man in the mirror. Hoping our pre-season is luke warm. God have mercy on our souls if we thrash Barcelona at Wembley 5-0.

"I don't pay much attention to what players do on the training pitch. It's a bit like the horses. They can look sensational at the gallops, but not perform on the day of the race."

I guess Harry just means that someone who trains brilliantly might bottle it on the pitch. Which is strange considering that Jenas is meant to be outstanding in training and bottles it on the pitch. Actually, I have no idea what Harry means with this particular statement.

"Like I say a couple of new faces here and there and I think we can really get in the mix. Of course I have to be realistic about what Man United, Liverpool, Chelsea and the others can do, but I believe we can get amongst them."

Best we can do is 5th. That will be the same agenda for Everton, Villa and City. Other clubs will also look to push towards those European places below the top 4. We can't afford another disaster and waste another year. We have to compete. Like I've said before, 4th spot is only a possibility if Arsenal (or whoever) shag it up. But its unlikely. But not impossible. But it would mean our form would have to be outstanding at home and tenacious away. And this will be the result of the summer months and the master plan laid out by Harry to the players.

That master plan should simply be this: Forget about the Top 4 (Utd, Liverpool, Chelsea, Arsenal). Just get ahead of the teams (Everton, Villa, City) that aspire to be there.

It really is stand up and be counted once and for all time.

Happy with Harry?

If you frequent Spurs message boards you'll have probably seen the rather special version of the league table with the Lilywhites sitting pretty in 7th place. What's that? We're not seventh? Oh yes we are. If the Premiership began on October 21st we'd be just three points behind Arsenal and seven points off a Champions League place. This alternate reality is one I would very much like to visit. Next season, yeah?

As superfluous as this table of accumulated points since Redknapp's arrival is in the real world, it does illustrate that we haven't done too badly under his man-management. Even more so when you consider that the reason we didn't pull ourselves out of the mire sooner was due to that dismal patch of successive away games that saw us lose points in the dying moments. Lack of concentration that has since been fixed.

It's taken some time to get here. Where here is, I can't say for certain, but it's better than sitting in or just above the bottom three. If anything, for psychological reasons. We can still be pulled back, but it's unlikely. Class, it seems, always manages to shine through in the end.

At times it didn't look likely, but that's more down to our lack of patience and general emotional knee-jerks. Whether you like Harry and his media-whoring or not, there is no doubt that he (unlike 'couldn't wait to get the hell out of here' Ramos) appears to care a little bit more about progression even if he does have his own personal agenda. Who cares as long as Spurs improve as a team.

The Honeymoon Period

When you sack a manager and bring in a new one you are reliant on the textbook reaction players tend to give when there's a new man at the helm, but that is not always enough. Thankfully, Harry got us plenty of points which arguably become the foundation to re-build the confidence of the team. That's plenty of points in games we did not really expect to win or even draw. Did we ride our luck? Yes. But luck tends to fall into your lap when you go out seeking for it. Prior to his arrival we looked a sorry bunch, completely absorbed in our own self pity.

Fortress White Hart Lane

We still need to turn some of the draws into wins, but we are no longer a soft touch at home. Get points at the Lane, and half of the job is done. It's the basis of any team looking to do well. In our case we needed to the points thanks largely to the fact that our away form required major surgery, which took several weeks to complete.

Aaron Lennon

I doubt Aaron is playing well because Spurs spent £15M on David Bentley. His (Bentleys) performances will not exactly inspire others to excel. Harry should take the plaudits for getting Lennon back on song. Absolutely no doubting it, he'll be the fans player of the year this term. Under Ramos, Lennon was one dimensional and without intent and purpose. Under Harry he has been a relentlessly outlet of speed and not so perfect but getting there end-product. It's the best we've seen from the lad.

Addressing the fundamentals

No steel in midfield? In comes Wilson. Need something extra up front? In comes Defoe. As a consequence of his injury, in came Robbie Keane too. How both will fit in when JD is back from his lay-off will take some hefty man-management skills to resolve but it's something I'm certain Harry will deal with, let's say, diplomatically. His handling of the Gomes situation, equally impressive. Signing Cudicini was an inspired choice as we can finally say there's competition for the number one jersey. Modric found himself finally playing in a position that allows him dictate and create. King playing in Prem games rather than UEFA matches. Jenas and Zokora more responsible when tasked with 'jobs to do'.

Harry has tinkered here there and everywhere to find the right balance through the team. With a little bit of luck and confidence returning, the team has naturally improved with each passing game. The Chimbonda signing (decent cover if he bothers to stick the effort in) might be the only shrug thus far. But (even those its a mockery) re-signing Keane has proved to be a justified transfer.

Tactics

Took some tweaking to settle for his 'best' 11, but seems to understand the necessity of retaining a consistent team selection - one that can grow in terms of effectiveness with each passing game. I'm repeating myself.

He doesn't squad rotate for the sake of it. Liked how he subbed Zokora for Corluka the other day when it become apparent that Zoko could not cope with Young. Compare that to some of Juande's random subs. And there seems to be a far more evident game plan. Yes, we've had to endure one or two 4-5-1's here and there. But that was a stop-gap rather than a solution.

Overall, he is doing the job he was paid to do. At the start of next season he won't be able to remind us (about 6000 times per week) that Spurs only had 2 points when he joined. What happens in the summer (and yes, I do know this season still has a few games to go) will be vital. He should not look to overhaul the squad. Maybe one or two key changes, but starting from scratch is best avoided. We have a decent defence. Decent forward line-up. It just needs a bit of tweaking here and there.

What do we do with David Bentley? This season is a complete write-off, but discarding him would be callous and a little premature. Even if he has been a non-event on the pitch. Once he starts doing the basics and playing like a footballer rather than attempting to be a superstar, things will come good for him.

King? Retiring? Don't believe the twisted rumours. He'll continue to be our part-time God at the back. Gareth Bale reclaiming form a priority IMO.

And as for dos Santos and Adel? Like to see both of them back at the Lane and in the first team squad. £4.7M is a lot of money to spend on a mistake. He should be given the opportunity in a more stable side. Adel is a player who needs to start more games. I'm hoping he has a storming loan at QPR.

Bent is likely to go. All eyes on Pav who needs to show us all what he is capable of after a good summers rest. I'm hoping he has a bit more buzz about him when 100% sharp.

Personally, and I'm sure most would agree, the most important thing is how we handle ourselves in the transfer market. We've overspent on the wrong type of players far too many times. But with no DoF and having re-signed (almost) everyone we sold the summer before - it's down to both Harry and Levy to make sure that we bring in players because they are unequivocally required.

I'll concern myself with all these points of discussion again after we see ourselves through the final 9 games of the season.

Triffic.

Redknappology

If anyone can let me know who the author of this majestic flow-chart is (so credit can be given), please do tell. Bagel in the post for you.

In Defence of Redknapp

“When I see it devalued like a couple of years ago when teams suddenly didn’t want to get involved, like Manchester United did, it’s very disappointing. As far as I’m concerned I’ve always had a go at the FA Cup wherever I have been. I’ve never been at a club where we weren’t interested in winning the FA Cup. We start the season in two cup competitions where we have a chance of winning — the FA Cup and the Carling Cup — and we go for it. We’re not going to win the Premier League at Portsmouth, so we need to have a go at the cup competitions.” - Harry Redknapp, April 13, 2008

“I can’t risk [Jonathan] Woodgate on Saturday because we’ve got Stoke on Tuesday and I will go to Old Trafford with the weakest team I can possibly find.” - Harry Redknapp, January 21, 2009

For any Spurs fans having a dig at our King of the Soundbites manager, get a grip and look at the bigger picture. If we sat on 31 points rather than 21, or for that matter, had we beaten Pompey at home in the Prem the other week and avoided extra-time against Burnley, we probably would made plans to go to OT with a strong(er) team. Not that the desire to do well shouldn't be evident on Saturday, regardless of the team fielded.

Play a strong team against Utd, lose more players to injury, then lose to Stoke at home in the league is not the way I want to see things pan out over the next few days. Rock and a hard place at the minute for us. And unfortunately, in a competition which has a rich history for Spurs fans, its a sacrifice we simply have to deal with. Sums up our season really that we have to make the Prem the priority, but for the wrong reasons...which are the right reasons if we want to be playing top flight football next season. At least we've got a day trip to Wembley to look forward to.

I wonder how many copies of the 2008/2009 Season Review DVD the club shop will sell when its released? As long as we secure rights to have the theme tune to the Great Escape as the soundtrack, I'll be more than happy to kick back with some popcorn and a can of coke zero and relive those magical moments.....like the thrashing dished out to Stoke City at White Hart Lane on the 27th January.

Cough.

It's 'Redknapp'..spelt..HOUDINI

So, according to Harry Redknapp, he’s a better coach than O’Neill and Sir Alex. Been in the business for 28 years, so he must be right, right? According to the News of the World all this. But how relevant is it? All managers/coaches get interviewed, and most of the time they mouth off various sound-bites, all in the aid of kidology or egotism. Hoping that this particular masterful pat on his own back was an attempt to deflect attention away from his players. Even though he was gladly attracting attention to them when slating them for yet another poor display. You keeping up with this?

Pinch of salt should always accompany a Redknapp quote or interview. Does he love the sound of his own voice? Yes. Does he love talking to the media? Yes. He’ll even phone them up now and again and give them an exclusive. Does it all serve a purpose? Yes. But that purpose is dependent on how much (or little) you trust his agenda.

He’s in it for himself, that, there is no doubt. But then most are – more so modern day players. He also knows how to keep the press sweet, which explains the non-stop media assault. But what he does best does have to do with his responsibilities as coach.

He plays the blame game to a tee, banging on about how the squad he inherited is unbalanced and lacking in depth and how the whole universe is conspiring against him as he attempts the impossible with bare bones Tottenham.

Ferguson is the master of kidology. Redknappology is altogether a different thing. Our ‘arry manages to engineer and bend reality to aid his untouchable public persona. Immunity to criticism is a wonderful tool to possess. Harry Houdini. You know him right? He failed to oversee the escape from relegation for Southampton.

The Daily Mail (stop laughing) who seem to always have some kind of insider story or exclusive that never quite pans out to be true (can you believe?) have one such story today about how Harry launched a tirade of abuse at the Spurs players after the Wigan game.

Transcript?

'I don't think you love the ******* game’
'I think you ******* are here for the money, I don't think you give a ****. You, do you give a ****?'
'You? You're the ******* worst of the lot!'

I’m not suggesting for a second this never happened, because it’s the exact type of thing you would hope a manager tells the players after a defeat like the one at Wigan. But if the transcript is word for word correct, then my money is on a cheeky little chappie by the name of Harry calling it in, because once more all eyes are on the Spurs players as the ones who should be blamed. And again, to a degree, they should be responsible. But just how far will this subtle finger pointing go? How far will Harry allow it to go?

You can see it now. Spurs get relegated and it’s all down to those pesky uninterested Spurs players. Harry Houdini walks away, chains left behind for someone else to pick up and tie up the next clueless mug.