Posts Tagged ‘Harry Redknapp’

Blame yourselves before blaming the team

September 22, 2010

Last night’s match was a disgrace! Not the least due to Harry’s team selection and our players’ fear of pushing the line forward, but by the fans.

Let’s cover each point.

Harry’s selection

Playing 3 defensive midfielders just didn’t make any sense. Naturally, we would end up sitting back and trying to defend. FULL STOP. What about attack? We all know Spurs are a more influential side when bombarding opponents on the attack. Why sit back and do nothing about it?

I did think that since we were playing so many defencive-minded players, we would at least contest every ball Arsenal touched. Not the case unfortunately.

Instead, we sat back and let a bunch of children – very talented ones mind you – dictate the pace and outcome of the match.

Horrible. Dispicable. Gag.

Fear

I don’t know if you could see it, but I honestly felt our players were afraid last night. Maybe it was the Arse fans corner, which was way louder than the rest of our support until Robbie Keane finally scored for us. More on that later.

Sandro was working his heart out last night. I still can’t believe he’s in his early 20s. He is a monster and hopefully will prove to be a brilliant signing in the near future. Sooner than later please.

Palacios had  a few brilliant tackles but that was it. What I cannot understand for the life of me was why Niko Kranjcar did not start the match! We needed attacking creativity but had none. Pav at some points was screaming and yelling at the other players begging for them to push the line forward. What can I say but he was left doing his best impersonation of “pointy-shouty-bloke”.

The fear. The fear ladies and gentlemen. I could see it. Our boys were worried about Arsenal’s deadly counter-attack. So many defenders and we couldn’t even break them? It goes to prove that we defend better as a team when we attack the living daylights out of our opponents. Please feel free to disagree with me in the comments section if I am dead wrong.

Sublime support

What a strange and eerie evening? Arsenal’s away support were lively and made sure that our players knew it. We were rarely singing until Robbie finally scored. What’s that all about?

The last two matches at the Lane have been the same. Wolves’ fans were loud and obnoxious, energizing their team to score the first. Same with Arsenal. Where are the thunderous lilywhite supporters when we most needed them? Heading for the exits, leaving myself and many other supporters cheering the team on regardless of the score. How sad? You should all be ashamed of yourselves. Honestly.

Booing is another issue. Some supporters don’t realize how much of an impact cheering players on can instantly change their form. Booing won’t solve anything. Cheering can and will, especially in this case, we would have shoved a bondage gag in the mouths of those annoying Arse fans.

Instead, when things didn’t go our way, many decided it was time to leave early and beat the traffic. So we gave up. Our players gave up. What does that do for team morale? What does that do for our younger players who played the full 120 minutes? What does that say about our support? Especially in front of those goons.

I went to bed bitter and woke up in worse shape. Not because of the loss. But because for once, I have realized that our support isn’t what it used to be. Could the top 4 and Champions League qualification cause us to lose our drive?

I want it to be what it used to be. Even if we have to finish 5th every season. The passionate support and belief is why I started supporting Spurs to begin with.

Disappointing stuff to deal with on a Wednesday.

No COYS for you!

Watch as they drop like flies

September 12, 2010

Captain Daws: OUT.

Fire Boots Defoe: OUT.

Hot Rod Moddy Modric: OUT.

The latter played his part in yesterday”s match by scoring a goal off a loose ball in the box. Unfortunately, he wouldn’t celebrate for long as the Gods of Irony struck once again. It seems that anyone associated with netting goals at Tottenham will fall to injury.

So a point from West Brom on their ground is “whatevers” in my mind. Disappointing. Anti-climactic. Poo poo! I’m not worried as much about dropping points (yet) but I am more concerned with the fact that we have players dropping like flies. Maybe we should follow Liverpool and look to hire a more seasoned pro for our sports physio department.

Our first Champions League group fixture – away to Werder Bremen – is right around the corner. Who will be healthy? Who will be match fit? Who will play? So many questions on my mind which Harry will need answers for come Tuesday night. No more draws please. Let’s get a win under our belts.

Short and sweet. I’m out. COYS!

OMG!!!

September 7, 2010

Tottenham Hotspur sign a brilliant midfielder on one hell of a “wheeler dealer” (shh… don’t tell ‘Arry) snag and now every reporter in the world seems to think we have a huge problem on our hands.

“Where will he play? Who will be benched? OMG”. That’s all the jive these days. I thought we had a massive problem when we couldn’t sign anyone? But in the end, that’s what they want us to believe. Headlines baby! It sells.

Our game against Wigan proved that you can never have enough options in the creativity department, especially when it comes packaged in the form of Van Der Vaart. For heaven’s sake boys, this guy can actually score and isn’t afraid to go for goal. Hudd and Modric may be great when paired together, but a goal scoring threat they definitely are not. Even our forwards aren’t much of a threat these days.

So how did we go from too little to too much in one simple purchase during the window? Okay, some players will be sad that they’ve been benched and all that jazz. Who cares!?!?! You want your position? Fight for it. Defend well. Create play. Score goals. The formula is quite simple if you want to be a regular on the starting squad. Ask Bale. He found it. He could very well be re-writing it at this point.

It’s almost guaranteed that if Bentley came back and was in blistering form, we would all support giving him a go and benching Lennon till his form returned. Fickle supporters they say? Not necessarily. We want a team that’s in form and will deliver every night; even during Spurs XI matches. I don’t care if Kevin Bond has to come in and contribute while Joe Jordan breaks a few legs “Soprano” style. We want to win!

I’m sure Harry would much rather have a migraine from too much talent to choose from rather than being short of it. Man City have yet to gel as a squad and that isn’t considered a migraine, it’s a colossal brain hemorrhage with all the cash they’ve spent. I’m sure they’ll come together and if Mancini can manage their egos properly, they will be hard to stop.

Having said that, Spurs are lucky Harry knows how to deal with big egos. The only problem is he may deflate one or two in the process, causing minor, and in some instances, irreparable damage to their form.

Bringing in Van Der Vaart was a great piece of business. Adding him to a midfield roster filled with the likes of Hudd, Modric, Palacios, Jenas, and Kranjcar shouldn’t be looked at as a threat, it should be regarded as a positive.

Harry tells a reporter to “f#@k off”! (w/video)

August 30, 2010

So Harry doesn’t like the title of “wheeler & dealer” given to him by the media after all! Not sure if this reporter will ever get another chance with Redknapp after this interview-gone-wrong.

[Source: Youtube]

Goosebumps

August 27, 2010

When the players walked out onto the pitch, all I felt were goosebumps accompanied by the occasional shiver. What a brilliant night it was going to be! I could feel it. White flags graced with our cockerel waving in unison, almost communist in display.

Rain and a slippery pitch were in order for what would turn out to be our return to “glory, glory nights” at the Lane. Spurs were in control from the start and really never looked back. Peter Crouch nabbed a hat-trick using his head, physically and literally, and Defoe had a controversial “handball” which led to a goal (it didn’t matter, Spurs were going to win regardless). Bale put on another blistering display and had a hand (or foot) in every goal scored. Breathtaking stuff!

So our club is no longer part of the “underachievers” ranks. We’ve weathered the storm and molested Young Boys on our path to placing the Tottenham Hotspur name between the elite teams of Europe. How about that?

Making history will be no easy feat though. Barcelona and the Arse have walked away with the easier group fixtures, while we’ll have to face none other than the European champions, Inter Milan (who also completed the treble last season taking home the league, cup and Champions League titles), Dutch champions FC Twente, and German powerhouse Werder Bremen. Wow! This is one rude welcoming party!

Congratulations to the squad and Harry Redknapp on this achievement. Nobody can doubt Tottenham’s desire to play amongst the elite. Nobody can doubt Harry’s ability to bring out the best in our squad. Right man for the right job at the right time.

Goosebumps again.

Man of the match: Redknapp

August 18, 2010

Young Boys weren’t the little pimple-faced children I thought they would be. Turns out, they command their home field quite well. How well? A 3-1 lead at the half. That’s how Young Boys do apparently. So why didn’t anyone tell our boys? They were headless chickens, running with no where to go, lost and not coming to terms with the astro-turf.

Scoring their first at the 4-minute mark, you could tell that Young Boys were muscling their way in. They were all over the ball and our players balls. Dirty dancing in Switzerland. The second came at the 13th and the third at the 29th minute mark. What? Nobody told me this was remotely possible. I could do without these surprises when watching Spurs.

So three goals down with our full backs on the wrong side of everything. Mr. Redknapp was having none of it. BAE was somewhat poor, yellow-carded at the 4-minute mark (same time they scored their 1st), and ‘Arry wanted him off. Huddlestone was brought in and Bale shifted to left-back. Next thing you know, Bassong scores a brilliant header off of a corner at the 42nd minute. At this point, I didn’t know whether to celebrate or remain praying. Okay, I celebrated. Hard! It was the perfect time for a goal.

The match official whistled to end the half, prompting me to sit back down to try and calm my nerves. A cup of tea was summoned, delivered and eliminated in a few swigs.

The second half was a different match altogether. Spurs began controlling the match with the pass, managing to hold the ball for longer periods and minimizing the counter attack. Huddlestone was brilliant in his control of the midfield. Modric was later subbed and Niko Kranjcar was called for duty. And this is where Spurs began to operate at their very best: the touch & go passing game, controlled build-up and attack. Young Boys managed to have a few good looks at goal; some sloppy defending by Spurs and horrible back-passes (Palacios) to our keeper could have ended our hopes, but luckily nothing was to come of their attempts.

In the 83rd, Roman Pavyluchenko pulled one out of the hat and nailed a cracker of a goal in a tight top-right corner strike. It was a narrow opening, symbolic of the chances we had on the evening. Super Pav, Super Pav, Super Pav. Roman frustrates me then amazes me at times. He holds the ball well, but his attempts at goal are sometimes lazy in nature. Then the Russian comes up with a goal like this and you begin to love him all over again. What to do with this boy?

Harry Redknapp probably tore into the players at the half. Most importantly, he made them realize that we weren’t playing football this evening. It was monkey-in-the-middle. His tactics and substitutions were spot on and it shows that this isn’t the Redknapp of last year. He knows this squad inside out. Every move he makes will have a different outcome, and this my friends is why we should be thankful that our squad hasn’t changed drastically overnight. Continuity could have possibly saved us tonight. Let’s hope it does the same against Stoke on Saturday.

3-2 in Switzerland. I’ll take that scoreline back to the Lane. COYS!

Is there anybody out there?

August 1, 2010

Two mere weeks away from our first Premier League fixture and no signings in site. I am confident that there will be some sort of acquisition in the coming weeks. But who? The player(s) we do bring in will obviously have to have a direct impact on the squad. After all, this is Spurs highest profile season in almost 50 years.

Some supporters think that by buying young Sandro Ranieri at the beginning of the summer, we have the luxury of slotting him into the squad lineup when Manchester City come to visit. Unfortunately, he won’t be ready for quite some time because the Brazilian’s term with the club begins when his commitments with Internacional of Brazil end.

As the World Cup came to a close, Spurs were heavily linked with Joe Cole, Craig Bellamy, Luis Suarez, Scott Parker, Diego Forlan and Spartak Moscow keeper Stipe Pletikosa. Cole obviously snubbed the lilywhites to go play under the new Roy Hodgson regime. A part of me was sad that even Champions League football wasn’t enough to convince a high profile player to come to the Lane. Did he not believe in our cause? Some will argue that he’s not good enough and all that jazz; however, at the end of the day, Harry really wanted him and Levy was out negotiating the deal. To not get him was a blow to our management, I’m sure.

The other deal which we are expecting to happen is Bellamy. It’s no secret that he’s currently surplus to requirements at Man City under Roberto Mancini, and he obviously has a great relationship with Harry (remember his smile after we secured 4th). It’s only a matter of time before we see him holding up a lilywhite & blue scarf, right? Not quite as it now seems that Mark Hughes and Fulham are planning to hijack the Welsh nomad (if you believe the media). Call it payback for the Crouchie snub, call it what you want. Are we getting dicked in the market?

So I ask the question again: who will be coming to the Lane? Is it possible we could land Suarez? I don’t know about that. Scott Parker? Most fans don’t think he’s good enough. Who knows anymore. but thank the heavens that we haven’t witnessed an influx and exodus of players who we have no idea if they’re capable of playing Spurs-style footy come the beginning of our campaign.

COYS!

Joe Cole signs… but not for Spurs

July 19, 2010

So he’s gone to Liverpool to ride off into the sunset with Roy Hodgson. I think they’ve done well with this pick. He will definitely be a huge asset to their attacking game, as long as he stays healthy. Now, whether they lose Torres or not is another thing.

So who will join Tottenham? Who will be Harry’s first signing? Seems to be Stipe Pletikosa, the Croatian keeper from Spartak Moscow. WOOOOOOHOO…hoooo…ahem…hoo… man, this is dull.

In cased you missed this clip doing the rounds on the internet, enjoy!

Committment

July 15, 2010

So Harry has committed his future to Tottenham, staying on as manager till 2013. I personally believe that this is the most crucial signing of the summer. Possibly, the most important in years. The reason being that clubs that sift through managers like garbage never really have a success story waiting at the end of the road. Continuity is key. Real Madrid anyone?

Levy and Redknapp seem to be engaged in some sort of love mojo. A relationship that is complementing one another; both love that banging deal. A lot of  supporters of other teams swear that we’re doomed with Harry at the helm because of his excessive spending. They swear we’ll go bankrupt in no time. Do these people know anything about our Chairman? The board members? Tottenham is run as a business, with strategies and goals embedded in its future.

Harry is a candid character who speaks his mind; sometimes too vividly. His tactics and squad selection have been questionable at times, but his overall performance at Tottenham has been fantastic. A part of me thinks that this extension fills the gap nicely in case the FA decides to offer the World Cup job to someone else. The man loves working with English players and openly speaks about his discontent with the lack of English superstars in the league, considering the Premier League is the crème de la crème.

2014 in Brazil leading England’s charge sounds like something Harry would love to work towards. Will he be too old then? That’s up to the FA to decide. But for now, I’m happy he’s ours.

The worst kept secret

July 11, 2010

Everyone can see it coming. How can’t they? Harry has practically laid out the itinerary for Levy’s approach to seal a deal. It’s a matter of funds and wages. Period. Harry has openly drooled at the prospect of bringing Cole to the Lane, obviously feeling that he is a player who could take the squad to the next level.

How do the supporters feel? I’m sure there are mixed emotions. Why would we want a player who has had a recent spat of injuries? Why would we want a player who has been released on a free? Why would we want a player who did nothing at the World Cup? The list of questions go on and on…

There is another school of thought behind this transaction. Cole’s experience in all competitions. Hard-working ethic. Skill. Leadership qualities. A bargain purchase except for the potential unrest which could be caused due to his wage demands.

One thing I have realized about Harry though, he is a man that has always managed his relationships with care, attention and respect. Other than just go after new players he’s never managed, he tends to also keep a lookout for players he has had experience managing. Case in point: Defoe, Crouch, Kranjcar, Kaboul (Boateng anyone?). Granted, all were Pompey players who wanted to avoid the sinking ship; however, he was still able to woo them when needed.

My point? He is piecing together the puzzle from his past experiences. Cole is another piece Harry wants. I’m not saying he will not go after new players, but he will search for experience first and foremost. Experience under his management. Experience under others. Experience, experience, experience.

A summer where we could potentially bring in Cole and Forlan (if you believe the media) would be a massive success in my opinion. The latter seems to be a stretch, but you never know. After all, our manager doesn’t really know how to keep a secret. We’ll have a good idea of our fate very soon.

COYS!!


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