Why Harry Redknapp is no longer the manager to take Spurs Forward

Paolo. A question:

What criticisms would you level at Redknapp ? What would you say Redknapp has got wrong ?

I'm interested to know if there were as many critical with the other managers we've had over the years? Who lets be honest haven't got anywhere near the record that Redknapps got and have always had money to spend. Lets be fair the only reason he gets stick is because people dont like him(I dont actually get why) or maybe didn't want him to begin with and had a preconception, tactics or whatever and cant accept they were wrong. The same people were telling everyone, he might be able to keep us up but thats his limit, then it was he might get us in the top 6 but he's not good enough to get us top four. Now it's no doubt he can get us top four but he wont get us the title. It's almost as if they want him to fail and can't wait for the slip up as has happened with the one poor spell at the end of last year. Even when we win well it's always damning with faint praise. What did they think of the football we were playing before Redknapp arrived? It wasn't long ago that we had to wait until March time to record our first away win of the season.

tRiKS said:

i'm still about. i still have valid issues with Rednapp tactically despite me enjoying wholeheartedly what he's good at.

I even have an issue with us tactically agasint Villa even though it was about as comprehesive a 2-0 as you can get.

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Come on then, lets talk tactics. What were the issues on Monday and how would you have played it?

kendoddsdadsdogsdead said:

I'm interested to know if there were as many critical with the other managers we've had over the years? Who lets be honest haven't got anywhere near the record that Redknapps got and have always had money to spend. Lets be fair the only reason he gets stick is because people dont like him(I dont actually get why) or maybe didn't want him to begin with and had a preconception, tactics or whatever and cant accept they were wrong. The same people were telling everyone, he might be able to keep us up but thats his limit, then it was he might get us in the top 6 but he's not good enough to get us top four. Now it's no doubt he can get us top four but he wont get us the title. It's almost as if they want him to fail and can't wait for the slip up as has happened with the one poor spell at the end of last year. Even when we win well it's always damning with faint praise. What did they think of the football we were playing before Redknapp arrived? It wasn't long ago that we had to wait until March time to record our first away win of the season.

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There's a thread called 'The Harry Effect' which tells you all you need to know.

Bus-Conductor said:

Paolo. A question:

What criticisms would you level at Redknapp ? What would you say Redknapp has got wrong ?

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Would that make you happy if he listed things he doesn't like about Redknapp. Maybe he just appreciates were we are now as a team compared to what we were when he got here and lets be honest we were bloody awful. No offence but what makes you a tactical mastermind? as it happens some of the things you say I agree with but i also think you spout a lot of rubbish on the game too. Lets hope you're as critical of the next guy who follows Redknapp but if it's an appointment you back I doubt you will be.

kendoddsdadsdogsdead said:

Would that make you happy if he listed things he doesn't like about Redknapp. Maybe he just appreciates were we are now as a team compared to what we were when he got here and lets be honest we were bloody awful. No offence but what makes you a tactical mastermind? as it happens some of the things you say I agree with but i also think you spout a lot of rubbish on the game too. Lets hope you're as critical of the next guy who follows Redknapp but if it's an appointment you back I doubt you will be.

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He is Tick-Meister :evil:

kendoddsdadsdogsdead said:

Would that make you happy if he listed things he doesn't like about Redknapp. Maybe he just appreciates were we are now as a team compared to what we were when he got here and lets be honest we were bloody awful. No offence but what makes you a tactical mastermind? as it happens some of the things you say I agree with but i also think you spout a lot of rubbish on the game too. Lets hope you're as critical of the next guy who follows Redknapp but if it's an appointment you back I doubt you will be.

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I wholeheartedly backed the appointment of Ramos, but I criticised him. His tactics, his team selections and his treatment of players like Kaboul.

Paolo said if Redknapp got something wrong he'd criticise him. I asked what he thought he'd got wrong, because although he clearly has, everyone does, I've never seen Paolo criticise him. If Paolo's going come on here giving it bollocks about blinkered haters blah blah, he needs to show some credentials that he is any more subjective.

Your attitude seems to be "we've been shit for years so anything better is beyond criticism".

Some of us just don't buy into that beautiful simplicity. What if we'd qualified for the CL last year, and Arsenal hadn't, what would that have meant ? The ramifications are tantalising. They lost their two best players as it was. We might have been able to commit to one more top quality signing. The plus/minus confidence effect that would have had on both sets of squads. Instead of hoping for a sniff of a top 4, would be sniffing round 1st/2nd and looking at 4th as failure like Arsenal, Chelsea, ManU and ManC would ?

We can all appreciate and enjoy what we are doing in the context of where we have been and what we are, but that doesn't mean you don't criticise the failings too. And it doesn't mean you have to personally like the personalities involved either. For the entire time I have been on here people have been critical of Levy. Isn't that even harder to fathom ?

For the Harry Effect thread read the "Is Levy's transfer Policy hurting us" thread.

This is no different to giving any player (great or not) a bashing in ratings threads when he plays badly. Or grumbling about Levy not paying players 150k pw. No-one is beyond criticism and nor should they be.

Feel free to tell me where Harry's got it wrong.

Turned us round and kept us up, highest EPL finish ever, 5th and CL quarter finals and has built a great squad, all while playing the Spurs way. You want to see him imitate Benitez with tactics and that? Turn into a boring side?

It's far from broke so why fix it?

I have seen nothing worthy of notable criticism from HR's tenure so far. Although you may of course feel free to point out a minor tactical issue in a game we drew 2 years ago to validate your point or whatever.

The usual suspects are looking for excuses to have a pop, some far more than others. I've a bit more faith in the guy and with good reason because I can see how much the club has turned around.

IF we win our next game, that's his win ratio up to 50% and that included revamping the squad from Juande's mess. You love your stats, think about that one.

I can't help but kind of agree with both sides of this. The Harry debate is bizarre and bewildering. I've been more torn over HR than any manager or player in my years of supporting spurs. I've discussed this with non-spurs fans, and they look at you as if you're mental to even consider questioning what he's done for spurs, and they're probably right
I've been trying to work out where I stand on this, and there is a logical counterpoint to every big plus.

Of these contradictary statements, could you really say that any of them weren't true?

-We have produced some fantastic results and performances in last 9 games.
-We've been hanging on for dear life for large chunks of the second half, and looked tacticly poor duringing this run at Fulham, BBurn, NCastle, Wigan when we could have killed the games off.

-HR has (with Levy), done an amazing job in solving major issues in our squad. BF, SP & EA were great signings, and KW recall has been great.
-HR (with Levy) did not fix these issues before the season started, which effectively cost us 2 games, nor in Jan, and this went some way to costing us a CL place.

-It's good to hear HR's views on things, he's an engaging and amusing bloke, and as a fan, we can honestly say we have an idea of what is happening at our club, unlike most other clubs...
-...Except when we're losing, and he's making excuses or contradicting himself.

-HR has assembled the strongest squad I can remember at the lane since 86-87
-HR is not very good at squad rotation, and being in the Europa League is a blessing for him. e.g. Krankjar's lack of playing time last season, or Sandro's this.

-We have continued to improve massively during HR's time at the club.
-We were massively underacheiving when he arrived.

-HR did an amazing job to get us into the CL
-We underacheived in the league at the back end of the season, and blew a golden chance to get back in the champions league.

-The CL run last season was one of the most fantastic periods I can remember in over 25 years of supporting spurs, and I would say that we were arguably the most exciting team to watch in Europe last year in all competitions (nb...not saying we were the best team in europe).
-Our results (if not always our performances) against the worst sides in the PL were extremely disappointing.

-Last season, our plan A didn't seem to work at all, and HR showed great tactical nouse to turn games around.
-This season our plan A works very well, but when the opposition tactics change, HR is unable to counter this.

...Maybe it's just something in our DNA at spurs that craves the glory, class and style in equal measures.

Jesus, why posters like BC and Sloth get vilified in here for merely sticking their neck out and saying not everything is perfect with what we have witnessed thus far is ridiculous.

The whole point of their critique, ultimately, is one we all should share which is striving to be the best team we can possibly be. Whilst we all bask in what was a fantastic performance against Villa, this is mirrored against a dismal display against Fulham yet yielded the same overall result in 3 points earnt. I'm fully aware we won't have games like we had against Villa every game, nor for that matter ones like Fulham, it still doesn't disguise the fact that there is still room for us to be even more consistent in how look to tackle matches - if we set ourselves up correctly, with the right personnel and appropriate work ethic then we will achieve great things.

Harry's not perfect, neither is Rednose, Whinger, Pep Guardiola or Jose.... You can also find fans at everyone of there clubs who are critical of there manager, even at Barca. This is the way of things in football... I would say however you could pick better faults with Arry other than you don't like he's twitchy, his accent, the fact the media like him, his reputation as a wheeler dealer/east end wideboy/crook. But some people are classless like that I guess.

He messes up the team sheet sometimes and he should never of compared Bent to his wife but shit the bed, thats not bad going considering some of the shite other managers pull at the very top clubs... Look at red nose getting pissy with players in the past and forcing them out... He almost forced out Nani and Anderson not so long ago. And we all know Wengers faults.

Perspective people.

Paolo10 said:

Feel free to tell me where Harry's got it wrong.

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Already have, to which you seem to have no answer.

Paolo10 said:

all while playing the Spurs way. You want to see him imitate Benitez with tactics and that? Turn into a boring side?

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Which part was the "Spurs Way" ? The third most long ball side in the EPL last year or the open end to end schoolboy stuff ? Which one of those would Arthur Rowe or Bill Nicholson be proud of most ?

Please tell me what is the Spurs way ?

Paolo10 said:

It's far from broke so why fix it?

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Like it wasn't broke under Ranieri when Chelsea fixed it with Mourinho, or it wasn't broke with Gomes in goal and we finished fourth but now he's liability ?

Paolo10 said:

I have seen nothing worthy of notable criticism from HR's tenure so far. Although you may of course feel free to point out a minor tactical issue in a game we drew 2 years ago to validate your point or whatever.

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And there we have it. The bloke accusing others of an agenda refuses to see anything Redknapp does wrong. Nothing. nada. Nilch.

"I don't understand how anyone couldn't get this side playing"
"You can only work with (the shit) what you've got"

"if the chairman sells Modric he'll have to resign"
"I think we should sell Modric and buy 4 players"

Q: Do you think you made mistakes in the run in (2010-11) Harry ?
A: No football fans are idiots, it was Bale and VDV's fault and besides this is as good as it gets - (apart from last year ?).

9 home wins from 19 ?

5 points from Wigan, West Ham, West Brom, Blackpool ?

Our top scorer played at right midfield when we were desperate for a win ?


Nothing ? never ?

You're a joke.

Crikey Moses!

Paolo10 said:

Feel free to tell me where Harry's got it wrong.

Turned us round and kept us up, highest EPL finish ever, 5th and CL quarter finals and has built a great squad, all while playing the Spurs way. You want to see him imitate Benitez with tactics and that? Turn into a boring side?

It's far from broke so why fix it?

I have seen nothing worthy of notable criticism from HR's tenure so far. Although you may of course feel free to point out a minor tactical issue in a game we drew 2 years ago to validate your point or whatever.

The usual suspects are looking for excuses to have a pop, some far more than others. I've a bit more faith in the guy and with good reason because I can see how much the club has turned around.

IF we win our next game, that's his win ratio up to 50% and that included revamping the squad from Juande's mess. You love your stats, think about that one.

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i hate it when people say this ffs!!!!!

a blind rugby coach would have kept us up, we were never, ever going to be relegated!

i have knocked Harry because i thought he made mistakes last year with team selection (1 being not playing sandro a lot earlier when he was obviously miles better than anything we had holding wise) however......

he has bought amazingly well & the players obviously love the guy so he has meritted being pretty much untouchable atm...

again though i wonder tactically...the guy has the blessing of having an unreal amount of talent at his disposal....he was adament villa were gonna set out with 5 at the back on monday & they so clearly werent so perhaps tactically he aint the best but....

when you have a squad as good as tottenham do its literally almost a case of just go & play......literally, we are that good right now!

H deserves credit

Paolo10 said:

I have seen nothing worthy of notable criticism from HR's tenure so far. .

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Really? I'm a big Harry fan. I'm very happy with him as our manager, and have been since he's been appointed. The squad that he and Levy (past DoF's) have assembled is excellent, and we play good, well balanced attacking football. And of course we're THIRD. THIRD

But to say he isn't worthy of criticism is wrong, you can support your manager/team and still be critical. One of the problems with our 'Arry was the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" attitude. After our triumphant forth place, it was obvious that we needed to bring in reinforcements to our midfield and attack. We didn't. Harry has/had a lot of faith in Crouch and Defoe, but as we can see from the extra movement someone of the ilk of Adebayor is providing he got it terribly wrong. His faith/loyality to his players ironically cost him, and you could argue cost us pretty dearly.

Saying that, I don't think his relationship with Levy is talked about enough. I think it's hard for Harry to sign the players he actually wants, and I think he's right to point this out by mentioning the board's reluctance to sanction Parker's deal. He's actually got some tough parameters to work within as manager, which are of course in place for a reason, because 'Arry the little scamp can inflated the wage bill with 70 year old defenders you don't need. :razz:

Harry has done a great job, and the closer the summer gets (unlike Dan Ashcroft) the more I'm worried we'll lose him. No manager is without their mistakes, not Bill Nick, nor Fergie. Harry has his flaws, but you only have to look at the way Luka Modric embraced him at the end of the Villa game to understand how much the players appreciate him. He's truly done an excellent job.

Notable.

You really believe the lack of a striker coming in is because of Harry? I don't.

We still haven't addressed that issue and look a little short up front. An injury to Ade could well be so horrible it doesn't bear thinking about.

Fucking hell BC, you've outdid yourself there. Amazing.

I am probably the biggest Harry fan on here because I am a total racist and he is a fellow ginge (burn in hell you blond scum...). Has he made mistakes, ofcourse (how the fuck do you spell that or am I making up words) he has. Sometimes he says too much to the media, we still have no idea how to close up shop (Milan was a bit of a miracle), grinding out results is another way of saying they bent us over in the showers but couldn't get a hard on. Transfers are still a bit worrying, we need a definite strategy well before the window opens.
But, we are playing some wonderful football and are winning games. Over the last 20 years we have done neither. Surely that is what should count? Do criticise Harry for the things he gets wrong, but don't say he's taken us as far as he can (it's the furthst we've been) or that he's clueless, or that Van Gaal, AVB, Ancelotti would do much better than him. I understand people want to win every game and lift countless trophies but we are a small club in comparison to the ones were against. Please just enjoy the moment and give him credit for a fantastic job that he has done.

If you can't see he's done a fantastic job then there is something wrong with you.

Frankly I've never seen ANY team play football quite like the way we are at the moment... It draws from the dutch concept of total football heavily but it's an extension of that. Where as that method relies on playing the majority of football centrally we are brutal on the wings... Lennon and Bale frequently end up on the same side with Parker covering whoever else wants to get involved ie one of the fullbacks. P VDV drops so deep a lot of the time he ends up deeper than the majority of our midfield, in essence where Parker should be. Modric covers the whole pitch... Positions??? Who needs them...

I think all of our coaching staff and playing staff including Harry deserves credit there... It's a new, bold way of playing that's an evolution of ideas the dutch and old spurs teams of old were famous for... Personally I bloody love it and quite how you can consider it "Long Ball" BC absolutely baffles me.

Harry said that formations were a thing of the past (to a certain extent he's correct).

To be fair to Ramos, I think he tried to do it. He just didn't have the right players or the communication to see it through.

tttcowan said:

Frankly I've never seen ANY team play football quite like the way we are at the moment... It draws from the dutch concept of total football heavily but it's an extension of that. Where as that method relies on playing the majority of football centrally we are brutal on the wings... Lennon and Bale frequently end up on the same side with Parker covering whoever else wants to get involved ie one of the fullbacks. P VDV drops so deep a lot of the time he ends up deeper than the majority of our midfield, in essence where Parker should be. Modric covers the whole pitch... Positions??? Who needs them...

I think all of our coaching staff and playing staff including Harry deserves credit there... It's a new, bold way of playing that's an evolution of ideas the dutch and old spurs teams of old were famous for... Personally I bloody love it and quite how you can consider it "Long Ball" BC absolutely baffles me.

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With Dawson and Crouch in the team for most of last season i'd say we were long ball quite a bit. Don't get me wrong most of the time Dawson doesn't aimlessly hoof but he did seem to go long too often when he had plenty of time where as now you will rarely see King Kaboul go long.