The Squad

[Gutter Boy]

Pathetic. What an utterly untenable target. City were really going to loan us a SECOND striker?!!!!

Especially as the rukes only permitted you to loan one player from each club.

So it would have been Darren Eales who laughed Redknapp off, before he even got to Levy.

 

[kanoute16]

There is absolutely nothing wrong with what Redknapp is saying here, I've heard managers talk about this a million times. People are now going out of their way to be offended.

Not offended, just sick and tired of listening to all the rubbish he spouts. He's right, the players haven't been affected by the England rumours. They just want to play football!
Problem is Harry has become affected and this has clouded his judgement. He isn't motivating his team, he isn't making the right decisions and he doesn't really care imo. This is why we haven't scored a goal away from home in 4 prem matches.

The journo on the Brazil sports breakfast on talksport got it right yesterday. That disgrace of a goal in the FA semi was barely mentioned in Harry's post match interview. Last season he would have been livid, he doesn't care anymore. A more lucrative offer is just around the corner!

 

[Modric THFC]

So Harry wont be picking Walker wont be at the Euro's then? That means he'll be picked for the Olympics and will be missing our pre-season along with Bale and Caulker.

 

[mick cooper]

Pathetic. What an utterly untenable target. City were really going to loan us a SECOND striker?!!!!

Come on Steff, you're better than this. read a proper transcript of the interview, he didn't try to get him on loan, and if you read what it says, he didn't really mean it seriously (from my understanding of the report)

don't fuel the mongs

 

[mick cooper]

I am still amazed that there are fans who are surprised about what has happened with Redknapp, he has always been a self promoting manager with one trophy in 30 years. He always makes excuses for things that go wrong and has aways blamed others for his faults.

This was always going to end this way and as i say i am gobsmacked that so many could not see that.

So you KNEW that Redknapp would take the team over, when it was wallowing in the mire - and turn it into a team that almost made a european spot in the same season. Then he would lead the team into the CL, where we made it to the quarters, and get lauded across Europe for the way we played, and that he would finish up his time with the club as the manager who had the highest points per game tally of all Spurs managers?

You KNEW all that at the time he was hired did you?

Did you also know that he would last longer than all of the past Spurs managers, dating back to Venables?

Yeah, he's brick on us, hasn't he?

What was his biggest crime? As far as I can see it was to say publicly that we are a club supported by a lot of completely unrealistic, narrow minded tossers who are borderline delusional about where the club has come from, in terms of what the supporters have the right to expect from him as a manager.

Seems to me that the only idiots are people like you, who are trying to paint him as a failure or some kind of pariah who has sold the club and its supporters down the river, for doing exactly what he said was his greatest ambition.

Which to the best of my knowledge still remains something he's neither been offered, nor been in a position to accept.

Yet you - you, with nothing of any value to show in youre professional footballing CV, condemn him - and regard him as a failure.

 

[Sheffield Spur]

If you have a flashy racing car and it performs like a Mondeo, then you check the engine and other parts.

If it is OK, but it still underperforms and wins no races, then it is time to look at the driver.

Redknapp has won nothing with Spurs, and instead we now have a catastrophe on our hands, after nearly 4 years in charge.

He should never have got the job in the first place. Time now, certainly, to change the driver.

With the resources available, and transfer funds available, over that 4 year period, the racing car that is Spurs should have been much more successful and won more 'races'.

Redknapp is at best a Mondeo man. Not a Ferrari. And Spurs are, or at least should be, the latter.

What gauls me most is when he does leave, he will try and twist it into him being a world champion, which he ain't.

 

[Crawley]

We may have finished higher than previous years.

We may have been saved from relegation when he arrived.

We may have graced Europe for a couple of years.

BUT............both Graham AND Ramos won a trophy in less time here. Even if it was the League Cup, it was silver-ware

 

[bookhouseboy]

Some of their stats have gone down but that's because they have not wanted to run about enough, it's not because they are particularly knackered."

Mr. Redknapp starting to blame the players, that's just a way to say he won't be here next season no matter what - he knows it and it's been increasingly obvious for (most) of us as well for some weeks.

 

[Robspur12]

So you KNEW that Redknapp would take the team over, when it was wallowing in the mire - and turn it into a team that almost made a european spot in the same season. Then he would lead the team into the CL, where we made it to the quarters, and get lauded across Europe for the way we played, and that he would finish up his time with the club as the manager who had the highest points per game tally of all Spurs managers?

You KNEW all that at the time he was hired did you?

Did you also know that he would last longer than all of the past Spurs managers, dating back to Venables?

Yeah, he's brick on us, hasn't he?

What was his biggest crime? As far as I can see it was to say publicly that we are a club supported by a lot of completely unrealistic, narrow minded tossers who are borderline delusional about where the club has come from, in terms of what the supporters have the right to expect from him as a manager.

Seems to me that the only idiots are people like you, who are trying to paint him as a failure or some kind of pariah who has sold the club and its supporters down the river, for doing exactly what he said was his greatest ambition.

Which to the best of my knowledge still remains something he's neither been offered, nor been in a position to accept.

Yet you - you, with nothing of any value to show in youre professional footballing CV, condemn him - and regard him as a failure.

Mick, your anger towards fellow spurs fans is not justified. I have supported Spurs since 1980 when I was 7. In that time I have seen plenty of dross and troubled times at Spurs. Spurs have been on the up pretty much since Jol took over. Yes Harry took us from bottom of the table in 2008/9 but didn't Ramos do the same the previous year? Yes Harry got us into 4th but how unfortunate was Jol the year of Lasagne gate. Harry is/was not the messiah and really when push comes to shove he will always look after himself. He conducts himself with little grace and slags off fans and players (remember Bent) when it suits him.

This season he has made some telling mistakes, notably in the transfer window and not only have we given up a massive lead over our rivals but he seems unable to to change our fortunes since the downturn. His head is likely to already be on his next move. The spurs fans you slag off will be here supporting spurs long after Harry is a distant memory. And no I do not believe Harry is a Spurs legend.

 

[liquid_football]

The stats that some of you show do not include internationals which are a HUGE factor.Not only because of the traveling,but the stress that comes with them.For example,Modric had 2 very important games against Turkey that decided whether he would play in the Euro's or not.Those type of games drain someone completely and there is no winter break in the EPL to recover from everything and just take it easy for a week.

 

[Spaceman]

We may have finished higher than previous years.

We may have been saved from relegation when he arrived.

We may have graced Europe for a couple of years.

BUT............both Graham AND Ramos won a trophy in less time here. Even if it was the League Cup, it was silver-ware

spot on. a fact that is often dismissed on here. i will be forever grateful to whoever brings a trophy the club.

 

[Robspur12]

Chelsea have different fitness trainers to us, so this isn't a straight comparison.

My instinct is that our apparent drop in energy is largely down to fitness, which is also why we are picking up so many injuries, rather than a lack of rotation.

Isn't the point with Walker about conditioning? How many top level games has he played this season compared to last? I don't remember him being a regular last season so how can he progress to so many games this season without a break?

 

[SUIYHA]

Thread bumped to say:

With a mid-week away game coming up, Harry used his first substitution yesterday in the 84th minute. And once again, Bale, Modric, Walker, Kaboul and Adebayor played 90 minutes.

It was a very good performance yesterday, but FFS! I will be amazed if we don't drop points at the Reebok now.

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

Thread bumped to say:

With a mid-week away game coming up, Harry used his first substitution yesterday in the 84th minute. And once again, Bale, Modric, Walker, Kaboul and Adebayor played 90 minutes.

It was a very good performance yesterday, but FFS! I will be amazed if we don't drop points at the Reebok now.

Should be fine. Three days is plenty time to recover. Professional athletes should breeze 180 minutes of intense physical activity a week.

 

[zin]

Should be fine. Three days is plenty time to recover. Professional athletes should breeze 180 minutes of intense physical activity a week.

What about 270 minutes? Blackburn Bolton Villa are all within 1 week.

 

[AdamB]

The most incredible thing about the lack of subs yesterday was Lennon. He clearly wasnt right when he went down with 20 mins to go and, even though it was only 1-0 at the time and we needed the win, it was ridiculously risky to leave him on.

I would expect to see a couple changes on Wed: King for Gallas, Parker for Sandro or Lennon. I really hope he doesnt however i can see Harry reverting to his absurd 4-3-3 formation again

Oh and on Charlie, he's clearly on his way out now given Harry si staying

 

[The Moonlit Knight]

What about 270 minutes? Blackburn Bolton Villa are all within 1 week.

Shouldn't be a problem as far as I am concerned. Anyone under the age of 30 should be able to manage 90 minutes of really intense activity every two or three days and be better for it, not worse!

 

[ggspur]

How to improve the squad on ?ú10m budget

IMO if we plan things carefully, we can improve the squad massively on a zero budget. This is even if we don't sell Modric!

let me explain how:

Firstly, we have to identify the positions that clearly need improvement. We can take into account though the players returning from loan deals.

The following players are at the end of their contract/loan which presumably won't be taken up

Gomes
King (he has proven this season that he is past it. Sad but a fact we have to face)
Saha (not done enough to resign for another season)
Nelsen (same as above)

That leaves us with

(players covering for secondary positions in brackets)

GK: Freidel, Cudicini, Alnwick, Button. Ideally we'd find a youngster who can rival to be first team keeper but we're not desperate.
RB: Walker, Naughton, Corluka (kaboul). Embarresment of riches there, we can allow Corluka to be sold.
LB: BAE, Rose (Bale). Ok there, potentially would like to see some more youngsters coming through there.
CB: Dawson, Kaboul, Caulker, Gallas, Bassong. As it is, we're ok but ideally we'd sell Bassong and get a replacement in instead.
DCM: Sandro, Parker, (Huddlestone, Livermore). Absolutely fine there.
CM: Modric, Huddlestone, Livermore, (Kranjcar) Jenas, Carroll. Absolutely fine but would look to replace Modric if we sell him. Would more than fund replacement though.
RW: Lennon, Bentley, GDS, Falque. Desperately need to replace Bentley with a pacy direct clone of Lennon.
LW: Bale, Pienaar (Rose). Desperately need a proper LW backup to Bale.
AM: VdV, Kranjcar (GDS); OK there if we get the strikers we need as we won't always play 4-5-1
ST: Defoe. Need to sell Defoe as he doesn't fit a 4-5-1 and therefore need three new strikers who do fit the system

OK, so according to that,

Desperate:

3 new strikers
At least 1 new winger who can cover both flanks

Need:

Replacement for Bassong if we sell him. Preferably one who will rival Caulker, Dawson and Kaboul to be first choice.
Replacement for Modric if he's sold. Not going to bother about that as he will more than fund his own replacement.


To sell:

Corluka (?ú5m)
Jenas (?ú2m)
Bentley (?ú2m)
GDS (?ú3m)
Pienaar (?ú4m)
Defoe (?ú6m)

Total: ?ú22m

Buys:

Hoilett: Free. Pacy, direct, can cover both flanks.
Kalou. Free, pacy, can cover both flanks and as a striker option.
Kuyt: ?ú2m. Available for very cheap, experienced second striker.
Adebayor: ?ú8m. Available for cheap, would cost a lot in wages though.
Leandro ?ú20m. A must. been chasing him for over a year, if we're in the CL he'll come.

Result:

First team:

__________________________Freidel____________________________

Walker____________Dawson___________Kaboul________________BAE

__________________________Sandro____________________________

Lennon____________________Modric_________________________Bale

___________________________VdV______________________________

_________________________Leandro_____________________________


Second team:

_________________________Cudicini________________________

Naughton__________Caulker________Gallas_______________Rose

_________________________Parker_________________________

Hoilett_________________Huddlestone__________________Kalou

________________________Kranjcar________________________

_______________________Adebayor________________________


Third team:

_______________________Alnwick_________________________

Smith__________Khumalo_________Uvini_____________Bassong

______________________Livermore________________________

Falque__________Carroll___________Bostock________Townsend

_______________________Ceballos_________________________

________________________Kuyt___________________________


Others include:

 

[elyid]

This made me laugh, it's real article on the BBC site but does read like a parody :lol:

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp wishes Roy Hodgson "all the best" during an impromptu news conference from his car window on his way into the Spurs training ground.

Redknapp calls Hodgson a "top man" and "good guy", stating he hopes the West Brom manager takes the reins of the national side and insisting he remains happy to continue the "great job" he has at White Hart Lane despite speculation linking him to the role.

(Should point out that I am keen for Harry to stay on, but just found the wording of this funny)

 

[elyid]

If you have a flashy racing car and it performs like a Mondeo, then you check the engine and other parts.

If it is OK, but it still underperforms and wins no races, then it is time to look at the driver.

Redknapp has won nothing with Spurs, and instead we now have a catastrophe on our hands, after nearly 4 years in charge.

He should never have got the job in the first place. Time now, certainly, to change the driver.

With the resources available, and transfer funds available, over that 4 year period, the racing car that is Spurs should have been much more successful and won more 'races'.

Redknapp is at best a Mondeo man. Not a Ferrari. And Spurs are, or at least should be, the latter.

What gauls me most is when he does leave, he will try and twist it into him being a world champion, which he ain't.

Whilst you're entitled to your opinion, isn't our highest even points total in the PL still attainable?
Prior to the last few years we've been brick for decades, even to say we were Mondeo would be borderline flattery :lol:

After the first 2 games this season I am sure most people would have gladly taken the position we are in now, the "racing car" hasn't really changed, the only thing that has changed is that we all adjusted our expectations so that this is now seen as bad.

I still think the "bad run" is just down to:
1) Easy fixtures and a fair bit of luck through Nov-Jan putting us in a false position
2) Players spunking their load too early and then feeling fatigued once the disappointment set in
3) A 'mare in the January window, where I think our seeming invincibility caused Levy & Harry to both shift out too many players.

I don't put these don't to Harry, more a collective over confidence that came back to bite us - will be a useful learning experience for most of our players, and hopefully we'll still scrape a CL place.