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Harry Redknapp: The Aftermath

Would you keep Arry after the Season?

  • Yes - He's done well and should be given at least one more season to consolidate our team

    Votes: 25 53.2%
  • No - he's peaked and would hold us back.

    Votes: 22 46.8%

  • Total voters
    47
Ledley is carry quite a bit of weight these days. He was naturally slim when he was younger but it looks like the lack of training is catching up with him in more ways than one.

The partying is probably not helping either.

He made one great tackle today on Drogba I think. Rolled back the years for that one.
 
Hmmmm, bit OTT if you ask me. Now let's have some reasoned thinking.

I don't rate Walker but am resigned to the fact that regardless of who the Manager is he'll likely be sticking around. Sandro is also young and is Parker's natural replacement. BTW I think Parker is very fit and because he doesn't rely on pace or agility is the sort of player who can play on for another two or three years so no problem there AFAIC. Especially as the hope would be Sandro supercedes him sooner rather than later.

So that leaves us with a team of.....

Friedel - Yes old, but been so reliable this year and really looks after himself. I reckon he'll be good for at least another couple of seasons, giving us time to source a replacement.
Walker - Potentially could be around for years
Dawson - Another who doesn't rely on pace and could play well into his early 30's or if you prefer Kaboul who has another five or six seasons in him
Caulker - Has a decade+
Ekotto - Another I don't rate but clearly very fit and has four or five seasons in him
Lennon - Has a few seasons him
Parker - Two or three seasons left in him
Modric - Has 7 or 8 seasons
Bale - Has about 10 seasons
VDV - Has about 2 or 3 seasons
Defoe - Has a couple of seasons

Not too shabby at all. I don't know if anyone has actually noticed but a lot of the older players are on short contracts and didn't cost us much. And we still have squad players like Kranky, Bentley, Pienaar, Corluka etc who all have some seasons in them.

The key for me is keeping hold of Bale and VDV. If Modric wants to go, let him. And then we should switch to the old Utd style of 4-4-1-1, with two out and wingers and two solid defensive midfielders. I often wonder whether having VDV and Modric in the side is actually detrimental as they both want to fulfill each others roles.

If Redknapp leaves this Summer, he leaves us in a better shape than when he found us.
 
I'm not toooooo worried, when he goes, we won't crumble into a lower half team, we will probably still be top 6.

Most of the kind of players we need to sell are merely squad players, so finding squad players to replace them won't be too difficult. It's not as if we'll have to find 11 world class players.

However, either this pre-season or next, we will need a top quality goal keeper. This depends on whether we can get one more season out of Friedel, and I don't see why not. It's not as if his performances have slipped.

We will need a top quality centre back this summer. This will leave us with new guy, Caulker, Kaboul and Dawson. Good options.

We will need to replace Modric. He'll probably want to go and I don't really blame him. Plus I'd rather have the money at this point - it's been shown that having him doesn't exclude as from amazing dips in form, so we may as well get 2 or 3 quality players in for the money we can get for him. There should be a fair few creative midfielders around though, they are all the rage because the Barca model is getting adopted everywhere, so it shouldn't be too difficult to find someone.

We need a winger. Someone like Hoilett would be good. I think we can get another year out of Bale before he will want to go, but we can't keep struggling so much when either him or Lennon is out. Quality wingers also aren't that difficult to find if we have the money. If they are bought to start it should be pretty easy, bought to be a squad member is harder to find someone of quality willing to join. If we can get Hoilett and Redmond that would be good.

We need some strikers. Quality strikers won't be that hard to come by. A striker able to play upfront on his own probably will be. That will be a struggle, but it's a struggle for every team.

Over all I'm not too worried. It will be hard to get into the top 4 again, but it was hard this season, the fact that we are in with a shout is good. The ageing players can be released without hassle. The squad players are talented and should be able to find new homes providing we don't price them out of the market, and the positions we need to fill should be able to be filled well enough.


If we lost Bale, Modric, Ade, (VDV?) then our XI would be:

--------------------Friedel-----------------------
Walker--------Dawson-------Kaboul---------Ekotto
Lennon-------Parker-----Thudd/Sandro------Pienaar/Niko
---------------------(VdV)/Saha---------------------
---------------------Defoe-------------------------

It's not terrible. But we got a lot of work to fill the voids.
 
Deadwood we need to shift (well they are deadwood under Redknapp):

- Gomes
- Corluka
- Bentley
- Jenas
- Giovani Dos Santos
- Bassong

That's a lot of work. And we will have to probably have to take a hit on some of those if not all.

I totally agree with your opening post but I disagree with this. There is a lot of material to be worked on in that group, especially considering where we are heading at the moment.
 
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Hmmmm, bit OTT if you ask me. Now let's have some reasoned thinking.

I don't rate Walker but am resigned to the fact that regardless of who the Manager is he'll likely be sticking around. Sandro is also young and is Parker's natural replacement. BTW I think Parker is very fit and because he doesn't rely on pace or agility is the sort of player who can play on for another two or three years so no problem there AFAIC. Especially as the hope would be Sandro supercedes him sooner rather than later.

So that leaves us with a team of.....

Friedel - Yes old, but been so reliable this year and really looks after himself. I reckon he'll be good for at least another couple of seasons, giving us time to source a replacement.
Walker - Potentially could be around for years
Dawson - Another who doesn't rely on pace and could play well into his early 30's or if you prefer Kaboul who has another five or six seasons in him
Caulker - Has a decade+
Ekotto - Another I don't rate but clearly very fit and has four or five seasons in him
Lennon - Has a few seasons him
Parker - Two or three seasons left in him
Modric - Has 7 or 8 seasons
Bale - Has about 10 seasons
VDV - Has about 2 or 3 seasons
Defoe - Has a couple of seasons

Not too shabby at all. I don't know if anyone has actually noticed but a lot of the older players are on short contracts and didn't cost us much. And we still have squad players like Kranky, Bentley, Pienaar, Corluka etc who all have some seasons in them.

The key for me is keeping hold of Bale and VDV. If Modric wants to go, let him. And then we should switch to the old Utd style of 4-4-1-1, with two out and wingers and two solid defensive midfielders. I often wonder whether having VDV and Modric in the side is actually detrimental as they both want to fulfill each others roles.

If Redknapp leaves this Summer, he leaves us in a better shape than when he found us.

IF we were to lose Modric and Bale, and we don't qualify for CL, then we have a lot to rebuild.
 
IF we were to lose Modric and Bale, and we don't qualify for CL, then we have a lot to rebuild.

Keeping Bale is the key. As I said I'd be quite happy for us to try a system with Sandro/Parker in the centre of a 4-4-1-1 and two out and out wingers. In fact if I was Harry I'd consider it for the next game and give Modric a rest anyway.

One thing I don't understand is when we are chasing a game, why Harry doesn't put Bale to left back and tell the holder to hold. That way he could put on a player like Kranky to increase our attacking options and Bale could still go forward and provide the width.
 
If we lost Bale, Modric, Ade, (VDV?) then our XI would be:

--------------------Friedel-----------------------
Walker--------Dawson-------Kaboul---------Ekotto
Lennon-------Parker-----Thudd/Sandro------Pienaar/Niko
---------------------(VdV)/Saha---------------------
---------------------Defoe-------------------------

It's not terrible. But we got a lot of work to fill the voids.

Well yes, but that's assuming we lose 3 or 4 of our best players and do nothing to replace them. This summer is going to see a lot of massive transfer activity. The ageing players can be released and replaced, the squad players can be sold and replaced, meaning we only need to find absolute top quality throughout the spine of the team - plus a winger and there should be a lot of them about. Goalkeeper, centre back, central midfield and striker. Not easy, but if we have money in the bank from say Bale, Modric, Bassong, Corluka, Dos Santos, Niko, Pienaar, Bentley and Jenas all shooting off then we should have about 100 million in the bank to replenish the squad, plus whatever money we would have had for a transfer budget this summer anyway. That's an average of 20M to spend on the key players we would need to replace, and that really should be doable. It should also allow a new manager to shape a squad well and truly in his image, rather than needing to wait a few seasons to make the transition like AVB had to.
 
Within the next two years, we're likely going to need to purchase three goalkeepers, two or three centrebacks, someone to replace/challenge Lennon, someone to replace Modric, someone to replace Parker/challenge Sandro if we phase Parker out, someone to replace Bale depending on how that goes and how he behaves and 2/3 strikers.

I hope the new guy is good in the transfer market.
 
I agree. I like a lot of those players.

It all really depends on who will be leaving in the summer. I am fully expecting us to lose Modric but I expect us to keep hold of Bale and VdV.

Don’t get me wrong, I don’t particularly rate any of those players that much (except for Corluka and maybe Gomes), it all depends on who we get in as manager and what he needs for the team.

I think that for a good manager players like Gomes, Corluka and Bentley could all fill a role. Gomes is still young and with the right coaching he has the potential to be at the very least a better back up than Cudicini. Corluka is very underrated and Bentley is sort of an expert player in what he do, utilize him in the right way and he might have an impact, see money ball ;)

I consider players like Dos Santos, Bassong and Jenas replaceable, even though they are still fairly young. They all offer great resale value which is why I’d sell them.
 
Keeping Bale is the key. As I said I'd be quite happy for us to try a system with Sandro/Parker in the centre of a 4-4-1-1 and two out and out wingers. In fact if I was Harry I'd consider it for the next game and give Modric a rest anyway.

One thing I don't understand is when we are chasing a game, why Harry doesn't put Bale to left back and tell the holder to hold. That way he could put on a player like Kranky to increase our attacking options and Bale could still go forward and provide the width.

You are smart. Why you haven’t been appointed manager of Spurs yet is beyond me, are you Bilic in disguise? ;)
 
fudging el. Suddenly Harry is the devil incarnate, the Spurs anti-Christ. With what he has been given he has done alright. More than alright.

Since his court case and the England brick, he and the team has come unstuck, partly due to his management, but not solely imo. The constraints on the squad set by Levy has had an impact. The team is tired and would have faltered to some degree regardless. Had we had more quality players available, and dedicated focused management from Jan who could quietly go about their business under the radar as before, we would be in a better position. Not signing someone like say Mata in the summer, or another in Jan, eg that Juve player, while letting Corluka and Pinaar go (no doubt due to our need to sell to buy in the future which makes sense).

In Jan we were flavor of the month. That was the time for Levy to a) make a statement signing and b) offer Modric a 90K a week contract.



The 2 problems I do have with Harry are:

1) His Substitutions. He rarely calls it right. Reacts too late or doesn't make the right change. What this means is his reading of the game, during the game, is not great. In hindsight he gets it. For example, Norwich - midfield was weak and we lost the game there. Today, gets VDV to drop into midfield more. But then, he just makes the obvious, and wrong move, weakening midfield again, probably a fatal move.

2) A lack of team organisation on the pitch. He could spend more time getting this right.


Motivating the team, bringing players on, transfer dealings (or attempted dealings) he has been excellent imo.


Its almost like he's already in the England job: he's capitulating under the spot light, but sadly while still at Spurs. I would be happy for him to stay on, especially if Levy can bring in another coach to work more on formation on the pitch with Harry. He said he would like lots of specialist coaches...
 
I would be happy for him to stay on, especially if Levy can bring in another coach to work more on formation on the pitch with Harry. He said he would like lots of specialist coaches...

he already gets 3 mill a year for telling the players to run around a bit, and now you want Levy to hire more coaches and give Redknapp even less work to do

that guy is one lucky dude
 
The most upsetting thing is that we were so close to establishing the foundation for a team that could qualify for the Champions League year in and year out. This season was our big chance to do so, and we've blown it. I'm afraid we're going to slip backward and become an Everton, who peak every few years but most of the time are 8th place finishers. Maybe the new stadium will change all this by giving us the ability to pay big wages to attract big name players, but what big name players are going to come to us now?????

This!
 
fudging el. Suddenly Harry is the devil incarnate, the Spurs anti-Christ. With what he has been given he has done alright. More than alright.

Since his court case and the England brick, he and the team has come unstuck, partly due to his management, but not solely imo. The constraints on the squad set by Levy has had an impact. The team is tired and would have faltered to some degree regardless. Had we had more quality players available, and dedicated focused management from Jan who could quietly go about their business under the radar as before, we would be in a better position. Not signing someone like say Mata in the summer, or another in Jan, eg that Juve player, while letting Corluka and Pinaar go (no doubt due to our need to sell to buy in the future which makes sense).

In Jan we were flavor of the month. That was the time for Levy to a) make a statement signing and b) offer Modric a 90K a week contract.



The 2 problems I do have with Harry are:

1) His Substitutions. He rarely calls it right. Reacts too late or doesn't make the right change. What this means is his reading of the game, during the game, is not great. In hindsight he gets it. For example, Norwich - midfield was weak and we lost the game there. Today, gets VDV to drop into midfield more. But then, he just makes the obvious, and wrong move, weakening midfield again, probably a fatal move.

2) A lack of team organisation on the pitch. He could spend more time getting this right.


Motivating the team, bringing players on, transfer dealings (or attempted dealings) he has been excellent imo.


Its almost like he's already in the England job: he's capitulating under the spot light, but sadly while still at Spurs. I would be happy for him to stay on, especially if Levy can bring in another coach to work more on formation on the pitch with Harry. He said he would like lots of specialist coaches...

It's either Harry or a combination of him and Levy who have left us with the situation described in the original post. I'm grateful for the highs. I like Harry. But I'm waking up and preparing myself for the hard truth about what we may be facing over the next few years.

The next 5 games are absolutely huge in our history. It could set us up to really compete continuously over the next few years with the best. Or as we have seen with the likes of Liverpool (who have had a SIGNIFICANT investment) it is not easy to force your way back in to the elite.
 
im rather apathetic about the whole situation (is that the word??) - in my mind until the new ground is built and we can seriously contend with the big sides in terms of wages then we are only ever going to get so far - so yes, it would be great to be able to get CL football the next couple of years but it is not the end of the world if we don't because i know in X amount of years we will be in a new stadium and in a position to genuinely challenge - if that means we have to go through a few years making up the numbers then so be it
 
Modric imho wouldn't be a big loss at all. I wanted him gone as soon as he declared he wanted to leave tbh but that isn't the reason.

Those type of players imo are vastly overrated in this league. You can get by just fine without a 'Modric' type player that might be integral in terms of keeping the ball moving but doesn't contribute in terms of goals and direct assists. The players that succeed in this league are the Lampard type players. Direct players that posses strength and an eye for goal (and are pretty good in everything else). Modric is good at dictating the game which would own in La Liga or Seria A but in this league it's good to have but not the be all and end all. I guarantee if we replaced him with a player like Sigurddson (Lampard mk 2) we'd be far more direct and more of a goal threat.

Bale on the other hand would be a massive loss.
 
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