Tottenham : A Regrettable January

In a sane world, a multi-million dollar corporation wouldn’t change CEO’s every 2.5 years and spend tons of money on never-to-be-completed experiments. Football might not exist in this sane world, but the Tottenham Hotspurs have a management philosophy as schizophrenic as an attacking Martian.

One thing the club cannot be accused of is inconsistency in firing managers.  The club sacked Martin Jol on October 25th 2007 and appointed Juande Ramos two days later. A year later they fired Juande Ramos on the same date, October 25th 2008, and appointed Harry Redknapp a day later.  Of course, the worst thing the Tottenham board could have done after the dismissal of Juande Ramos was hiring another flash-in-the-pan.

Upon his arrival, Redknapp clamored for more money to sign adequate re-enforcements during January.  The board agreed and Redknapp was given his desired transfer kitty.  Most Premier League followers will agree Tottenham’s problem lie with its defense, as crocked captain Ledley King and under-performing Michael Dawson offer little help to error prone goalie Heurelho Gomes. The transfer window was a chance for Redknapp to address the team’s defensive frailties but magical Harry took the road less traveled. In January, Tottenham signed midfielder Wilson Palacios for £12m and acquired goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini on a free transfer. Both are excellent signings as Palacios provides balance in the center of the park and Cudicini is an adequate goaltender. The £15m, £12m and £3m signings of Defoe, Keane and Chimbonda -all former Tottenham players - is foolish to say the least. Why has Harry Redknapp resigned ex-players who were deemed surplus to requirements less than 18 months ago, while failing to address more pressing issues?

Only Harry knows.

Sure, when Redknapp took control of Tottenham, the club was bottom with fewer points than a triangle, and under Redknapp, Tottenham went 4 league games unbeaten with 3 wins and a spectacular 4-4 draw against Arsenal.  But since the win against Man City on November 9th, Tottenham has amassed 13 points from a possible 39 with 3 wins, 4 draws and 6 losses.  And with the daftness of Harry Redknapp transfer dealings, this tired trend will only continue.

It will only be a matter of time before Harry’s penchant for refusal to take responsibility for problems really butts heads against a chairman who refuses to take blame for the club’s managerial merry-go-round.

Like his predecessor, Harry’s days are numbered.  Good thing he’s got a chart handy…

(Compiled by a Tottenham fan)

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  • Chairman Daniel Levy doesn't do stable so expect another 18 month manager to be whisked in when Harry gets the axe
  • Deepak Srinivasan
    Oh and great find on the diagram. :)
  • Deepak Srinivasan
    Ha except neither Martin O'Neil nor Steve Bruce would ever consider working with a quack like Daniel Levy. The club needs to be shook from the top down. Its in instances like this that you really wonder how such incompetent leaders were even allowed into the positions they hold. I suppose the daft follow each other.
  • Ninad
    hahaha this is one of the best pieces i've read in a long, long time.

    tottenham's policy of patching up the dam instead of rethink its overall structure is similar, if not identical, to Chelsea's policy of bringing out the blank check on overpriced, overrated, average players.

    redknapp is just another overrated manager, and is def. not the solution. i think what tottenham need is a more stable manager like steve bruce or MON. At this point of time, i would even take roy keane!
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