Harry Redknapp’s decision to switch Premiership managerial roles from Portsmouth to struggling Tottenham Hotspur late Saturday evening has been heralded by many.
Metro Columnist, Mark Bright – who regrettably turned down the opportunity to play under Redknapp at West Ham United - said:
"I feel Spurs have rescued their season by getting Harry…[because] of his ability to coax the best out of his players”.
Indeed, Redknapp’s career has been characterised by his success at keeping teams up and building a solid foundation for the future:
- In his first managerial role in 1983, Redknapp saved AFC Bournemouth from relegation from the Third Division. A few seasons later, Bournemouth emphatically won the Third Division title, gaining a club record of 97 points.
- When Redknapp took charge of West Ham United in 1994, he helped to stabilise the club and bring through our current crop of established English internationals – Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick. In 1998, West Ham finished fifth in the league and won the Intertoto Cup in 2000.
- In his first full season in charge of Portsmouth, the club were promoted to the Premier League. In his second recent spell at the club – Redknapp saved them from relegation in 2005, took them to a ninth place finish in 2007 and won the FA Cup in May 2008.
Spurs in “need of a fighter”
With nine games played in the premier league this season, and only five points secured, Tottenham Hotspur were facing – albeit a premature - relegation battle.
Spurs Chairman, Daniel Levy – who was responsible for bringing Redknapp in – spoke of their current “need of a fighter, someone that has inspiration”.
As proven before, Redknapp is capable of this and has drawn attention very early on to a root cause of Spur’s problems - their “soft centre.”
It is unclear as to how much influence Redknapp had over the team’s selection in their first win over Stoke on Sunday. But a significant, positive change was made to this ‘soft centre.’
The light-weight Croatian midfielder, Luka Modric, was removed from the centre of midfield to play behind the Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko .
For the first time this season, Modric was given a clear role and one which played to his attacking strengths.
Strong, hungry players
As Portsmouth manager, in recent years, Redknapp has strengthened his team by buying strong, hungry players with a point to prove who were under-utilised at top premiership clubs.
England international right-back Glen Johnson arrived from Chelsea, Sol Campbell and Lauren from Arsenal, Peter Crouch from Liverpool and Jemaine Defoe from Spurs.
Most notably perhaps, is Redknapp’s signing of French international central defensive midfielder Lasssana Diarra from Arsenal last January.
After successive seasons of bench-warming at Chelsea and Arsenal, Diarra was adamant he needed to play and concerned it would affect his starting role for France in Euro 2008 championships otherwise.
His strength, decisive play and precision have made him one of the most dynamic midfielders in the premiership.
This is the exact player that Spurs have been craving since the departure of Michael Carrick to Manchester United a couple of seasons ago and one which has been heavily to Spurs since Redknapp’s arrival.
Buying power
Redknapp has already referred to his autonomy over buying players:
“I will pick the players…I wouldn’t let anyone else buy my players”.
This was a source of serious contention under former mangers Martin Jol and the recently departed Juande Ramos.
With the sacking of the Director of Football, Damien Comolli, it is believed Tottenham will return to a more traditional English football hierarchy, whereby managers are ultimately in charge of which players the club buys.
Redknapp’s authority as a highly rated top English manager should also earn him added sway.
The new Spurs manager has himself admitted
“that Portsmouth’s lack of financial leeway compared with Tottenham’s was crucial to him leaving”.
And despite his successful signings, Redknapp has struggled to purchase pricey, exciting midfielders that would contribute to Portmouth’s fluency in attack.
Certainly the signing of ex-Chelsea winger, Shaun Wright-Philips, over the summer would have bolstered Portmouth’s width. Instead, Redknapp had to make do with young loan signings – like 19-year-old Armand Traore – who although are talented, do not offer that same experience.
Tottenham have attacking talent in spades- with their £16m croatian Luka Modric, £15m David Bentley and young Mexican Geovanni Dos Santos yet to show their true potential.
Undoubtedly, Redknapp will strive to rectify this, and bring that added steel to a light-weight midfield and shaky defence.
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