Adam Dennehey WAFU manager
In January Harry Redknapp was leading Spurs into the Champions League and was the odds-on favourite to succeed Fabio Capello and lead England into the Euros. Just who would have thought he would have been jobless this summer?
There were rumours that he had resigned from his post on Tuesday which were later denied by the man himself. However it wasn’t really a surprise when news broke last night that Redknapp’s time at Spurs had come to an end.
In the eyes of many Redknapp had been Spurs’ most successful manager since Terry Venables and had probably been their best in a long time. The facts are that he has left Spurs in a far better state than when he took over and deserves much credit for that.
Yes, it would be fair to say that the Spurs side that was bottom in the Premier League when Juande Ramos was sacked would never have gone down. They were too good to. But it was the way that Redknapp turned the whole dynamics of the club round with stylish, easy-on-the-eye performances which won plaudits from around the country.
But for a penalty-shootout defeat to Manchester United at Wembley in the spring, Redknapp would have won the Carling Cup within a few months of his arrival. That defeat gave Spurs a taste of the big-time and Redknapp demanded it from his team to reach the big-heights.
He brought big-names into Spurs such as Rafael Van der Vaart, Emmanuel Adebayor and William Gallas adding a ‘winning-mentality’ into his team all whilst getting the best out of Gareth Bale and Luka Modric, two of his team’s biggest stars.
There were the odd cock-ups though. Whilst the re-signing of Jermaine Defoe worked to a treat, Robbie Keane’s return to the Lane never really worked out. David Bentley wasn’t given a chance to establish himself in the team and Giovanni Dos Santos was left in limbo, as he wasn’t given a chance or a transfer after multiple loan-deals to restart his career.
All in all Redknapp’s legacy at Spurs is very simple. He gave their fans a team worth cheering for, a team with genuine real-quality and one that stood up and ripped of the ‘underachiever’ tag going toe-to-toe with their fiercest of rivals Arsenal and Chelsea, something that money cannot buy.
There were great European nights under Harry. The games against the two Milan giants stand out. This Spurs team wasn’t a joke and despite the fact Redknapp couldn’t bring silverware to the Lane (as well as a win over Sir Alex Ferguson and United) during three and a half years, he has brought them to the platform that the club has been craving for years and that’s one on the verge of success.
Where does he go now? Nobody knows. But it would be foolish to think that Redknapp won’t find a job within 12 months. He could well end up at Everton if David Moyes leaves to succeed him at Spurs. One’s thing for sure Jim White on Sky Sports News on ‘Transfer Deadline Day’ will be worse off without his mate Harry!
By Adam Dennehey @ADennehey87
