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Well, that was the mantra heard form the mouth of the new Tottenham
manager when he arrived and as the season went on. It made a
change from his statements at other clubs, where lack of resources
undermined his success and he was constantly "down to the bare bones."
But Harry's comments were a two pronged
attack.
Firstly on foreign managers and the
continental system of having a Director of Football and a coach.
With the hiring of Redknapp, Daniel Levy hasn't entirely disposed of the
idea of such a regime, but has had to fall back on the traditional
English model of a manager and his coaches running the show. It
has been an expensive experiment, with a number of coaches being
dismissed and new ones brought in at great expense. The idea of
the role of the Director of Football or Sporting Director would be to
find the players for the head coach, but what seemed to happen at
Tottenham was that the brief was not necessarily to go out and get the
players that the head coach wanted, but to buy players who had sell on
potential and the two were not always compatible.
Secondly, Harry was blowing his own
trumpet. And for what he achieved at Tottenham in the seven months
he was in charge he deserves to. While there have always been some
aspects of his management I have not approved of, he has got the players
playing a system that suits them and playing confidently. Thus the
points have come to firstly keep Spurs in the Premier League when it
looked for a long time that their tenure might seriously be under threat
and then to mount a late challenge for a place in the new Europa League.
In between there was the run to the League Cup Final too.
It had seemed that the season was
dragging on for ever and with a tough second half of the campaign, May
appeared to be a lifetime away. But with the improved performances
and big wins over Chelsea and Aston Villa, all too soon the end of the
season arrived.
But back in the summer, it all seemed to
be reasonably positive. Having lost Robbie Keane for £24 million
to Liverpool, which was good business and then Dimitar Berbatov to
Manchester United for £32 million, the money we got for the Bulgarian
striker was pushed as far as we could, but leaving two games into the
season, it left Tottenham with little time to get a like-for-like
replacement. Securing the services of Spartak Moscow forward Roman
Pavlyuchenko was a good move, but he had just finished a full season for
his club and was new to the country and English football. Getting
the promising young forward Fraizer Campbell on loan from United as part
of the Berbatov deal was to ensure there was cover for the two strikers
we now had left, having sold Jermaine Defoe in January and
Others coming in were goalkeeper Heurelho
Gomes from PSV Eindhoven; Manchester City's Croatian defender Vedran
Corluka to play alongside Luke Modric, the talented midfielder, who
signed from Dinamo Zagreb early on in the summer; Blackburn Rovers'
England winger David Bentley arrived for a fee that could rise to £17
million; Giovani Dos Santos, a talented young Mexican midfielder joined
from Barcelona and the signing of another youngster caused a certain
amount of controversy, when a tribunal ruled that Spurs had to pay only
£700,000 for 16 year old midfielder John Bostock. Having been
brought through the Crystal Palace youth system, the Eagles chairman
Simon Jordan said he was considering leaving football after the decision
to pay them peanuts for a player they had raised. Mr. Jordan
is still in his position as Chairman of Crystal Palace. Spurs also
signed another experienced goalkeeper in Cesar Sanchez from Real
Zaragoza, with a couple of Academy signings made too in the shape of
Belgian striker Paul-Jose M'Poku and Italian keeper Mirko Ranieri.
Pre-season went well after an intensive
training camp in Spain and the season was one which we looked forward
to, with the only concern in the attacking section with the two main
forwards having left - having scored 40 goals the previous season.
Juande Ramos had the team playing neat little triangles in and around
the edge of the opposition's penalty area, which provided the sort of
supply for Bent and others to feed on. But this was against sides
who were not of the quality we were about to face or those who were
still some way off their opening game. it wasn't quite a false
sense of security, but the opening day defeat at Middlesbrough failed to
satisfy fans, with Berbatov sulking on the bench as he was not mentally
ready for the battle. Soon enough, he was mentally ready to join
Man U, as he had suddenly outgrown White Hart Lane and Liverpool had moved
in to snap up Robbie Keane, who joined the club he had always supported.
Another 1-2 defeat in the first home game
to Sunderland did not send ripples of worry through the crowd, but
things were not quite right and an away draw at Chelsea seemed to
indicate that things could be turned around. Villa got the benefit
of a late Gomes dive and a late rally could not pull a result out of the
hat. This was the first hint that Gomes might not be the keeper we
had been led to believe he was and more was to unfold on that story as
the season went on.
A win over Wisla Krakow at home in the
UEFA Cup, a home point with Wigan wasn't a great result but a point
nonetheless and an away win at Newcastle in the League Cup was a good
result in the North-East; something we had not been guilty of in the
recent past. Back to league business, Spurs were undone by a
Jermain Defoe penalty at Portsmouth as the game finished 0-2 and perhaps
inevitably, it was our former striker who started the rot, then newly
promoted Hull City beat us 1-0 at the Lane, which was not as much of a
shock as it might sound. They were setting the cat among the
pigeons in the top division and had won at Arsenal previously.
However, it was poor finishing that cost Spurs and again, this was a
recurrent theme through the season. Another defeat at Stoke City
1-2, with Bale sent off early and Dawson sent off late, left Spurs with
just two points after eight games.
I reckon that following this game, with
Ramos going off the pitch at the Britannia Stadium to a heated reception
from the Spurs fans and looking like a fish out of water, the board set
about finding a replacement for the Spaniard. He took the team to
Italy, where they lost 0-2 to Udinese, but before the next game against
Bolton Wanderers, which became the first of many "must-win" matches, he
had been relieved of control along with Gus Poyet and in came Redknapp
senior with the proviso that the Director of Football post be abolished
(and Damien Comolli ousted with it) to be replaced by a more traditional
Football manager and coaching staff set-up.
With the need to get someone on board who
understood the Premier League and how to get away from the foot of the
table, Daniel Levy recognised that things had to change and made a swift
decision to do so, even though ANOTHER change in management would cost
millions in pay-offs and contracts. There was an almost immediate
effect, as often happens with a new boss and while Clive Allen and Alex
Inglethorpe were nominally in charge, it was the old hand of Redknapp
that was behind them in the changing room that saw Spurs win 2-1 and in
one fell swoop exceed the number of points they had from the first eight
games and put an end to the jokes that were going around like "What is
the difference between Spurs and a triangle ?"
Harry's first real game in change saw him
take Spurs to Arsenal, who were riding high and their fans loving the
plight Tottenham found themselves in. When David Bentley struck an
outstanding goal from almost forty yards, with a steepling volleyed lob
that left Almunia back-peddling and unable to get back in time to stop
it, the home crowd were silenced. No surprise there, but they
found their voices when their side went 3-1 up with just under half an
hour to play. Bent got one back, Arsenal then made it 4-2 after 68
minutes, but as time ticked down, the chanting hordes in the home seats
were sure that their side would be condemning Spurs to the bottom of the
table. However, with a minute left Jermaine Jenas curled in a fine
goal and a minute later, when Modric fired over Almunia, he was gutted
to see the ball bounce back off the post. However, Aaron Lennon
followed up to shoot home and spark wild celebrations in the Tottenham
corner as they salvaged a point from nothing and this set the bar for
the performances which were now required and the way the team had played
when behind had not been seen for some time.
It provided the team with the impetus to
go on a good little run, which included two wins over Liverpool at WHL
(the league game the Reds' first defeat of the season and the League Cup
game a decisive 4-2 victory), a 4-0 UEFA Cup demolition of Dinamo Zagreb
and a first away win of the season; 2-1 against Manchester City, who
were reduced to nine men and Spurs to ten, when BAE was sent off.
The run was stopped by an away defeat at improved Fulham, but Spurs
failed to turn up (and Gomes threw one in his own net) and this was put
right with a 1-0 win over Blackburn at home in the next game, followed by
a similar result in Nijmegen to virtually take Spurs through to the
knock-out stages and a surprise home defeat to Everton came courtesy of
another deflection.
Another mini-run of League Cup win at
Watford, an easy win away at West Ham, a home goal-less draw with Man U
and a draw in the last UEFA Cup group game with Spartak Moscow after
being 0-2 down showed good progress and a willingness to battle, but it
stopped in the last minute at Newcastle, who condemned us to a 1-2
defeat. Last minute goals were rapidly becoming another unwanted
regular occurrence of our games.
Christmas and New Year saw a dispiriting
0-0 draw at home to Fulham and a 0-2 defeat at West Bromwich Albion,
which saw Assou-Ekotto get his second red card of the season. An
FA Cup win over Wigan at home and a 0-1 last minute defeat away to the
Latics sandwiched a 4-1 home win over Burnley in the semi-final first
leg of the League Cup, having been 0-1 down before sweeping past the
Lancashire club.
This period came at the end of the
January transfer window and the re-signing of Jermain Defoe and Robbie
Keane (the latter at a reduced price from that we sold him for) gave the
club a boost in the forward line and the purchase of Wilson Palacios
brought a hard centre to the midfield, which Redknapp had identified as
a necessity. Not having seen much of the Honduran before, his
presence certainly had a major influence on the progress Spurs were
about to make. One further incomer was Pascal Chimbonda, returning
after six months, having left under a bit of a cloud, but brought in to
provide cover across the back four. Defoe struck in his second
game back, playing against his old team Portsmouth to earn a 1-1 draw
and his next goal was a very important one. Leading by three
goals, Spurs went to Turf Moor and found themselves going out of the
League Cup, as Burnley got a 3-0 lead in the second leg. Extra
time was played, as away goals don't count double until the end of 120
minutes. This allowed Roman Pavlyuchenko to hit his sixth League
Cup goal after being set up by Defoe, who then scored in the last minute
to see Tottenham through to Wembley with a 6-4 aggregate score-line.
With other things a priority, Harry Redknapp put out a decent enough
team at Old Trafford in the Fourth Round of the FA Cup, good enough to
take the lead, but eventually to meekly succumb 1-2.
But back in the league, there was still
much work to be done. A vital 3-1 win over fellow strugglers Stoke
City parked an unbeaten run at home that stretched until the end of the
season. Away, it was the same old story, with a late goal denying
Spurs anything at Bolton, despite coming back to 2-2 after being two
down. A home draw against high flying Arsenal gave more
confidence, but the UEFA Cup Round of 32 tie came at the wrong time and
Redknapp gave the league his concentration and Spurs lost 0-2 in Ukraine
to Shakthar Donetsk with a team featuring Academy player Dean Parrett
making his debut and other fringe players making up the numbers.
Following the long trip back from the
Eastern front, Spurs had an extra day to prepare for a Monday night live
TV game at Hull. Compared to earlier in the season, Hull were now
dropping down the table and their home form had not been as good as it
was away from the KC Stadium. Spurs went ahead, were pegged back,
but Woodgate's header in the 85th minute was a reversal of fortune with
a late winner ensuring three points to help bump Spurs up to 14th in the
table, a point behind Hull, but it was still very tight at the bottom
and up to mid-table, there was only nine points separating teams from
the relegation places.
I am sure that going out of the UEFA Cup
was a bit of a relief to Harry and a 1-1 draw at home to Shakthar saw
Spurs leave the competition, but with a League Cup Final at Wembley
against Manchester United just four days away, it was perhaps
understandable to a) get less games to play to hinder the league revival
and b) to try and concentrate on the final to get a way back into
European competition, however onerous that might be. A fine team
display earned Spurs a 0-0 draw against United after extra time, having
had the better of the chances, although a penalty shoot-out saw United
take the trophy.
The reaction to the defeat was important,
as a home game against second bottom Middlesbrough and a chance to put
some distance between the opposition. A sparkling 4-0 win did not
quite reflect the play and Boro were unlucky, as they had quite a few
chances, but into 13th, the climb continued and a last minute equaliser
by Keane at Sunderland got a point, when perhaps we should have had all
three with enough openings, but no finish ... again, another recurrent
theme through the season.
An away game at Villa and a home meeting
with Chelsea brought the promise of little in terms of points, but Spurs
went about their work at Villa Park very impressively and were 2-0 ahead
with goals five minutes into each half before a late Carew goal gave the
home side a little hope, but Tottenham held on for the three points.
Three more against the Pensioners at the Lane in a game which could have
ended with many more goals, but Luka Modric's settled it with a good
finish in the second half. So six points from six ... a major
contribution to removal from any fears of relegation, but a defeat at
Blackburn where two late goals following Palacios' harsh dismissal
threatened to undo the good work done in the previous two matches.
A pleasing 1-0 at home against West Ham
gave Spurs the double over them for the season and more importantly the
magic 40 points which is the aim at the start of each season.
Three more with another 1-0 win over relegation haunted Newcastle United
at the Lane saw the team bubbling as they went to Old Trafford for the
fourth meeting with the league leaders this season and went into the
half-time break 2-0 up and it could have been more. As often
happens with United, they were awarded a dodgy penalty that even the
referee had to apologise for giving after the match and from then on,
they had the impetus to take a jittery Tottenham apart and run out 5-2
winners.
So, four games left, which looked tough
on paper when we were struggling, but now it was a case of winning as
many points as possible to push on for a Europa League place next
season. This was something that was out of the question at the
turn of the year. So a 1-0 win against West Bromwich Albion, who
were far from the worst side to visit White Hart Lane this season and a
good away point at Everton saw Spurs come into their last home game of
the season against Manchester City still with a chance of seventh, with
a late Keane penalty giving Spurs a controversial 2-1 win.
The last game was away at Liverpool, who
had the title put out of their grasp by a good United run, ably assisted
by the penalty that changed the game against Spurs. They still
wanted to finish second though and Spurs needed to win and hope Fulham
lost to Everton to get the last European slot. As it turned out,
the game was a less than passionate one and Liverpool won, as they
usually do against Tottenham at Anfield, this time 3-1.
So the season was over, with the second
half of the campaign flying by compared to the endless weekend's of
misery as Spurs were tied to the bottom three. Harry Redknapp had
done a remarkable job in turning around the team's fortunes. Some
players flourished under his management, with Aaron Lennon having his
best season at the club, while others, such as David Bentley and Didier
Zokora were marginalised after players came into their positions.
The goals of Keane and Defoe were useful to add to those of the front
men and the midfield started to chip in with goals too, but the return
of Ledley King to regular first team football following the exit from
Europe and the Sunday/Thursday routine made a significant improvement in
the defence, which set a new record for only letting in ten home goals
in the league all season. Even the much maligned Heurelho Gomes
started to get praise from pundits and papers.
It was a memorable season in getting to a
Cup Final and being in with a chance of gaining European football until
the final day of the season, but it looked a long way from that when we
had two points from eight game.
MARCO van HIP |
