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Redknapp right now is a conundrum: I love him for doing the thing many more loved recent Spurs coaches coudn't do (i.e. get into the CL, end the Arsenal 11 year hoodoo, win at the Emirates etc). However, there are theses naging signs that he reaching that point like Jol did where he becomes stale and runs out of ideas then goes backwards.
In fact, Harry's greatest strength (his personality and media-charm) might be the major thing that has stopped him being heaped with the similar media/fan pressure that Jol started to get from early 2007 that built and built until the summer and autumn that year.
I worry because I see a set-up that often doesn't actually seem to be working very hard: how many times have we let in sloppy goals after barely 5 or 10 minutes?
I know you can say, well a manager can't legislate for X player doing Y, but how many times can this happen before the manager (who is ultimately responsible for football matters) takes the blame? It seems often that planning and due dilligence isn't really a routine part of preparation for a game. Is this why very rarely our tactics are not just "we'll just 'ave a go"?
I think it's also too easy to talk about it being because King and Woodgate are missing: they were missing for most of last season as well.
I also wonder if Harry really has the capacity or hard-work ethic to develop players. If you look at the really key personnel in our team, how many were bought by Harry? Ok, so our squad was already
good and just needed tweaks. But how many of his tweaks have come on AND excelled to much higher levels since playing under Harry?
Palacious? Was VERY important but has gone backwards, perhaps beyond Harry's control due to his personal tradegy.
Keane? Defoe? Crouch? All going/gone backwards (at the VERY most sideways).
Bassong? After a VERY good first season he has gone backwards in a VERY BIG way. Also often seems to really lack due diligence and preparation (remember him not being ready to come on properly at Anfield last season? I'm not going to mention the penalties given away)
Krancjar? Has he the will or work ethic any more?
Kaboul? An improvement on his performances from when he first came in 2007, but not sure if he developed since Jan 2010.
VDV? Time will tell, but he's world class anyway.
Sandro? Good player but was he signed by Harry anyway?
Gallas? Probably the same as he ever was; I'm sure Harry bought him in to do the devloping of others.
Assou-Ekotto stands out as the one person who seems to have had his game really brought on by Harry.
Harry's man-management should be called into question as well I think. He seems to have his favourites for whom butter wouldn't melt (Defoe, crouch, VDV, Thudd), but woe betide others like Pav, Bent, Bentley, Gio.
It's far easier to just freeze others out and ridicule them publicly than spend time on them getting their head straight, encouraging them to develop other aspects of their game, etc etc. This goes back to the lazy methodology that I see around our current set-up (which really is not much more than an old-chums network: Ferdinand, Sherwood etc. In fact wasn't Sherwood attacking everything relating to Spurs on Sky/the media before he was appointed? Perhaps appointing him was agood move actually.
Harry's tactical acumen: apart from last year's game at home against Arsenal how many times have we won a game using our tactics and not just 'having a go' and winning because we had the better players? I know we got a lot of praise in the media for the 3-3 comeback against Arsenal but actually we were set up shockingly in the first place. I had a feeling Harry was going to try the Modric-Huddleston cm pairing that worked last year and I was worringly proved right. This was clearly suicidal seeing at they were obviously going to play 3 CMs and also would have a more potent 3 this time (Cesc, Song were missing last year not to mention Van Persie who only came on in the latter stages of last year's game). Again, lack of due dilligence and planning but we got way with it as Arsenal are a poor shadow of previous teams although Harry's changes afterwards were spit on and we really played well in the second half.
I wont bother talking about the away games at Young Boys, Inter, Fulham (FA Cup) or Madrid (first 10 mins) where a lack of a plan B is often clear.
Actual results: put it this way in Spring 2007, how much stick would Jol had taken after no wins against Blackpool, Wolves, West Ham, Wigan or West Brom? NO WINS?
Harry's fan jibes: whether the fans are being ungrateful or not for what he has achieved, would Mourinho, SAF, Ancelotti, Wenger even Benitez say something openly about 'before I came here, they never had CL football'?? I remember the closest being Wenger in 98 when their fans were complaining about too many draws and he said something like 'when you've been dining on caviar sometimes it hard to go back to ready-meals.' At least that was a bit funny and not as insulting.
If he going to take credit for wins etc he has to learn to be able to take boos etc on the chin. Shpws a certain classlessness and wanting to pass the buck. Most of his peers would just say nothing, or just say 'we have to continue working hard' etc.
Transfer polcy: come on Ferdinand? Phil Neville? Beckham (remember all that??), Drogba????? I mean really. Again, smacks of lazy management and not wanting/being able to actually develop players and show real leadership from the top. One of two targets that have experience is one thing but this number is again starting to expose some limitations for me.
Basically it's the combination of these things that I believe makes people (like myself) wonder if Redknapp has taken us as far as he can. It's no shame to finish 5th but the way in which missing out on 4th is probabaly going to be done leaves a real bitter taste seeing as the current top 4 are nowhere near as dominant in the league as previous top 4 teams were (especially when compared to Jol's time).
Man city had not won an away game since Boxing until monday so we could and probably should have been in a much better position going into our last 5 games.
I actually think a bit of litmus test is coming up against Chelsea this weekend. If Harry starts again with a CM of Modric and THudd as part of a 4-4-2, not only are we likely to get battered but it'll show that Harry really doesn't learn from past games or do proper homework and planning to set us up appropraiately for the teams we are playing (especially teams above us in the table). Chelsea will not be as liable to collapsing from a good position like Arsenal.
In fact, Harry's greatest strength (his personality and media-charm) might be the major thing that has stopped him being heaped with the similar media/fan pressure that Jol started to get from early 2007 that built and built until the summer and autumn that year.
I worry because I see a set-up that often doesn't actually seem to be working very hard: how many times have we let in sloppy goals after barely 5 or 10 minutes?
I know you can say, well a manager can't legislate for X player doing Y, but how many times can this happen before the manager (who is ultimately responsible for football matters) takes the blame? It seems often that planning and due dilligence isn't really a routine part of preparation for a game. Is this why very rarely our tactics are not just "we'll just 'ave a go"?
I think it's also too easy to talk about it being because King and Woodgate are missing: they were missing for most of last season as well.
I also wonder if Harry really has the capacity or hard-work ethic to develop players. If you look at the really key personnel in our team, how many were bought by Harry? Ok, so our squad was already
good and just needed tweaks. But how many of his tweaks have come on AND excelled to much higher levels since playing under Harry?
Palacious? Was VERY important but has gone backwards, perhaps beyond Harry's control due to his personal tradegy.
Keane? Defoe? Crouch? All going/gone backwards (at the VERY most sideways).
Bassong? After a VERY good first season he has gone backwards in a VERY BIG way. Also often seems to really lack due diligence and preparation (remember him not being ready to come on properly at Anfield last season? I'm not going to mention the penalties given away)
Krancjar? Has he the will or work ethic any more?
Kaboul? An improvement on his performances from when he first came in 2007, but not sure if he developed since Jan 2010.
VDV? Time will tell, but he's world class anyway.
Sandro? Good player but was he signed by Harry anyway?
Gallas? Probably the same as he ever was; I'm sure Harry bought him in to do the devloping of others.
Assou-Ekotto stands out as the one person who seems to have had his game really brought on by Harry.
Harry's man-management should be called into question as well I think. He seems to have his favourites for whom butter wouldn't melt (Defoe, crouch, VDV, Thudd), but woe betide others like Pav, Bent, Bentley, Gio.
It's far easier to just freeze others out and ridicule them publicly than spend time on them getting their head straight, encouraging them to develop other aspects of their game, etc etc. This goes back to the lazy methodology that I see around our current set-up (which really is not much more than an old-chums network: Ferdinand, Sherwood etc. In fact wasn't Sherwood attacking everything relating to Spurs on Sky/the media before he was appointed? Perhaps appointing him was agood move actually.
Harry's tactical acumen: apart from last year's game at home against Arsenal how many times have we won a game using our tactics and not just 'having a go' and winning because we had the better players? I know we got a lot of praise in the media for the 3-3 comeback against Arsenal but actually we were set up shockingly in the first place. I had a feeling Harry was going to try the Modric-Huddleston cm pairing that worked last year and I was worringly proved right. This was clearly suicidal seeing at they were obviously going to play 3 CMs and also would have a more potent 3 this time (Cesc, Song were missing last year not to mention Van Persie who only came on in the latter stages of last year's game). Again, lack of due dilligence and planning but we got way with it as Arsenal are a poor shadow of previous teams although Harry's changes afterwards were spit on and we really played well in the second half.
I wont bother talking about the away games at Young Boys, Inter, Fulham (FA Cup) or Madrid (first 10 mins) where a lack of a plan B is often clear.
Actual results: put it this way in Spring 2007, how much stick would Jol had taken after no wins against Blackpool, Wolves, West Ham, Wigan or West Brom? NO WINS?
Harry's fan jibes: whether the fans are being ungrateful or not for what he has achieved, would Mourinho, SAF, Ancelotti, Wenger even Benitez say something openly about 'before I came here, they never had CL football'?? I remember the closest being Wenger in 98 when their fans were complaining about too many draws and he said something like 'when you've been dining on caviar sometimes it hard to go back to ready-meals.' At least that was a bit funny and not as insulting.
If he going to take credit for wins etc he has to learn to be able to take boos etc on the chin. Shpws a certain classlessness and wanting to pass the buck. Most of his peers would just say nothing, or just say 'we have to continue working hard' etc.
Transfer polcy: come on Ferdinand? Phil Neville? Beckham (remember all that??), Drogba????? I mean really. Again, smacks of lazy management and not wanting/being able to actually develop players and show real leadership from the top. One of two targets that have experience is one thing but this number is again starting to expose some limitations for me.
Basically it's the combination of these things that I believe makes people (like myself) wonder if Redknapp has taken us as far as he can. It's no shame to finish 5th but the way in which missing out on 4th is probabaly going to be done leaves a real bitter taste seeing as the current top 4 are nowhere near as dominant in the league as previous top 4 teams were (especially when compared to Jol's time).
Man city had not won an away game since Boxing until monday so we could and probably should have been in a much better position going into our last 5 games.
I actually think a bit of litmus test is coming up against Chelsea this weekend. If Harry starts again with a CM of Modric and THudd as part of a 4-4-2, not only are we likely to get battered but it'll show that Harry really doesn't learn from past games or do proper homework and planning to set us up appropraiately for the teams we are playing (especially teams above us in the table). Chelsea will not be as liable to collapsing from a good position like Arsenal.
only joking mate.
How about a tongue poke at Lought instead lol. 
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