Home
Tottenham players revolt against manager Redknapp
Players have complained to chairman Daniel Levy about the
tactics and match preparation of the 65-year-old, who is hot favourite
for the England job, as Spurs' season implodes
EXCLUSIVE
By Wayne Veysey and Greg Stobart
Tottenham players are in open revolt against manager Harry Redknapp’s methods following the calamitous run that is destroying the team’s season, Goal.com can reveal.
A
cabal of players, including some of the most senior at the club, have
communicated their frustrations via their agents over the last few weeks
to chairman Daniel Levy during a run of just one win from nine Premier
League matches.
Goal.com
understands they have complained about Redknapp’s tactics and match
preparation, with one enduring theme being that training during the week
is providing little preparation for the weekend fixtures.
It is believed that senior Spurs figures have been so alarmed by the
players’ feedback and a catastrophic run of results that they would
consider replacing Redknapp as manager at the end of the season, even in
the unlikely event that he does not quit Tottenham to become the new England boss.
The
club has abandoned plans to try and persuade the 65-year-old to stay at
White Hart Lane and will not offer him the four-year £16 million
contract they had prepared.
Although Goal.com has learned that
Redknapp is far from at loggerheads with his entire squad – reports of a
bust-up with Emmanuel Adebayor are wide of the mark - a significant
number of players have questioned events on the training ground.
“The
players feel they are not going into matches well enough prepared,” a
Tottenham source told Goal.com. “For instance, they will practice all
week in a 4-5-1 formation and then play 4-4-2 at the weekend. Or vice
versa.
“They also feel there is not enough attention to detail
and tactics. One common complaint is little or no practice defending
set-pieces. There are question marks about the coaching and how much the
players are improving through the input of the staff.”
The
dressing room unrest is not just restricted to players affiliated with
one particular agent who has involvement with a significant proportion
of the Tottenham squad.
Some of the Spurs players are feeling the
effects of a 49-match campaign in which Redknapp has tended to pick his
strongest available XI for every league and FA Cup game, rather than
juggle his resources.
Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Scott Parker,
Kyle Walker, Brad Friedel, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Younes Kaboul and
Adebayor have each started at least 28 of Spurs’ 34 league matches, an
unusually high proportion even though the club's involvement in the
Europa League ended before Christmas.
“Some of the players are
exhausted and, as a result, their standards have dropped,” the source
added. “If you look at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson meticulously
manages the entire season and keeps freshening up the team while
relying on a core of regulars. Harry just picks the best XI and lets
them get on with it.”
Redknapp’s January dealings, in which he sold Roman Pavlyuchenko and
allowed Steven Pienaar, Sebastien Bassong and Vedran Corluka to leave on
loan - replacing them with injury-prone pair Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen
- has also raised eyebrows.
Senior Spurs figures are coming to
the conclusion that a parting of the ways with Redknapp is desirable
following a run of five defeats and three draws in nine league games
since beating Newcastle 5-0 on February 11, when Tottenham were third in
the table and 10 points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal.
The 5-1
FA Cup semi-final humiliation at the hands of Chelsea has also been a
key factor in the change of thinking at the top of the club.
Spurs
will not try and change Redknapp’s mind if, as expected, the FA make an
official approach to the club to secure him as the next England
manager.
Follow Greg Stobart on
Follow Wayne Veysey on
Players have complained to chairman Daniel Levy about the
tactics and match preparation of the 65-year-old, who is hot favourite
for the England job, as Spurs' season implodes
| | |
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td style="text-align:center" align="center"> <table style="width:100%;height:100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td style="background-image:url('https://cdns.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/topCountImg.gif');background-repeat:repeat-x;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;"> </td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="gig-button-td" style="text-align:center"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_awesome-reaction0-left">  </td><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_awesome-reaction0-icon" style="vertical-align:middle;text-align:left;background-repeat:repeat-x;background-image:url('https://cdns.gigya.com/gs/i/reactions/default/buttonCenterImgUp.gif')"></td><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_awesome-reaction0-text" style="vertical-align:middle;background-repeat:repeat-x;background-image:url('https://cdns.gigya.com/gs/i/reactions/default/buttonCenterImgUp.gif')"> </td><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_awesome-reaction0-right"> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> |
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td style="text-align:center" align="center"> <table style="width:100%;height:100%;" cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td style="background-image:url('https://cdns.gigya.com/gs/i/shareBar/button/topCountImg.gif');background-repeat:repeat-x;text-align:center;vertical-align:middle;"> </td></tr></table></td></tr><tr><td class="gig-button-td" style="text-align:center"> <table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0"><tr><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_dislike-reaction0-left"> </td><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_dislike-reaction0-icon" style="vertical-align:middle;text-align:left;background-repeat:repeat-x;background-image:url('https://cdns.gigya.com/gs/i/reactions/default/buttonCenterImgUp.gif')"></td><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_dislike-reaction0-text" style="vertical-align:middle;background-repeat:repeat-x;background-image:url('https://cdns.gigya.com/gs/i/reactions/default/buttonCenterImgUp.gif')"> </td><td id="gigya_reaction_bar_dislike-reaction0-right"> </td></tr></table></td></tr></table> |
By Wayne Veysey and Greg Stobart
Tottenham players are in open revolt against manager Harry Redknapp’s methods following the calamitous run that is destroying the team’s season, Goal.com can reveal.
A
cabal of players, including some of the most senior at the club, have
communicated their frustrations via their agents over the last few weeks
to chairman Daniel Levy during a run of just one win from nine Premier
League matches.
Goal.com
understands they have complained about Redknapp’s tactics and match
preparation, with one enduring theme being that training during the week
is providing little preparation for the weekend fixtures.
| TWO WINS FROM 10 LEAGUE GAMES | |||
 | |||
| Newcastle (H) Arsenal (A) Manchester United (H) Everton (A) Stoke (H) Chelsea (A) Swansea (H) Sunderland (A) Norwich (H) QPR (A) | W L L L D D W D L L | 5-0 2-5 1-3 0-1 1-1 0-0 3-1 0-0 1-2 0-1 | |
players’ feedback and a catastrophic run of results that they would
consider replacing Redknapp as manager at the end of the season, even in
the unlikely event that he does not quit Tottenham to become the new England boss.
The
club has abandoned plans to try and persuade the 65-year-old to stay at
White Hart Lane and will not offer him the four-year £16 million
contract they had prepared.
Although Goal.com has learned that
Redknapp is far from at loggerheads with his entire squad – reports of a
bust-up with Emmanuel Adebayor are wide of the mark - a significant
number of players have questioned events on the training ground.
“The
players feel they are not going into matches well enough prepared,” a
Tottenham source told Goal.com. “For instance, they will practice all
week in a 4-5-1 formation and then play 4-4-2 at the weekend. Or vice
versa.
“They also feel there is not enough attention to detail
and tactics. One common complaint is little or no practice defending
set-pieces. There are question marks about the coaching and how much the
players are improving through the input of the staff.”
The
dressing room unrest is not just restricted to players affiliated with
one particular agent who has involvement with a significant proportion
of the Tottenham squad.
Some of the Spurs players are feeling the
effects of a 49-match campaign in which Redknapp has tended to pick his
strongest available XI for every league and FA Cup game, rather than
juggle his resources.
Gareth Bale, Luka Modric, Scott Parker,
Kyle Walker, Brad Friedel, Benoit Assou-Ekotto, Younes Kaboul and
Adebayor have each started at least 28 of Spurs’ 34 league matches, an
unusually high proportion even though the club's involvement in the
Europa League ended before Christmas.
“Some of the players are
exhausted and, as a result, their standards have dropped,” the source
added. “If you look at Manchester United, Sir Alex Ferguson meticulously
manages the entire season and keeps freshening up the team while
relying on a core of regulars. Harry just picks the best XI and lets
them get on with it.”
 | |
| 4/6 |
allowed Steven Pienaar, Sebastien Bassong and Vedran Corluka to leave on
loan - replacing them with injury-prone pair Louis Saha and Ryan Nelsen
- has also raised eyebrows.
Senior Spurs figures are coming to
the conclusion that a parting of the ways with Redknapp is desirable
following a run of five defeats and three draws in nine league games
since beating Newcastle 5-0 on February 11, when Tottenham were third in
the table and 10 points clear of fourth-placed Arsenal.
The 5-1
FA Cup semi-final humiliation at the hands of Chelsea has also been a
key factor in the change of thinking at the top of the club.
Spurs
will not try and change Redknapp’s mind if, as expected, the FA make an
official approach to the club to secure him as the next England
manager.
Follow Greg Stobart on
Follow Wayne Veysey on
» Sky Sports News Links
» Hello....the site is still alive!
» 17 million deal for Musacchio
» How to Block Adverts on this Site !
» This is Our Season
» 'appy New Season
» Time to say goodbye
» Crouchinio