Put the pen down and move away from the chequebook Harry!
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Now we all know that Harry Redknapp likes to dabble in the transfer market and he does on the most part get it right but he is also on the other hand famous for some of the biggest wastes of money the Premier League has ever known, the names Marco Booger and Florin R?ducioiu, isn’t that a type of cabbage? And a day barely goes by without the Spurs boss being linked with another big name signing and whilst 99.9% of these stories are pure fiction it can not be argued that Harry does have an insatiable appetite to mix up things at the club’s he manages, but perhaps he should quit whilst he’s ahead when it comes to his Tottenham squad.
Since Harry arrived at White Hart Lane the club has moved ever upwards and the club that looked destined to fight relegation when he joined ended the season painfully close to European qualification and now looks to cement their place in the top six, so how did Redknapp manage it?
Well clearly the former West Ham, Southampton, Bournemough and Portsmouth boss is a great motivator, unless of course you get on the wrong side of him then you are toast (David Bentley and Darren Bent know this more than most) but clearly his ability to bring in quality players has been a big part of the club’s upturn in fortunes.
Bringing back Jermain Defoe was a no brainer really, but a move that made solid financial and tactical sense. The nippy striker scores goals and will always do so wherever he goes and bringing back Robbie Keane was another intelligent move, although I have to say re-signing Pascal Chimbonda is a move I am still finding hard to fathom, but I digress.
However the cream of the crop of buys is for me Wilson Palacios. The man mountain is the perfect mix of controlled, sometimes uncontrolled, aggression and measured creativity. Some baulked at the £12m outlay but it’s a fee that will be more than repaid during his time at the club. His ability gives his fellow midfielders time and space on the ball. With the additions of Peter Crouch to the front line, the capture of Sebastien Bassong to beef up a injury prone back line and the signings for the future in Sheffield United pair Naughton and Walker I would say now is the time to stop. To put away the chequebook and leave things as they are.
There is no doubt that the north London club now has a squad that has the strength in depth to really fight for a place just outside the top four and with a bit of luck and if the players play beyond themselves week in, week out, then they could even try to crack the top four paradise but that may be too tall an order for this season.
Anyone looking for proof of the transformation beginning to take shape in N17 just has to cast their minds back to last season when it took the club until the 26th of October, a full 810 footballing minutes of disastrous defending, striking ineptitude and emotional upheaval, to get their first Premier League victory. In 2009/10 this was achieved in one glorious sunny afternoon against last year’s runners up Liverpool.
What a difference a year makes in football!
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