Redknapp, Villas-Boas and the Future

If one was to believe what a lot of the British sports press are currently writing about Spurs, you’d think the club was in crisis, and our chairman was about to follow up one disastrous managerial decision with another. I am, of course, referring to the sacking of Harry Redknapp, and the expected imminent announcement of Andre Villas-Boas as his replacement. The club’s senior management has been accused of expecting too much and having ideas well above their station, being dissatisified with the club’s 4th, 5th and 4th place finishes under Redknapp’s tenure. Fair enough, you might say, Harry did do very well given the limited spending power Tottenham have compared to the likes of Chelsea, Arsenal and the two Manchester clubs. True, Daniel Levy is a very ambitious chairman, and recent successes in the league have similarly raised fans’ expectation. But is this the whole story?

While many Spurs supporters were left shocked or surprised by the decision to sack Redknapp, there has, over the last year, been a growing contingent of supporters who have grown unhappy with Redknapp and positively welcomed the news. Some were never satisfied with him – he was seen as not ready for a big club, had won nothing but one FA Cup with Portsmouth, and dogged by the rather unfair “wheeler dealer” tag that seemed to follow him everywhere. While helping Tottenham avoid relegation in his first season was a necessity, achieving Champions League qualification with the fantastic run of games at the end of the 09/10 season was by no means the work of a chancer who struck it lucky. Additionally, the marvellous start to this season was nothing short of brilliant, with arguably Redknapp’s best signing in Scott Parker playing a pivotal role in this period. It quickly became apparent, however, that this run was drawing the attention of a number of commentators who quickly crowned Redknapp as Fabio Capello’s natural successor to the England job. Following the rather uncanny timing of Capello’s sacking and Redknapp’s being cleared of tax evasion on one crazy day in February, many Spurs fans expected their manager to be gone by the summer, with Redknapp refusing to rule himself out, but promising his focus would remain on Spurs. Any doubters seemed to be quickly silenced by a crushing 5-0 victory over Newcastle. Unfortunately, any optimism in the Spurs camp quickly evaporated, as the team then went on a terrible run that saw just two wins in the league before Redknapp watched his dream job get handed to Roy Hodgson in early May. Redknapp refused to accept his attentions had been drawn away from Spurs by the prospect of this job, or that the team had suffered as a result of the ambiguity around his future. Others were not as convinced. A horrible evening in Munich meant that Spurs had once again failed to get an invite to Europe’s top table, and the fans were left to ponder on what could possibly have happened, with their side at one stage holding a 13-point lead in 3rd place over their rivals from the other end of the Seven Sisters Road, who eventually leapfrogged Spurs to the final Champions League spot.

The timing of Capello’s sacking and the conclusion of Redknapp’s court case could not have been more coincidental or contentious.

Redknapp’s failure to hold on to the now-infamous “Mind The” 13-point gap was a catastrophic event in itself, but his actions at the end of the season would be even more destructive. Redknapp realised his job was not secure, with only one year remaining on his contract, and many in Spurs’ hierarchy growing tired of his public demands to enter contract talks. Redknapp’s claim that a lack of clarity on his future could affect the Spurs players was met with more than a few raised eyebrows, given that only months earlier he dismissed the idea that the speculation linking him with the England job would affect his team as “the biggest load of nonsense I have ever heard”. Paul Stretford, Wayne Rooney’s agent who negotiated his reported £250,000-a-year contract in the most acrimonious circumstances, was brought in by Redknapp, presumably to put the squeeze on the Spurs chairman, demanding a pay rise and a new 3-year deal. In the same week that one of the most tough-negotiating chairmen in football buried his mother, the timing could not have been worse. Deadlock ensued, Redknapp was quickly dismissed, and, all things considered, understandably so.

This brings us round to the expected appointment of Villas-Boas as Spurs manager sometime this week. The press, being fans of Redknapp, also reserve a lot of criticism for his probable replacement thanks to his brief spell in charge at Chelsea. This hardly seems fair, given the considerable success he enjoyed while in charge at Porto, and the significant endorsement he receives from another press favourite and ex-Chelsea man, Jose Mourinho. Roman Abramovitch has never been noted for his patience, and AVB seemed no exception to this rule, being sacked after less than a season in which the widely touted “project” was given such little time to succeed. In fact, Villas-Boas left Chelsea in 5th place – they dropped a place and eventually finished the league in 6th place under Di Matteo. Of course, the other figures Villas-Boas had to contend with were his own players – the triumvirate of Lampard, Terry and Drogba who appeared to be poorly-suited for Villas-Boas’ system of play, and very sceptical of its merits. Also, despite protestations to its validity by many in the Chelsea camp, one can imagine that Villas-Boas’ age rankled with these more experienced members of his squad.

Harry Redknapp and his likely successor at White Hart Lane, Andre Villas-Boas.

Would AVB face these issues at Spurs? Many outsiders and detractors believe so, with a number of Spurs fans extremely wary of another decorated European manager after the disaster that was the Ramos era. But a look at Spurs’ squad in the most basic aspects would suggest otherwise. Are Spurs a young team? The likes of Bale and Walker certainly are, with most of the squad still well under the age of 30, so AVB’s age needn’t an issue. What about the style of play of our side? Again, the likes of Bale, Lennon, Parker, Van der Vaart and Sandro are all highly energetic players who could press opposition players fantastically well high up the pitch. Finally, returning to Redknapp, a frequent criticism from supporters was his perceived lack of tactical nous and attention to detail. Villas-Boas is, in this sense, the antithesis of Redknapp’s management style, and I for one look forward to seeing our players receiving this sort of tactical discipline.

Exciting times are ahead this summer for Spurs fans. Have faith, back AVB, support the team, and enjoy the ride. I’ll see you at the Lane.