The best Spurs team of the PL era - manager

[scaramanga]

probably

depends on mitigating circumstances and his management of the squad across the whole season

And if he tried to sell Dele Alli to buy Tom Carroll (or whoever the current equivalent of Kenwyne Jones is).

 

[Lemonade Money]

Bale on Redknapp:

"He gets the best out of players, everybody works hard for him and that shows on the pitch. Every manager has to have their distance from the players but he lets us go out there and express ourselves, and if a manager does that he’s going to see the best of his players."

Modric on his time at Spurs:

"I think it was the right time for me to go, but I will always be thankful to Tottenham for everything they did for me. I became a better player there and they pushed me to this level where I am at the moment."

And on the notion that Redknapp held Modric back:

Modrić agreed transfer terms with Tottenham Hotspur on 26 April 2008. He was the first of many summer signings for coach Juande Ramos and was also the Premier League's first summer transfer.[23] After signing a six-year contract, Tottenham confirmed the fee paid was £16.5 million, equalling the club's record fee set by Darren Bent's move in 2007.[24] Modrić made his competitive Premier League debut on 16 August in a match that ended in a 2–1 defeat by Middlesbrough at the Riverside Stadium in Spurs' first match of the 2008–09 season.[25]

Modrić had a slow start at Tottenham; he suffered from a knee injury early in his career there and was labelled as a "light-weight" by sections of the media,[3][26] and Arsene Wenger.[27] This coincided with his poor form, leading to concerns both for himself and Croatia manager Slaven Bilić.[28] Modrić spent his early days at a position of number 10, before being shifted to the left wing to play alongsideWilson Palacios.[27] Spurs team-mate Tom Huddlestone later said, "his versatility was probably a blessing and a curse, he was that good that he had to play out of position for a bit".[27]

After the appointment of manager Harry Redknapp, Modrić was given a more familiar role as a central- or left-sided midfielder, allowing him to have more influence on the team and use his footballing talent more productively, for example in a 4–4 draw with arch-rivalsArsenal on 29 October.[29] Since this performance, his form improved considerably, coinciding with his club's improved performance in the league. Redknapp recognised Modrić's value to his side, planning to shape his new team around the Croatian playmaker.[30] Modrić scored his first competitive goal at Tottenham in a 2–2 draw against Spartak Moscow during the UEFA Cup group stages on 18 December 2008.[31] He scored his first Premier League goals against Saudi Sportswashing Machine in an away defeat on 21 December, a home win in the third round of the FA Cup against Wigan on 2 January 2009, and in an away defeat against Manchester United on 25 April 2009.[32]

Using Modrić in his former position from Dinamo Zagreb days made him more effective with inspirational performances against Stoke City,[33] Hull City,[34] and most notably on 21 March when he scored the only goal in a win against Chelsea.[35]

 

[parklane1]

based on season starting expectations yes

had the same people been asked again mid season (on the latter 2) the expectation would have been higher

we threw away massive point advantages both seasons, once is forgivable, twice is incompetence

tickle my balls with a feather, but you know good old A'rry it was not my fault, we had good men who were no trouble and a couple of world class players and its not down to me we threw the advantage I built up.

The guy is a fraud with mates in the press who thought the sun shined out of his arse, they did so because old " rent a quote" was always shooting off his mouth.

 

[milo]

Oh this again.

Does anyone think that we should spend more time practising corners?

 

[Finney Is Back]

based on season starting expectations yes

had the same people been asked again mid season (on the latter 2) the expectation would have been higher

we threw away massive point advantages both seasons, once is forgivable, twice is incompetence

Didn't we also throw away big point leads under AVB ("they're in a negative spiral") And Pochettino though?

 

[Baleforce]

Didn't we also throw away big point leads under AVB ("they're in a negative spiral") And Pochettino though?

yes we did (not the 13 points that Harry had though iirc)

its not that it happened, it's that exactly the same thing happened at the exact time the following season because he had done nothing to address it, it was the result of negligence and short termism

 

[Spur of the moment]

yes we did (not the 13 points that Harry had though iirc)

its not that it happened, it's that exactly the same thing happened at the exact time the following season because he had done nothing to address it, it was the result of negligence and short termism

Iirc strictly speaking it was 10 points, not 13, the other three were down to Arse's game in hand. 'Throwing' even a ten point lead sounds bad but let's not forget that Woolwich went on an unbelievable end-of-season run. So it was probably more a case of the South London wanderers having had their bad run of results earlier in the season whereas ours came right at the end.

 

[Baleforce]

Iirc strictly speaking it was 10 points, not 13, the other three were down to Arse's game in hand. 'Throwing' even a ten point lead sounds bad but let's not forget that Woolwich went on an unbelievable end-of-season run. So it was probably more a case of the South London wanderers having had their bad run of results earlier in the season whereas ours came right at the end.

were we not 2-0 up on them at one point making it 13?

 

[Finney Is Back]

were we not 2-0 up on them at one point making it 13?

I could be wrong here but I don't think teams are awarded points until the game is finished.... Although I believe that David Sullivan is investigating the possibility of West Ham adding the 'half time trophy' to their 'London League Winners* *excluding Watford trophy'

 

[Robspur12]

To just pick up on the 'not as good as he should've done' comment. How well should Redknapp have done then? Before each of his 3 full seasons started most people and pundits seemed to think that we would finish 5th or 6th. Yet he took us to 4th, 5th, 4th so was on par with or better than expected in each season.

There is no doubt that Redknapp did well for us and a number of players improved their overall performances under his coaching team. One that particularly stands out was BAE who went from being an inconsistent youngster to being one of the best left backs in the PL. He also handled Ade very well.

But apart from his last January transfer window he was well backed by Levy. As you rightly point out he took over from Ramos a team in dissaray. Although he initially picked up results the team started to struggle again until the Jan window when he bought in Wilson, Defoe and Keane in a big spending window which gave the side more balance. Poch has not, until this transfer window (his 5th), had the luxury of spending beyond what he makes in sales.

Redknapp may have helped Modric and bale realise their potential but at least he was blessed with having 2 such talented players in the first place. He also had King and later on VDV. Poch inherited a dysfunctional team with no where near that level of talent or potential. He made a team by coaching weaker players to be better.

In the main Redknapp's scouting was not sophisticated. He tended to bring in players he had worked with before or established performers such as Parker, Pienaar, Friedal and Ade. That is fine and understandable in the short term but was unsustainable in the long term. This is where Poch is the better fit for Spurs in the long run.

At the time of his last season, Spurs arguably had a better team than Arsenal but failed, despite being 11 points ahead, to finish above them. Poch, comparitively, had a weaker team than the Arsenal yet sustained a title challenge for longer. I agree at times in his last season Redknapp's spurs played scintillating stuff. But, at other times, our play could be laboured and it looked like we didn't have a Scooby despite the talent at his disposal. Blackburn and Norwich at home spring to mind as well as the infamous Arsenal away game.

The failure to finish higher than 4th in 2012 is unforgivable imo. I get that it sounded a bit rich complaining about finishing 4th when we had only achieved it once before. But with a side made up of Modric, Bale, King VDV Ade Defoe and Lennon, the bar had been raised. That side was potentially title winning. I am always minded to compare it to Brendan Rodgers' Liverpool side of 2013 which player quality wise was about equal yet which sustained a title challenge right until the end and finished comfortably second. The following season AVB had a team without Modric, without King or VDV and yet beat Harry's points total.

That last season is my tainted memory of Harry. It is why Harry comes below Poch and BMJ for me even though the latter's results were not as good.

 

[Daisuk]

A lot of love for Jol from here as well. I dont have anything against redknapp at all, don't think we would've won the league with a better defense with bale and modric, which has become some sort of mantra amongst some, it seems. Sure, he's old school, but he saved us and got us our first taste of cl football.

Poch for me though. Impressed by the collective team effort last season, bar a few rare hickups.