[h=6]Five reasons why Daniel Levy was right to sack Harry Redknapp
Harry Redknapp’s friends in the press have been having cardiac arrests ever since he was fired by Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy, they have called the decision mental, idiotic and so forth, they are blinded by their loyalty and friendship to the 65 year old and ignore the cold hard truth about the former Portsmouth manager, that he deserved to be given the boot by the Tottenham supremo.
1) Inflated achievement
Some perspective is required here, so much is being said about Harry Redknapp taking Tottenham from relegation to Champions League, that view is too simplistic and some perspective is required.
Under Martin Jol, Tottenham finished 5th two seasons running, Spurs were a steady top six team, it was only when Juande Ramos took over that Tottenham started to fall away, any manager worth his salt, with the players available at Spurs, would have lifted them from 2nd bottom after Ramos was fired , it was hardly the greatest achievement known to man kind, all Redknapp did was restore Spurs to their rightful place as a top six spot.
Under Harry Redknapp they lost the Carling Cup final, they lost two FA Cup semi finals under Redknapp, one against a relegated Portsmouth side that should never ever have beaten Spurs and one against bitter rivals Chelsea in a 5-1 thrashing, even Juande Ramos won a trophy for Spurs, something Redknapp could not do and Ramos was an unmitigated disaster.
Redknapp’s achievements are comparable with Martin Jol and Jol was deemed not good enough, so why is Redknapp.
2) Unable to stop the rot when it set in
Yes Redknapp took Tottenham to third with a ten point cushion and if that would had been maintained then this sacking would indeed be questionable, but he did not, what he did was oversee a collapse of biblical proportions and as that collapse continued it became very obvious that Redknapp had no idea how to stop it.
Redknapp did not try any new faces, no new tactics, just sent out the same team week after week with the same tactics and whatever way one looks at it, to lose a lead over Arsenal like they did is simply unforgivable.
What club wants a manager that is unable to stop the rot, many other managers have been in the same boat and manage the stem the tide of bad results, Redknapp did not.
3) Loyalty
Much has been made of Redknapp desire to manage England and that any manager would want to take such a position, but how many managers are facing jail time over tax evasion and have their club support them through thick and thin? Not many, Spurs showed tremendous loyalty to Harry Redknapp but when the club expected it in return, Redknapp was found wanting and that lack of loyalty crucially undermined Tottenham’s season, the facts speak for themselves on this matter, one just has to look at the points gained between Capello resigning and Hodgson taking the job, in fact 10 points from 12 were gained after Hodgson took the job, that says it all.
4) Hypocritical statements
Redknapp said time and time again that the England job did not effect the players, he continuously said that professional players do not get effected by this, so lets look at two crucial statements from Redknapp
April: “I don’t think [the England speculation] affected the players at all, we’ve only had one bad game against Norwich, we’ve been really unlucky”
June: “I’ve one year left on my contract, I think the club should hurry up and make the offer because players will be unsettled if they don’t know if the manager will be there in a years time”
So, when it comes to Redknapp possibly leaving within months to take the England job it does not effect the players, but when it comes to one year left on his own contract it does effect the players, it hardly needs Socrates to work out that one out does it?
5) Great transfer wheeler dealer
One just has to look at the main business done in January to fully comprehend how awful Redknapp can be when it comes to transfer deals and we will not even get in to his time at Portsmouth.
Out
Sebastien Bassong
Vedran Corluka
Steven Pienaar
In
Louis Saha
Ryan Nelson
So, Tottenham let go three internationals that would have provided much needed depth and brought in two players in their mid thirties on loan, this wheeling and dealing played a pivotal role in Tottenham’s lack of depth when injuries started to occur at the business end of the season.
One may argue that Daniel Levy was behind this, they may be right, but any top manager, Ferguson and Wenger just to name two, would have gone mental at not being allowed to bring players in, dare I say they would have resigned, Redknapp did nothing and anyway, it is generally accepted that Redknapp made these decisions and not Levy.
Conclusion
Redknapp did take Spurs from 2nd bottom in to a Champions League team, however they were originally in a false position, were already an established top six team and as stated above, taking Spurs from 2nd bottom was not that great an achievement, any half decent manager could have done that, they were already an established top six team under Jol.
Redknapp oversaw a spectacular collapse that he was unable to stem, his transfer dealings were appalling, he showed no loyalty to a club that stood by him in his darkest hour, he claimed that the players were not effected by the England saga but would be by his lack of long term contract and the blunt truth is that Spurs were no longer progressing under Harry Redknapp, they were in effect going backwards and Daniel Levy did the right thing in getting rid of Harry Redknapp before it was too late.
Finally, one only has to look at Harry Redknapp’s career success to see that he is more hype than substance, one trophy in his entire career is not the stuff of legends and if Spurs want to push on and they have the players to do that, then they need a manager that can do that and Redknapp clearly could not.[/h]