Post by barndoor on Apr 22, 2009 12:44:22 GMT 1
AS if saving Spurs from the drop wasn’t enough, Harry Redknapp may be about to perform his second miracle.
Don’t be shocked if the White Hart Lane boss is resurrecting David Beckham’s career from the dead.
That’s the word from inside the game, which suggests that Becks could join Tottenham ahead of next year’s World Cup finals.
Beckham needs to find a place to play serious football when the MLS season ends in October and his signing is part of a £40million push by Spurs to realise their Champions League dream.
Redknapp is aware of the deal and if there’s one boss in the Premier League who can get the best from Becks, it’s Harry.
He thrives on the challenge of taking senior players who may have taken a wrong turn and making them great again.
Witness Paolo Di Canio at West Ham, Sol Campbell at Portsmouth.
What Redknapp offers Becks is an environment where he can thrive and a stage on which Fabio Capello can’t ignore him.
Beckham and Spurs is the perfect marriage. The former England captain wanted to be Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle when he was a kid.
As a man, the North London club offers him the right place at the right time to realise his dream of playing in a fourth World Cup finals.
And who better to play club football under? If Sir Bobby Robson is England’s greatest living manager, then Redknapp is the best still working.
Proof? Well, while Newcastle have been firing and hiring Messiahs in the hope of Premier League salvation, Redknapp has quietly worked a miracle at White Hart Lane.
They had two points from eight games when he took over and were rooted to the foot of the table. In contrast, Spurs have taken 42 from his 25 since Redknapp took charge on October 26 last year.
That’s an average of 1.68 per game. Apply that to the eight matches Juande Ramos had and Spurs would be in fifth spot — four behind Arsenal in the Champions League place with five to play.
Makes you wonder doesn’t it? Not what might have been for Spurs — but what the hell he’s done to turn it round?
According to those who know him best, Redknapp would be the last to claim success is all about him, his ability or his personality.
Speak to the players he coaches, though, and you discover that even if Harry denies being a Special One, he is certainly special.
It’s just he doesn’t go shouting from the rooftops. Redknapp’s style is understated and is based on over 45 years’ experience in the game.
He knows how to get the best out of players and very quickly. His players want to do their best for him.
Take Ledley King, for example. Under Ramos, the centre-back’s appearances were as scarce as wins at White Hart Lane.
Ramos ‘saved’ King for UEFA Cup ties — a decision the defender understood even less than the Spaniard’s dreadful English.
When Redknapp arrived, he sat down with the England star and asked him to explain in detail the extent of his knee problem.
Then he asked his captain to give him one game a week because he believed it would make a difference.
Since then, he’s played 18 matches — 17 of them in the league (plus the Carling Cup final) of which Spurs have won 10, lost four and drawn three.
King speaks of how Redknapp’s faith in him has been inspirational — while his desire to play for the manager has helped remove some mental blocks he suffered as a result of his knee.
Sounds simple? Redknapp is the first to admit that football management is not rocket science.
His method is not to over-complicate his gameplan or tactics. He believes in putting round pegs in round holes and getting players to do things they’re good at.
Signing Becks is part of a proposal that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is seriously considering and in doing so he would do well to remember the days before Redknapp arrived.
A time when thousands of fans protested at the shambles on the pitch. The Spurs chairman got lucky when Redknapp agreed to join the club but the remarkable turnaround since has nothing to do with good fortune.
Hard work, great organisation and a man in charge at the very top of his profession is the reason for Spurs prospering.
And that man is Henry James Redknapp. Or ’Arry to you and me.
Don’t be shocked if the White Hart Lane boss is resurrecting David Beckham’s career from the dead.
That’s the word from inside the game, which suggests that Becks could join Tottenham ahead of next year’s World Cup finals.
Beckham needs to find a place to play serious football when the MLS season ends in October and his signing is part of a £40million push by Spurs to realise their Champions League dream.
Redknapp is aware of the deal and if there’s one boss in the Premier League who can get the best from Becks, it’s Harry.
He thrives on the challenge of taking senior players who may have taken a wrong turn and making them great again.
Witness Paolo Di Canio at West Ham, Sol Campbell at Portsmouth.
What Redknapp offers Becks is an environment where he can thrive and a stage on which Fabio Capello can’t ignore him.
Beckham and Spurs is the perfect marriage. The former England captain wanted to be Tottenham legend Glenn Hoddle when he was a kid.
As a man, the North London club offers him the right place at the right time to realise his dream of playing in a fourth World Cup finals.
And who better to play club football under? If Sir Bobby Robson is England’s greatest living manager, then Redknapp is the best still working.
Proof? Well, while Newcastle have been firing and hiring Messiahs in the hope of Premier League salvation, Redknapp has quietly worked a miracle at White Hart Lane.
They had two points from eight games when he took over and were rooted to the foot of the table. In contrast, Spurs have taken 42 from his 25 since Redknapp took charge on October 26 last year.
That’s an average of 1.68 per game. Apply that to the eight matches Juande Ramos had and Spurs would be in fifth spot — four behind Arsenal in the Champions League place with five to play.
Makes you wonder doesn’t it? Not what might have been for Spurs — but what the hell he’s done to turn it round?
According to those who know him best, Redknapp would be the last to claim success is all about him, his ability or his personality.
Speak to the players he coaches, though, and you discover that even if Harry denies being a Special One, he is certainly special.
It’s just he doesn’t go shouting from the rooftops. Redknapp’s style is understated and is based on over 45 years’ experience in the game.
He knows how to get the best out of players and very quickly. His players want to do their best for him.
Take Ledley King, for example. Under Ramos, the centre-back’s appearances were as scarce as wins at White Hart Lane.
Ramos ‘saved’ King for UEFA Cup ties — a decision the defender understood even less than the Spaniard’s dreadful English.
When Redknapp arrived, he sat down with the England star and asked him to explain in detail the extent of his knee problem.
Then he asked his captain to give him one game a week because he believed it would make a difference.
Since then, he’s played 18 matches — 17 of them in the league (plus the Carling Cup final) of which Spurs have won 10, lost four and drawn three.
King speaks of how Redknapp’s faith in him has been inspirational — while his desire to play for the manager has helped remove some mental blocks he suffered as a result of his knee.
Sounds simple? Redknapp is the first to admit that football management is not rocket science.
His method is not to over-complicate his gameplan or tactics. He believes in putting round pegs in round holes and getting players to do things they’re good at.
Signing Becks is part of a proposal that Spurs chairman Daniel Levy is seriously considering and in doing so he would do well to remember the days before Redknapp arrived.
A time when thousands of fans protested at the shambles on the pitch. The Spurs chairman got lucky when Redknapp agreed to join the club but the remarkable turnaround since has nothing to do with good fortune.
Hard work, great organisation and a man in charge at the very top of his profession is the reason for Spurs prospering.
And that man is Henry James Redknapp. Or ’Arry to you and me.