Harry Redknapp's men are earning their spurs

When Harry Redknapp left Portsmouth to take over from then Tottenham coach Juande Ramos in October 2008, Spurs were languishing at the bottom of the Barclays Premier League with two points from eight games and the most popular joke among football fans went ‘what’s the difference between Tottenham Hotspur and a triangle? A triangle has three points while Spurs have two’. It was clear that Redknapp had work to do to get his side up to scratch. This was after all a team that had played in the UEFA Cup — they’d lost to Ramos’ Sevilla a year before — and one of the established names of the League. And right from the word ‘go’, it was clear that Harry Redknapp and Tottenham Hotspur were a match made in heaven. His first game at the helm was against bitter rivals Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, a fixture in which the Gunners have always had the upper hand, historically speaking. Spurs opened the scoring when David Bentley’s screamer breached Manuel Almunia’s net, and despite Arsenal leading 4-2 with mere minutes to play, Spurs clawed their way back into the game through Darren Bent and scored the equaliser through Aaron Lennon to make it 4-4. His second game four days later saw him welcome Liverpool to the Lane. Despite Dirk Kuyt opening the scoring, Spurs equalised when Jamie Carragher put through his own net and Roman Pavluychenko scored the winner in a smash-and-grab move. Spurs finished eighth in the season: a respectable position for a side that had been mired in the relegation zone for the first quarter of the season, and having lost their key strikers in Dimitar Berbatov and Robbie Keane, who’d left for Manchester United and Liverpool respectively, just missing out on qualification for Europe after losing to Liverpool at Anfield on the last day of the season. Since then, Spurs have gone from strength to strength. An old warhorse in today’s modern day game, ‘Arry’ has been given the tag of being a wheeler-dealer in the transfer market. In essence, he is not. He is just someone who knows a good bargain when he sees one. After re-signing Robbie Keane and Jermaine Defoe and adding Wilson Palacios in his first season at Spurs, he has consistently bought players who can guide the team to a top four finish. The summer of 2009 saw Spurs substantially bolster their ranks with the arrival of Peter Crouch, Kyle Naughton, Sebastien Bassong and Niko Kranjcar. The next season’s transfer window saw the arrivals of Holland midfielder Rafael van der Vaart for £8 million, while Brazil U20 captain joined for another six. That season, the club duly delivered European football. In contrast, Manchester United signed Portuguese winger Bebe for £7.8 million without ever having seen him play. [caption id=“attachment_187492” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Redknapp is someone who knows a good bargain when he sees one. Scott Heavey/Getty Images”]  [/caption] In the entirety of Redknapp’s career which has taken him to Bournemouth, West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton and finally Spurs, he has spent a total of £222.23 million, but has made £230.37 million, throwing cold water on the ‘Redknapp is a gambler’ argument in the process. Even his Arsenal counterpart Arsene Wenger hasn’t fared that well. Le Prof, in his 13 years with the Gunners, has spent £236 million, and has recouped only £200 million. Compare that with Alex Ferguson at United, who’s spent more that £410 million, but has recovered only £250 million, and Rafael Benitez, who spent £210 million but got back only £125 million. Nice then, to break even. Given the resources that his rivals have had in the past, it is small wonder that they are successful. The current Tottenham squad, like Redknapp are hardworking and industrious. Brad Freidel displays reflexes that would put a goalkeeper half his forty years of age to shame, while Benoit Assou-Ekotto, William Gallas, Michael Dawson and Kyle Walker are quietly efficient players with a penchant for getting forward. In midfield, Redknapp has pulled off a transfer coup in snaring Scott Parker to North London. With the England international and Sandro policing the back four, Luka Modric and Rafael van der Vaart are free to provide ample service to Emmanuel Adebayor — who has said he would like to join Spurs on a permanent basis — and when he’s playing, Jermaine Defoe, who has always chipped in with goals in the current Spurs setup. And then there’s the wingers. In Gareth Bale and Aaron Lennon, ‘Arry’ has some of the deadliest wide men the League can boast of. Diminutive Lennon can cover the length of the field in a matter of seconds, has an excellent shot and an eye for a good cross, while his Welsh counterpart, a gem unearthed by Redknapp when he moved him from left back to the left side of midfield, is by no means less quick and a less able player, who happens to be an excellent set-piece specialist. Tottenham have enough squad depth to mount a serious title challenge, as has been seen this season. They lie third in the table, five points behind Manchester City and just two behind nineteen-time champions United, with all three sides yet to face each other in the second half of the season. Midfielder van der Vaart has said that Spurs will be mounting a title challenge, and they certainly have the depth in numbers to do so. Ledley King, a man so dedicated, a chronic knee problem with no cure will not stop him from playing for Spurs. Steven Pienaar, Jake Livermore, Sebastian Bassong and the ever reliable Niko Kranjcar are all versatile players with plenty of technical ability, with the likes of Kyle Naughton, Andros Townsend and Harry Kane poised to be the crest of Spurs next-gen talents. Should Freidel be unavailable for Spurs, they have not one, but two decent shot stoppers in Heurelhio Gomes, who on his day is unbeatable but is prone to lapses in concentration and Carlo Cudicini, who hasn’t been first choice in since a certain headguard toting Czech international made the goalkeeper position his own at Chelsea. Spurs are enjoying their best season in decades, and their fluid, incisive brand of passing football has been at par with Arsenal this season. It just happens to be that Harry Redknapp has never managed a side with ambitions of silverware in the past, but that could change. Tottenham are known to be the sleeping giants of English football. Don’t be surprised if they do rise under the guidance of ‘Twitchy’ Harry Redknapp.