When Harry Redknapp arrived at White Heart Lane in October of 2008, Tottenham Hotspur was dead and buried. Spurs were bottom of the table and winless, and Juande Ramos was just fired.
In less than 3 years, Redknapp has brought Spurs from the outhouse to the penthouse - taking them to the cusp of UEFA Champions League football next season. Patrick Barclay of the Times talks about how Redknapp has revived Spurs.
Redknapp deserves great credit for reviving the club’s fortunes so quickly and dramatically. It was not easy to finish fourth (they even harbour hopes of third, depending on their result and Arsenal’s on Sunday, which would definitely put them in the Champions League) given the improvement in Manchester City and, to a lesser extent, Aston Villa.
They have been much better than either. They proved it last night at the City of Manchester Stadium, where they looked superior both individually - after Carlos Tevez’s influence had faded - and collectively. Redknapp is responsible for that teamwork. He has created a structure in which the quality of Luka Modric, for example, can shine. Modric and Gareth Bale are probably the most effective creative players in the country at present.
Rather like Roy Hodgson, another Englishman suggesting that a manager’s prime begins at 60, Redknapp is astute enough to know what a player can do and enough of a psychologist to get him to do it. Both have made management look simple during the current campaign. But to go into a difficult away match, as Spurs did last night, with such a clear and positive game plan was testimony to the momentum Redknapp has built at just the right time.
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