Harry Tells It Like It Is…

Harry Redknapp proves he is one of few managers still in touch with the real world, telling the press:

“It looks worse than it is. I get brilliantly paid for a good job, it’s easy to get up each morning. Pressure? People in this game don’t know what the word means. Pressure is driving a lorry up and down the motorway 12 hours a day. Pressure is a surgeon performing an operation to save someone’s life. Pressure is losing your job and doing your head in trying to think of ways to pay the mortgage.“

What a legend!

Simon

A Rant about Man United and Vidic

 Just a quick article, but Man Utd are annoying me more and more with each game.  Every year that Man Utd excel in the Premiership, it seems to me (and I am woefully biased) that they have a factor that helps them out.  Years ago there was the mysteriously injury times where Utd would normally get an important goal, then there was Van Nistelrooy’s tap in’s after rebounds and more recently the season where Utd got a ridicolous amount of penalites (particulary at Old Trafford).  Now this season, my gripe is that Man Utd players, and particulary defenders, keep getting away with fouls.  I believe Nemanja Vidic is espically guilt of this. 

Lately, football pundits have been raving about Utd’s defence and how few goals they have scored.  On the one hand, fair game to them, they deserve the praise (espically Van de Saar).  On the other hand, I believe is this helped by players ushc as Vidic commiting fouls, and getting away with it, at key attacking moments for the opposition.  A good case in hand, is United’s recent 1 nil victory against West Ham.  In the first half, Carlton Cole was through on goal and Rio Ferdinand was all over him.  Ferdinand wasn’t gonna catch him and had his arms all over him.  I believe this was why Cole snapped at the shot from a bad angle and missed. 

Later in the second half, Carlton Cole recieved the ball and was heading towards goal with a good chance to score, when Vidic again was all over him.  He big time tugged on his shirt, pulling Cole back, and then bundled him over.  Vidic only got a yellow and West Ham lost the advantage and wasted their free kick. 

Now perhaps I’m bitter towards United, espically because they look like their gonna win the title with a run of 1-0 wins, but this isn’t just me is it?  It seems like United players keep getting away with this, and I believe it is contributing towards United’s impressive defensive record. 

James

Sunday 8th Feb, North London Derby Predictions

So once again its time for the North London Derby this Sunday at White Hart Lane.  Here are my thoughts and resulting prediction:

This game always has massive importance for both teams, but due to current circumstances, both teams will be extra keen on coming away with all three points.

Arsenal

Despite recent results not looking too great on paper, Arsenal have gone a number of games without being defeated.  However, they have not been playing very well, espically against teams who have just sat back and defended (e.g. West Ham, Wigan).   However this is unlikely to be the case against Spurs where both teams will most likely attack whenever possible.  Arsenal are also missing a number of key player, particulary in midfield, but this might not matter if players such as Robin van Persie and Samir Nasri perform as well as they have been doing lately.

Arsenal will be desperate for the points to catch up on the ever growing gap between them and Aston Villa and will also wih for some revenge after Tottenham’s late equaliser last derby.  Will this make them perform well?  Only time will tell.

Tottenham

Over the last couple of games, Spurs have been poor.  They have conceded too many goals in the dying minutes of the game, but at times the players have shown their true ability as a squad.  An example of this is the recent fixture against Bolton where they managed to score two goals and get back in the game, despite not playing particulary well at the time. 

However despite all this, the North London Derby has fallen at an opportune time for Spurs.  After their splashing out during the transfer window, the team could well of recieved a vital new lease of life, particualry with the addition of Cudicini in goal, Palacios in midfield and Robbie Keane upfront.  Keane is a player who always seems to get goals against Arsenal.  If they win this game, it could well give them the confidence to go on another winning streak.  Considering they are also facing a relegation struggle, they will be equally as keen as Arsenal to win this fixture.

My Prediction

Despite both teams having poor form, this matters little coming fixture.

into Sunday’s game.  Both sides, and particulary Tottenham of late, tend to ‘up their game’ for this clash.  The key feature will probably be the effect the new signings have on Spurs. 

Keeping all this in mind I honestly believe it could go either way, so I’ll opt for the middle ground and predict a 1-1 draw.

James

A Very Weird Transfer Window For Tottenham…

So the transfer window has (pretty much) closed for another season, and I have to say that Spurs have had a very, very weird January; re-signing Jermain Defoe, who left the previous January, and both Pascal Chimbonda and Robbie Keane, who both left in the summer. Here are my thoughts on these three re-signings:

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Jermain Defoe: Even though we made a loss on this deal, paying more for him this time around than we received from Portsmouth last January, I am very very happy indeed to have Jermain Defoe back at the Lane. He never wanted to leave a year ago, and his return will prove to be a real boost for us. In my opinion, he should be our first-choice striker hands down for the rest of the season – if he is fit to play. Jermain is fast, both with his feet and his head, and poses a constant danger to any defence in the country.

My verdict: £££££  – a maximum of five pound signs for an excellent piece of business!

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Pascal Chimbonda: Given Spurs’ current defensive inadequacies, especially at left back, the re-signing of Pascal Chimbonda, who left last summer for Sunderland, is a shrewd piece of business from Harry Redknapp. Chimbonda can play across the back four, and his versatility means that if anymore of our centre-backs get injured Corluka is free to switch to centre-back, with Chimbonda jumping in at right-back. With all our players fit, however, Chimbonda should always get the nod over both Assou-Ekotto, who has been consistently poor this year, and Gareth Bale, who has also disappointed, at left back. That said, in his first spell at Spurs, Chimbonda was by no means faultless defensively, and often looked a little disinterested, as if he was not fully committed to the cause. In this sense, he has something of a point to prove in his second spell back at the Lane.

My verdict: £££1/2 – three and a half pound signs. A sensible purchase, but the jury’s still out on whether Chimbonda will prove a long-term solution for our defensive problems, or whether he is simply a short-term stop gap.

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Robbie Keane: Even though there was a lot of chat towards the end of the transfer window about the possibility of this move, I still find myself in a state of shock that Keane has returned to White Hart Lane, just five months after he left under somewhat acrimonious circumstances last August. Liverpool paid around £20.3 million for the Irishman, who only played 19 games for the Reds, but in return Spurs have (according to reports [BBC]) only paid a measly £12 million to take him off Liverpool’s hands (that’s the initial figure, and could rise depending on appearances etc.). This represents an £8.3 million profit for Spurs – which is truly astonishing. While Keane always gave his all for Tottenham, and cannot have become a bad player in five months, I have a number of reservations about this deal:

1. This is very different from the Defoe and Chimbonda deals, in that neither of those players really wanted to leave Spurs in the first place – they were forced out for other reasons (mainly because they were unwanted). In contrast, Keane – to the shock and horror of the Spurs fans at the time – handed in a transfer request which effectively forced the club to sell him to Liverpool (a club that Keane had apparently ‘supported since he was a boy’). The whole saga caused problems in the Spurs’ dressing room, and is probably one of the reasons Spurs have performed so badly this season (that and Berbatov’s exit). At the very least, there was certainly some bad blood between Spurs and Keane after his departure, so much so that rumours suggest Harry Redknapp had to personally convince the unwilling Daniel Levy that Keane was worth buying back.

2. Linked to this, one has to question Keane’s motives for returning to Spurs: is it because he really wanted to come back, or was he simply forced out because Benitez no longer wanted him (the measly transfer price would suggest the latter, and that Liverpool were very eager to offload him to the closest available taker). At the very least, Keane will have some apologising to do to the Spurs’ fans, and will need to prove his commitment to the club (never doubted until this last summer) all over again.

3a. One of the reasons Jermain Defoe originally left the club was that he couldn’t get into the Spurs’ starting line-up with Keane and Berbatov the preferred strikers. At the time, it was accepted that Keane and Defoe, both small players, couldn’t play well together up front. I have trouble seeing whether Harry will be able to solve this dilemma by finding a way of playing them together, or whether one of them will simply miss out every week and have to warm the bench. For me, Defoe has to be first choice – and the fact Spurs have just paid £15 million to get him back, compared to just £12 million for Keane, would suggest Redknapp may agree here. As long as Defoe is the first name on the teamsheet, I won’t be too bothered, but I will be disappointed if he falls behind Keane in the pecking order.

3b. On a similar note, Robbie Keane likes to play in ‘the hole’ just behind the front man. So, according to Harry Redknapp, does Luka Modric. Modric has arguably been our best and most inventive player this year. Harry needs to figure out how he can accommodate both him and Keane in the side, given their similarities, without inhibiting either player’s game.

My Verdict: £££ – given these concerns, only three pound signs for Keane I’m afraid. Robbie must still be a quality player, but how he will fit into this team, and whether he is truly committed to the club, is questionable. Only time will tell. Personally, I would have preferred Roque Santa Cruz.