New song for 'Arry

[Kingstheman]

Yes, but you all firmly lay these 'mistakes' at Harry's door, I'm pretty sure it's not as cut and dry as all that. Besides again, I doubt either of them would have played much at all. We were interested in Cahill, we were looking a good centre half, it just so happened in January that Nelsen was the only one we got, now who that was down to? I'd say it was a combination, but can you really blame HR for getting an experienced head in as short term back up? I can't imagine anyone at the club wanted Nelsen to play, but with injuries that's how it worked out. Prices in Jan are far from DL's thing, we ended up with a couple of freebies. Thrifty.

It's a complete mob mentality here now and it's not what we need for the final 4 games IMO.

a) See SP.

b) I support Tottenham, not Harry Redknapp. I will be fully behind the team, squad and company that is Tottenham Hotspur. It does not necessarily mean I have to, or indeed am obliged to, support Harry Redknapp and his decision making.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

I like the chorus from this one:

 

[StartingPrice]

I like the chorus from this one:

I didn't think you could rate your own posts

 

[Mr Pink]

Yes, but you all firmly lay these 'mistakes' at Harry's door, I'm pretty sure it's not as cut and dry as all that. Besides again, I doubt either of them would have played much at all. We were interested in Cahill, we were looking a good centre half, it just so happened in January that Nelsen was the only one we got, now who that was down to? I'd say it was a combination, but can you really blame HR for getting an experienced head in as short term back up? I can't imagine anyone at the club wanted Nelsen to play, but with injuries that's how it worked out. Prices in Jan are far from DL's thing, we ended up with a couple of freebies. Thrifty.

It's a complete mob mentality here now and it's not what we need for the final 4 games IMO.

Paolo, I think most reasonable fans know its not all down to Harry and most also appreciate that he's done very well for the most part, and there are a number of factors in play here.

That being said, he's made some big mistakes and at the end of the day the bucks stops with the manager - he has to take some responsibility for it - which he doesn't want to do.

The problem is anytime someone raises these issues, no matter how reasonably, you're straight in there bashing everybody and defending Harry to such lengths it just doesn't look like a balanced/rationale way to view at all.

 

[Mr Pink]

The problem, as has been explained to you several times, is that they wouldn't have played much...because Redknapp insists on concentrating all his efforts and all his positivity on his preferred 11, causing the rest to physically and psychologically, get rusty. So, justifying the situation on account of one of the root causes of the problem in order to defend Redknapp at all costs and on all occasions is actually making it look like it is you who is the sheep, TBH.

You are right, we were looking at Cahill. Others on here have said that Levy was party to blame as well. But you are not accepting that Redknapp is partly to blame at all. For a start, I doubt if many would have been happy if Levy had paid well over the odds for Cahill, a player who has question marks against his name. Secondly, all very well and good, but wouldn't it have been sensible of the manager (like, THE MANAGER who has final say on these things), if Redknapp had stated emphatically that he wasn't letting Bassong go out on loan until we had Cahill secured, and if that failed to materialize he wuold just as soon keep Bassong as get in an injury prone old codger. For the record, Redknapp bigged Bassong up the high heavens when he first signed him, then strung him along, and then completely alienated him - accountability? For the record, you seem to want to lay all of the blame for failing to sign Cahill at Levy's door, but Redknapp has been very vocal in how he always wanted Nelsen - how to you know that, struggling with ever increasing wage demands and the competition of Cheslea who could meet any wage demands made, Levy didn't ask Redknapp how much he needed him, at which point Redknapp could have replied that he could get Nelsen for free and he's triffic.

Honestly, Paolo, I've joined you in supporting Redknapp against some of the less reasoned criticism and personal abusse he's received in the past, but he has seriously fecked up here, and, I repeat, it is you who is seeming like sheep for blindly supporting him no matter what he does.

Exactly SP. That's the nail on the head.

 

[Paolo10]

I give Harry more credit because of what he has done to the club, our squad was poorer, we were lower profile, we'd battled with mediocrity for decades and then fluffed it under BMJ. Ramos came in to solve that nearly men tag and then we were nearly relegated.

Harry came in, looked at the squad, bought, sold, it was an overhaul. No one expected us to get 4th and we did.

We failed to capitalise on our success then, this is where I put more on Daniel Levy. Holding out for high prices for flops, tight purse strings while we were rocking some of the mightiest in Europe. With the CL distractions our squad strength was a bit exposed while others strengthened more, did we learn? Invest? Not especially. A loan, a cheap 'One of the triffic lads' signing (that the majority of people utterly lambasted) at the last minute and a few freebies. We were linked with untold players, some I'm releived we didn't sign. Suarez especially. He is a ****. I don't care if he's Diegozinedine Maradonapelemessi. Certainly some players I wish we'd taken a punt on, but that's football. The thing is, Harry has never been shy of taking a gamble on a player, he's reknowned for it. It just doesn't smell like he's the major player in all that to me.

He rates players like P. Neville, Friedel, Scotty, Nelsen etc. because they're experienced and highly professional, they know the game, they're leaders, they have influence. The ones we've brought in have been good for us, we needed that in the squad IMO. For all the talk of Bassong I'd still play Nelsen ahead of him anyday of the week, you just can't depend on Seb. Friedel and Parker have been great for us and a large part of why we were in the position we were in.

Harry's 'failing' (if you can call it that, which you arguably could) is trying to keep everyone happy. The Chairman, the Board, the Players (Corluka, Pienaar, JD, Rafa, Bassong etc.), the Fans (LOL, although you wouldn't want to think it now).
Then there's the added pressure of the court case and to cap it all off, due to the amazing football we've player prior to the rut (in which in a fair few games we haven't gotten what we've deserved by any means) and in fact the progress we've made under his tenure, Harry is now the media darling for the England job.

We lose a game on Saturday to a free kick that never should have been and dominate possession, away, at a tough enough place, with a tired, injury ravaged squad, JD left to play a lone role (away) and then they get booed off.

Remember after the first 2 games? It was like it is now, possibly not as bad...but the feeling of this place was very familiar. I was against it then and I'm against it now. After the year he and we as a club have had, Harry is a fucking hero. Give the man a break until he goes, then you'll all have gotten what you wanted anyway. I think he'll be sorely missed, and whoever replaces him, if and when he does go, will need to be one hell of a football manager because if they're not, they'll soon be found out and you'll all be wanting them sacked for not being good enough and so it will go on.

Harry broke a bit of a bad cycle with us and managers, I just fear we're going to go back to that, which is a gamble that might not neccessarily work out for the club. If it wasn't for our own relative success, we'd probably still have that continuity.

When you look at the value of our squad, our stadium and our recent history, we're still punching a bit above our weight even at 5th IMO...and we're still not out of it yet, as difficult as it's going to be. As for the recent squad rotation thing, I don't think the squad outside our first 11 or so is strong enough to have gotten us into the Top 4, certainly not with the injuries we've had, injuries are something you can't lay at the manager's door (although some of you might try anyway).

Anyway, I know I'm against the grain, but it's how I feel, so I'm unapologetic. The bad run has been a combination of poor and unlucky, but we've made great progress under HR and despite the poor run, we are 6 points off 3rd with a game in hand, 3 points off 4th on the same games and we have 4 games to go. The other two teams are possibly the biggest and richest respectively in the World, that's not that bad, all things considered IMO.

Maybe if our squad was stronger, and I'm not talking Bassong, Pienaar and Corluka, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Two or three players at the right time and we'd have had this wrapped up. I'm very eager to see what we spend this summer, if we don't it will be an absolutely humungous kick in the bollocks.

Sorry for the volume of text, got a bit carried away there. Anyway... COYS!

 

[Mr Pink]

So basically its Levy fault, got ya

 

[bomberH]

Personally, and I'll keep this short because my eyes have just exploded reading Paolo's post, my issue is with the nature of the comments against Harry considering how good he's been for us overall. I can understand people being depressed, frustrated, gutted and angry to a certain extent but some of the comments show complete ungratefulness (is that a word) for anything he's done. Perspective is lacking in bucketfuls for some people. And although I don't agree with a lot of the criticism, I can understand why people want him out. I just wish we'd all accept he's here for 4 more matches and make this place a little less vitriolic and a little more horny for Spurs and Harry.

 

[Mr Pink]

Personally, and I'll keep this short because my eyes have just exploded reading Paolo's post, my issue is with the nature of the comments against Harry considering how good he's been for us overall. I can understand people being depressed, frustrated, gutted and angry to a certain extent but some of the comments show complete ungratefulness (is that a word) for anything he's done. Perspective is lacking in bucketfuls for some people. And although I don't agree with a lot of the criticism, I can understand why people want him out. I just wish we'd all accept he's here for 4 more matches and make this place a little less vitriolic and a little more horny for Spurs and Harry.

That's fair Bomber, but I don't think most people are anywhere near as bad - as implied by the really pro Harry camp. Sometimes I get the feeling that they over egg the legitimate criticism, that quite a lot engage in, and lump them together in the same boat with the people who are indulging in the extreme criticism (which is unfair as far as the big picture with Harry is concerned).

Basically I think there are three main groups:

• Harry bashers - any reason to twist the knife
• Harry doubters - who frequently raise there concerns regarding several repetitive issues but are still aware of his strengths and his overall success to date, but fear we've hit the ceiling
• Harry lovers - he can do no wrong and will defend him, almost, in an irrational sort of way because of their long standing defense of him with the two groups above

I fall into group 2, but I don't like being lumped in group 1

 

[bomberH]

Yep, but in all the recent anti Harry threads, a fair criticism (and there have been a few fair ones) is often outweighed/followed up by a nasty dig or a 'he can fuck off the ****' type post. That's why the people that like Harry start defending him more than they feel they should need to, considering we've come very far under his guidance. In my opinion obviously.

 

[bomberH]

I think there's a group between the doubters and the lovers.

I'm easily pleased and having watched dire shit throughout the whole of the 90's, I've allowed Harry up to a hundred mistakes before I get arsey with him. He's on about 15 at the moment. I'm somewhere between the group I've mentioned above and the lovers, but I know he isn't perfect and had made mistakes. I know he also isn't very good at interviews under pressure, but he's brought me our best period since I used to go when I was 10 in the 80's and I'll always be grateful for that and cut him the necessary slack because of it.

 

[StartingPrice]

I give Harry more credit because of what he has done to the club, our squad was poorer, we were lower profile, we'd battled with mediocrity for decades and then fluffed it under BMJ. Ramos came in to solve that nearly men tag and then we were nearly relegated.

Harry came in, looked at the squad, bought, sold, it was an overhaul. No one expected us to get 4th and we did.

We failed to capitalise on our success then, this is where I put more on Daniel Levy. Holding out for high prices for flops, tight purse strings while we were rocking some of the mightiest in Europe. With the CL distractions our squad strength was a bit exposed while others strengthened more, did we learn? Invest? Not especially. A loan, a cheap 'One of the triffic lads' signing (that the majority of people utterly lambasted) at the last minute and a few freebies. We were linked with untold players, some I'm releived we didn't sign. Suarez especially. He is a ****. I don't care if he's Diegozinedine Maradonapelemessi. Certainly some players I wish we'd taken a punt on, but that's football. The thing is, Harry has never been shy of taking a gamble on a player, he's reknowned for it. It just doesn't smell like he's the major player in all that to me.

He rates players like P. Neville, Friedel, Scotty, Nelsen etc. because they're experienced and highly professional, they know the game, they're leaders, they have influence. The ones we've brought in have been good for us, we needed that in the squad IMO. For all the talk of Bassong I'd still play Nelsen ahead of him anyday of the week, you just can't depend on Seb. Friedel and Parker have been great for us and a large part of why we were in the position we were in.

Harry's 'failing' (if you can call it that, which you arguably could) is trying to keep everyone happy. The Chairman, the Board, the Players (Corluka, Pienaar, JD, Rafa, Bassong etc.), the Fans (LOL, although you wouldn't want to think it now).
Then there's the added pressure of the court case and to cap it all off, due to the amazing football we've player prior to the rut (in which in a fair few games we haven't gotten what we've deserved by any means) and in fact the progress we've made under his tenure, Harry is now the media darling for the England job.

We lose a game on Saturday to a free kick that never should have been and dominate possession, away, at a tough enough place, with a tired, injury ravaged squad, JD left to play a lone role (away) and then they get booed off.

Remember after the first 2 games? It was like it is now, possibly not as bad...but the feeling of this place was very familiar. I was against it then and I'm against it now. After the year he and we as a club have had, Harry is a fucking hero. Give the man a break until he goes, then you'll all have gotten what you wanted anyway. I think he'll be sorely missed, and whoever replaces him, if and when he does go, will need to be one hell of a football manager because if they're not, they'll soon be found out and you'll all be wanting them sacked for not being good enough and so it will go on.

Harry broke a bit of a bad cycle with us and managers, I just fear we're going to go back to that, which is a gamble that might not neccessarily work out for the club. If it wasn't for our own relative success, we'd probably still have that continuity.

When you look at the value of our squad, our stadium and our recent history, we're still punching a bit above our weight even at 5th IMO...and we're still not out of it yet, as difficult as it's going to be. As for the recent squad rotation thing, I don't think the squad outside our first 11 or so is strong enough to have gotten us into the Top 4, certainly not with the injuries we've had, injuries are something you can't lay at the manager's door (although some of you might try anyway).

Anyway, I know I'm against the grain, but it's how I feel, so I'm unapologetic. The bad run has been a combination of poor and unlucky, but we've made great progress under HR and despite the poor run, we are 6 points off 3rd with a game in hand, 3 points off 4th on the same games and we have 4 games to go. The other two teams are possibly the biggest and richest respectively in the World, that's not that bad, all things considered IMO.

Maybe if our squad was stronger, and I'm not talking Bassong, Pienaar and Corluka, then we wouldn't be in this situation. Two or three players at the right time and we'd have had this wrapped up. I'm very eager to see what we spend this summer, if we don't it will be an absolutely humungous kick in the bollocks.

Sorry for the volume of text, got a bit carried away there. Anyway... COYS!

1) You still aren't adressing the core issues, though, are you. Yes, he has done well for us, most of us, in responding to you, keep on saying this until we are blue in the face. The fact is, he has made those mistakes, and then attempted to justify himself by presenting the consequence of these mistakes as though they were viable explanations.

2) You are not the only one who stood by Redknapp after the first two games of the season - I certainly did, and I know there were others.

3) Again, most if us are going out of the way to stress that we should all get behind the team and that there shouldn't be any booing or such like, but that still doesn't answer the several serious criticisms that you still ignore.

4) But we are talking about Corluka, Pienaar and Bassong - they would have made or squad stronger without having to buy anyone. They went because of a lack of squad rotation, which is a failing of Redknapp, ultimately, as is his tendency to create a special spirit in his starting 11 to the point of isolating non-starters. So, as a direct consequence of his amangement style, we are those three players light...and then we wouldn't have been in this situation.

5) Redknapp inherited the core of a very good squad, and Martin Jol took us to fifth twice, and once it should have been 4th. It's not like he really took us from div 3 to CL, is it!

 

[Paolo10]

What are the core criticisms? These three players is it? Not rotating the team when we were winning? Tactics? In which games and how? What should he have done differently and would it have made a difference?

This is all snowballing on the same repeated critique that often I find unsubstantiated. No ones swayed me yet and there's no one close to. Amaze me, go on.

 

[Paolo10]

Those 3 players wanted football, even now they all probably wouldn't play, even with our injuries.

 

[StartingPrice]

What are the core criticisms? These three players is it? Not rotating the team when we were winning? Tactics? In which games and how? What should he have done differently and would it have made a difference?

This is all snowballing on the same repeated critique that often I find unsubstantiated. No ones swayed me yet and there's no one close to. Amaze me, go on.

No-one has swayed you yet because you have a closed miind, and refuse, point blank to even consider that Redknapp could be remotely in the wrong, to the point where, like in your post, below, you are making the same wholly illogical statements over and over again.

You don't seem to know what the core criticisms are because you don't actually seem to read what anyone else says. I feel like C & P the two posts I have already made today because you don't seem to have read them. But, here goes:

1) He concentrates on the first team, in a way that gets results but at the expense of leaving players tired in the final third of the season.

2) He doesn't include the squad players in his team building, so they are lacking in confidence and fitness, and feel detached.

3) He doesn't seem to have any awareness of core fitness training - contributing to the tiredness of our players.

4) He doesn't have any training for taking and defending free-kicks.

5) He makes some very strange tactical decisions - like playing 4-4-2 against Norwich, even though he knew that it would leave us open, and he could see, during the match that it was leaving us opn, but didn't make any effective tactical substitutions to adress the issue, for no other reason than that unspecified people said it made us look good.

6) He let go three players in January that many of us feel was a serious error. Yes, he is a manager at the top of the profession and we are just Internet punters, but, wake up and smell the coffee, paolo, we have won one game in nine,and that suggests there is something wrong.

7) He wants to take all the plaudits, but will not hold his hands up and admit when he makes mistakes - with idiotic excuses (see 5, above), that you seem intent on repeating to us as though they will be less idiotic with repetition.

Look, Paolo, as I have explained to you, already, today, I have often been on your side in supporting Redknapp. I didn't jump to these conclusions after the ArseScum game, or after the United game, or after the Everton game. I didn't even reach these concluisons after the Norwich game. It was only after the QPR game that I came to the conclusion, not only that these criticisms are very well (I have always known, for instance, that he prefers to focus on his preferred 11), but that there are hindering us from progressing any further. I don't I can be labelled as knee-jerking, and I am not being abusive towards him, adn I certainly do not advocating booing him and the team (I actually gave you an agree earlier in the thread for saying this). Yes, we should support him and the team for the next 4 games. And, at the end of the day, this is not the first time he has got us into a fantastic position only for it to all collapse in the final third of the season, even with a relatively benign fixture list - only this time we can't even say we are tired because of CL involvement. He has had the team for three and two third seasons, now - he inherited some good players, but you certianly can't blame any present failings on the previous regime. I feel that he has taken us as far as he can, and I don;t see why you should think that is insulting him to say so.

Those 3 players wanted football, even now they all probably wouldn't play, even with our injuries.

Jesus quite literally wept - those three players wanted football because Redknapp doesn't have any kind of rotation policy at all. Even now they probably wouldn't play because Redknapp doesn't have any kind of rotation policy. Rocket science it ain't. Look, it's simple - each season, CL or no CL, we hear exactly the same complaints about the players being tired and we see our form dropping off alarmingly. Redknapp employs no core fitness programme, and he sticks to his first choice players, through thick and thin. The reason he sticks to the same payers is clear, and produces results upt to a point - beyond that point, it clearly leads to tired players, a situation accerbated by the lack of core fitness. To compound this problem even further, he does not placate the players being excluded from his select group, with whom he creates a special group feel. Therefore, not only are they getting physically rusty because they aren't playing, but they are also getting psychologically rusty because he obviously makes very little effort to make them feel included. Simple.

If you think they wouldn't play, even with our injuries, you are not explaining why Redknapp didn't make a mistake in allowing them to go out on loan, you are only drawing attention to the problem - why did they want to go out on loan? They wanted to go out on loan because, where another manager could have put them to good use, especially during recent weeks, Redknapp has, instead, alienated them. We played an FA Cup semi-final with two old centre-halves who have chronic injury problems, and no cover on the bench - maybe Bassong may have been an asset. Yes, he got Nelsen to replace Bassong...but Nelsen was injured because he is an old centre-half with chronic injury problems. Walker has clearly been playing through the pain barrier quite a bit, and Corluka, as well as being a decent FB himself, can also play in the middle.

 

[am_yisrael_chai]

I think we just need an update of the song we sang at home against Newcastle, the first game after Capello left.

We want you to go
We want you to go
Harry Redknapp we want you to go

 

[Misfit]

Can't Smile Without You

Can't Smile With You

 

[Mr Pink]

What are the core criticisms? These three players is it? Not rotating the team when we were winning? Tactics? In which games and how? What should he have done differently and would it have made a difference?

This is all snowballing on the same repeated critique that often I find unsubstantiated. No ones swayed me yet and there's no one close to. Amaze me, go on.

Just as bad as the people calling Harry shit and leaving it at that. You're totally provocative with your're reasoning, because you won't reason.

It wouldn't matter what he did, even if it was obviously wrong to absolutely everybody you would still argue his case. In fact if he shagged your bird you would still find an excuse to get him off with it.

 

[StartingPrice]

Just as bad as the people calling Harry shit and leaving it at that. You're totally provocative with your're reasoning, because you won't reason.

It wouldn't matter what he did, even if it was obviously wrong to absolutely everybody you would still argue his case. In fact if he shagged your bird you would still find an excuse to get him off with it.

And this weeks' Freudian Slip prize goes to...Pinky

 

[Mr Pink]

And this weeks' Freudian Slip prize goes to...Pinky

I meant let off!