Redknapp on signing Vieria and Suarez for Tottenham

[lillywhites61]

So what would the team have been?

Gomes (Friedel)
Corluka (Walker), Kaboul, King, BAE
Modric, Viera
Lennon, Vdv, Bale
Suarez

....

Yup. Something like that, and yes that would have certainly been a title contending team at that time.

Imagine we had put that together, won a cup or 2, perhaps a title, qualified for CL a couple times in a row, Modric, Bale, Suarez all playing together ... all would have had less motivation to leave.

Well. What might have been ... a man can dream!

Defense maybe could have had a tweak here and there but certainly would have challenged, what might have been

 

[SpursManChris]

Interesting you mention 1971

Long before my time but........

My dad was at that game and always maintained that we let Arsenal win and that the Spurs crowd wanted them to win so they would win the league and not Liverpool because Liverpool were expected to win the FA final (against Arsenal) and would surley win the double and equal a record that only we had achieved in the 20th Century

He states that the Spurs team were playing around and basically rolled over for Arsenal to protect their historic record from the 60s

Yet this back fired due to Arsenal winning that cup final and in turn the double anyway


Now - as a boy I believed my dad to be a fountain of knowledge and accepted this as absolute truth without question but as an adult I have come to the conclusion that 90% of my dads stories were absolute bollocks (as common sense suggests this was also)

However I am interested to hear from fans old enough to have been at that game in terms of the atmosphere when Arsenal won (was it anything like that moment in my time with Henry, Vieria and company? or was there some level of acceptance and hope that it would preserve our record as my dad always suggested?.......I'm assuming he was the only guy in the crowd happy with the loss)

What, no apology?

 

[SpursManChris]

I'm saying a great many Spurs fans will never get fully behind him because he's an ex goon, yes. Have you not noticed this?

No I haven't. I am in Australia though, so all I have to go on is Spurs Community and the games on TV. I haven't read anything on here that suggests some people do not accept him. And when I watch the games, I can't hear any booing when he is on the ball. How pathetic though. How totally and utterly pathetic. It's like they think they're being better fans by not accepting someone who played for scum. I wonder if those fans cheer Adebayor goals? Because the second they do, they should wonder why they find themselves drowning in their own hypocrisy. I'm pretty sure they don't just stand still and silent.

Anyone still on COYS? Do they still have the Adebayor Yidometer going?

Haha. That's hilarious.

 

[Shea]

What, no apology?

For what?

 

[SpursManChris]

For what?

you informed me of a horrible fact.

 

[Shea]

you informed me of a horrible fact.

All part of being a Spurs fan my man - you're welcome







My dad has never apologised to me for the decades of pain and suffering he subjected me to with his short sighted 1960s glory hunting

 

[sloth]

That Jol interview must refer to Redknapp's first window with us when he bought back Keane and Defoe and also Crouch, and the club was trying to part-finance the splurge by off-loading him to Hamburg. A year later and Bale had only made two sub appearances the whole first half of the 2009/10 season and according to Clive Allen we were still trying to offload him to Forest or Birmingham this time, but apparently he wouldn't go.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

I'm perplexed by that Jol interview, in the fact that I cant get my head around how we would have had to go so far to try and offload a player that a year earlier had been courted by Man United. Always thought Jol was full of shit but that just doesn't make sense.

 

[Shea]

I'm perplexed by that Jol interview, in the fact that I cant get my head around how we would have had to go so far to try and offload a player that a year earlier had been courted by Man United. Always thought Jol was full of shit but that just doesn't make sense.

I wouldn't trust what either Jol or Redknapp told me so after reading both their respective accounts I am still ultimately guessing about what really happened

 

[xtrac]

Hmmm 'Arry re-writing history, but in both versions he manages to absolve himself of the blame......

Here's what he said in 2011:

http://www.theguardian.com/football/2011/may/13/harry-redknapp-tottenham-luis-suarez

Harry Redknapp has revealed that he considered signing Luis Suárez in January but opted against making a bid after being told by scouts that the Uruguayan was not up to the grade.

Redknapp's tantalising disclosure will set Tottenham Hotspur supporters wondering what might have been, as Suárez went on to sign for Liverpooland become a major factor in that club's reinvigoration, while Spurs' attempt to qualify for the Champions League fizzled out largely because of their inability to turn possession into goals.

Suárez will be seeking to show Spurs what they missed on Sunday, as Liverpool meet Redknapp's team at Anfield in a match that could determine which of the sides finishes fifth. Redknapp said he dispatched numerous scouts to watch Suárez at Ajax before Liverpool paid £22.8m for him but was informed that the player was not adept at leading the line and was too similar to Rafael van der Vaart, for whom Spurs were seeking a partner rather than a replacement. Ultimately Spurs made failed offers for others strikers, including Fernando Llorente and Villarreal's Giuseppe Rossi. "We kept looking at [Suárez] but people thought he couldn't play up as a striker," said Redknapp.

"They said he's like Rafa [van der Vaart] and you can't have him and Rafa or you'd have two players who want to drop deep, so that was the problem. We were looking for someone to play up front with Rafa. People said he couldn't do that, he drifts and comes deep. But he played up front on his own the other night [against Fulham on Monday] and he was fantastic."

Have you read his autobiography, if your looking for direct quotes of what he actually said, and what happened, i would tend to believe his book over a newspaper.

As we know and have experienced on several occasions over the years, newspaper articles explaining a story are either mis quoted or sensationalized, and doesnt portray the actual events.

Read his book its a cracking read, if not keep reading and believing the papers.

 

[jackson]

Have you read his autobiography, if your looking for direct quotes of what he actually said, and what happened, i would tend to believe his book over a newspaper.

As we know and have experienced on several occasions over the years, newspaper articles explaining a story are either mis quoted or sensationalized, and doesnt portray the actual events.

Read his book its a cracking read, if not keep reading and believing the papers.

These are direct quotes from his pre Liverpool v Spurs press conference in 2011, not from one newspaper article but used by many outlets - it's pretty clear it came from his mouth and not twisted into some BS article as you suggest. Just because it's written in his book doesn't make it gospel, but keep reading and believing if you wish.

I'll be sure to give it a read however I've got a 800m roll of tin foil that needs chewing, and those drain aren't going to lick themselves so might not get around to it for the foreseeable future.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

That Jol interview must refer to Redknapp's first window with us when he bought back Keane and Defoe and also Crouch, and the club was trying to part-finance the splurge by off-loading him to Hamburg. A year later and Bale had only made two sub appearances the whole first half of the 2009/10 season and according to Clive Allen we were still trying to offload him to Forest or Birmingham this time, but apparently he wouldn't go.

What has Jol said ?

 

[Spurs_Bear]

What has Jol said ?

Something about when he was Hamburg boss we were so desperate to offload Bale we offered him to them, but we they couldn't afford him, he asked for a loan and Levy said no. Something else about a smoke and pancake.

 

[sunnydelight786]

I'm perplexed by that Jol interview, in the fact that I cant get my head around how we would have had to go so far to try and offload a player that a year earlier had been courted by Man United. Always thought Jol was full of shit but that just doesn't make sense.

Redknapp says he never considered selling Bale, Jol has stated he was offered him. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle usually.....

On a side note I'm sure the Birmingham manager, or was it Forest, at that time also recently said he almost signed Bale. Seems to me we were willing to let him go if we got our money back on him.

Lets be honest if it wasn't for BAE injury back then, before he went to the ACN, Bale was not within a million miles of the first team. Didn't Redknapp say he was afraid to play him at one point because of the non winning streak with him in the team.....

 

[Spurs_Bear]

Redknapp says he never considered selling Bale, Jol has stated he was offered him. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle usually.....

On a side note I'm sure the Birmingham manager, or was it Forest, at that time also recently said he almost signed Bale. Seems to me we were willing to let him go if we got our money back on him.

Lets be honest if it wasn't for BAE injury back then, before he went to the ACN, Bale was not within a million miles of the first team. Didn't Redknapp say he was afraid to play him at one point because of the non winning streak with him in the team.....

Yes, he did, but the other side of the coin is that at the PFA Awards dinner Bale was the one who asked "Can I go on loan?" to which Harry replied "No, I need you for when Ekotto goes to ACN."

Redknapp has always maintained that he never entertained the idea of letting Bale go, I think he references something about being asked a question by Alex McCleish but it never got further than that.

Jol doesn't mention Redknapp, he says Levy, and to be honest I thought Bale was injured for a large majority of the season that Jol was at Hamburg, 08-09. The only chance it would have been was in the January window as @sloth alluded to earlier.

As I said, despite being a big cuddly bear, I trusted Jol the least out of our managers/coaches, thought a lot of what he said was just for show, I just cant get this idea right that we were offering Bale out to all and sundry, including to Germany, just to make 5-6m, when the year before when we had actually signed the fucker, Man United were all over him. It's what I don't buy about this whole, "Harry tried to sell Bale" thing, he wouldn't have had to try that bloody hard!

 

[Dennism]

Good old Harry. Its never his fault. Has he named the scouts? Remember that they were Harry's scouts.

 

[xtrac]

These are direct quotes from his pre Liverpool v Spurs press conference in 2011, not from one newspaper article but used by many outlets - it's pretty clear it came from his mouth and not twisted into some BS article as you suggest. Just because it's written in his book doesn't make it gospel, but keep reading and believing if you wish.

I'll be sure to give it a read however I've got a 800m roll of tin foil that needs chewing, and those drain aren't going to lick themselves so might not get around to it for the foreseeable future.

Listen you keep up the vendetta/witch hunt of a ex manager im sure your proud of yourself.

 

[Bus-Conductor]

Yes, he did, but the other side of the coin is that at the PFA Awards dinner Bale was the one who asked "Can I go on loan?" to which Harry replied "No, I need you for when Ekotto goes to ACN."

Redknapp has always maintained that he never entertained the idea of letting Bale go, I think he references something about being asked a question by Alex McCleish but it never got further than that.

Jol doesn't mention Redknapp, he says Levy, and to be honest I thought Bale was injured for a large majority of the season that Jol was at Hamburg, 08-09. The only chance it would have been was in the January window as @sloth alluded to earlier.

As I said, despite being a big cuddly bear, I trusted Jol the least out of our managers/coaches, thought a lot of what he said was just for show, I just cant get this idea right that we were offering Bale out to all and sundry, including to Germany, just to make 5-6m, when the year before when we had actually signed the fucker, Man United were all over him. It's what I don't buy about this whole, "Harry tried to sell Bale" thing, he wouldn't have had to try that bloody hard!

This is the same Redknapp who barely played Bale for months (partially - in his own words - because he was scared of his jinx that had seen him play 24 games without being on a winning side), played GDS about 3 times in 3 years, sent Taraabt packing (yes he's a twat but a talented twat who for all anyone knew could have turned into something useful like Bale ended up up doing).

Same Redknapp who packed Mbia off on loan (as not good enough for QPR) only for him to play a vital role in Sevilla winning the Europa League, and did the same with Granero.

Preferring players like Sandro (who he knows had had repeated serious injury problems) and Leroy Fer.

I think it's highly plausible that he was happy to swap a young kid (who in Redknapp's own words was a LB who was "soft") this is quotes from an article in the mail:

‘He had to get tougher,’ Redknapp says. ‘That was his main problem. He was one of those players who if he got a little knock or niggle in training, he couldn’t shrug it off. That becomes very frustrating for a manager. In the end you’d think, leave him, let him get on with it, he’s soft.

For a more known quantity/quality. A Gary Neville type.

 

[Spurs_Bear]

This is the same Redknapp who barely played Bale for months (partially - in his own words - because he was scared of his jinx that had seen him play 24 games without being on a winning side), played GDS about 3 times in 3 years, sent Taraabt packing (yes he's a twat but a talented twat who for all anyone knew could have turned into something useful like Bale ended up up doing).

Same Redknapp who packed Mbia off on loan (as not good enough for QPR) only for him to play a vital role in Sevilla winning the Europa League, and did the same with Granero.

Preferring players like Sandro (who he knows had had repeated serious injury problems) and Leroy Fer.

I think it's highly plausible that he was happy to swap a young kid (who in Redknapp's own words was a LB who was "soft") this is quotes from an article in the mail:

‘He had to get tougher,’ Redknapp says. ‘That was his main problem. He was one of those players who if he got a little knock or niggle in training, he couldn’t shrug it off. That becomes very frustrating for a manager. In the end you’d think, leave him, let him get on with it, he’s soft.

For a more known quantity/quality. A Gary Neville type.

But we're talking about the January transfer window when we re-signed Defoe/Keane, signed Palacios, Chimbonda etc. We had bought Bale the season before and now all of a sudden we tried to get anyone in the continent to try and offer for him and nobody did? Not for me. Doesn't stack.

This isn't a character assassination of Redknapp, and if it is can we use better examples than fucktards like Taarabt and GDS please, both of them never amounted to anything, Taarabt is a pony, and GDS is a middle of the road Spanish league footballer.

We all know you hate him and give him nothing, which is fine, but I'm questioning Jol here and saying that whichever way you want to look at the Redknapp/Bale saga, the waters are incredibly muddy.

 

[sloth]

Redknapp says he never considered selling Bale, Jol has stated he was offered him. The truth is probably somewhere in the middle usually.....

On a side note I'm sure the Birmingham manager, or was it Forest, at that time also recently said he almost signed Bale. Seems to me we were willing to let him go if we got our money back on him.

Lets be honest if it wasn't for BAE injury back then, before he went to the ACN, Bale was not within a million miles of the first team. Didn't Redknapp say he was afraid to play him at one point because of the non winning streak with him in the team.....

Jol says he was offered Bale in Redknapp's first window. 12 months later, Clive Allen says we almost sold/loaned Bale to Forest or Birmingham (http://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/0/football/23947384), confirmed by Alex McLeish, who also said that he heard through the grapevine that he might be available, and that Redknapp said he was open to the idea, but he had injuries (BAE had done his ankle), and so that's why we kept him. When you consider Allen isn't Levy's greatest fan, and also that Bale had made but two substitute PL appearances to date that season, and Redknapp's penchant for lying to make himself look good, then I'd say the truth is probably what everyone else says and not what harry claims.

In terms of what Harry said, he said Bale was more worried about his hair than playing football, and was forever rolling around and complaining of being injured on the training field and that he needed to toughen up - which, btw, I think was probably true, but, a) didn't need to be said publicly, and b) provides further evidence for how much Harry actually rated him.