Firstly, Elmander is 30. He's been playing professional football for a long time, and was Premiership proven, which I thought would make him a perfect fit for what Redknapp is after. We passed, clearly.
Secondly, everyone knew back in January that we needed a striker to compete for 4th place, yet it didn't stop us from not landing one, did it? We passed on Suarez, who Redknapp didn't feel was a good fit, and had other bids rejected abroad. Who's to say we don't pass on certain strikers this summer and have bids rejected, leaving us empty handed or scrambling?
Personally, I don't know if Redknapp has a desire to spend major money on a player from abroad (especially a striker), since it's a risk he may not want to take with the England job looming. I actually think he rates Defoe and Crouch highly and, isn't playing clever word games like you insinuate, to inflate their value.
Judging from his past and more recent comments, I think it's very possible that he prefers a rather conservative approach, which brings on Scott Parker, Charlie Adam, and Phil Neville, while hoping that the leadership provided by these lads will transform the team from within.
