It’s certainly been the busiest week of the calendar year in football, up to now. With John Terry being stripped of the captaincy, Fabio Capello disagreeing with the FA’s decision and then being called to explain himself and promptly resigning. Then, throw in Harry Redknapp’s acquittal during the week and you have all the makings of a highly controversial – and some would say, exceptionally coincidental – week in football. The press are having a field day; they’re like pigs in… mud.
I may be the only one but I am pleased that Redknapp escaped without charge because he will now take over the England role, without doubt, either on a part-time role until the summer or permanently in the next few weeks. This, I should point out, has absolutely nothing to do with my love of England or Redknapp. Not in the least; I have all but lost interest in International football in recent years (primarily due to the treatment of quality managers like Eriksson and Capello) but I think that the Londoner moving into the England role will signal the end of Tottenham’s upsurge, if not this season then at the very least next.
You see, for the little I think of Redknapp’s ability as a manager or tactician, he appears to have finally got himself a squad together that thrives on his man-management skills and they have gone from strength-to-strength in the past 2 years but I feel that they are in a very crucial stage. The next few months will see them either qualify for the Champions League for a second consecutive year and strengthen further in the summer or, do something akin to a what Leeds did a decade or so ago and miss out, losing their best players over the summer and failing to replace them with adequate quality.
The likes of Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart and Luka Modric will not stay if a) Harry Redknapp leaves for the England role which then leads to b) Tottenham replacing him with a manager with different ideas, philosophies and without the desire to cow-tow to all of his favourite players like Redknapp does with his.
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There are only two managers that I think could do something different with Tottenham that would reap similar rewards, whilst being able to hold on to and simultaneously attract the best players: Jose Mourinho and Rafa Benitez and I can’t see either man being interested. Mourinho is the most in-demand manager on the planet, and rightly so. He will walk from Madrid in the summer, having won La Liga, and have the pick of any club he desires. Tottenham will not be it. In turn, Rafa Benitez will then walk in to the Real Madrid job (unless my campaign to get his job back at Liverpool succeeds) and Tottenham will be left with not much to choose from.
With Arsenal not sure what typeof form they want to be in from one week to the next and Chelsea seemingly on their way down, the only real obstacles to the Red’s attempts to re-enter the top 4 this season and in the foreseeable future is their own inability to score and Tottenham. And while I hate having to rely on other team’s bad fortune, in this case, I will happily see them take a massive blow to further my own side’s cause; you have to take all the help you can get these days.
I think there are some very interesting days ahead for English football and, from my point-of-view, particularly for Liverpool. Redknapp leaving his current position will be a huge blow for the club and if Liverpool can get their form together and start putting a winning run together, particularly at home, then there will be nothing stopping us from catching Tottenham (this season and going forward) but we have to be fully prepared to pounce when the time comes.
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What a repugnant and bitter article!
Absolutely right. Obviously cut from the same moral cloth as the likes of Suarez and dalglish. Hoping to take advantage of others suffering. Wishing ill on others. Liverpool. The self-pity shitty city. Just like all your unemployed benefit fraudster population your football team needs help from others rather than doing it for themselves.
Clutching at straws, lol Liverpool are really scraping the barrel and hoping for our demise. Seen it all now!
What a load of rubbish
Pitypool clutching at straws
You have a terrible squad and a shocking manager
this is hilarious. you lot really are kidding yourselves if you think this is going to pan out as you believe. perhaps lfc should get its own house in order and buy some quality midfielders and forwards before stoking such fantastical pipedreams that Spurs will fall apart and you’ll jump above them.
i happen to be a scouser and sick and tired of you lot moaning and talking such rubbish. you need to accept that lfc aren’t the same team of the 70s and 80s, just as we spurs fans understand we aren’t living in the 60s anymore and get on with building a team capable of challenging consistently in the top six. not just miraculously appearing in the top 3 because our boss has left for England.
pathetic!
angry little man. Whats stopping Liverpool catching Spurs is having poorer players, less money and not being in Europe for years.
Spurs are the big fish now. Live with it. Mourinho for Spurs.
OMG. How far have we fallen if we are celebrating the fact that Tottenham might lose their manager. We used to be a great football club, now we are stuck in mid table and fans right this. You might as well turn the lights out. Very very sad.
@ Author.
Catch Tottenham this season?!! LMFAO!! The only thing Liverpool have caught/will catch this season is the hearts and minds of Racists up and down the country.
In the words of Keith Burkinshaw ‘There used to be a football club over there!’
Now you are just a laughing stock, I expected better from the PAST legend Kenny Dalglish.
HaHa What a stupid article, yes then maybe Mancini might have a car crash, then Ferguson might have a heart attack, then Pardew will get some life threatening illness and AVB might get sacked.. paving the way for Liverpool to go top of the league.. Or maybe you might go down the other road of getting a decent manager and some players that can actually play football.
Get a life, get a new manager, get some new players.
Even as a Chelsea fan myself, I also hope Ferguson gets a heart attack for just being a rotten person
So this is now how the former mighty ( some time ago) and now 2nd class Liverpool have become – desperate for a rival team to lose their manager as the only way that Liverpool can ( possibly , and only very very possibly) progress . Wer’e all laughing at you now- not at the fact that Liverpool F C are not the force that they once were – but at your pathetic reaction to it ; your inablitiy to cope .
Liverpool have the need to deal with a lot internally rather than hope another club loses its manager. The Suarez affair and the appalling aftermath at Old Trafford yesterday has left serious questions about what used to be a great club. One can maybe have some small degree of understanding for Suarez in the original incident with Evra due to culural diffrences, but Dalglish’s behaviour supersedes all. He is the manager that should leave his club not Rednapp.
And you are no fan of ‘football’ to be even discussing this childish incident!
Rafa Benitez is not the Brilliant manager you think he is, you are blinded by your love of liverpool that you cannot see his failings (Inter Milan). Harry Redknapp leaving will not kill of Tottenham as you so wish. As you say yourself Redknapp is no master tactician, most of his success is down to having a strong squad and this squad will stop Tottenham ever dropping as far down as Liverpool.
Deluded! Spurs are 14 points clear of Liverpool at the moment and look a shoe in for a champions league place, most likely third. If Harry leaves we will most likely get another top drawer manager in to the club. Think Liverpool should concentrate on beating Cardiff in the league cup, solidify a top 6 place then regroup in the summer. who knows what next season has in store but am pretty confindent spurs will still come out on top
You only sing for a racist!.Can you tell me next weeks lottery numbers as well please.What a sad and bitter man you are
I think its a sad day when a great club like liverpool are hoping another side falls apart for liverpool to get into the champions league. With the new spurs stadium coming up there is no reason why spurs cant sustain their success with a new quality manager. Anyway harry said he aint gonna leave until the end of the season atleast so walk on mate! We have played unbelievable football this season unlike boring liverpool. We would light up the champions league next season unlike workmanlike liverpool. Why didnt liverpool sign vandervaart? Bale? Lennon? Adebayor? You should look closer to home why ur team is struggling.
How embarrassing for Liverpool fans to number David Tyrer amongst their fans. What sort of inadequate bases their hopes on the wish that abother club should lose their manager to the national team and suffer as a consequence. A massive ego to prent thgis drivel as an article and a massive lack of confidence in his own club. How embarrassing!!!!!!
Very small thinking haha..Pathetic really..CoyS!
I did hear Liverpool are renaming their stadium ku Klux klanfied jog on son jog on
Moronic article. You are the luis Suarez of Liverpool fans. A disgrace to your joke of a club.
Get your facts right first, If Spurs qualify for Champions league this term it won’t be consecutive times as they missed out last time. Even if Spurs miss out next time there are still 4 strong teams above you interms of top 4.
I like your articles David, they are insightful and diligent. But this one? come on!
All the world can help us but we still will not be the force we want to be unless we start playing in a consistent manner. I am not even interested what is helping LFC after such a listless performance against United.
Start scoring and gather up some points on the trot, forget about other clubs, period.