Harry Redknapp’s press conference before the Blackpool game was more interesting than usual, with comments that will raise more than a few eyebrows with Spurs fans.
On the subject of our league campaign, Harry said it would be a ‘miracle’ if Spurs finished above Chelsea and Manchester City in the top four at the end of the season.
“It would be a miracle if we did qualify,” Harry said. “I think people get carried away thinking Tottenham should be in the Champions League. Why should we be in the Champions League?
“We’d never been in the Champions League before, suddenly we do it and it’s ‘oh well we should do it again’.
“Look at Man City and Chelsea’s wage bill. Have a look at the money they pay out. Why should we finish above them?”
Redknapp went on to talk about David Beckham and suggested that he hadn’t looked into the possibility of bringing him back to the club in November.
Sounds like Harry was deflecting quite a few issues yesterday, but does he really believe a top four finish would be a miracle, or is he trying to take pressure off the team?
It’s Harry indulging in mind games I think. Never mind top four, I harbour hopes of finishing above the Scum in second spot. I’m also not ruling out winning the European Cup.
The negative tone does not sound like Harry at all. However, if this is true, then I would recommend that he steps down. To hear such depressing utterances from the leadership demoralizes not only the team but also the support base.
It wasn’t negative at all… he’s talking with the perception of the biggger picture. To finish above Chelsea and City have spent untold money building their teams and retained their star players by paying them money we could only dream of… With that in mind, to finish above those teams isn’t a given, in fact, we are and should be considered the weakest of the teams chasing… Harry’s done well so far, I wouldn’t suggest he steps down due to one pretty accurate comment.
have to disagree mate…It’s negative, but nothing Harry does is above board. He asks the question why should we, because we play better footy than the others. money is money footy is footy…man city and chelsea play mediaocre ball the proof is in the pudding. he should have more dignity than this..fact!!!!!!!
Harry is absolutely right. He is comparing us to teams who think nothing of spending £100m plus on players and offering players wages of over £200k/week. Spurs have done brilliant to be where we are and that is down to Harry and his staff. 3 points tonight and we may not need Jesus for that miracle…sorry that should be moses for Spurs!!
Didn’t Martin Jol ultimately get sacked for publicly showing a lack of ambition similar to this?
Perhaps Redknapp is being realistic since we are not getting a bigger stadium to sustain CL appearance.
Harry is spot on, with our stadium and wage bill we cannot ever expect to finish higher than 5th. Of course our super unrealistic fans ( some of which have written their moronic comments above ) expect us to win just about everything and if they don’t then they are all rubbish and should be sold. Yep, well done you lot, now let the grown ups speak. We can hope for more than 5th of course but we can never expect it. Alas, sadly our vocal minority of unrealistic fans will continue to spout rubbish. No wonder other teams fans hate us so much.
To say other fans hate us is a tad extreme! I’ve noticed that a lot of them have stopped laughing us and as they see the Spurs as contenders and great entertaining football at that!
Why people slag Harry off is beyond me????????? You get thesestupid people saying that hes lucky, any manager could have done what he did???? (Juande Ramos Couldn’t) Tottenham have grit now. How many times have they come back from a goal down and in the case of the Gooner game 2 goals! The spurs of old would never have managed that. Lets just enjoy the ride, if we finish 5th thats fine, only a moron would say that they never tried hard enough which of course is nonesense!!!!! I believe we will finish top 4 again and thats all you can do! BELIEVE!!! COYS!
Beautifully said!
(moronic comments above)Considering some of the garbage that has followed, I’d say opinions are’nt made neccessarily to be agreed with mate, but to be expressed none the less(democratic see). If the ‘grown ups’ think that finishing behind the(most impotent Chelsea /Liverpool sides in the last decade)does’nt represent a ‘golden opportunity to achieve more, then leave aims such as ambition to other clubs why don’t you. we did 5th twice 6 years ago, so what’s unrealistic about pushing on….the stadium is a matter for the boaard to consider, not the shitty strikers gobbling down £60 000 a week ….they have a role, but just do not fill it.
It is called managing unrealistic expectations which it seems too many harbour. It’s nothing to do with lack of ambition it is called being realistic given the respective budgets of our opponents.
Harry’s playing mind games. He’s right — Spurs SHOULDN’T be challenging for 4th place based on what the other contenders are spending…
…but we ARE. So there. COYS!
Funny that, not a month ago we were still in it for the title. Just wish he’d stop talking and work at corners, free kicks, penalties and all of the other things that are stopping us from moving forward. COYS
At least someone is observant…I remember all the ‘media darlings’ Crouch-rednapp-the Sun all spouting the same shi**.
H’es done a good job in preserving our heritage, but this does not in any way make him infalable or inept, he is……
Roy, it’s classic mind games from Harry. A lot of what he says is also very true. With the money Chelsea and Man City have spent they really should be in the Champions League.
But Harry and the players will all know we’re in a good position and i’m sure they are all very confident of finishing in the top 4 again. I don’t see these comments as demoralising, they’ll just demonstrate how good an achievement it will be when we do it!
We all remember Rafa Benitez promising a top 4 finish for Liverpool last season…..at least Harry’s not doing that!
What a fickle bunch we are. We fail to bankrupt ourselves by being unable to sign some second-rate strikers, in the transfer window, and our season was at an end. Then we have another fabulous night in the San Siro, and we feel we are capable of beating everybody. HR pronounces that it will be a miracle if we finish above Chelski and Manchequebook City, and all of of a sudden, we are talking like we are facing relegation.
I agree with those who have interpreted HR as meaning, “that with the resources we have compared to Chelski and Manchequebook City”, it is indeed a miracle we are where we are.
For me, however it all ends, it has been a fabulous season, especially for 2.5 games against the Milanese and the victory at the Arse. These are games we will remember for the rest of our lives.
For my money, we have the most exciting midfield in the PL, with Lennon, Thud, Modric, VDV, and Bale, and did anyone notice that in our last league game, with the exception of Lennon who came on as a sub, we managed to win with all these players missing.
We have also overcome a series of injuries to our CB’s that must be unprecedented in the PL.
In a game where money is usually the deciding factor nowadays, and based on our resources, realistically, we should be finishing 6th about 6 points behind the Sky 4 and Citeh. However, I think we have every chance of finishing 3rd this year, and that has to be down to the team spirit that HR has instilled in them.
This team is the best I have seen since the 80’s and maybe even since 67. My advice, to those who see only gloom and doom, is enjoy these moments. This season we have a good chunk of money coming in from the CL, and hopefully, while we look around for the desperately needed new stadium, this will keep us on Millionaires Row, while we move up to second place next season.
COYS!
COYS!!!!