1. Niko Kranjcar is not Claude Makelele
When I walked into White Hart Lane and discovered that we were playing Niko Kranjcar alongside Luka Modric, it was instantly obvious that we would lose. I like Kranjcar, but the only positions I want to see him play in for Spurs are out on the left, or possibly in the Van der Vaart position behind a lone striker. Sure, he can do a job in central midfield against Hearts, but Hearts are rubbish. On the evidence of Sunday, Manchester City are now one of the best teams in Europe.
Everyone sat around me knew that it was suicide to play Kranjcar there alongside a diminutive player like Luka Modric, who has wanted a transfer all summer and was making his first appearance of the season. If us mugs in the stands could work that out, then why couldn’t the heir-apparent to Fabio Capello? When you consider that Harry Redknapp also had the advantage of knowing that Modric had requested to be left out before the game, it is baffling that he selected such a powderpuff midfield duo to compete against City’s powerhouses.
2. Redknapp should have his tongue surgically removed
While we’re on the subject of Modric not wanting to play, why on earth did Redknapp think that this was something that should be casually thrown into a post-match interview? There’s a maxim in football that what goes on in the dressing room should stay there, but that clearly doesn’t apply when a blabbermouth like Harry is around.
And why is that? Why is the manager of our football club saying things that are likely to damage team morale and create mountains of headlines that Spurs just don’t need? As ever, it’s because our manager will do anything to protect his own reputation. To that end, the best thing he can do is to shut his mouth and work on improving our results.
3. The kids care
When Modric was substituted after a limp performance, young Jake Livermore was brought on in his place. The Tottenham youth product was our best player once he was on the pitch. He wanted the ball and worked so hard, that his endeavour seemed to rub off on his teammates and our overall performance improved as a result.
It makes you wonder who we’d rather see wearing the Tottenham shirt, week in, week out. Do we want someone like Modric, who is a brilliant player, but has treated the club with disdain, or someone like Livermore – a local lad who clearly cares?
4. Doing your business early pays off
Look at how Manchester United conducted their business during the summer transfer window. They were buying players in late-May. As a result their new signings have had the benefit of a pre-season to bed in and already look like a coherent unit.
Then look at the way that we do our business. We had to face Manchester United and City without key personnel – either because of injury, ‘heads not being right’, or simply because we haven’t signed them yet. If we wanted Scott Parker and Lassana Diarra then there’s really little reason why we couldn’t have already signed them and have had them playing on Sunday. We might have still lost with those two playing together, but it probably wouldn’t have been 5-1.
We might save a few million, but what we’ve lost are points. Who knows how long it will be before we are back to winning ways. We have signed a good striker in Emmanuel Adebayor, but he will need time to regain fitness and match sharpness, which is precisely what the pre-season period is intended for.
5. It could be you…
“Where were you when you were shit?” sang a portion of the Spurs crowd to the away end. They were watching their team play the likes of Colchester and Chesterfield actually. You can accuse Manchester City fans of many things, but being fickle isn’t one of them. They watched their team in great numbers when they went down to League 1, just like the Tottenham faithful did when our club was relegated in the seventies.
We’re both proper clubs with loyal support. They’ve just got a lot more money than us and a better manager. One day in the future, when Spurs have got themselves a shiny new stadium (somewhere), we’ll probably be an attractive proposition to equally rich benefactors. It’s the way that football is going unfortunately, but it’s not the fault of the City fans that their team has been fortunate enough to win the football lottery.
we learnt that man city outclassed them.
And yet they have no class. That much is obvious, and neither do Chelsea for exactly the same reasons. Both destroying the game. IMHO of course.
I just want Redknapp gone. The record since Feb has been terrible. He is either going to England or jail and sadly I just dont think he gives a toss about Spurs. I personally hope he goes on to manage England , it will be more painful.
I think Daniel Levy has put himself in a difficult position with his stance on Modric. I would have preferred him to say that if any player does not wish to play for Tottenham, then they can leave, but only when we receive what we believe to be an acceptable offer. That way we could have kept all our options open. Now, unfortunately, we either hang on to a player who clearly does not want to be there, or lose face by seeming to go back on what he originally said. Me? I’d take £40m for Luka right now, and strengthen the spine. Cahill,Samba or Jagielka, Parker or Diarra, Sturridge. All Premiership proven and all fighters, which judging by what I have seen so far this season, is what we are desperately short of.
it was fun not to have a big four the last two years
if we have learned the big four is back… well, that sucks.
3 wins now from our last 15 games says it all, manager is tactically shite! hasnt got clue, stumbles into his team selections and is ruining our club. funny to think he said ‘why cant we win the league’ last year I now have the answer for Harry ‘because you’re in charge you mug!’ go now while the damage is recoverable
dave jones
What a sensible and well thought out article. Spurs fans should read this and get behind the club with a voice of reason not stupidity
Harry will not get the England job. The last few months have shown his foibles. Hodgson, Hughes, or even Allardyce are better bets.
Modric, Krancjar and VDV cannot play in the center together.
Spurs youth policy re not giving them a real run in the team is a joke. If I were a youngster with promise why would I come to Spurs?
I would take 40 million cash –no instalments —for Modric, but hold till January rather than buy hasty signings in the next few hours. And please forget signings such as Cole, Parker, Bellamy, Beckham, etc. They are the past–simply band-aid solutions.
We learned:
1. Sandro is v important tothis team.
2. Crouch is not good enough.
3. Neither is Lennon. Been waiting for final ball to improve – not happening.
Redknapp isn’t an idiot whatever else he is and I think he plays games. All the rubbish in the media is part of that, and so I reckon was Sunday’s team selection.
I think in his list of priorities he himself is number 1 and Spurs comes a long way behind.
But I only want him gone when Levy has a better replacement lined up, otherwise it’s pointless to sack him.
-You can’t win a game if most of your players are slow-paced, slow-witted and don’t have a winner’s mentality.
-For yet another game Spurs have followed the wrong tactics.
-Most players of Spurs don’t have those necessary skills and qualities required for a top PL team.
-Levy should appoint a proper DoF able to get in time the players who have the necessary for a top club skills and qualities in the frame of the current budget and the salary cap of the club.
-Playing Dawson together with Kaboul, two slow-paced and slow-witted players, in the centre of the defense, the most vulnerable area of a team, and without using at least one midfield player who can tackle efficiently, is like a criminal act!
I don’t think Kaboul is the greatest CB ever and I don’t think he is the ultimate answer for us at CB. However, he is not slow-paced. Kaboul has plenty of pace and strength to be a top flight defender. Question his positioning but not his pace.
-You can’t win a game if most of your players are slow-paced, slow-witted and don’t have a winner’s mentality. (That is down to the coaching! Blame HR and coaches)
-For yet another game Spurs have followed the wrong tactics. (Should be they have played without any tactics)
-Most players of Spurs don’t have those necessary skills and qualities required for a top PL team. (They just need to be coached how to play the game as a unit, and needed to be taught the ways of the winner)
-Levy should appoint a proper DoF able to get in time the players who have the necessary for a top club skills and qualities in the frame of the current budget and the salary cap of the club. (Possible, but still the manager should have an idea what kind of player to suit his tactics, which sadly is asking too much of HR & team)
-Playing Dawson together with Kaboul, two slow-paced and slow-witted players, in the centre of the defense, the most vulnerable area of a team, and without using at least one midfield player who can tackle efficiently, is like a criminal act! (Dawson is super overated and the one at fault in the match. As the captain and the DC, he should be the deepest lying player and not running out to mark players. As the captain, he should be asking his players to track those running player while he play the last line of defense)
I’m a City fan and it’s very refreshing to read a well balanced critique like that.
Livermore did look like he wanted to wear the shirt, as did Defoe and if those 2 had started then the score may have been different.
Harry got you out of a hole 3 years ago but it looks like he’s trying to push you right back in it. Brinksmanship and last minute deals may be good for SSN if you’ve already got a strong, settled squad but not if you have a number of key players like Crouch and Modric whose futures are far from certain.
Maybe Harry will do well as England manager, I feel that he often gets his tactics bang on but sniping in the media about the opposition the week before a game will get him nowhere and make him a laughing stock.
We also learned that either Redknapp is tactically shite (as already observed above) or alarmingly cynical and his selection of Kranjcar and Modric was designed to force the issue with Levy and the selling of Modric.
Perhaps he even wants the sack and a neat settlement- his destructive behaviour recently doesn’t make sense and he’s not that thick. Look at his forays into the building housing market and how, according to one newspaper, he’s managed to renege on an agreement to provide affordable housing to desperate families in Portsmouth at a fraction of the cost he should have paid.
What a refreshing Blogg, as a Man City fan I have always had a lot of time for Spurs, despite the regular beatings you would hand out to us.
Jake Livermore was quality when he came on as was Defoe but all was lost by then!
We learned Modric definitely doesn’t give a damn about Spurs. I was hopeful he would put it behind him once he got on the field at WHL. The fans were behind him when he touched the ball and he had a nice start. After 10-15 minutes, he remembered he was supposed to be out of Spurs and suiting up for Chelsea and he flat out turned it off. Sell him now, the relationship cannot be repaired if Luka won’t give the effort on the pitch.
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To be honest I don’t think Modric was to blame as the midfield was over-run(defensively), to put Kranjcar in a centre midfield pairing is crazy to even someone with half a brain! Going forward was good in parts but having a targetman that my four year old daughter could out muscle is just woeful. We need Cahill and Parker as these will improve our strength as a side, I also know as Spurs fans we never like to have a go at Dawson and its easy to blame Kaboul but Dawson gets too square on and is slow to react! Remember we have played the best two sides in the Prem and have faith! COYS!!
BTW Im still confused why we are selling wilson!
Possibly, because Livermore is more athletic and will do the job better!
Harry’s supposed to be a motivational manager then why did he tell all his players before the game –
“Man Shite are better than Barcelona!” – hardly instills belief does it?
Time for Modric to bugger off and fill his piggybank with Romans’ cash and become trophyless in the meantime.
Stick with Livermore who is the most exciting prospect I’ve seen at Tottenham in the past few years with the exception of Tommy H and his vision.
And please Harry don’t sign any more 30 year old geriactrics who won’t command a fee at the end of their contract, nor any long term crocks like Owen Hargreaves, Man Utd can’t be that stupid!.
I’m sure we will rue the day we let Johnathan Woodgate go!
And we also discovered that Man City pack 6 in the defence and break quickly on the counter-attack.
At last someone who sees it my way. Couldn’t agree more with all of your points, Harry is out of his depth now, I think we’re in for poor season.
Harry has the same record wherever he has managed. Do ok for a little while using the players that were already there. Buy players for too much then play them out of position and then sell them cheaper than you bought them for. Tell the media what players he would like to sign and upset other managers eg he must have been talking about Parker for a year, Have a moan via the media when clubs bid for players that he doesn’t want to sell, blame anyone for bad performances etc etc. The man is an Arthur Daly. England are welcome to him but I’m afraid that he’s getting found out before any such appointment
@MikeyB – Is this really a dig at boring, defensive, “park the bus” City? It was 5-1 in case you didn’t notice. And that’s a total of 12 goals from 3 games for the record. Cheers.
We also learned that Man City is still using the Italian tactics (despite their creative world class players) : 6 on their own half all the time, fast counter-attacks,… We also learned that the first, the second and the fourth goal (maybe also the third) would never have been scored against the Man City defense. Without this poor defending, poor tactics and our bean pole striker Crouch (just sell him, even for a symbolic penny) , and if there was not something rotten at Spurs for the moment, it would have been another game.