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Redknapp's massive gamble
Michael Hart, Football Correspondent27.10.08
After the worst start in their history, the prospect of salvaging Tottenham's season of despair must have appealed to the gambler in Harry Redknapp.
He's always liked a flutter, though he knows the odds of avoiding relegation and reviving the once great club in north London are stacked against him.
Like any manager at a new club, what Redknapp needs is time - and the White Hart Lane hierarchy granted precious little of that to his predecessor.
Juande Ramos got precisely a year. Redknapp has only months to save Spurs from the ignominy of relegation but it will take years to reclaim a place alongside Arsenal, Manchester United and Liverpool.
Redknapp is about to discover that club chairman Daniel Levy does not have a particularly benevolent attitude when it comes to managers.
Last October, he dumped Martin Jol and lured Ramos from Seville. Jol had led Spurs to fifth place in consecutive seasons but, Levy claimed, Ramos was the man to take the club back to the big time.
It was Levy, remember, who also hired Damien Comolli and watched him spend around £175 million on players, many of whom were of questionable value - think Ricardo Rocha, Kevin-Prince Boateng and Younes Kaboul.
So it's hardly surprising that Levy also decided to axe Comolli, along with Ramos and his coaches, and abandon the two-tier continental structure of management.
It was the head coach-sporting director partnership between Ramos and Comolli that, according to Levy, would lead Spurs back to the top. He was wrong and not for the first time.
So, suddenly, foreign coaches and ideas are out and tradition is back.
I think Harry will be good for Spurs, but if it all goes wrong, will Levy finally accept his share of the responsibility or will Harry join the growing list of casualties?
Reader views (4)
Who do spurs fans give credit for buying Berbatov,Woodgate,Corluca,Lennon,Jenas,Modric,Giovianni,Carick,Bentley wasn't it comoli that brought all these players in ?
If the 2 boys up front would have stayed spurs would have been a force !!
- No More Pain, London
Well, Its take Levy a very long time to admit his error by employing this Sporting/Football Director, Bought over 175 million worth of players or player with lack of talent and some couldnt get into a team over the Marshes, with that we could of built our new stadium.
The players will get a kick up the backside, if they underperform... Harry would tell you how it is
- Adrian, London
I still cant believe that we sacked the excellent Martin Jol who finished 5th two seasons running before being undermined by Levy & Comolli. We will be out of pocket by approximately £50 million, have a shadow of the team we used to have & now have a jouneyman manager in charge. Yes, we wont get relegated, but is this really the man who will break into the top four & Champions League football for the first time in our history? I predict we will finish mid table this season, thus failing to qualify for the UEFA cup next season. Our team still lacks a decent left back, a defensive central midfield player, a left sided midfield player & 2 strikers for next season, as Campbell will be returning to Man Utd. Time for Levy to leave...
- Rob Hotspur, South London
Levy is a total clown. It's a good thing for him that neither his customers nor his shareholders can really walk out on him as if this was a normal business both would have deserted him for utter incompetency long ago.
- Danny, London
