Sunday 17 June 2012

A misguided chairman and a disloyal manager

The Sacking of Harry Redknapp as Spurs' Manager has the hallmarks of a gangster Movie. Conflict of loyalties , Self interests , double dealing , double crossing , ruthlessness , and ultimately self destruction. One of those types where the end is bloody and Senseless. It leaves you with the conclusion that this came about as a consequence of inherent weaknesses in the characters involved , and everyone probably got what they deserved .

So , Harry got by fired by Chairman Daniel Levy in cold blood on the orders of  the big , bad reclusive boss, as pay back for his : call it disloyalty . One thing i notice typical of such sackings is that the exercise is such a charade , and they are never half explained , perhaps because it makes not much logic.  The man whose face you hardly see , a pistol in a dark-gloved hand , the victim is walked to a dark alley for a quiet chat , he has that look half assured ( thinking :  " No , Jack won't do that to me " ) but also half uncertain because he knows Jack can be a Cold Ba***** . What you see next is smoke from his pistol. Job done .

My deductions is that :  Fans' Favourite , Suave  and charismatic Harry Redknapp is paying the price for that whirlwind of events between december and february - Spurs were on a crest wave third position on the table..... Starry-Eyed Fans were in rapture and the owners of the Club were nodding and winking ( wallowing in self serving financial prognosis ) . Then the drama of Harry's court case for tax evasion looked like would cause a loss of traction to Spurs' season due to it's high profile and negative nature . Some how , With all of that going on , the Club remained on course for a champions league place .  Harry was acquitted on the very same day Fabio Capello resigned as England Boss . It seemed all so simple : Install Harry right away as England Manager . The messiah's path to the job football fans and gullible England players craved was fortuitously clear for him. What we never realized is that all this indulgence in Harry Mania was trampling on the speculations and calculations of the big bad boss, sunning himself on the deck of his yacht in warm climes . In the cacophony and adulation of Harry's band wagon , Spurs were starting to lose traction.  Results were getting really dire ,  Arsenal wiped out their 10 point advantage , and took over 3rd place . The FA, in my opinion cleverly didn't buy into the Harry business , appointed Roy Hodgson as England Manager . Spurs finished 4th , and the last 10 games were pretty painful as the team were evidently in struggling. Chelsea finished 6th but won the champions league , the consequence of which means Spurs miss out on the cash loaded gravy train - champions league . The big bad boss was really mad !!!!!!

A key detail that must not be left out , and possibly was the deciding factor for getting rid of Harry Redknapp is that he was offered a new contract when the ovation was loudest in february or there about.... perhaps in order to enhance his angle to the England job , did not rush to sign . As Spurs doubled-down on results , Daniel Levy cleared the paper work  off his desk . That's a mitigating factor in the owners brutality towards Harry Redknapp.  The spin-off in all of this is the  prevailing predilection for the money folks who run these clubs in the premier league to seek the services of younger managers.  This is a dangerous fad . Brendan Rogers , Roberto Martinez , Paul Lambert ,  Andrea Villas Boas and this sound bite of : "we want a younger manager to take us in a new direction".  It's a moral hazard to make these young in-experienced managers guinea pigs for your grand ambitions.  Maybe you need a sorcerer . The de facto owners of Spurs sacked Harry Redknapp , I strongly assert , because they see him as responsible for the evaporation of their champions league dreams ; and that they interpret was down to Harry's dalliance with the England job . Behind closed doors, they call him a double dealing , double crossing , disloyal traitor . But holding Harry in contempt and spite  is the exact  antithesis to the project they are nursing. They have spilled Harry's blood , and they shall regret it .

For Harry Redknapp , folks , it's not exactly a moral argument. He will get another job almost wherever he desires . However, the fact remains that as respected and charismatic as he is , as a character there are evidently issues surrounding his sense of loyalty . A few years back , he almost caused a civil war on the south coast between Portsmouth and Southampton supporters . Theses are neighbouring clubs , and you can imagine the rivalry . He left Portsmouth for southampton , and southampton back to portsmouth.  You have pushed your luck too far this time Harry..... Spurs would hardly be able to immediately get a better manager though....  Some of his achievements shall go down in Spurs' folklore - champions league qualification 2 seasons ago ; knocking out mighty AC Milan in the second round; the transformation from basement team to 8th place finish in his first season come to mind. His record in charge : managed 144 times winning 77 and 37 draws is Superb . I suppose , Daniel Levy and co ought to look at where the club was under Martin Jol and Juande Ramos  to really appreciate Harry Redknapp got them to new horizons. This was more about taking out a "traitor - at any cost , you hear me"!!!!!! The phone gets dropped in the cradle to a loud thud.

2 comments:

  1. To be fair both parties are disloyal. Like you said rednapp was offered 4 years contract few months ago but refused to sign due to his secret ambition, despite the support he received from spurs board during his court case, on the other hand rednapp took spurs from the bottom three to the top four competitors.

    The problem is both of them want different things the spurs board want the huge money that comes with champions league, harry desperately want the England job at the end both of them couldn't get what they want.

    Who will end up regretting their actions spurs or Harry?

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  2. Well said , Demmy Blog . Sometimes football is about the drama , revenge , come backs , and proving people wrong . Spurs ultimately will be the bigger losers . Harry is a clever man , and his stock value is very high . He will always be loved , and he will definitely find another big club , or may the England job. Watch Harry go !

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