Welcome to the second part of SpursMad's preview to the new season. In this final discussion, Gareth Davies, talks magic Modric, ethereal Jenas and dynamite Defoe...
Didier see him go…
It’s a credit to the clubs revised transfer policy that few of the players who have left this summer, either permanently or on loan, will elicit much disappointment from among the fans.
The most high profile departures are Didier Zokora, who endured a largely disappointing spell at the club, and Darren Bent, the club’s record signing, whose face just never seemed to fit.
The goodwill Zokora enjoyed since joining from St Etienne was mostly creditable to the, ultimately misguided, hope he would turn into the box-to-box, ball winning central midfielder we had been crying out for. Yet the voices advocating more time for the Ivorian grew quieter after Wilson Palacios’ arrival, until the only question on most fans’ lips was how much we would get for him when he made his inevitable exit. It is now up to the former Wigan enforcer to shoulder the burden of fans’ expectations, with early signs showing that, if he can tidy up his passing, he could well become the anchor of a solid midfield.
Elsewhere the departure of Chris Gunter was only remarkable in that it was followed shortly by the signing of Kyle Walker and Kyle Naughton, two other promising right-backs. Harry clearly had not seen enough from the young Welshman to believe he had the ability to make the step up, and it remains to be seen whether he feels the same way about his international colleague Gareth Bale. Nevertheless, Gunter looked a decent player in the few appearances he made, and is sure to do well for new club Nottingham Forest this season.
Thankfully, the other players shown the door, including Ricardo Rocha and the hapless Gilberto, were necessary sacrifices to trim the fat from the side. Hopefully sending Adel Taarabt, a serial trick-pony, out on loan to the Championship might make him come back a more selfless player, even though his move to QPR is more likely to be the prelude to a permanent transfer away from north London.
Central to Harry’s plans…
The departure of Zokora saw Redknapp streamline his options for the two centre midfield spots. Palacios, having shown his bullish determination and tackling prowess, is likely to be an automatic selection, regardless of which formation Harry chooses to adopt.
Alongside him, the ethereal Jermaine Jenas approaches yet another season having yet to fulfil his potential. At 26-years-old, he should be approaching the peak of his powers, but has done little to suggest that this will result in anything other than his confirmation as an average Premiership midfielder.
While it is true that his detractors are often too quick to point the finger of blame at our serial scapegoat, Jenas’ athleticism is undermined by his alarming lack of presence, which makes him an easy target. For a player who stands nearly 6ft tall, he should be suitably embarrassed that, for the majority of last season, the gnome like Luka Modric showed more steel, body strength and stature, than he did. Furthermore, a return of 20 goals from 120 appearances is not enough for Jenas to be considered a candidate to play in a more advanced midfield role.
Harry’s failure to find a left-midfielder must come as some relief, for as long as his manager scans the transfer market, Luka Modric, Jenas’ main rival, will be pushed out wide. This leaves the immobile Tom Huddlestone, and the useful Jamie O’Hara, as Jermaine’s biggest threats, but with the big man unable to match top box-to-box midfielder for pace, and not a strong enough tackler to be a reliable option as an anchorman, Jenas’ place is safe. Unfortunately.
Yet his critics might not have to wait long to see the back of him Rumours persist to link him with a move to Aston Villa, with Martin O’Neil an admirer of his talents. Redknapp remains unconvinced, and is actively seeking to strengthen in that area, with Celtic’s Scott Brown and Toulouse’s promising enforcer, Moussa Sissoko, on his wishlist.
A move for Patrick Vieira, on the cards a month ago, seems to have faltered, with the Frenchman looking to have one last shot at making the grade at Inter Milan, which is a shame, given the experience and leadership he would have brought to the side. Ex-Gooner or not, those are two qualities we lack across the board.
Modric in talent…
If Redknapp leads the club to a top six finish, which his side is capable of, then it is probably fair to assume that Modric will have had a lot to do with it. The Croatian play-maker was hardly alone in starting last season slowly, but it did not take long for his quality to begin to show. Eventually Redknapp was lauding Modric’s professionalism in training and his work ethic on the pitch. It was not difficult to see why.
Arsene Wenger infamously wrote Modric off last summer, claiming the former Dinamo Zagreb midfielder lacked the stature to succeed in the Premiership. But what Modric lacks in height, he makes up for in heart, a product, perhaps, of growing up in a country torn by civil war. Aged only six, Modric and his family were forced to flee their homes from a conflict that cost his grandfather his life. It was an experience, Modric says, that made him the man he is today.
While his best position is undoubtedly exploiting the space behind the strikers, Modric’s versatility makes him a useful winger, though the side does lose width when he, understandably, follows his instinct and drifts inside. Not that he is cheap with possession; he rarely wastes a pass. Our creative hub, Modric could thread a pass through the eye of a needle and could probably walk into any midfield in the country.
If there is one criticism of his game it is that his small stature doesn’t lend itself to propelling the ball with much velocity toward the opposition goal. As such, he does not find himself on the score-sheet as often as Redknapp would like. In fact, other than Huddlestone, our midfield is a little shy when it comes to trying their luck from distance.
A propensity for shooting outside the area was one string that David Bentley certainly did add to our collective bow. It is an aspect of our game we have lacked for a number of years and should not be underestimated. After all, once opposition players worked out Paul Robinson weakness from range, it did not take the long for them to start peppering his goal whenever they got the chance.
Whether Bentley, charged this week with drink driving, can save his Spurs career remains to be seen, but he will be buoyed by Redknapp’s restrained response to the controversy. The word is that Harry will offer him one last chance of redemption before flogging him, though he will struggle to recoup the huge fee we paid Blackburn only last summer.
A striking set of options…
As maligned as he is to some, and as galling as it is to see him return to the club for big money , having sold him in 2000 for £60,000, the signing of Peter Crouch could be Harry’s shrewdest summer move. It also represents a welcome change in the club’s transfer policy (which started with Wilson Palicious joining in January) in that Redknapp has identified a deficiency and signed a player to fix it, rather than trying to fit square pegs into round holes.
The club has struggled away from White Hart Lane for as long as anyone can remember and while that is by no means solely down to the lack of a player who can hold on to the ball, our inability to retain possession results in the side spending most of its away games camped in its own half. Too many of our attacks were falling by the way because we push the ball forward quickly, but couldn’t hold on to it long enough to get the numbers forward to regularly trouble the opposition. Crouch can be that go-to-guy, the player who can take the ball out of the air and bring others into the game. Keane can’t do it, neither can Defoe. Berbatov could but he wasn’t always interested in cold night at the Reebok.
Factor in the World Cup, plus a well documented understanding with Defoe, and Harry could be onto a winner. Robbie Keane, however, could well be in for a difficult season.
Since his return to the club in January, it is safe to say that Keane has had more of an impact inside, rather than outside, the dressing room. Signed as much for his ability to unify players as his goalscoring talents, Keane has excelled in one role and flattered to deceive in another. Five goals from 14 games since his big money move does not tell the whole story, and several lacklustre performances toward the end of last season led to disquiet among the fans and rumours that Keane was, yet again, angling for a move away from the club.
Now, with a pre-season under his belt, Keane knows he faces a tough task if he is to hold down a place in the first team, with Jermain Defoe in imperious form for England in midweek and Redknapp known be an admirer of his partnership him with international colleague, Crouch. An appearance on the left-side of midfield during one pre-season friendly may be an ominous sign of things to come for the Irishman.
Yet Harry gave him the captain’s armband for a reason and he will be tempted to gamble on Keane’s thirst for revenge when selecting his team for today’s match. Robbie scored in the 3-1 defeat at Anfield at the end of last season and Redknapp will know he tends to do well against his former employers. That said, you could say the same for Peter Crouch, who could make his debut nine years after leaving the club without a first team appearance to his name.
The situation is as uncertain for Keane as it is bleak for Roman Pavlyuchenko. The Russian endured a slow start to his Tottenham career before finishing with a promising haul of 15 goals in all competitions, but his poor first touch and, at times, his questionably work rate, saw him drop out of favour.
Now he finds himself as fourth choice striker, which goes to show the strength available to Redknapp. On his day Pavlyuchenko rivals Defoe’s predatory instincts and makes more of a nuisance of himself than Crouch. As an option, he’s a superb player who it makes little sense to sell (we would just have to sign another striker who would have to make do with a role on the periphery). If the first few matches pass without an appearance, however, then he could well leave the club before the transfer window slams shut at the end of the month.
Not that any of this should matter to Defoe, who is currently basking in the warmth of glowing praise from his international coach, team-mates and even former manager, Martin Jol. Defoe has looked very sharp in pre-season and enjoyed his best game in an England shirt on Wednesday. Redknapp says he would be surprised if Jermain does not grab at least 20 league goals this campaign and has tipped him to be the Premiership’s highest scorer. Let’s just hope he thrives on the pressure.
Conclusion? A sixth sense…
Given the talent at his disposal and promising performances since he took over, Redknapp should expect the club to improve on last season’s eighth placed finish and 51 point haul. By how much depends on whether his side can avoid the awful start which cost Ramos his job, whether Defoe and Crouch renew the burgeoning understanding they developed at Pompey and whether King, Bassong and Woodgate can stay fit.
If he can do this, and the gods of chance are on his side, then Harry is one or two signings away from a side that could realistically challenge for fourth. Yet this is the ideal, and if there is one lesson both the fans and players must learn from recent seasons, it is that expectation is a burden rather than a blessing when it comes to Tottenham Hotspur.
Instead Harry will know he can finish fifth or sixth. His side will be difficult to beat at hom and, with the addition of Crouch, will pick up more points on the road. Yet I, like most fans, would be happy with a season characterised simply by steady improvement and a good run in the FA Cup. After all, I think we would all welcome a little respite from the nerve-racking drama of recent years.
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