Spurs need man with vision to take next step
Liverpool got him at a £5m discount on Redknapp’s price and his performances so far suggest they paid a healthy £25m over the odds. From Redknapp’s point of view there would be no better time for Carroll to start showing why he was once so highly valued than in tonight’s match against Manchester City at Anfield.
Liverpool are too far back in the league to save themselves, but maybe they can save Spurs by beating City. There had been a vaguely dreamlike quality to Spurs’ season before reality’s hideous intrusion in the form of Tuesday’s 4-0 battering in Madrid. The heady sense of unreality has been replaced by a gnawing feeling in the guts. One of the Premier League’s most prudently-run clubs have found themselves in a risky place.
Spurs chairman Daniel Levy revealed last week that the Champions League campaign has earned more than £20m for the club. The bad news was that their costs have kept pace with the increased revenue. The implication is that if they fail to qualify for the Champions League next season, they may have to choose between sliding into debt or breaking up their team.
The pattern of initial success followed by financial meltdown is one that will be familiar to those who have followed the career of Redknapp through Bournemouth, West Ham and Portsmouth. In this case it’s not really his fault. Spurs’ costs are too high because they have not been able to sell expensive signings like Robbie Keane and David Bentley, who are instead out on loan.
Yet Redknapp must accept some responsibility for the often rather lacklustre performances that have led to Spurs being in a weak position in the table. Man City, despite investing hundreds of millions on new players, are plodding along at exactly the same rate as last year. It’s Spurs that have slowed down. They are conceding more and scoring almost half a goal fewer per game than last season.
It’s hard to pinpoint a precise reason for this, but it seems curiously bound up with a man who has been feted as the signing of the season and has in the last few days even been named on the shortlist for player of the year. Rafael van der Vaart is on the brink of becoming the most over-praised footballer in the English game.
Firstly it is bizarre that Van der Vaart is nominated for the PFA award ahead of Luka Modric, who is plainly so much more important for his team. All of Spurs’ midfield play goes through Modric, while Van der Vaart sometimes finishes moves off but rarely initiates them.
The larger question revolves around whether he was really such a value for money signing after all. Spurs fans are seeing that there is a reason Real Madrid were happy to let him go so cheap — he can’t play 90 minutes.
Teams have got wise to his movement, lurking behind the main striker and hoping to feed on loose balls and knock-downs. That is reflected in a sharply reduced scoring rate — he has only two goals in 2011. And then there is the unfortunate effect his introduction seems to have had on Spurs’ other strikers, all of whom have struggled for goals.
Is it a coincidence that Peter Crouch and Jermain Defoe find it harder to score when partnered with a player who is deployed in an essentially parasitical role? Where Robbie Keane offered unpredictable movement to confuse defenders and open up space, all Van der Vaart does is take shots at goal. The Dutchman has got the plaudits — and Redknapp has basked in the reflected glory — but the evidence suggests the team has not been better off for his arrival.
It seems likely there will be big changes at Spurs this summer but would Levy be wise to place the responsibility for rebuilding the squad in Redknapp’s hands?
Not to judge by recent revelations about Redknapp’s ambitions in the market. It turns out he thought it would be a good idea to sign Rio Ferdinand and Phil Neville because of their leadership qualities. Both prospective leaders are well over 30, have had serious injury problems and earn huge salaries. That does not sound like the plan of a manager who is thinking very far ahead. Spurs have done too well to build the team to let it break up amid senseless short-termism.
