No sexy please, we’re British

THE creaking main stand and homely setting of Craven Cottage always creates the feeling of a time-warp but Saturday’s FA Cup tie was a throwback to an era that Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp believes will soon be lost to the game.

Unlike other ties in this season’s competition, this game was played in front of a full house that left both sides in no doubt that progress to the semi-finals mattered, a view that, refreshingly, was shared a view shared by both managers.

In contrast to other Premier League managers, Redknapp and Roy Hodgson have a keen sense of the history of the competition and view the FA Cup as a chance to deliver a moment of glory in contrast to more pragmatic targets in the league. As a footballing romantic, Redknapp must have almost expected the possibility of a reunion with Portsmouth in the semi-final.

It was unfortunate that this game itself failed to live up to those high ideals with both sides cancelling each other out and defences undeniably reigning supreme.

For once, though, the prospect of a replay was greeted with excited anticipation rather than bleatings about a crowded fixture list and it was hard to escape the feeling that if all managers conveyed a similar enthusiasm for the Cup, it wouldn’t be in the mess it is with the FA considering ideas to turn it into a midweek competition. Quite why they think we need another Carling Cup is a different matter altogether.

It was no coincidence that the men occupying the technical areas are both long in the tooth and steeped in the domestic game, compared to their imported peers. Redknapp, though, believes he and Hodgson are a dying breed.

“I think every club will have a foreign owner soon, the way things are going,” said Redknapp. “You get more foreign owners, you’ll get more foreign coaches. The lifespan of a manager will get less and less.

“They will all be mega rich men and they all want to win. They don’t understand why they can’t win the league. ‘Why aren’t we winning, why are we sixth in the league’. It will be like a revolving door eventually.

“People should give our managers the opportunity. There are some terrific managers in the Championship or below but they need to be given their chance. A big club will always go for that sexy name. Are me and Roy sexy? You’ll have to ask my wife. She’ll definitely say no.”

Financially, Spurs’ principal target has to be a fourth-place finish in the league that will give access to the Champions League millions and raise the profile of the club considerably.

Redknapp, though, understandably refuses to ignore the charms of the cup given he became the first manager to steer a club from outside the big four to Wembley success since 1995 when he lifted the trophy with Portsmouth in 2008.

“I love the cup,” he added. “I can never understand people who put weaker teams out when they are in the middle of the table. Have a go to get to Wembley, it’s the greatest feeling in the world. I said that to the players beforehand. Have a go, to get to Wembley in a cup semi-final, let’s not waste it here today. It’s a great day out for everybody.

“It’s harder to explain to the foreign lads but not to the homegrown lads who grew up with it. Possibly not the younger lads, maybe it’s not so important but to us old ones it was the competition that matters.”

For Fulham manager Hodgson, this season is all about looking forwards and creating his club’s history rather than looking back, dewy-eyed, to the past.

Fulham are enjoying an unprecedented run of success this season, epitomised by the fact that next Sunday’s trip to face Manchester United at Old Trafford is sandwiched between meetings with Juventus in the Europa League.

That means the replay of this tie will be held in two weeks time when Fulham will hope to find Spurs keeper Heurelho Gomes in less commanding form. Not that Hodgson is complaining about the hectic schedule.

“If you’re successful, which is what we all strive to be, then this is what happens,” he said. “I sometimes think it’s very dangerous to complain about it because if you start complaining about it then someone up there might say ‘he doesn’t enjoy the success so next time I’ll just give him 38 games and he can go out in the first round of the cups’.

“So I don’t like to take chances and just because I wear the same shirt and tie it doesn’t mean I take chances with other things.”

MATCH RATING: ** – Roy Hodgson claimed the quality of the both sides’ defending meant this was a compelling match. That’s easy for a manager to say; a paying punter may disagree.

REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear) 8 – Excellent, anonymous display. Etuhu’s late booking was perhaps harsh on the Fulham midfielder but otherwise Clattenburg kept control without resorting to his cards.