Great point about Arsenal and its youth. I love that about clubs. Everton seems like a club that values its youth development (they pplayed a 16-year old this year, James Baxter). They brought Wayne Rooney through their ranks as well. But back to Arsenal – when is it going to work out? Theo Walcott has done some great things but it seems like there are some games where he disappears.

And one last thing – why-why-why did Tottenham sell BOTH Berbatov and Keane and how did the fans feel about this? I understand if both wanted to leave, but it wasn’t like they weren’t performing (I think each 15 goals last season). With all the signings, especially Luka Modric, couldn’t/shouldn’t they have taken a chance at keeping one and hoping he’d eventually change his tune if they flirted with the top 8?

Smitty, to answer:

The player’s reaction seems to be one of relief, more than anything. At the moment, not a day is passing without one of the players mentioning Redknapp’s inspiration and motivational qualities. In fact this morning, two of our summer signings, £15m/$25m David Bentley, and £14m/$22m Russian striker Roman Pavulychenko have been talking him up. See here: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-1082697/Pavlyuchenko-takes-swipe-Ramos-Im-scoring-thanks-Harry.html?ITO=1490 and here: http://www.goal.com/en/Articolo.aspx?ContenutoId=946907 respectively.

Spurs are, and will be, playing second fiddle to Arsenal for some time, unfortunately. In Arsene Wenger, Arsenal probably have the most transfer-savvy manager there has ever been, and though they have not won any titles or trophies in a few seasons, the structure of the club, and the players and stability they have are light years ahead of my fine side. That said, they are struggling currently because they have not been pro-active enough.

Wenger has placed far too much faith in his younger players, and it is their lack of experience which currently hinders them. They lack the sort of combative midfield player that the great Patrick Vieria once was, and are in desperate need of some experienced heads. Wenger, to his credit, tried to address this by buying 31 year-old Silvestre from Manchester United for £500,000, but when the clubs around them are spending £10m, £20m, or even £30m on players, Arsenal’s policy does look a little lacking.

Chelsea aside, Tottenham are by far the biggest and most frequent spenders in the league, but it is the lack of stability which holds them back. Players come, and then quickly go – Dimitar Berbatov may have left us for £20m more than we bought him for, but for every success, they are failures like Kevin Prince Boateng, bought for £6m, played about 10 games, and Younnes Kaboul, who was bought for £6m, only to be moved on, ironically, to Harry Redknapp’s Portsmouth, for a considerable loss.

Fantastic talk.. Dave – how has the Spur’s players reception of Redknapp coming on mid season been like?

Also you talk about the Spurs recent spending spree. From my view they are in some regards – second fiddle in London to Arsenal. Has the recent investment of $$ to players changed that perception??

Good luck everyone.

Now where were we…

Tottenham have indeed spent a large amount of money in the last few years, but this summer alone, £70m, or about $120m was recouped in the sales of Dimitar Berbatov to Manchester United, Robbie Keane to Liverpool, and 4 squad players, 3 to Sunderland, and 1 to Portsmouth.

Many believed that Gus Poyet, the former Spurs player and Ramo’s assistant would one day take over – but that idea was based on Ramos’ success, and Poyet being the next in line. Unfortunately, when it all went horribly wrong, Poyet was deemed to be a part of the problem, and had to go. He was actually mentioned for the Newcastle United manager’s job a few months ago, so he should be fine.

The simple facts about Tottenham and Portsmouth are that being in London, Tottenham will always attract a better player, and, in terms of ‘names’ in English football, Tottenham are a glamour club, and have a tremendous history. This is how we were able to attract a manager like Ramos in the first place, and able to buy a player like Luka Modric over the summer, who could have picked his club after a fine European Championship.

Portsmouth are, at the end of the day (and I hate that cliche) a smaller club, whose current attendence averages about 28,000 fans – much less than say Manchester United’s 75,000 or Arsenal’s 65,000 – and it is this lack of financial muscle that will mean the successes they enjoyed last season are probably as good as it will get for them.

With regards to Redknapp – at 61, realistically, we could expect him to stay for no more than 4 years. But, given the records of our last managers – Ramos 1 year, Martin Jol 2 years, Jacques Santini 3 months, etc etc, 4 years would be a tremendous achievement. What we need right now is stability, and to get the club’s identity back. Redknapp is, without doubt, the best managerial appointment would could have made aside from the man mentioned in your article – David Moyes.

First off – thank you. Despite the flaws of this (and many of my other posts) you were constructive. I appreciate it and the compliment.

The fact that you’re a Tottenham fan did not matter once I read your critique. Your observations were objective and informative. My comment about Spurs not having money was my own logical fallacy (they’ve spent a ton the past 3 years, therefore, they must not have any).

As far as my vantage point on this move, understand my limited knowledge of soccer. You rarely see a coach change teams midseason in American sports. I’m not saying Ramos shouldn’t have been fired – he obviously was not getting results from his players. But usually when that happens, we’d see an assistant take over. The fact that Portsmouth and Tottenham worked this out together originally disgusted me and I didn’t want to filter that feeling. Though it may be normal, I just don’t see how some coaches and organizations could do that.

As for Portsmouth vs. Tottenham – I also did not want to filter my lack of understanding on the history of the clubs. Why can’t Portsmouth be successful? I really thought (in my completely novice point of view) that Portsmouth could overachieve this year after getting Crouch. And with a charasmatic manager who all the players have bought in to, why wouldn’t they?

And lastly – Spurs. I want to like this team, I really do. But this is such a strange move to me, as an outsider. Redknapp’s age is a great point; he won’t stay too long at Tottenham. Why don’t they go find a guy that is charasmatic and dedicated to this London club long term? Someone who will enstill his values and stay there long enough to see them come to fruition. To me – again, an outsider – it seems like the wrong move for both clubs. But I am looking at it not from the understanding of the intricacies of the premier league and club soccer, but what I’m used to in the States. The whole thing with the award – geez – I don’t know how to explain it. Yeah – I see your point. What he did was right, but he should have accepted it then returned to his job at Portsmouth. It’s a shame what happened, because I like watching Portsmouth.

Again, Dave – thanks for giving us an experienced outlook on this whole situation. Come back and comment any time…

However, and please bear in mind I am a Tottenham fan, a couple of points.

First things first, Tottenham absolutely do have money to spend, and quite a considerable amount at that. Redknapp will almost inevitably move players on, and some will be brought in.

Mid-season moves are not unusual for managers – and, in this case, understandable. At 61, Redknapp has achieved all he can at the level of clubs he has been at.

He really made his name as manager of West Ham United, where he moulded a talented young group of players into an attacking force – and then they went down.

He has done a good job at Portsmouth – and though the timing could have been better, he rightly accepted his award from the city for last season’s considerable achievements, but Tottenham are a club on a totally different operating level.

He should be congratulated for being so brave at 61 to take on such a challenge, not chastised. I don’t think anyone is asking themselves if Redknapp is a loyal guy at this point.