‘I don’t know if I want to spend the owner’s money next month as there are players here who earn far too much money for what they are in terms of ability. I won’t let them have their pants pulled down anymore. They have been taken advantage of by agents and I won’t let that happen again’.
The reference to agents concerned the revelation that in the year ending September 2012, Rangers were the Premier League’s third highest spenders on the game’s middle-men, with an outlay of £6.82m. It should be noted that next in line were Redknapp’s former employers Spurs, with £6.6m spent. In the three years prior, during each of which the 65 year-old was in charge, Tottenham’s agent expenditure was £6.07m (2009), £5.36m (2010), and £7.57m (2011).
It is no surprise, regardless of his early musings upon accepting the Rangers’ post that January investment may prove a forlorn tactic, that Redknapp is now actively pursuing targets to bolster his resources. In truth, the group he inherited from Hughes, although far from capable of competing at the top end of the league, contains some extremely good footballers.
Players such as Esteban Granero, Samba Diakite, Ryan Nelsen, Julio Cesar, Junior Hoilett, Adel Taraabt, Alejandro Faurlin, and Jamie Mackie, provide a blend of skill, industry, and power. A failure to make more of the hand which he has been dealt does not reflect well on a man who was so widely touted as the ideal candidate to manage the England team – a position which requires the incumbent to draw the maximum from a limited pool of available players. Of course, the quality within an international squad will be vastly superior, but the requirement to manage the variety of characters with who you are presented remains.
Redknapp has already openly disenfranchised Jose Bosingwa. The Portuguese is not the most robust individual, but he was integral to Chelsea’s herculean backs-to-the-wall efforts in the Nou Camp, and Munich’s Allianz Arena as they so famously won the Champions League.
With every point so precious, Redknapp can ill-afford to alienate any genuine talent at his disposal. The Londoner has already made some eyebrow raising team selections. Faurlin, Granero, and Hoilett, have all been benched, with the woefully ineffective Shaun Wright-Phillips selected to start the two most recent defeats. Armand Traore, a player with no defensive instincts has come in at left-back, and Clint Hill, uncomfortably out of his depth at the highest level, is being chosen at the heart of the R’s defence.
The earlier than expected return of Bobby Zamora will at least provide a boon, and a welcome fresh cutting edge. Redknapp has previous for rescuing a seemingly irretrievable cause at Portsmouth. Worryingly for Rangers’ followers, he couldn’t prevent Southampton tumbling out of the top-flight in 2005.
Redknapp’s body of work at White Hart Lane is his finest yet, when he moulded a thrilling team, albeit one that fell just short of appreciable success. When arriving at Spurs, the Londoner walked into a demanding environment but was greeted by the sight of characters of the calibre of; Luka Modric, Gareth Bale, Aaron Lennon, Ledley King, and Jonathan Woodgate.
At this late stage of his career, Redknapp has accepted an exceptionally arduous challenge. If he is to see the start of a reversal in his team’s fortunes at Stamford Bridge, they will need to overcome a Chelsea side that is looking stronger every week, and decisively, is under the full authority of a man who is no dope.
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Looks like he beat the dope then. Not that bad after all.
Due credit is given in my next article which goes up on Saturday!