English Premier League Diary : Harry Redknapp's reported comments about Tottenham Hotspur being a strong contender for the Premier League title have not gone down well with iSporter Asif Khan, who believes that the Spurs boss should be worried about working hard to hold the fourth position against the onslaught of Manchester City and Liverpool instead of dreaming of a League title.
There is an old saying that empty vessels make a lot of noises, Harry Redknapp is very much acting like an empty vessel these days talking way beyond what he and his team are capable of.
I don't have anything against Redknapp, on the contrary I have admired his managerial skills in his Portsmouth days and even afterwards, guiding Portsmouth to the unlikely FA Cup victory and leading Tottenham Hotspur to the lucrative fourth place in the Premier League bringing Champions League football to White Hart lane.
These are no mean achievements, but Harry doesn't seem to know when to stop talking, something that he should have learnt for his advanced age. He seems to have made a ludicrous comment that Spurs can win the league title if they can add another player or two.
Believe me, either Harry had a few pints down the pub or he is just seeking to put some pressure on the Spurs chairman Daniel Levy to open up his purse one last time before its gets too late to bring in new faces. For all his great qualities, Redknapp is not even close to be compared to any of the great British past and present managers.
He has been a great wheeler dealer, but the foremost an opportunist. The only significant trophy that he has ever won is the FA Cup with Portsmouth and everyone knows under what circumstances he won it and where did it leave the club. The cast and crew of that victory were a bunch of faces who can be better described as footballing mercenaries or quality discards from top clubs who milked the club dry to death and headed to greener pastures, many following Mr. Redknapp to White Hart Lane.
Tottenham are no Portsmouth and have much stronger sources of income, a long history of achievements (although a few decades old) back their ambitions. Most of the Tottenham players will get the first taste of Champions League football and will have to bear the pressure of playing in an additional competition along with the usual grill of playing in the league and the domestic Cup competitions. Past experience with clubs in similar position doesn't augur too well for Spurs.
When David Moyes' Everton qualified for the Champions League in 2005, they were knocked out of the qualifying stages of the Champions League campaign and thrashed in the UEFA Cup, the club eventually finishing 11th after flirting with relegation for a while. Portsmouth's story after qualifying for UEFA Cup is well known and last year Fulham came closest possible to winning the UEFA Cup or Europa League as it is now known by reaching the finals, but finished 12th in the Premier League.
Tottenham in comparison have much bigger squad and better resources but a manager who has near zero experience of playing in Europe and doesn't have any experience of managing a team placed in Top 4. As such Harry should refrain from making any comments which can affect his credibility even further, should Tottenham have a bad start to the season.
Winning the league title is far fetched, what Tottenham and Mr. Redknapp should be worried about is to match their Top 4 finish against the onslaught of Manchester City and a Liverpool team licking its wound from last season's humiliation of finishing 7th.
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