Harry Redknapp is not the manager to save Tottenham Hotspur

Tottenham’s 1-1 draw at Liverpool on Sunday may have brought brief relief to Igor Tudor who many expect to not manage Spurs for much longer.

When it comes to a replacement, there is one man on everyone’s lips: Harry Redknapp.

One of English football’s most popular characters is being billed as the hero Spurs need, and throughout Cheltenham Festival week, speculation ramped up while ‘Arry was focusing on his horse, The Jukebox Man, competing in the Gold Cup.

Ever since Thomas Frank was sacked in February, there has been a clamour for Redknapp to return amongst the Tottenham fanbase.

He is the man who oversaw Spurs secure Champions League football on a regular basis, with the likes of Peter Crouch, Jermaine Defoe and Luka Modric becoming cult heroes in the process.

However, with relegation looking a real possibility, it appears that Spurs fans are banking on the vibes of Redknapp’s previous tenure being enough to keep them in the Premier League.

Unfortunately, football does not work purely on ‘vibes’.

Redknapp's mixed managerial life after Spurs tenure

After being sacked by Tottenham in June 2012, mixed managerial tenures have followed.

QPR were relegated and promoted while he was in charge, and a stint at Birmingham City lasted just five months in 2017. After helping the Blues stay in the Championship in the club’s 2016/17 campaign, five straight defeats at the start of the following season, which left Birmingham second from bottom, resulted in the sack.

Since then, Redknapp has become more of a celebrity than a football manager. Winning the British reality show I’m a Celebrity…Get Me Out of Here! in 2018, Redknapp has been slowly drifting away from football with other interests, such as his horse racing taking precedence.

Watching the chaos at Spurs from the outside will have been a difficult watch for Redknapp who just last week said, “They know where I am if they need me,” in an interview with Sky Sports.

But is he really the man to get Spurs out of this mess?

Why Redknapp would struggle in Spurs relegation fight

One comment which made me squirm was during Sunday’s talkSPORT Goals Show, with one of the contributors calling for Redknapp’s appointment purely on the basis of being a “Tottenham man”.

The straws are very well being clutched in north London, and Redknapp has been out of the game for far too long to make an instant impact.

A lot of the reasoning behind Redknapp’s possible appointment has been the ability to make players feel better about themselves, but that won’t be enough in a relegation battle which has not been this tight for some time.

The Premier League has changed significantly since Redknapp last stood in a technical area. Teams towards the bottom have improved, and with Spurs in freefall, they are no longer a feared force.

If Redknapp does take charge, then he is in for a huge shock. Nottingham Forest, Leeds United are just some of the relegation-threatened teams yet to face Spurs before the end of the season, and they are peaking at just the right time.

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Any more dropped points, and a relegation, could tarnish Redknapp’s legacy at the club, and while he is showing plenty of enthusiasm towards saving Spurs on the surface, deep down he must be hoping the club go after another candidate.

At the age of 79, Spurs' dire situation will not only take its toll mentally, but also physically, and for someone like Redknapp, who has not been in a dug out for nine years, it could be too much to handle.  

There are more seasoned names out there who are used to being in this situation in recent years. One being Sean Dyche who is the latest to be named as a possible replacement for Tudor.

He may be no Redknapp, but Dyche knows how to compete in this iteration of the Premier League, with this season’s time at Forest cut short by a trigger-happy owner.

What type of manager should replace under pressure Tudor

In an ideal world for Spurs fans, seeing someone considered a legend return in the club’s darkest hour and save them from relegation humiliation would be the perfect fantasy.

Football, especially in the Premier League, however, is not a fantasy, and instead, Spurs need someone who is used to the cutthroat nature of a relegation and will get the results required to stay in the English top flight before quickly closing the book on this season.

Redknapp is not the man to do that.

Instead, the club needs to get a manager who can bring some stability and will be given the chance to rebuild next season and not become a part of a Spurs meat grinder churning out managerial sackings for fun.

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