RAMOS SACKED

shane86

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I do think 'Arry has alot to answer for to the Pompey fans. I just heard that he will actually be picking the team for Spurs today.

FFS. He probably hasnt watched their videos, nevermind seen them train. How the hell is he meant to pick his best team? More madness from their clown board. In the job quite litreally half a day and he is picking teams of players he has never spoken to (I would assume that with a game today the lads were all asleep pretty early last night, they get up at 8am and find they are being picked by a guy most of them have barely spoken to before. Great morale booster there)

Bubs101

CHD wrote: »

+1

What does that man have to do to prove hes good!

+2, the man was a penalty away from being the third English based manager to win the Champion's League FFS

BillyBoy

Bubs101 wrote: »

+2, the man was a penalty away from being the third English based manager to win the Champion's League FFS

Alright lads, calm down. I was just giving you my opinion as a Pompey supporter. Didn't mean to cause any insult. I just wouldn't like to see him as manager of my team. Sorry if that angers you but was just giving you my opinion.

Xavi6

BillyBoy wrote: »

Alright lads, calm down. I was just giving you my opinion as a Pompey supporter. Didn't mean to cause any insult. I just wouldn't like to see him as manager of my team. Sorry if that angers you but was just giving you my opinion.

You're entitled to your opinion of course but could you explain why you wouldn't want him as manager?

Unearthly

CHD wrote: »

+1

What does that man have to do to prove hes good!

He needs to be more funny

That's what management is all about

spockety

From BBC:

1220: BBC 5 Live's John Motson has just been chatting to Daniel Levy and reports that there may be another statement from the Spurs chairman, who is apparently in "humble" mood. Motty continues: "I believe Spurs could be sold in the near future, so the whole thing is very fluid."

1226: But still the Spurs news keeps coming... Here's a not-very-revealing-at-all statement from Juande Ramos: "The results are what counts in football and we all know how this world works. Now we just have to see if this decision is the best one for the team to recover and have a good season."

Wreck

It's no surprise that Ramos has been sacked, some of his decisions over the past while have made it look like he actuallt wanted this to happen. Levy has acted admirably in this instance, both in getting rid of Camoli et al and in immediately bringing in a manager who will keep them up and push on next season. Levy has made a number of mistakes, the Jol and Berbatov fiascos spring to mind, but he has given Spurs a solid financial base on which to build. Personnally I think he has done a far better job over his time at the club than he is given credit for.

Portsmouth on the other hand appear to be screwed financially. They have suffered more than most due to the economic downturn, and even before losing Redknapp their were predections of a lot of players being sold come January. The five million they get for Redknapp may actually save them from going under. Despite the fact that they are fully 13 places ahead of Spurs in the table, they are in a far more precarious position.

Redknapp owes Portsmouth nothing, Spurs asked the board could they speak to him, Pompey named their price. Redknapp more than most would know about the terrible finacial position Pompey are in,that he would be losing players come January and that in all probability he has taken them as far as he could. He has done a terrific job there, and I think you will see that many of the Pompey fans appreciate this and will wish him well. Whatever about their current league positions, Spurs are a bigger club than Pompey with bigger ambitions, and Redknapp is right to want to achieve more things in the game.

Who comes in for Pompey is pretty hard to predict. The most likely scenario is some form of Tony Adams/Joe Jordan team, as this would cost the least. But it looks like Jordan may follow Redknapp to Spurs, and Adams doesn't appear to be ready for the responsibility of the managers position yet. Anyone coming in from the outside would have to be assured that there will not be a firesale in January, and realistically any such assurance couldn't be taken at face value. Sam Allarydace has been dying to get back into football, but I think even he may think twice before accepting such a fraught position.

All in all, great news for Spurs, worrying times ahead for Pompey.

Bubs101

Unearthly wrote: »

He needs to be more funny

That's what management is all about

He looks like the Hypnotoad.


Jose never did anything to match that

~Rebel~

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I just heard that he will actually be picking the team for Spurs today. To me, that shows how little Pompey meant to him, to move form one job to another so quickly, the speed at which only a prostitute could match.

Last night on SSN, 'Arry said;
"Obviously i won't be picking the team, but i'll go to meet the players in the mornning and be in for the team talk and at halftime."

estebancambias

well i think harry redknapp will get the best out of the players he has until he can buy better players in January.

Xavi6

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Last night on SSN, 'Arry said;
"Obviously i won't be picking the team, but i'll go to meet the players in the mornning and be in for the team talk and at halftime."

Again, I wouldn't believe a word that comes out of his mouth. I wouldn't be surprised if he's sitting down with Clive Allen putting a team together.

Unearthly

Daniel Levy's open letter to Spurs fansguardian.co.uk, Sunday October 26 2008 10.52 GMT Article historyDear Supporter,

How quickly things change in football. Our pre-season form, our start to the transfer window and early summer signings had everyone optimistic for the season ahead. The last few days of that window and our poor start to the season has seen all that change. This has been a difficult period for the Club and many questions are being asked and much criticism levelled. I should like to update you on some important developments announced a short while ago, to answer some of your questions and also to outline our thinking as we look to improve our current position going forward.

We have faced many key challenges as we have progressed over the last few seasons and we have had to take important decisions at crucial times - without the wonderful benefit of hindsight and always under full public scrutiny. As such, they have been judgement calls. Some of our decisions and judgements may at times be unpopular with our fans but we always take decisions we believe to be in the best interests of our Club, at the time we make them, and for the right reasons. In many cases, it is simply not possible or practical for all of the factors involved to enter the public domain and I do understand that this can alter or impair the perception of why something has or hasn't been done.

Today, as formally announced by the Club, I have made one such important judgement call and in doing so I have taken some very difficult decisions. Relieving Juande Ramos, our Head Coach, and Juande's assistants, Gus Poyet and Marcos Alvarez, of their posts is not something I have undertaken lightly.

Unfortunately, our record of just three League wins since our memorable Carling Cup victory against Chelsea last February, combined with our extremely poor start to the season, led the Board and I to determine that significant change was necessary as a matter of urgency. We are grateful to Juande, Gus and Marcos for all their hard work - they are incredibly professional, committed individuals and I regret that their time in the Premier League has not gone as well as we had all hoped.

The English Premier League is an unforgiving competition - time was no longer on our side and was a luxury we simply could not afford. We have quite clearly not performed to the best of our ability for many months now and our poor run of form is not something we could allow to continue unchecked.

In appointing Harry Redknapp as our new manager, we are delighted to have secured the services of someone we have long since admired and whose track record and knowledge of all levels of football, including importantly the Premier League, is outstanding. I know Harry is relishing the opportunity of managing a Club he knows well, not least from his son Jamie's time here as a player and Captain, and of re-invigorating and restoring confidence to a squad of highly talented international players. With his great knowledge of the game and his excellent motivational skills, Harry has inspired his teams to consistently over-perform, whilst his preferred attacking style of playing the game sits comfortably with our Club's history, heritage and the type of entertaining football our fans want and expect to see.

We have spent around £175m on new players over the last 3 years. The purchasing of players is a critical aspect of our Club and, given our current position, it is essential that we go into the January transfer window with absolute confidence in the advice being offered to the Board. Following a meeting of the Directors and a full review of our football management structure, I can also inform you that Damien Comolli has left the Club with immediate effect. Damien will not be directly replaced.

In my opinion, and with the benefit that comes with running our Club with and without a Sporting Director in the past seven years, the successful management of a football club is not about structures or job titles. As in most businessess, it's about people: their personal qualities, their knowledge, their experience, their relationships, communication skills, interaction with colleagues, leadership and, of course, their ability.

In Harry, we are also accepting with his appointment that now is the right time for us to move back to a more traditional style of football management at our Club. one which we believe will be capable of initiating our climb back up the Premier League table and to maintaining our challenge in the UEFA, Carling and FA Cup competitions.

However, I should stress that we are not in this current position because of any single factor or any one individual. Human nature often dictates the need to find someone or something to blame, but in these circumstances we need all our energies to be directed instead to supporting the team and improving our League position. Nothing else matters at this time.

That said, and without dwelling too much on last summer, I do also want to take this opportunity to address some of the other concerns you have raised. Many of the questions I have been asked and much of the reasoning for our poor start to the season has centred on our striker options. I do not believe this to be the sole reason, but I do feel it is important to set out the facts once again regarding the sale of two popular and talented strikers: Keane and Berbatov.

Robbie Keane's departure was undoubtedly the shock of the summer. I personally had an excellent relationship with Robbie and he was one player that I always thought would end his career at the Club. I know you all felt the same. I was as disappointed as any of you when he informed me that he wanted to join what he described as his favourite boyhood club. Against this background and despite his obvious professionalism, our coaching staff felt that it would be very difficult to expect Robbie to continue to be such a positive influence in our dressing room when he so clearly wanted to leave us. The decision to sell Robbie was therefore not a financial one, although in such circumstances it was vital for our Club to secure the maximum possible value for a player of Robbie's ability.

The sale of Dimitar was an entirely different matter. Dimitar first intimated to Martin Jol that he wanted to join Manchester United after just one season at our Club - and just 10 days before the end of the summer 2007 transfer window. At that time, the coaching staff's preference was to let Dimitar go and for us to replace him. This was not something I would allow - at any price - as I felt that Dimitar's request was completely unreasonable. From that moment on, we obviously knew we had an issue and we spent many hours over the course of the season that followed trying to persuade Dimitar to stay. I rebuffed a number of approaches from clubs , including Manchester United, this May and again in early July. Despite press stories to the contrary, there was no extended period of negotiation with Manchester United and their July offer of £20m was not increased until they contacted us again in the last few days of the transfer window.

The internal decision to sell Dimitar at the beginning of the window was premised on a suitable replacement being found and on the assumption that Dimitar couldn't be persuaded to change his mind. Under FIFA regulations, if a players signs a contract before his 28th birthday, he has only to serve 3 years of that contract before he can terminate it and join a new club. Whilst some compensation is payable under such circumstances the level of compensation is set by a third party body in accordance with predeteremined factors, and in Dimitar's case would have been but a small fraction of the fee we received from Manchester United. But even this was not the final determining factor in our decision to part company with him. Despite the potential cost to the Club and knowing that our efforts to sign an additional, experienced striker had failed, the final decision on whether or not to sell Dimitar was not a financial decision but a footballing one. It was felt that he had not been a positive influence on the pitch or in the dressing room and that this would continue.

The timing of the actual transfer of Dimitar was completely immaterial and unconnected to our bringing in a replacement for him. We had been aware for a long period that he was likely to leave and our negotiations to get the best fee for him was independent of our work to replace both him (as we did with Pavyluchenko) and Robbie, with experienced strikers.

The ultimate failure - as I have said before - of our dealings in this summer's transfer window was not about the departure of two good strikers, or because we have operated a structure that happens to have had a Sporting Director and a Head Coach, or because our financial parameters are too rigid - after all, let´s not forget that we did bring in much quality to enhance our current squad. Quite simply, we failed because we were not as decisive or as successful in identifying or replacing the two strikers as early as we should have been. Perhaps these insights will help once and for all to de-bunk the myths that have been perpetuated around these transfers.

There is also an inaccurate perception that our Club is run entirely for profit and that football is secondary. Success on the pitch is the sole determinant to the future of the Club and its financial stability, so it would be entirely counter-productive to have anything other than football as our first and foremost priority and it is ridiculous to suggest otherwise. At a time when football clubs are criticised for losing money and for their debt levels, I am surprised that we should be criticised for running our Club on a sound commercial basis and for making a profit. Thank goodness we do make a profit because it has significantly supported the progress we have made over the last seven years and has helped to make us one of Europe's most secure Clubs. I make no apologies for the fact that we reinvest the Club's positive cash flow in both players and infrastructure.

And so back to looking ahead and to redress our current position. Firstly, in Harry, we have secured the services of an excellent Manager of proven Premier League quality. Harry will be working with a squad of quality internationals. We must not forget that this team, without the benefit of three additional players at the time (Pavlyuchenko, Corluka, Campbell), gave a more than creditable performance against the current League leaders. I have spoken to the senior players in recent days and I know the players share our frustration and I know they will dig deep to produce the performances we know they are capable of - they have our full support - and support for the team is absolutely critical at this time.

We have all been subjected to much criticism - myself, the Board, coaching staff and players - having now made what I considered to be necessary, sweeping changes to our football management team, we must re-assert ourselves, regain our focus, and answer our critics in the best way possible - by winning games again.

Secondly, we must prepare ourselves to take advantage of the January transfer window. Harry's experience of the UK and international transfer market will be of critical importance and I shall be looking to Harry for clarity on our priorities. As Chairman, and as previously in our former structure, I must, ultimately, rely on the knowledge and judgement of my technical staff to give me a clear football-based view and recommendation on our transfer targets.

I can assure you that everyone here, from the Board to our most junior staff member, shares the frustration and disappointment of the season so far, but I can also assure you that all of us in every area of the Club are doing what we can to help the players to produce the level of performance and the consistent good results our fans expect and all of us crave.

We have achieved too much over the last seven years - three successive qualifications for Europe, a League Cup win, Training Centre planning permission - and still more to announce - to allow this to be overtaken and thrown away overnight. We have suffered a set back and we have taken strong action.

I have received numerous e-mails and letters from supporters offering advice and suggestions on how the Club should be run and what we should and should not do. I do appreciate the time people take to write to me and when the e-mails or letters are constructive and not abusive, I can assure you that I read as many as I can. And I do take notice of your views.

Indeed, I have been heartened by the fact that the over-riding response from our supporters has been one of determination to get behind the team. Too often in difficult times supporters can forget that their support is needed even more than ever. The team will tell you how much of a difference it can make to them on the pitch. White Hart Lane needs to once again become the fortress it was, not so very long ago. With your tremendous support it can.

Finally, I know I am sometimes criticised for appearing too business-focused, too uncommunicative, or simply for not being emotional enough when it concerns our team. The majority of our fans know that it's simply not my way to seek a high profile. I do not crave publicity, neither do I believe it is necessary to do my job. I would prefer our team to make the headlines, for the right reasons. We now have a manager who is a great communicator to players, fans and the media alike and I shall also, personally, look to keep you all informed and your questions answered as we progress through the season.

Your support has never been more important - and we are grateful to so many of you for the messages of support and encouragement the Club has received during this difficult period. Now's the time for all of us to pull together and to get behind Harry and the team.

Yours, Daniel

Levy speaks!

Charlie

~Rebel~ wrote: »

Last night on SSN, 'Arry said;
"Obviously i won't be picking the team, but i'll go to meet the players in the mornning and be in for the team talk and at halftime."

I heard that myself, but SSN this morning repeatedly said that that had now changed, and that he would be picking the side for todays game. Redknapp was training yesterday with the Pompey players, and today he is managing the Spurs lot. Says lot about how quickly his loyalty can be bought and sold.

Xavi6

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I heard that myself, but SSN this morning repeatedly said that that had now changed, and that he would be picking the side for todays game. Redknapp was training yesterday with the Pompey players, and today he is managing the Spurs lot. Says lot about how quickly his loyalty can be bought and sold.

'Harry Redknapp' and 'loyalty' are two things that should never be used in the same sentence unless the words 'lack of' are also included.

shane86

Daniel Levy wrote:

How quickly things change in football. Our pre-season form, our start to the transfer window and early summer signings had everyone optimistic for the season ahead

Eh, what?!!?

I didnt know it would get as bad as it is now but come on, it was plainly obvious they would finish around the 14th mark at least with the sales they made.

Xavi6

shane86 wrote: »

Eh, what?!!?

I didnt know it would get as bad as it is now but come on, it was plainly obvious they would finish around the 14th mark at least with the sales they made.

B-b-b-but what about all them goals Darren Bent scored against League Two teams! :pac:

estebancambias

shane86 wrote: »

Eh, what?!!?

I didnt know it would get as bad as it is now but come on, it was plainly obvious they would finish around the 14th mark at least with the sales they made.

I think he meant spending 16 million on an overrated player.

Charlie

SSN saying that they have an interview in the can with Levy to air in the next hour. I expect that it will be more of the 'hindsight's a wonderful thing' 'Berba's a wanker' 'Look at our profits' line.

Wreck

Redknapp on the touchline and has an immediate galvanising effect on Spurs, 1-0 up after a quarter of an hour and by all accounts playing well.

Xavi6

And there he is in all his glory -

Charlie

Xavi6 wrote: »

And there he is in all his glory -

Probably still wearing his Pompey boxers underneath.

Frisbee

Nice to see the staff in the Spurs kit room havent let the teams recent form cause their performance to suffer. They got 'Arry that jacket double quick

therecklessone

shane86 wrote: »

FFS. He probably hasnt watched their videos, nevermind seen them train. How the hell is he meant to pick his best team? More madness from their clown board. In the job quite litreally half a day and he is picking teams of players he has never spoken to (I would assume that with a game today the lads were all asleep pretty early last night, they get up at 8am and find they are being picked by a guy most of them have barely spoken to before. Great morale booster there)

Oh dear...

Development coach Clive Allen selected the team to take on Bolton but Harry drove straight to the team hotel first thing Sunday morning to meet the players and was heavily involved throughout the day, taking his place alongside Clive on the touchline.

His arrival certainly lifted the club and the players responded in fine style as goals from Roman Pavlyuchenko after 17 minutes and Darren Bent's penalty after 75 minutes secured a much-needed 2-0 win in the Barclays Premier League.

Harry reflected: "I met the players at the hotel, had a chat with them at about half past 11, came in with them on the coach, went into the dressing room and got cracking straight away.

"I only joined the club on Saturday night, so Clive put the team together, it was fine and I said 'great, let's go with that'.

"I could have sat in the stand and watched the game but there was no point in that, we haven't got time. I needed to get cracking so I got into it straight away.

http://www.tottenhamhotspur.com/news/articles/letsgetcracking261008.html

therecklessone

Wreck wrote: »

It's no surprise that Ramos has been sacked, some of his decisions over the past while have made it look like he actuallt wanted this to happen.

I have suspected for a long time that Ramos was working towards engineering the sack, som eo fhis tactics and player selections were so WTF?

Wreck wrote: »

Levy has acted admirably in this instance

He should be falling on his own sword.

therecklessone

Xavi6 wrote: »

B-b-b-but what about all them goals Darren Bent scored against 1 League Two team! :pac:

Fixed that for ya, last time I checked Norwich were in the Championship (don't think kensutz would be happy with you) and Celtic, Dortmund and Roma were all in the top flight of their domestic leagues.

Xavi6

Splitting hairs tbh. You know what I meant.

vincenzo1975

I thought this would have come a couple of weeks ago, cant believe they are doing so bad. The team need a serious kick up the arse because they easily have the players to be doing better. Motivation and player support for the manager must have been in the pits for weeks, if Levy could not get a feel for that a month ago, something at the club is really wrong.

On the other hand, I think Harry redknapp is just the man to turn it around, it will be interesting to see how Ramos non british Summer signings will react to Harry.

Still think Arsenal will tank them next week.

Fratton Fred

I am finding it very hard to make any sort of comment that will not result in me getting perma banned from this board.

Once forgiven, twice forgotten.

Charlie

Fratton Fred wrote: »

I am finding it very hard to make any sort of comment that will not result in me getting perma banned from this board.

Once forgiven, twice forgotten.

I can understand Fred, real kick in the goolies from 'Arry imo.

Any word on the Pompey forums as to who is likely to get the gig? Any preferences yourself?

Fratton Fred

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I can understand Fred, real kick in the goolies from 'Arry imo.

Any word on the Pompey forums as to who is likely to get the gig? Any preferences yourself?

Tony Adams may get the nod to step up and take full charge, although I don't think this is a good move personally. If that happens then it confirms the ruomours that we are in financial trouble as it is the cheap option.

I'd like to see Avram Grant come back, he was good before and has a good reputation.

Wreck

In an interesting twist, it has emerged that Redknapp is due to be given the freedom of the city (of Portsmouth) tomorrow for leading them to FA cup glory. I'd hope he gets a good reception from the Pompey fans, because he did a great job for the club, but certain die hard fans



are reported to be less than happy at the manner of his leaving.

Fratton Fred

Wreck wrote: »

In an interesting twist, it has emerged that Redknapp is due to be given the freedom of the city (of Portsmouth) tomorrow for leading them to FA cup glory. I'd hope he gets a good reception from the Pompey fans, because he did a great job for the club, but certain die hard fans
are reported to be less than happy at the manner of his leaving.

I think that's a bit much to ask to be honest. He has just left for what he considers to be a "Bigger Club" and has already talked about a couple of Pompey players being targets in January.

what exactly do you expect the Pompey fans to do, wish him well as he rapes our club?

therecklessone

Wreck wrote: »

I hate that fcuker with the bell.

Daysha

Next Portsmouth manager betting:

Tony Adams - 1/2
Sam Allerdyce - 9/2
Avram Grant - 7/1
Alan Curbishley - 14/1
Terry Venables - 16/1

There are numerous big-names at 20/1, none of which would take the job, so it seems to be between those 5.

Charlie

therecklessone wrote: »

I hate that fcuker with the bell.

I think everyone does tbf, including alot of Pompey fans. I think his bell has been banned from Fratton lately, and that he isn't on the best of terms with the club. Fred could probably elaborate on that more.

I did hear him on SSN the other day, and for a bloke who looks like an utter mong, he came across quite well, and made some good points.

mike65

Harry ready to plunder Fratton park (quell surprise)

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2008/oct/27/tottenhamhotspur-portsmouth

Mike

shane86

deise59 wrote: »

Next Portsmouth manager betting:

Tony Adams - 1/2
Sam Allerdyce - 9/2
Avram Grant - 7/1
Alan Curbishley - 14/1
Terry Venables - 16/1

There are numerous big-names at 20/1, none of which would take the job, so it seems to be between those 5.

Fiver on El Tel, 3 on Alan. Ill have me some of that! Maybe a 2 cover on Avveyy.

Ugh, knowing my luck it will be announced before Iv got to th bookies (I dunno, I dont trust myself to reg for online gambling. Too easy to do if you know what I mean)

Fratton Fred

:pac:

charlie mchugh wrote: »

I think everyone does tbf, including alot of Pompey fans. I think his bell has been banned from Fratton lately, and that he isn't on the best of terms with the club. Fred could probably elaborate on that more.

I did hear him on SSN the other day, and for a bloke who looks like an utter mong, he came across quite well, and made some good points.

John portsmouth football club Westwood his full name is.

He has just been moved from teh fratton end as his bell and drum were starting to piss people off.

He is harmless but very annoying as he is a bit full of himself. He gets on well with the club though and you have to admire his commitment. He likes to start up the odd anti Scum song which annoys people, as it shows a small club mentality in my opinion. we are top dogs on the south coast now, we can forget about them

He works in his parents book shop by the way

Charlie

Fratton Fred wrote: »

He works in his parents book shop by the way

TBF, who else would employ him?

Xavi6

A reminder of why I love F365's Mediawatch as they focus on the great big 'arry circle jerk -

Friends In Low Places
One of the reasons why Harry Redknapp is given such an easy ride by the press is that he has so many friends in the Fourth Estate. Always good for a quote, there's a scrub-my-back-and-I'll-scrub-yours to the way the press treat Redknapp. Which may explain the lack of censure over his latest act of mid-season disloyalty and even less accompanying the reports that he is preparing to destabilise Pompey further by returning to sign their best players.

It helps too that he has friends and family in such prominent positions.

For instance, although it was during a ten-minute conversation with John Motson on BBC Radio Five Live that Redknapp confirmed he would be interested in re-signing Jermain Defoe, there was never any question of questioning Redknapp about the dubious ethics of such a pursuit. Instead, the interview began with the immortal words "Well done mate, what a great victory!" and ended up with the salient matter of, "Will you still have time to walk the dogs at Sandbanks?"

In fairness to the BBC, they had no hestitation in inviting Tim Sherwood - despite the former Spurs midfielder now being in the paid employment of rivals Setanta - to talk up his dilemma over whether to join Tottenham as if it were a life-or-death matter. "I have to make my mind up whether or not it is the right time to get back into football," he agonised in a manner more becoming of a miner with arthritis deciding on whether to risk a return to the pits.

"He's got a fantastic knowledge of the game," purred Redknapp in what suddenly amounted to a bizarre public wooing/job interview funded by licence-fee payers. "He tells it like it is."

Back to 'Tim' (because we're all on first-name terms now Harry's back) for an insight into this fantastic knowledge and his capacity for telling it like it is: "Not many teams survive with two points after eight games...but there are no easy games in the Premiership."

No wonder he's in such high demand.

Sadly for some, one man not heading to White Hart Lane is Harry's son, Jamie. But that's not because he's not wanted. To quote Redknapp senior: "Sky Sports pay him too much. I don't think we can afford him."

But where was Redknapp on Sunday afternoon? Not in the studio, covering any of the game's matches, including the one billed by his employers as the biggest of the season to date. No, he was at White Hart Lane cheering on his dad's new team. "I was here just as a fan," he told SSN afterwards. Although it's not every fan, or pundit, who is then invited into the dressing-room afterwards. Some pundit he'll be the next time his generous employers ask him to cover a Tottenham match (which may, of course, be as soon as tomorrow).

If you want a quick, sneak preview of how it might go, here's the opening intro to one high-profile piece on Redknapp's latest u-turn in today's edition of The Daily Mail:

'Harry Redknapp has showed dare and nerve in taking the Tottenham job. He was very happy at Portsmouth, working with good people, living close to the training ground and, let's get it right, doing an outstanding job.'

And the author of that piece? Jamie Redknapp, of course.

All bases and all outlets covered then.


Leap Of Faith Of The Day
Writes Redknapp Jnr in The Daily Mail: 'There is a natural comparison with Sir Bobby Robson...'

Whoa there Jamie. Dad or not, we'd be very careful about comparing 'Arry (Major trophies: One) and Bobby (Major trophies: Nine) if we were you. You might end up looking like a biased, clueless fool in troublingly tight trousers.


Nepotism
You wonder quite why Sherwood was the first person that sprang to mind when 'Arry was hiring his coaching staff. After all, this is a man who has never coached at a serious level before, retired from the game three years ago and has since filled the hours with his important media work.

Of course, it might all be explained by said media work, given that Mr Sherwood's illustrious portfolio includes Icon Magazine, the journal for footballers by 'footballers' set up in 2005 by Tim and Mr Jamie Redknapp.

Brilliant!

Also loved James Richardson's remark on the Guardian podcast that Redknapp had dropped Pompey "quicker than one of his 'H's".