Tottenham and Harry Redknapp damaged by hunt for England manager

Posted Monday, April 30, 2012 by theguardian.com

Harry Redknapp's Tottenham have struggled ever since Fabio Capello resigned as England manager.

The morning of Friday 3 February and it is announced by the Football Association that John Terry has been stripped of the England captaincy for the second time in two years. Hearing the news break, Tottenham Hotspur supporters may well have afforded themselves a wry grin, pleasure taken from yet another humiliation for the captain of a rival club. The weeks since, however, have seen the smile well and truly wiped from their faces.

For the decision taken on that winter's day set off a chain reaction which many argue has ruined Spurs' season and, after Sunday's revelation that the FA is to interview Roy Hodgson in regards to the vacant England manager's post, perhaps affected Harry Redknapp, the club's manager, in a manner from which he may not recover.

Terry's sacking led to Fabio Capello's resignation, which in turn led to Redknapp being made the clear favourite to become the Italian's successor. On the same day as Capello walked away from the national team, 8 February, Redknapp was found not guilty at his tax evasion case at Southwark crown court. He was a free man and it appeared only a matter of time before the 65-year-old was offered what he has since described as the "ultimate job".

The FA held back, however, afraid of disrupting Spurs' campaign. At the time they were third in the Premier League and legitimate challengers for the title. What has followed, however, has been the mother of collapses, with the London club winning just three of their next 11 matches – the most recent of which was Sunday's 2-0 victory over Blackburn Rovers – and seeing not only their hope of landing the championship for the first time since 1961 go up in smoke but also their seemingly concrete chances of qualifying for the Champions League gradually crumble – they are fourth, four points behind Arsenal in third and ahead of Newcastle United in fifth by goal difference alone.

Tottenham's FA Cup dreams have also been ended, with Redknapp's men thumped 5-1 by Chelsea in their semi‑final on 15 April, albeit partly thanks to a dubious goal form Juan Mata, and it is impossible not to believe the speculation surrounding Redknapp and his seemingly inevitable departure to take over England, most likely ahead of Euro2012, has not played its part.

That much can be taken from the manner in which Spurs have put the shutters down at Redknapp's weekly press conferences. Since the end of February, all questions regarding the identity of Capello's successor have been barred, leaving Redknapp sitting awkwardly as the inevitable queries have kept coming his way.
For it is no secret that the man who began his managerial career at Bournemouth in 1983 prior to spells
with West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Portsmouth again and then, in October 2008, Spurs, has wanted the England job for some time, but with the FA unwilling to make its move, and he desperate to keep his Spurs players focused on the task ahead, there is little Redknapp has been able to do but bite his lip.

But the silence has helped no one, Spurs principally, who can now only wonder how their season would have panned out had Terry remained as England captain and Capello as manager. Could they have chased down the two Manchester clubs for the title? Possibly. Would they have qualified for the Champions League by now? Probably.

Their play has undeniably lost its early-season vigour and since 8 February a team who appeared able to score at will have failed to do so in four separate games. Gareth Bale for one believes the uncertainty over Redknapp's future has been a contributing factor and hinted at the weekend that he could leave in the summer for a club in Europe's elite competition.

Spurs, meanwhile, are likely to be left cursing the damage caused to a manager who, having for so long felt he was destined for his country's call, may now be too mentally shot to continue anywhere.