Tony Cascarino: Harry Redknapp needs to bring in new blood

Tottenham Hotspur have not won in five games as they prepare to face Wigan Athletic in the FA Cup tonight but I don’t think it’s a case of Harry Redknapp’s ”magic” wearing off.  I just think that Tottenham have enjoyed plenty of luck in the early part of his reign and Harry has known all along that the team isn’t good enough and will need surgery in the transfer market this month to get it up to scratch.

Remember, that 4-4 draw against Arsenal at the Emirates was fortunate and Spurs beat Liverpool yet were battered. They could easily have lost games that they ended up getting results in. The manager won’t be kidded that the good early scorelines meant that a poor team was suddenly good enough. They were down the bottom for a reason. This present run isn’t a reality check, just a reminder that there is plenty of work to be done, as there was from the moment Redknapp was appointed.

Redknapp will know that the business he does in the window will shape the rest of Tottenham’s season and he really has to make a lot of moves. This is a big-time Charlie club. From the moment they won the League Cup last year that attitude has been so prevalent. When the players fancy it, they can perform really well. If not…

Too many players at White Hart Lane think they are better than they really are. Redknapp needs to bring in new blood to keep the existing side on their toes. There’s no greater motivation, no better guard against complacency, than knowing your place is under threat. I know from my own experience that there’s nothing scarier for a player than picking up a paper and reading that your manager’s thinking about signing someone in your position. Didier Drogba doesn’t seem to have stopped moaning since Chelsea bought Nicolas Anelka.

Looking forward to Gillingham return

I’ll be at Priestfield on Sunday to see Gillingham face Aston Villa, working for television. I’m delighted to have the chance to see two of my former clubs in action and though I can only see one winner, I’d love the underdogs to spring a huge shock. Gillingham were my first club and the longest stay I had at any team. I knew everyone there. I’m not an emotional person but I had a tear in my eye when I left to join Millwall. At bigger clubs, they are so vast that it’s less personal and you don’t form such deep relationships with the staff.

I was a daft 19-year-old former hairdresser, eating a Wimpy burger and chips and a Knickerbocker Glory on the day of my home debut because I thought I was the fourteenth man in the days when you could only have two substitutes. I took a girlfriend down there. She had been impressed that I was a professional footballer but when we got to Priestfield, she said “Is this it?” She was expecting the VIP treatment, not some ramshackle little ground.

I remember the pints and fags and whisky, getting blitzed every Saturday after a match in the supporters’ club. We’d play pool, go to the Cricketer’s pub then a local nightclub. The manager knew that one of our centre forwards had a drinking problem – yet he still ended up with digs above a pub!

The place has stayed in my heart. What a great opportunity this is for Gillingham to enjoy some national attention and make a bit of money which is sorely needed after the club’s decline when, like so many League clubs a few years back, they were over-reliant on television money and overstretched themselves.

Comments

[phil]

It seems to me that players have a short period of being highly motivated when a new manager arrives. Spurs are now slipping back to their "Ramos" ways and Harry has run out of inspirational banter!

[Alexey]

common, they have good players. But with a kick-n-run football they seem to be asked to play, anyone would look mediocre.

[Paul Kelso]

"Too many players at White Hart Lane think they are better than they really are."

Spot on. Modric aside, we have a midfield packed with ego's and mediocrity (Jenas, Zokora, Huddlestone, Lennon, Taarabt, Boateng, Ghaly).

We're also crying out for a left sided player who has a bit of pace, can cross, and can track back. So can anyone tell me why Gareth Bale can't get a game?

[9lives]

Tony is saying what I have been thinking for ages. There have been few impressive performances and the team are unbalanced. I think for the first time in years, now that the mangager appears to be in charge of transfers, we'll see this addressed. Two players I don't want to see near the first team are Jenas and Bentley. Both average and, as Tony says, fit the mould of "not as good as they think they are".

[Adam M]

Spot on Tony. There are a lot of Spurs players who think they only have to turn up to be deemed top quality. Too many players are shirking responsibility. There are some top players available to Harry in his squad but at the moment they're not showing it and some experienced heads need to be brought in this month to kick the others up the backside.