Harry Redknapp is set to become the new manager of Tottenham Hotspur after the club sensationally sacked Spanish Head Coach Juande Ramos late on Saturday night. Tottenham will pay Portsmouth a £5m compensation fee for Redknapp and the deal is set to be concluded before Spurs take on Bolton tomorrow.
Redknapp told Sky Sports News: “It’s going to be done tonight [Saturday], it will all be sorted out and by tomorrow [Sunday] morning I should be in place.”
“It’s a great opportunity for me. It’s a big club, Tottenham. I love Portsmouth and I loved my time there, we had some fantastic success and I’d never been happier. But it’s a great deal for Portsmouth, £5million for me, and it’s a chance for me to get on and see what I can do.”
After an horrendous start to the season it looked as though chairman Daniel Levy was going to give the ex-Sevilla boss time to turn things round. But after another defeat in the Uefa Cup at Udinese on Thursday and players David Bentley and Jonathan Woodgate’s outspoken remarks at the state of the club, Levy has decided to act. Assistant coach Gus Poyet and Sporting Director Damien Comolli have also been shown the door.
A statement from the club said: “The club can announce that Damien Comolli, sporting director, Juande Ramos, head coach and first team coaches, Marcos Alvarez and Gus Poyet, have left the club, with immediate effect. We wish them well.”
While this is a blow to Portsmouth and their fans, this is the move that Redknapp has been waiting for his entire managerial career. He may have wished he was taking the job under better circumstances but at least he has now got the chance to prove just how good a manager he can be.
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{ 13 comments… read them below or add one }
Does this mean that Portsmouth's season is practically over?
Cheers,
The Gaffer
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Finally some hope…Ramos lost his team, you can only lose so many games before your own players turn against you. There was no chance for improvement if he couldnt even pick a consistent starting XI.
Portsmouth will be fine and will pick up one of the other big name managers that are as of yet unemployed – I wouldnt be surprised if they picked up Allardyce by friday.
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Not sure. Could be a great chance for Tony Adams to take over. He's been involved with the club as assistant for the last couple of years and will have learnt a lot off Redknapp. Josh
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Tony Adams must be the grumpiest man in football. Not sure if he's ready for primetime, but if Pompey's fortunes are as small as the papers say, Adams may be a wise choice after all.
Cheers,
The Gaffer
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Im sure they arent arguing the 5mil compensation package!
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Yeah, Adams doesn't come across that well on TV but I'm sure he would be interested in the job. Sam Allardyce is a good shout. Would be good to see them appoint a British manager. Glenn Hoddle is another whose name gets put out there as soon as a job available. Although his Southampton background may hinder any hopes getting the job.
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Oh well. This appointment is 12 months too late IMHO. Good ol' Spurs do it again. The last year has set the club back to about 5 years. Now we can look forward to 3 seasons of trying to sort our squad out and ship out the over-rated, over-priced numpties. I just hope that Harry can get them going is some sort of fashion. But with the players we have at our disposal, this may be a big hope and I fear savior from relegation may be too much to hope for now.
The other thing that needs to be addressed after what's happened, is the fans attitude to our club. We're as much of a laughing stock a Newcastle now. Stop dreaming of Champions League campaigns and start being content with a side that can go out and compete with any other team outside the top 4 on a regular basis. Yes that means not looking to sign the greatest, flairiest players. But it does mean that if you get a good start one season, then perhaps a top 4 finish might come your way, purely by chance.
I also hope that the clb now realise that throwing money aaround is in no way a substitute for genuine and deserved success.
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Big Sam looks a good fit here. If Pompey can afford it.
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Yeah… Totally Agree To Munkey.
With Comolli exist… I'm positive to Spurs future…
Hope Levy dun hire another director of Football again.. let Harry do all he want..
Cheers.
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It will be interesting to see if Harry expects autonomy, and whether or not they'll bring someone in after he's signed on.
It seems an absurd notion, but nothing's beyond the realm of Spurs' incompetence.
SB
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Holy holy holy…… Harry will sign the most useless of the most useless to go on with the most useless. But, he'll he able to gamble in London. so cheers to him.
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I'm still in shock over how quickly this whole thing transpired. Not sure what to think yet. Thanks to Harry for everything you've done. I'm not sure what to think of all of the rumors that the club is in terrible financial straits. I know we're not building that stadium anytime soon, and I know we're not acquiring anyone in January, but the rumors are that everyone is for sale.
May you live in interesting times…
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So the team played fairly well. They are obviously still tired from their Portugese trip. With a trip to Anfield Wednesday and a home match against Wigan Saturday, they have a busy week ahead of them. Big Sam is the current odds on favorite to be the new manager. We'll see how quickly they move to get a manager. My guess is that Peter Storrie will move quickly and have someone in place by Wednesday or Thursday.
I don't think our season is done yet. If we start a fire-sale in January, then not only is the season done, but the near future is done as well. I could see one or two players leaving in January, most likely Diarra or Defoe, possibly even James.
Interesting times indeed…
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