Postecoglou & Lange (& Paratici) Watch

If Nagelsmann or Potter can’t be got...

Just sayin’...

 

Bielsa for me, other than that anyone who will attack rather than defend.

 

Player recruitment under Redknapp was terrible. No thanks.

 

Terrible?

Defoe, Crouch, Kranjcar, Bassong, Kaboul, Sandro, Gallas, van der Vaart, Friedel, Parker, Adebayor (loan)...

We done some of our best work under him.

 

The churn certainly wasn't

Crouch signed one season, scores the goal which saw us qualify for the CL for the first time in our history - then dumped for Adebayor
Kranjcar signed, gets plenty of playing time and goals - then gets shuffled back into a bit part player for two years
Corluka was used in rotation with Kyle Walker without rotating Walker out - then gets loaned out even though Naughton was already out on loan
Pienaar signed, we forgot why we signed him - so he was loaned back to Everton who bought him back
Bassong signed, has a reasonable stint - then got frozen out and demanded to leave in the summer and be loaned out in January

With a handful of obvious exceptions - Modric, Lennon, Daws - our squad was never settled as players were coming and going at a hell of a rate, even after fixing Comolli's mistakes

 

The churn doesn't particularly bother me. Redknapp's signings were primarily very good for the club in various spells, contributed towards getting into the CL for the first time, doing reasonably well in it and for the most part playing some really good football in his 3 and a half or so years.

I've got a lot of good memories of Harry's era, both in terms of the stuff he done in the transfer market and what I got to watch at WHL.

 

The issue with the churn is the chopping and changing did put a strain on our finances, especially with some of the wages we were signing off on for example (if FM12 is to be believed) Saha and Pienaar were both on £50k p/w while Bassong and Friedel on around £45k, so not only were we paying above the going rate for a bunch of rotation options we also had a hassle getting them off the books due to their wages

 

Friedel and Saha were free signings and Saha was only here for half a season. Friedel signed a new deal with us too so I doubt the club felt he was too much of a strain.

Pienaar, yes, poor signing but he was signed for a small fee, was loaned back to Everton within a year and re-signed for them in the following July, I think we actually made a profit on him too.

Bassong was a semi successful signing on the basis he played a strong role in getting us into the CL in his debut season. Lost his spot as the season went on but nonetheless played his part. Was a handy rotation to have afterwards but understandably he wanted out once he was about fourth or fifth choice, we were stacked with good CBs back then. Think we eventually sold him for about half of what we paid, not great but his signing was worthwhile I'd say.

 

The thing with loaning out Pienaar and Bassong is we were still paying a portion of their wages when they were gone, so they were still ticking away. In comparison, some of Comolli's daft signings weren't such a drain, for example Bentley was on about £27k

Similar happened when Poch came in as we had to sort out our wage bill then, because the combination of the Baldini splurge plus somebody at the club signing off on paying Holtby £65k a week obviously needed correcting

 

I think it's unfair to highlight those players, as he signs them for every club.

 

Would now be a bad time to mention that Roberto Martinez is talking about looking for his next job once his contract with Belgium expires?

 

It would always be a bad time. He's ****.

 

All short term signings. After a year of Pochettino the only Redknapp signing to remain was Kyle Walker. Only one signing lasting more than 3 years is terrible. We would have to sign 8 players a year if that was normal.
Redknapp fixed short term problems and caused long term damage.

 

I would be very happy to see Harry back and I would brace myself to put up with his constant chattering to the press. He is usually entertaining in his comments anyway and compared to what we have had in the last year his football would be a breath of fresh air. It would be interesting to see what he did with Tanganga for one. I'm sure he would lace the team with youngsters and old heads.

 

No what Redknapp does is to address the problems as they arise, along the way we would pick up some prospects. His huge asset is identifying talent and the needs of the team he is managing. He has performed this at his previous clubs and if he hadn't been distracted by the England job he could have developed the squad.

 

A signing isn't successful purely based on their longevity.

Give me five van der Vaart or Gallas or Kranjcar type signings every summer than 1 Davinson Sanchez every five years, for example.

 

Dim Sherwood suggests we should hire Marcelo Bielsa

Better cross him off the list, then...

 

That had as much to do with the fact AVB and Baldini took a chainsaw to the squad in the interim. Whatever was left when Poch walked in was an absolute state.

On the whole I do agree though. Harry was a master of reacting on the fly to problems and gaps as they arose. He did this by rapidly identifying the system and tactics that would get the most out of the players already on the books, then filled the holes with signings who would hit the ground running - often relying on the same group of players as PNP has highlighted. He was pragmatic before prophetic.

To my mind, as long as those short-term signings don't cost a fortune and/or can be moved on at a profit, I don't see any 'long term damage' save perhaps for the club's inability or unwillingness to invest further once those players had departed. And that can hardly be blamed on a manager.

There is a lot to be said for successful short-term signings. VDV arguably got us to the CL quarter final. Ibrahimovic and Cavani have been inspired signings by United. James Milner was meant to be a short term investment by Liverpool but he has gone on to play almost 200 times for them, winning the PL and CL along the way.

As DH has said, I would rather spend £25m on a bunch of short term solutions than £50m on the 'solution' the likes of Lo celso and Ndombele supposedly provide. Until we can sort out our recruitment strategy, we'd be better off signing Ramos on a free than Skriniar for £45m.

 

It's perfectly fine to have one or two short term signings each season but you also need some long term successes too

 

Harry brought through and developed Bale, Walker and Huddlestone. I'd say three first team regulars with one outgrowing the club and another outgrowing most teams in world football is a pretty good rate of returns and one we haven't managed to emulate since.