Tottenham Fans to FA: Hire Redknapp Already—It's Getting Distracting!

According to ESPN, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp has received "a strong public endorsement to become the next England manager" from Football Association board member, and Bolton chairman, Phil Gartside.

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In the strongest show of support for the Spurs boss from the FA thus far, Gartside stated in a BBC interview that Redknapp would be the ideal man to lead England into the Euro 2012 tournament.

In the interview, Gartside says Redknapp would be an "outstanding England manager" and is a "good motivator with a winning mentality".

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Then there's former England striker Gary Lineker, who is reportedly "baffled" by the delay in naming Redknapp to lead England.

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"What is going on with the FA? When are they going to decide or even approach some form of England manager or let Stuart Pearce know he's got (the job) for the Euros? Somebody has to prepare," Lineker told BBC Radio Five Live.

"The only reason I can think of—which I'm sure is the reason—is that they don't want to upset any club's applecart."

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With the FA repeatedly hinting at Redknapp for the England job as soon as Tottenham's season is over, it's already become more distracting than if they outright said, "Redknapp's our man and if he says yes, he's leaving White Hart Lane."

It reminds me of an ex-girlfriend I had years ago. Towards the end of our relationship, we just kind of played it out, apathetic towards one another. We knew full well it was a matter of weeks until one of us pulled the trigger and we walked our separate ways. In the midst of those weeks, we cared less and less about spending time with one another and fulfilling commitments.

We found more more reasons to spend time elsewhere. Competing relationships and obligations were justified as more important and the relationship itself started a slow and painful decline towards death. Instead of it bearing good things, it was a distraction from school, work and my soccer team.

Remember Scott Parker's comments in February after the Liverpool match? According to Goal.com, he told Sky Sports:

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"I think it’s always going to have an effect when your manager’s not here, especially Harry. Our gaffer inspires us, he gives us that extra bit of energy, so we’ve missed him to be fair over the last two weeks. He’s key to our team and key to what we’ve done this year. We’ll be absolutely delighted when he gets back and we’ll keep going on and keep fighting.”

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Spurs' inconsistency this spring can arguably be blamed on Redknapp's tax evasion trial and moreso on the FA's insistence on "leaking" information that the former Portsmouth man is the right guy to lead The Three Lions.

Because the FA has delayed its "official" decision on England's next manager—yet hinted at Redknapp being the obviously good choice—they've created a tenuous relationship whereas Tottenham is in a limbo of sorts, asking questions like, "Is Harry leaving?" and "Can we start looking for another manager before Harry leaves?"

The players aren't exempt from being sucked into this holding pattern. With the strong possibility that their manager leaves, they want out of a club that is being consumed by confusion and instability.

That confusion has been a distraction for players and caused, at least in part, a sharp decline in performance for Spurs in the second half of the season.

Here's an idea, FA—name England's manager now.

It'll be a hell of a lot less distracting as Tottenham tries to earn that fourth Champions League spot and give chairman Daniel Levy a head start in finding a new leader for White Hart Lane.