Why Tottenham Need to Bring Back Harry Redknapp To Save Their Season
After the 2024-25 season, most Tottenham Hotspur fans probably thought that things couldn't get much worse.
Despite a surprising Europa League title, the club's first major piece of silverware for 17 years, they finished just 17th in the Premier League, one place and 13 points above a seemingly improbable relegation.
However, not even a full campaign later, Spurs supporters will be looking at last season with serious envy.
While their league position looked dire on paper in 2024-25, the North Londoners were never really in danger of dropping down a division. Now, with just a point between them and the relegation zone, there is a significant chance the club will be playing Championship football next season.
Add that to a Champions League round-of-16 defeat to Atletico Madrid featuring nightmarish goalkeeping from Antonín Kinský, and it's tough to find any joy around Tottenham Hotspur Stadium at present.
With Spurs declining under Thomas Frank, the board decided to sack the Dane in February and appoint Igor Tudor in his place. The Croatian was seen as a steadying influence, but during his time in the dugout, Spurs have won just once in six matches, losing four.
Of course, despite a hard-fought point against a dreadful Liverpool side and a moral victory in the home leg vs. Atletico Madrid in the Champions League, that run of results has many of a Spurs persuasion calling for Tudor's head.
But who could possibly come in with eight games to go and steer the club from disaster? At least one person is interested.
"They know where I am if they need me," former Spurs boss Harry Redknapp told Sky Sports.
The 79-year-old last graced the touchline with Birmingham City in 2017, and he has largely focused on training horses rather than footballers since.
But there are a few reasons why 'Arry should take charge of the club he left in 2012, despite most conventional wisdom saying the appointment would be a disaster.
Read on for a few reasons why Redknapp could guide Spurs to a dramatic improvement, with time quickly running out.
Tactical Throwback
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Few could have predicted that Premier League football would return to less-than-glamorous tactics in the gilded age of the 2020s, including long balls, set-piece wrestling, and cannon-like throw-ins.
But that's where we are, with Arsenal's title challenge relying on a significant dead-ball threat, and Brentford climbing the league in part thanks to Michael Kayode causing havoc with huge lobs into the box.
Clubs are increasingly turning to such tactics to grab crucial goals when low-blocks are preventing players from finding a clean way into the penalty box.
While Redknapp might not have been known primarily for his reliance on these methods to find the back of the net, his heyday came during the time when managers like Sam Allardyce and Tony Pulis used them to great success. He'll have witnessed firsthand how to leverage such situations and apply them to get results.
It's a solution that could suit Spurs well. There is little tactical coherence in the squad, and Redknapp will not have time to implement massive structural changes. Packing the box and making things difficult for opponents in vulnerable moments could be the perfect route to scruffy goals that would be vital for survival.
Man Management
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The Spurs squad looks totally bereft of confidence. It's not been helped by Tudor, who has taken seemingly every opportunity to tell them how awful they are.
But Redknapp was once considered one of the finest man managers in the game, and notably so during his four years at White Hart Lane.
If you're looking for a coach to put his arm around the shoulder of dispirited players, Harry's the man to call.
The roster is actually fairly strong on paper, so perhaps simply reminding them that they are capable, talented players who get paid huge wages for a reason would make more of a difference than establishing a revolutionary tactical framework in the hunt for crucial points.
Spurs' relative success during Redknapp's reign was mostly built on vibes alone, and he could repeat that trick to drag the club to survival.
Veteran Knowhow
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Tottenham just needs to look north to see how transformative it can be to hire a former managerial great who has been out of the game for a while.
Martin O'Neill has revived Celtic's season, despite previously having a six-year absence from the dugout.
He stepped in after Brendan Rodgers' departure and claimed seven wins from eight, bringing the Hoops back into contention in the Scottish Premiership.
O'Neill's interim reign ended when Wilfried Nancy took charge, but the 48-year-old had a disastrous run that all-but destroyed the Northern Irishman's rebuilding efforts.
Put back in charge for his second spell this season, O'Neill has guided Celtic to 12 wins from 17 in all contests, and they are now just two points back from league leaders Heart of Midlothian.
All logic suggested that hiring an aging manager who had been absent from the game for so long would quickly prove to be an awful decision. However, O'Neill has shown that experience and club knowledge can deliver success, and perhaps Redknapp can provide the same kind of magic for Spurs.
Easy Contract Negotiation
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Approaching his 80th year, it's unlikely that Redknapp will want to return to football management for the long haul.
With that in mind, Spurs can offer him a short-term deal until the end of the season that he will more than likely accept, with other managerial candidates perhaps looking for a longer agreement with an eye on a chunky payoff should things go south.
Redknapp is a relatively low-risk move in contract terms, which will please the club's board after dealing with severance packages for six permanent managers since Mauricio Pochettino's departure in 2019.
After that, the club can properly do its due diligence on appointing a successor, which will also hinge on which division Spurs will be playing in next season.
Positive Fan Reception
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Aside from perhaps Mauricio Pochettino, there are few managers Spurs fans will welcome as warmly as Harry Redknapp.
While he didn't deliver silverware during his reign, Redknapp was still a much-loved figure among the fanbase, and regardless of what he can achieve from now until the end of the season, that likely won't change.
With the crowd growing increasingly frustrated with what they are seeing match after match, a little bit of nostalgia could do wonders to improve morale and raise the noise levels at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium a few decibels.
For an immediate impact that will at least temporarily put smiles on the faces of the Spurs faithful, bringing Harry back could be a masterstroke.
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