Tottenham Hotspur: Why Beating Liverpool Could Kickstart Spurs' Season

Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp doesn't like to mention it, but when he took over at Tottenham in October 2008 the club was in a terrible state. 

Under previous boss Juande Ramos, Spurs had picked up just two points from their first eight league games of the season, a woeful run which saw the Londoners rooted to the bottom of the table—and the Spanish coach sacked. 

Redknapp came in, and the effect was instant. Back-to-back wins over Stoke and Bolton came before a truly crazy 4-4 draw away to local rivals Arsenal. But the real decisive proof that Spurs were on their way back up came against Liverpool on November 1 at White Hart Lane. 

The Reds were 1-0 up at half-time, after the break Redknapp brought on Roman Pavlyuchenko. Using all of his tactical nous built up over 25 years of management, he instructed the striker—through his Russian translator—to "just f****** run about". 

The ploy worked.

After Jamie Carragher scored his traditional own goal against Spurs to draw the home team level, Pavlyuchenko pounced at close range to grab a 90th minute winner, and seal a first victory over Liverpool in four years. Spurs went on to finish eighth that season, as well as reach the final of the Carling Cup and the knockout phase of the UEFA Cup. 

Since that 2-1 win, Tottenham have replicated that scoreline in each of their subsequent two meetings in North London, the first being an August victory to begin a campaign that ended with qualification for the Champions League. The second capped off a glorious eight-day run in which they had already taken in a win away to Arsenal, and a 3-0 European victory over Werder Bremen.

The most recent match between the two sides saw Tottenham beat Liverpool 2-0 at Anfield, securing fifth place and a Europa League spot for Spurs ahead of the Reds.

Given all that, it is fair to say that the fixture list throwing up a game against Liverpool is generally a good omen for Spurs under Redknapp. How they could do with such fortune again this Sunday when Liverpool once again rock up in N17.

This season has brought little joy at all domestically, so far. After the rioting in London saw their opening day match against Everton postponed, Spurs kicked off their Premier League campaign with a trip to Old Trafford to face Manchester United and a home clash against Manchester City. Those two fixtures, against the nation's two most dangerous teams, yielded one goal scored, eight conceded and no points.

Spurs finally got off the mark with a 2-0 win away to Wolves last weekend, a day after Liverpool contrived to lose at Stoke, despite creating a glut of chances.

That win at Wolves saw debuts for two new signings, midfielder Scott Parker and striker Emmanuel Adebayor. The pair combined to score the opening goal midway though the second half, and they were generally the two best players on the pitch.

Adebayor has a history of at least starting well at new clubs—his first goal for Spurs followed debut strikes for both Arsenal and Manchester City. Another goal against Kenny Dalglish's side would give the City outcast, and his new team, bags of confidence and purpose going into a run of games that takes in Stoke, Wigan, Shamrock Rovers and Arsenal before the next international break in mid-October.

With William Gallas and Michael Dawson both missing through injury, a victory with the second-choice central defensive pairing of Younes Kaboul and Sebastien Bassong would also be a huge boost for the team heading into those games. A clean sheet against a three-man attack featuring the in-form Stewart Downing, the indefatigable Dirk Kuyt and the maverick Luis Suarez would go a long way to allaying any worries about Tottenham's prospects this seaso,n after such a tough start.

Recent history certainly suggests that a win for Tottenham on Sunday will give their campaign a much-needed kickstart.