Harry Redknapp: A difficult act to follow? - originally posted on Soccerlens.com
It would be all too easy to attriubte the recent success of Tottenham Hotspur to Harry Redknapp. Breaking into the top 4 is no mean feat, one yet to be emulated by anyone other than cashbags Manchester City for quite some time.
Tottenham Hotspur have reportedly inquired about the availability of Russian play-maker Alan
Dzagoev, who is also believed to be a target of German champions Borussia Dortmund.
Dzagoev scored three goals over the course of Russia's somewhat surprising Euro 2012 group stage
elimination and it has since been believed that potential suitors must be prepared to bid at leastÂ
£15 million for the 22-year old's services.
It has been one hell of a busy fortnight in the world of Tottenham Hotspur – and not a whisper of
any of it from The Boys From White Hart Lane. For shame.
So, in a desperate attempt to catch up - and stay relevant – TBFWHL is taking a look back at 14
days in which Spurs stumbled into the fifth round of the FA Cup, re-entered the title race after a
brief remission and brought in a couple of battle-hardened veterans at the expense of a cult hero.
Amidst all the loan deals away from White Hart Lane yesterday there was one permanent departure
and it came in the shape of Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko who has departed for Lokomotiv
Moscow for a fee in the region of £7.5m.
It had been an unhappy eighteen months at the Lane for Pav, punctuated by occasional match
winning strikes against the likes of Birmingham last season and against Sunderland a few weeks ago,
where his solitary goal could yet prove vital in the course of the season.
The transfer rumours involving Spurs are very slowly starting to spark into life with stories
that Roman Pavlyuchenko could be the first and possibly only departure from White Hart Lane this
summer.
Yesterday, Pav's vocal agent Oleg Artemov claimed that Spurs had extended the Russian's contract
until June 2013.
While Loic Remy may not be available until the end of the season, if you believe PSG's new
manager Carlo Ancelotti, there are a number of options this month in the striking department for
Spurs to consider.
Big spending PSG attract a lot of attention at the moment and when quizzed about possible
targets, Ancelotti gave reporters a list of names that are supposedly being touted around clubs by
their agents.
As soon as the QPR takeover was announced in the summer, a host of Spurs players were linked
with a move to West London. Ultimately, none of these transfers materialised but it's inevitable to
see further stories emerge as the January transfer window approaches.
Spurs fans will be no stranger to Roman Pavlyuchenko's agent Oleg Artemov who has been very
vocal about his client's next move in recent weeks.
Two of Tottenham's current strike force were in the news this weekend as the January transfer
window rapidly approaches. While more stories surfaced concerning the possibility of a permanent
move for Emmanuel Adebayor, the manager himself came out and stated his view on a possible
departure for Roman Pavlyuchenko.
Tonights game at Central Stadium was always going to be tough for Spurs, no matter which team
had been picked. Rubin Kazan have some experienced heads from Russian League and European football
and they showed it with a commanding performance against a Spurs team that had a mix of youth and
experience.
It's not entirely clear why, but if you read the papers today it seems as if QPR are emerging as
the front runners to sign Roman Pavlyuchenko when the transfer window reopens in January.
The Pav situation is getting a little tiresome and as our most vocal of players when he isn't
featuring in the first team squad, the Russian has been bemoaning his lack of first team action
once again.
A 33rd minute pile driving free kick from Roman Pavlyuchenko secured the narrowest of 1-0 wins
for Spurs against a determined Rubin Kazan side last night. The win puts Tottenham two points clear
at the top of the group and has almost guaranteed their qualification for the next phase of the
Europa League.
Roman Pav-erage-lachenko once again temporarily silenced his critics and showed why he is the most
frustrating Spurs player in the history of the game. Month after month of mediocrity with flashes
of quality few and far between. And last night brought us one of those flashes, and was swiftly
followed up with his latest mood swing in his post match comments.
Tottenham Hotspur Harry Redknapp has refused to assure Roman Pavlyuchenko that the Russian
striker is a part of the long-term plans at White Hart Lane and in fact, the Spurs boss has hinted
that the player's persistent wish to be sold may be granted in the near future.
Pavlyuchenko, 29, has made only two substitute appearances in the Barclays Premier League this
season and although Redknapp hopes that the Russian continues to showcase his talent in the Europa
League when Rubin Kazan pay a visit tonight, the gaffer has made it clear that he expects more.
A couple of swap deals could be on the cards this January with both Roman Pavlyuchenko and
Heurelho Gomes being used as potential bait to bring new faces to the Lane.
While Pav has only featured as a fringe player this season, Gomes has been reduced to third
choice goalkeeper after some high profile errors towards the end of last season.
Stop me if you've heard it before but the stories in the newspapers and over the web today are
full of reports that Roman Pavlyuchenko wants out of the Lane in January.
Pav hasn't been given the game time that he has craved so far this season but when he has
appeared, his performances have been lacklustre to say the least.
Spurs manager Harry Redknapp has told Russian striker Roman Pavlyuchenko to ‘show more fight'
after some listless performances so far this season.
While Pav is one of only three recognised strikers at White Hart Lane, new arrival Emmanuel
Adebayor has quickly settled into a first choice partnership with Jermain Defoe which has left the
Russian consigned to the bench.
English: Alan Dzagoev with the Russia national football team in 2011. (Photo credit:
Wikipedia)
Wenger Keen to Recruit Dzagoev
Coach Arsene Wenger is keen to sign Russia's in-form attacking midfielder
Alan Dzagoev, who is lightening up the European Championship these days with his
goal scoring exploits.
Andrey Arshavin has not had a good time in the English Premier League in the season that just
ended. The Russian captain fell out of love with the Arsenal faithful and more crucially, with
Arsene Wenger. In a bid to ensure top condition for Euro 2012, Arshavin returned to Zenit St.
Petersburg for regular football.
Pav in "training" with Russia Following a dull 0-0 draw between Russia and Lithuania in which ex-
Spur Pavlyuchenko played the second 45 minutes, the lazy git has been told by his manager that he
is too fat and if he wants to play in the Euros he has one week to lose weight.
There are not many football fans expecting to see the name of Russia engraved on the Euro 2012
Trophy this year but the Russian team, managed by former Glasgow Rangers manager, Dick Advocaat,
are certainly capable of going a long way in the competition and should not be written off from
raising a few eye [.
The most vocal of football agents Oleg Artemov has been touting his client Roman Pavlyuchenko
around this week with Anzi the latest Russian club to be linked with the striker.
"At the beginning, Roman absolutely ignored Anzhi," Artemov told the Russian press.
"He wasn't against going back to Russia, but not to the Makhachkala-based team, but Pavlyuchenko
is tired of the uncertainty and the lack of match action.
This is an informal poll largely because it's easy to forget contenders at times so please just
share your thoughts on what were your best strikes from 2011-12.
There are of course the obvious contenders – Kyle Walker's free kick against Blackburn and
also his winner against Arsenal.
When Aaron Lennon limped out of yesterday's action on 27 minutes, it must have been tempting for
manager Harry Redknapp to look at the midfield alternatives he had waiting on the bench.
Either Niko Kranjcar or Steven Pienaar could have been a more obvious choice but Harry's
positive move of putting Roman Pavlyuchenko on the pitch was to eventually pay off.
In August I wrote an article asking if Harry Redknapp could solve our striker crisis from
within, rather than investing in a new forward. At the time, we had the option of selecting either
Jermain Defoe, Peter Crouch or Roman Pavlyuchenko to play alongside Rafael Van der Vaart, who
enjoyed a superb debut season in a Tottenham shirt.
As last season began to draw to a close, it seemed as though Roman Pavlyuchenko would be the
first player to leave White Hart Lane this summer. Despite leading the scoring amongst our three
regular strikers, Pav was very vocal in his desire to leave for a chance of more regular
football.
All that seemed to change following his two long range strikes against Birmingham City on the
last day of the campaign.
Yesterday we looked at the possibility of new arrivals at White Hart Lane and the general
consensus was that we were due for a quiet day. Later in the evening, reports suggested that Vedran
Corluka was a target for Bayer Leverkusen and they seem to be gaining momentum this morning.
At the start of the month, Harry said that the Croatian would definitely not be leaving but
after omitting him from the cup games where much of the fringe side appear, it may well be that
Charlie is on his way.
What has two thumbs and couldn't be more desperate to leave?Hold tight comrades, this is the
serious shit now. Rejuvenated Sunderland came to the Lane on Sunday with a cunning plan to further
derail our campaign after the damage inflicted by Corporal Pulis' Stoke Taskforce the week before
(ably assisted by rear gunner Foy, it must be said).
Typically, the weekend's press contained many rumours linking Newcastle United to various players,
some of which I provide a summary of in this article. Amidst the rants of Llambias and the
mutterings of discontent or otherwise about the stadium renaming, there was also a healthy serving
of transfer speculation on the weekend.
The selection of a child in Tottenham's lineup added fuel to the suggestion that Redknapp wasn't
too bothered about the Carling CupFredi Kanoute, Michael Brown, Jermaine Jenas, Pascal Chimbonda,
David Bentley, Jamie O'Hara and now Roman Pavlyuchenko and Massimo Luongo. It's just as, if not a
little bit more, depressing a list as Pearce, Waddle, Southgate, Batty, Vassell, etc.
Here we go then, I didn't see the match, no streams, instead wasted almost three hours of my life
listening to paint dry on the radio. Here are the highlights, they're worth watching if only to see
Pav's woeful penalty.
As always, get watching before it gets taken down.
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