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Club Focus - Tottenham Hotspur - Redknapp to thank for Lennon renaissance
There are few positive words to be conjured up by a Tottenham fan when discussing the subject of Juande Ramos. Deified in Seville where he brought two consecutive UEFA Cup victories and Champions League football, he is somewhat vilified in north London after undoing most of Martin Jol’s good work. His biggest failing appeared to be in the transfer market - an area covered at Sevilla by highly-rated director of football Ramón Rodríguez Verdejo, more commonly known as ‘Monchi’, but it was a player already at the club who seemed to be stymied the most. Aaron Lennon had long been tipped as a star for both club and country ever since becoming the youngest player to appear in a Premier League game when he came on as a substitute for Leeds United at, ironically, White Hart Lane in a match in 2003.
Over the following years, Lennon too often flattered to deceive - his lightning pace and trickery let down by inconsistency and a flawed final ball delivery. His confidence can have been done little favours by Ramos’ decision to bring in David Bentley, another highly rated, England-tipped right-winger. Bentley may have failed to ignite at Spurs and ended up being played mostly out of position, but the damage was done for Lennon the day the former Arsenal man was signed.
Enter Harry Redknapp. If ever there was a manager to bring the best out of young English talent, then it is the former Portsmouth and West Ham boss. The man responsible for bringing the likes of Rio Ferdinand, Joe Cole, Frank Lampard and Michael Carrick through to the Irons’ first team from their celebrated academy, Redknapp has helped players such as Lennon really kick on and make progress since taking over the reins from Ramos. Gone are the excessively micro-planned diets enforced in the Spaniard’s regime and in has come a level of trust and freedom not afforded to the players during the stuttering slide of his ill-fated reign. Redknapp best summed up the flaws in the focus of Ramos on dietary matters over technical improvement when he said: "If you can't pass the ball properly, a bowl of pasta is not going to make that much difference."
Lennon’s revival can be measured by the sterling early season form that has seen him score twice in Spurs’ four straight wins, including the late (late) winner against Birmingham City in the last match before the international break. The winger’s form under Redknapp has seen him leap back into England contention having often been relegated to the Under-21 set-up. After all the focus and attention on his Tottenham teammate Jermain Defoe in recent days, it was Lennon who stole the plaudits with his star turn in England’s crushing win over Croatia that sealed World Cup qualification. Lennon said: "I have started the season well and just tried to carry on what I had been doing at Spurs for England."
The Croatia match threw up a potentially worrying point for Spurs’ fans who face their team being without Luka Modric - who broke his leg in the win against Birmingham. Croatia looked a pale imitation of their former selves without the diminutive creative midfielder and it came as little surprise considering how Spurs seemed to labour once Modric had gone off injured against City, requiring the stoppage-time intervention of Lennon to keep their winning record. Replacing Modric as the main inventive focus in the Croatian side was the man brought in by Redknapp on transfer deadline day to cover for his absence, Niko Kranjcar. Kranjcar is a player of great talent, but has yet to prove he is in the same class as his international colleague. Having suffered during the infancy of his international career from accusations of nepotism - harsh critics suggesting he was in the Croatia side due to his father Zlatko being the coach rather than on merit - he has gone on to become an important member of the national team and won his 50th cap on Wednesday.
The move to Tottenham will mark a big step up for Kranjcar, having previously played for Dinamo Zagreb and Hajduk Split before joining Portsmouth. Kranjcar will need to prove that he is up to the job quickly with Spurs facing huge matches in the shape of Manchester United and Chelsea as they look to continue their excellent start to the season and see themselves taken seriously as top-four contenders. Spurs have struggled for a left-sided midfielder in recent years, with the pick of the bunch before Modric having been the inconsistent right-footed Steed Malbranque. If Kranjcar can settle quickly then the balance will be restored to the Spurs team with the rejuvenated Lennon marauding down the right and Kranjcar creating from the left.
Tottenham Club Focus Defoe dazzles but may remain an England substitute - September 8
Redknapp to thank for Lennon renaissance - September 11
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