Source: Daily_Mail
GARY LINEKER: Harry Redknapp still has a big job to transform Spurs
I would not have thought Robbie Keane enjoyed his Saturday night too much after Tottenham's 3-0 trouncing at the Emirates Stadium. [LNB]As the Spurs captain, I'm sure Keane had the club's best intentions at heart when he said before the game that their squad had greater strength in depth than Arsenal's. [LNB]He is probably regretting it now. Without Luka Modric, Jermain Defoe and Aaron Lennon, Spurs were not at their best and I'm sure that Keane realises he would have been better off keeping quiet. [LNB] Keane to impress: But Arsenal proved themselves superior on the day[LNB] Arsenal would have been fired up for the game anyway but by making such a provocative statement, Keane probably put unnecessary pressure on himself. Leading his team out in the tunnel, he might have felt a need, even subconsciously, to try to justify his bold comments. [LNB]When things started to go wrong, his mind would have flicked back to what he had said. On yesterday's evidence, the truth is that Keane was premature in comparing the two clubs. Spurs are not ready to take on Arsenal yet and I say that as a proud former Spurs player. [LNB]Arsene Wenger has been at Arsenal 13 years, building them into one of the country's most powerful clubs. So, realistically, you have to give Harry Redknapp at least five years to try to get Spurs into the same ball park, despite the remarkable work he has done in his first 12 months. Arsenal are clearly ahead at the moment.[LNB]Even though Arsenal are also vulnerable defensively, they don't have as many problems at the back as Spurs. Spurs have speed, skill and power in midfield and attack but they are a centre-half or two and a goalkeeper short of really challenging the big boys. [LNB]Suck it up: Van Persie celebrates grabbing north London bragging rights[LNB] Heurelho Gomes in goal always looks capable of making a mistake, even when he's just made a great save. Ledley King, Tottenham's best defender, had an off-day yesterday and it can't be easy for him not being able to train between matches. [LNB]Some people might say there wasn't a lot between the two teams before Robin van Persie's opening goal at the end of the first half. But that is often the case in big games and it is how you respond that makes a good team. [LNB]After the first goal, there only looked like being one winner, with Van Persie, Andrey Arshavin and Cesc Fabregas showing why they are world class. [LNB]Redknapp has a big decision to make, possibly at the end of the season. King is a Spurs legend and an unbelievably talented individual. Without injuries, he would have been a fixture in the England team despite the strength we've got in the centre-half position. [LNB]But he has to play on the edge, without training. And when that happens, you are not going to be as good as you were when training and playing without pain.[LNB] I am loath to say he is finished because of one bad afternoon. He will have to show more lapses before being written off and a few weeks ago everyone was saying how well he was playing. [LNB]But, in general, most successful sides have a stable partnership at the back; as Manchester United have shown in recent years with Rio Ferdinand and Nemanja Vidic, or Chelsea with John Terry and Ricardo Carvalho. [LNB]King and Jonathan Woodgate would be the best pairing in the Premier League if they were both fit all the time and played week in, week out. But, sadly, they don't play regularly and that is unlikely to improve as they get older. [LNB] Decisions, decisions: Redknapp has some tough choices ahead[LNB] So Redknapp is in a tricky position. Does he stick with two world-class defenders and try to get enough games from them, or invest in two new central defenders who can form a great partnership over time? [LNB]He is not afraid to make tough decisions and over the next few months, I am sure it is something he will be thinking about. [LNB]Arsenal haven't won anything since 2005 but I would be satisfied if I was one of their supporters. Arsene Wenger's team is wonderful on the eye and clearly still developing, even though they might need to add a Patrick Vieira-type figure in central midfield and a goalkeeper if they want to overhaul Chelsea and Manchester United. [LNB]Tottenham's ambitions have to be more limited for the time being, which is something I am sure Robbie Keane realises now. [LNB][LNB]Sir Alex Ferguson can help rewrite the referees' rulebookHow can Premier League managers expect their players to behave when they don't themselves? How can they call for discipline if they are not capable of containing their own emotions?[LNB]The lack of respect from managers to referees is no longer acceptable. And I am not just talking about Sir Alex Ferguson to Alan Wiley - I mean all managers who berate officials in an abusive fashion.[LNB]It's time for the League Managers' Association to get involved and bring in their own rules on how to behave properly.[LNB] Worth shouting about: Ferguson doesn't often see eye-to-eye with referees[LNB]The savage and personal criticism referees receive from managers is a blight on the game. And the punishments - a fine or touchline ban - seem irrelevant in trying to stop it.[LNB]The only way to really stamp it out is for the managers themselves to hold up their hands, accept it isn't right and sign a code of conduct drawn up by their own organisation.[LNB]It is Ferguson's outburst that has put the subject in the public domain and he will find out his punishment soon. But I'm afraid most managers, with the exception of one or two, go too far.[LNB]It makes the managers look ridiculous, too. How many times have you heard a post-match interview where one manager slaughters a referee over a penalty, then the second says it was the correct decision?[LNB]Emotions run high in football and there is nothing wrong in disagreeing with a referee, but the manner in which it is done has too often become unpleasant.[LNB]Often, managers don't want to criticise their own players so they go for the referee as a convenient scapegoat. It's not right and has nothing to do with being 'passionate'.[LNB]Rather than see Sir Alex banished from the touchline, I would like to see him apologise fully, vow publicly never to do it again and use his influence to help the LMA draw up an agreement on how to behave.[LNB]They are managers, after all. Let's see if they can manage themselves.[LNB][LNB]My new theatre of dreamsMy wife is trying to turn me into a culture vulture. And, despite myself, I am beginning to enjoy it. We went to New York last week for a small break and even more than the eating and shopping, my highlight was seeing Jude Law in Hamlet on Broadway. [LNB]It was the finest acting I've seen since Cristiano Ronaldo performed at the Theatre of Dreams.[LNB] Lineker's law: Ex-England striker loves the theatre[LNB] It was all in 'ye olde English', something that would have sent me to sleep in my school days. But Jude a Spurs fan, I'm told was absolutely brilliant and kept me transfixed for the whole show. Just goes to show, it's never too late to teach an old dog new tricks.[LNB] Stop trying to humiliate Rio, blasts United boss Sir Alex FergusonYou need English lessons, Zabaleta tells fellow Argentine TevezArsenal 3 Tottenham 0: Van Persie and Fabregas highlight gulf in classFOOTBALL NEWS AND VIEWS FROM AROUND THE NET[LNB]
