Source: Daily_Mail
Piers Morgan: Spurs boss Redknapp makes a lone stand for real football
Harry Redknapp is the best thing to have happened to Spurs in a long, long time
He ended with a quite splendidly acerbic: 'I'll play the worst team I can' in the FA Cup, thereby ensuring all those picked for it will assume they are completely useless. It was typical Harry, rip-roaring, from the- gut, totally uncompromising, brutal honesty. And designed to ignite a Vesuvius sized rocket up a lot of very pampered backsides.
The Tottenham players are said to be reeling from their gaffer's onslaught, various expensive toys are being hurled from diamond-encrusted prams, and doubtless several of them have already consulted their business brand manager, agent, lawyer, PR, and chief manicurist with a view to whether they can take him to the European Court of Human Rights.
More from Piers Morgan On Sport... How can Sparky be a working class hero after this? 17/01/09 This was one of the most disgusting and nonsensical actions in English sporting history 10/01/09 PIERS MORGAN: How long must Chelsea put up with Drogba's arrogance? 03/01/09 Old-fashioned hero who puts Beckham to shame 27/12/08 Morgan on Sport Award for the Football Personality of the Year 20/12/08 PIERS MORGAN: Fans, paying through the nose, have a perfect right to boo 13/12/08 PIERS MORGAN: It's so typical of Roy Keane to take the easy way out 06/12/08 PIERS MORGAN: I'm a prat - a real fan wouldn't have called for Wenger to go 29/11/08 VIEW FULL ARCHIVE
The modern Premier League footballer, particularly those who come from other countries, really doesn't expect to be spoken to in that way.
Their idea of work is to trouser£80,000 a week for a few hours of training, a couple of matches at worst, perhaps a charity visit, and then to enjoy a nice, long, uninterrupted period of time at home to sleep, play video games, take the dog for a walk, pose for a magazine feature with the missus and sleep a bit more. It does not, as far as they are concerned, include being shouted at, humiliated, ridiculed and publicly scorned by their own boss.
I spent a fascinating lunchtime last week with Rio Ferdinand for a forthcoming magazine interview, during which he revealed that Sir Alex Ferguson has had to temper his infamous hairdryer for United's overseas contingent like Cristiano Ronaldo, Nani and Anderson because they honestly don't know how to handle it. And, more pertinently, don't think they should have to handle it.
Astonishingly, Rio admits Sir Alex has 'adapted' his ways to accommodate the delicate little flowers. Which is why, when Ronaldo was openly treacherous last summer, he said nothing derogatory to him either in public or in private.
The old Sir Alex would have buckled Ronaldo to the club's lawnmower and had him driven round the ground for 10 hours in freezing smog, reciting the words: 'MY DREAM IS UNITED NOT MADRID' 10,000 times. He'd have then sent him home, fined him£500,000, and made him eat bread and water for a week.
Now, even the great Sir Alex - and despite my persistent jibes about him, he truly is one of the few managers deserving of that mantra - has to kiss ass, suck up and 'play the game'. Because if he doesn't he knows the likes of Madrid, Barcelona and Milan will, and probably for a lot more money.
Money has given players all the power and turned most of them into a ludicrous collection of supremely arrogant, absurdly cosseted, indignant, thin-skinned jelly babies. And that's why I applaud Harry Redknapp today. Because Harry's thought about all this for a bit and concluded that it's a 'load of old b******s' as they'd say in his beloved East End of London.
He's not going to let Tottenham risk going down on the back of a squad behaving, and playing, in a sulky, naïve, erratic, lazy and thoroughly unprofessional manner. And those Spurs fans who stupidly criticise him should ask themselves exactly what they were thinking when Bent soared like a cement-footed hippopotamus and headed the ball wide from six yards on Sunday afternoon.
I bet 80 per cent screamed the words: 'My missus could have scored that' With the other 20 per cent (the single ones) questioning Bent's parentage, casting aspersions on his eyesight, or suggesting he fornicate his way off to Arsenal.
Harry Redknapp is the best thing that has happened to Spurs in a long, long time. And more than that, he is the best thing still happening in British football.
Because, as the likes of Sir Alex mollify Ronaldo, Mark Hughes makes himself look stupid with Arab billionaires and Arsene Wenger lets 10 of his 11 starting players wear gloves last week, Harry is singlehandedly standing up for real football, played by real men and run by characters who are not afraid to impart the harsh truth, however much it dents (pun very much intended) an over-inflated ego.
And if Darren Bent packs his bags and flounces off into the sunset, Spurs have a ready-made replacement already waiting in the wings. Her name is Sandra Redknapp, she'd play for nothing and she can, apparently, bang 'em in from six yards.
Ashley's only making it worse for Newcastle
Newcastle United's owner Mike Ashley
As regular readers of this column will be aware, Arsenal's woeful season has turned me into a manic, and very erratic, depressive football fan. But my misery is not even on the starting block of unrelenting despair that Newcastle fans must be feeling right now.
The disclosure of the club's shocking finances, with turnover increasing to£100million and losses accelerating to£34.2m, means their club is heading into the economic abyss. But it's worse than that, because they're not even doing it with style.
On-field, the rag-bag squad of disaffected players are playing to their potential (ie, the Championship). And off field, owner Mike Ashley has rapidly become the most hated figure in Toon history and made Newcastle a laughing stock in the process.
Ashley proclaimed himself as the club's saviour. But he has turned out to be its black plague.
Every second he stays around the situation gets worse. He keeps pronouncing that he cares only about what's good for the club. If this is true, then he should cut his considerable losses and run now before he steers what's left of this great club from their current ignominy into bankruptcy.
FANS HAVE YOUR SAY...
Please send in your thoughts and comments - good or bad - to the email address below. I won't have time to reply to them all, but I will read every one and the best will be posted on our website at mailonsunday.co.uk/morganonsport
As a Manchester United fan I've only ever laughed at Manchester City. But if their sheik wants to spend his millions as he sees fit, why not? He's doing nothing illegal. It looks to me like you're a little worried City might take your fourth place European Cup spot in the next year or two RICHARD SHAFFER
Piers says: 'The way Arsenal are playing, we'll be lucky to be in the same division as City in a few years. But at least we haven't sold our souls for oil.'
Is there a more obnoxious footballer currently about than Craig Bellamy? Right from a young player at Norwich, and refusing to be subbed on one occasion, he has courted controversy wherever he has 'played'. Why on earth does manager after manager keep on buying him?M BUSBY
Piers says: 'I couldn't agree more. Bellamy is a pug-ugly, disloyal, disruptive, mercenary thug and if he's worth£14million, so is my pet terrapin.'
The reason Andy Murray is unpopular is because he said he would always support England's football opponents. In one foul swoop he alienated me and, I am sure, millions of Englishmen. I vowed then that I would never celebrate any success that he might have and I would cheer all his defeats.PETER HAYWARD
Piers says: 'I've had loads of pathetic anti-Murray emails like this and think you're all a bunch of big, humourless babies.'
Congratulations on your position of 86th on the BBC3 show Britain's Most Annoying People 2008.ANDREW COYNE
Piers says: Thanks, Andrew. Itwas a great, unexpected honour and I'm glad you share my sense of pride.'
E-mail your comments to me at: piers.morgan@mailonsunday.co.uk
