redknapp tax evasion - trial begins january

[Hoop Blah]

Wasn't sure which of the England Manager/Redknapp threads to put this on but apparently there have been some more comments coming out from Redknapp about the elements of the England job that he wouldn't like.

Either he's being canny and sending signals to the FA that they aren't going to get him cheaply or without having to work for his yes, or he's got the same doubts about how the job might fulfil him and keep him busy as others have expressed.

All food for thought.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12016/7589218/Redknapp-unsure-over-England

[6ft Kerplunk]

comments coming out from Redknapp about the elements of the England job that he wouldn't like.

Is one of them thinking about tactics for when your team plays against the better teams?

[Silver Fox]

That and not being able to supplement your income in the transfer market

[TBM]

Wasn't sure which of the England Manager/Redknapp threads to put this on but apparently there have been some more comments coming out from Redknapp about the elements of the England job that he wouldn't like.

Either he's being canny and sending signals to the FA that they aren't going to get him cheaply or without having to work for his yes, or he's got the same doubts about how the job might fulfil him and keep him busy as others have expressed.

All food for thought.

http://www1.skysports.com/football/news/12016/7589218/Redknapp-unsure-over-England

Could just be a ploy to get the supporters and players at Spurs back on side and their minds focused about getting 4th spot - rather than them taking it for granted that he's leaving

[Hoop Blah]

Yeah that could be another motive TBM. They've certainly dropped off since Capello left, which I guess also goes to show the fine margins that exist at that level.

[Hoop Blah]

I don't think there's a lack of quality available, it's much more about how we harness it.

In terms of quality we are significantly behind Spain, Holland, Argentina, Italy, Brazil,etc We are a quarter final team at best, we are the everton of international football. Lots of expectation but the players aren't good enough for the next level. Its about time we accepted that.

See I disagree there, to an extent.

I think we probably lack the depth of reall attacking quality yes, but if you look at Dutch squad it isn't all that good but they, like the Germans, have managed to get the best out of what they've got by actually playing well as a unit and for once staying together.

I'm a big fan of a lot of the Dutch players (van Bommel, van Persie, Sneijder and van der Vaart etc) but I wouldn't swap any of their back 5 for ours and they've got players like de Jong, Hetinga, Huntelaar and Kuyt who are distinctly average. Even their top players are ones that have failed at the top level in the past, so it just goes to show how powerful it can be to get a team balanced and motivated to get the best out of a set of talented players.

Spain are a cut above at the moment, but they're a bit of a freak occurance of a group of players coming through and gelling at the right time around a couple of outstanding players (see the France side for a similar phenonenum not too long ago).

I'm not saying we have the most talented group of players in the world, we're still behind a lot of nations in the quality and quantity of the technical players we produce, but we've enough quality to put together an effective team given the right circumstances. Will those circumstances ever be allowed to develop? I'm not so sure to be honest.

Just watching the Dutch defence get taken apart by the Germans and it reminded me of this discussion a few months ago.