5 Things to think about this week in Football:
1) 'Arry 'Oudini! Harry Redknapp decided that life on the South Coast of England with Portsmouth wasn't comfortable enough for him. So instead 'Arry decided he could be the man to succeed where "Magic" Jaunde Ramos underachieved and see if he can't give himself a stroke in the process. The White Hart Lane faithful will be happy to have the best English Manager in the game at the helm. Spurs should survive the drop and their new manager has had some success in FA Cup. Most notably lifting the Cup with Portsmouth last year.
However, Harry jumped right into the fire with a trip to the Emirates for the North London Derby. The game finished 4-4. Hopefully he packed a packet of indigestion tablets for the trip.
The tabloids continue to link Redknapp with an effort to hijack David Beckham's move to Milan. North London is a lot closer to "Beckingham Palace" (Beckham did train with the Arsenal Reserves Last Year) than the San Siro is. Beckham's move is designed to give his England career added longevity. Spurs will have a tough time putting Beckham, Aaron Lennon and David Bentley on the field at the same time. Should Beckham get his loan to Spurs, my guess is Redknapp will have a selection problem on the wings in midfield most managers would love to have.
2) Diego Maradona: According to Reports coming out of the Argentine FA Maradona will be appointed manager of the National Team. This is the type of news that has ESPN talking. Some former stars have gone on to be great managers or front office folks and some have not. Isiah Thomas was a disaster with Knicks, Wayne Gretzky as a GM guided Team Canada Hockey to the Olympic Gold in Salt Lake City.
However, I think there is indeed a blueprint for the former player and strong personality to come into the national team and make an impact. Follow in the footsteps of Jurgen Klinsman. Klinsman acted as a manager and left a lot of the tactical work to his staff, notably current German manager Joachim Low. Maradona must know his limits before he sets foot on the training ground and the AFA need to make sure they surround him with the type of staff that will produce the results that Argentines expect.
3) Muddle of the Table: Six points separate 7th to 17th place in the English Premier League. Looks like most fans picked the wrong season to stop sniffing glue.
4) Spanish Players British Passports? Reports this week have Nacho Novo of Rangers and Mikel Arteta of Everton in line at the home office for British Passports as both have completed their 5 year residency requirements. This has fueled wild speculation that Novo and Arteta, overlooked by the Spanish National Team, will suit up for Scotland and England. "Escocia, el Brave" and "Dios salve a la Reina".
5) Clint Dempsey - American Abroad. Clint Dempsey came off the bench for Fulham converted a cross from teammate Erik Nevland and rescued a point for Fulham. Dempsey is currently the only American (who is not a goalkeeper) in the top division in England.
