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Tottenham Hotspur Manager Harry Redknapp Refutes Aston Villa Goalkeeper Brad Friedel's 'Long Ball' Accusations
Spurs boss defends team's style of play...
09-Feb-2010 7:12:00 PM
By Zack Wilson
Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp has reacted with bemusement to Aston Villa goalkeeper Brad Friedel's assertion that Spurs play a long ball game.
Spurs drew 0-0 at Villa Park on Saturday, and Friedel remarked that the north Londoners seemed to spend the whole game trying to hit target man striker Peter Crouch.
But Redknapp feels that the American is well wide of the mark though.
"I think probably because they [Villa] got labelled a long ball team by Arsenal, maybe their players want to pass the buck to somebody else," he affirmed, speaking ahead of Spurs' game with Wolves on Wednesday night.
"I wouldn't know what a long ball team was.
"We pass the ball to death. We hit Crouchy in the right areas. Every time we hit Crouch on Saturday he knocked balls down and we had chances to score.
"If you're going to have Peter Crouch in your team then you've got to use him. It isn't any good having Peter Crouch in the team and expecting him to run up channels or to come short and join up with the play because that's not his game.
"Crouchy's game, when you do hit him in the right areas with the right ball, is to drop balls down and then you get around the ball.
"That's an option that you can use rather then keep passing when teams fill up the midfield. You can't always pass through teams, and we've got that great option of Croucy who can miss out that midfield.
"[We can] hit him and then pick up bits around the box. That's what makes us a much better team - we've got options."
Redknapp added that he prefers his team to play a mixed style of football.
"We're not just a team that has to keep passing," he added. "You can pass all day. I've seen teams where they've had all the game and keep passing the ball and everyone goes 'they're playing fantastic football' and they're not winning any games.
"I think we play fantastic football but we've also got an option of Crouchy as well, which is good."
And Redknapp feels that sometimes it is forgotten that scoring goals is actually the point of the game, not passing the ball around nicely.
"If you can hit a 50-yard pass it's better than a 10-yard square pass or backwards pass," he added.
"It's all about creating strikes on goal and goalscoring opportunities and if it's a ball that's 50 yeards for someone to knock down off their head for a front man then it's a great ball."
Spurs drew 0-0 at Villa Park on Saturday, and Friedel remarked that the north Londoners seemed to spend the whole game trying to hit target man striker Peter Crouch.
But Redknapp feels that the American is well wide of the mark though.
"I think probably because they [Villa] got labelled a long ball team by Arsenal, maybe their players want to pass the buck to somebody else," he affirmed, speaking ahead of Spurs' game with Wolves on Wednesday night.
"I wouldn't know what a long ball team was.
"We pass the ball to death. We hit Crouchy in the right areas. Every time we hit Crouch on Saturday he knocked balls down and we had chances to score.
"If you're going to have Peter Crouch in your team then you've got to use him. It isn't any good having Peter Crouch in the team and expecting him to run up channels or to come short and join up with the play because that's not his game.
"Crouchy's game, when you do hit him in the right areas with the right ball, is to drop balls down and then you get around the ball.
"That's an option that you can use rather then keep passing when teams fill up the midfield. You can't always pass through teams, and we've got that great option of Croucy who can miss out that midfield.
"[We can] hit him and then pick up bits around the box. That's what makes us a much better team - we've got options."
Redknapp added that he prefers his team to play a mixed style of football.
"We're not just a team that has to keep passing," he added. "You can pass all day. I've seen teams where they've had all the game and keep passing the ball and everyone goes 'they're playing fantastic football' and they're not winning any games.
"I think we play fantastic football but we've also got an option of Crouchy as well, which is good."
And Redknapp feels that sometimes it is forgotten that scoring goals is actually the point of the game, not passing the ball around nicely.
"If you can hit a 50-yard pass it's better than a 10-yard square pass or backwards pass," he added.
"It's all about creating strikes on goal and goalscoring opportunities and if it's a ball that's 50 yeards for someone to knock down off their head for a front man then it's a great ball."
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