EPL News: Redknapp calls for tolerance before North London derby as Tottenham visit Emirates Stadium
Harry Redknapp has come out before the North London derby and made an emphatic statement suggesting that any Arsenal fan who goes too far in his abuse of the Tottenham defender, who is also a former Arsenal player; William Gallas should
be banned for life. Redknapp reserved the word “idiot” for fans who exceed limits in abusing players in football matches.
Tottenham are scheduled to play Arsenal on Saturday in a lunch time kickoff at the Emirates Stadium. Hotspurs finished fourth last season but this season their Premier League campaign has turned hot and cold at times whereas their focus
has been on the UEFA Champions League where they recently bested the European champions Inter Milan at the White Hart Lane.
Security at the Emirates Stadium has already been brought into focus, as Sir Alex Ferguson remarked a few years ago on the situation at the London ground suggesting that the dug outs were not secure enough for the visiting staff and the
substitutes of the teams visiting the London club.
Redknapp spoke to the media on the eve of the match as he said, "They should throw those idiots out of football grounds and say, 'Don't come back' - take their tickets away. I don't understand all that nonsense really. What is it all about?
It's a game of football at the end of the day." I used to go to football with my dad and an old player would come back and you would clap them, give them an ovation. I don't see why someone should get abused. I don't understand it, why people behave that way."
Transfers between Tottenham and Arsenal have been few and far between. Before Gallas’s move to Spurs, the previous high profile abuse target for fans was Sol Campbell, a former Tottenham player who moved to Arsenal F.C.
Harry added to his comments as he said, "Sol left in different circumstances maybe. William was let go when he was out of contract. He didn't let it run down purposely to get a big payday." Speaking on Gallas, Redknapp went onto say, "I'm
sure he will be up for it, but it will be a hard game for him. He is going to have to be on his game for sure. When he came, the fitness people and the physios said to me, 'Well, he's not going to play every week; he's going to find it hard'. But it's not
bothered him at all. Never wanted to miss a training session, never wanted to miss a game. He's just got on with it and played; when other people have been going down like ninepins, he's always out there."
Gallas is set to start for Tottenham against Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium in one of the most explosive derby matches in English football. Spurs have not beaten Arsenal at their home ground in the last 17 years but with Peter Crouch
in the Tottenham ranks this time around, Harry’s side might sneak away with a win at the Emirates stadium.
Speaking on the long ball strategy that has proved to be successful for Tottenham, Harry commented, “If you say, 'Okay, we're going to play route one, so the midfield can push up and get second balls, that's fine'. But I'm not going to
suddenly change how we play and start crashing it up to Crouch all day. We won't be doing that."
Tags: