• Tottenham forced out of Champions League play-offs
• Players such as Gareth Bale may consider leaving
A crushing three-week period has come to pass for Harry Redknapp. First he was overlooked for the England manager's job having been the odds-on favourite to replace Fabio Capello and, after Chelsea's incredible win against Bayern Munich, he must now also accept that his Tottenham side, despite finishing fourth in the Premier League, will not be playing in the Champions League next season.
The Europa League awaits Spurs, an outcome the club have been dreading ever since they missed out on third spot to Arsenal. Normally, finishing fourth would have guaranteed them a qualifying place for the Champions League but with Chelsea winning the trophy having finished sixth it is they who take the last of England's four places in Europe's elite competition, qualifying automatically for the group stages.
Spurs looked certain to finish third up until a late-season collapse that coincided with Redknapp being linked with the England job. They won only four of their last 13 games, a slump that started with a 5-2 defeat at Arsenal on 26 February. Spurs were 2-0 up after 34 minutes and, at that stage, looked on course to open up a 13-point gap with their local rivals. Instead they lost and were eventually overtaken by the same side.
There is a financial shortfall to come for Spurs – they made £25.34m from reaching the quarter-finals of the Champions League in 2010 and will receive only a fraction of that even if they go on to win next season's Europa League – and a possible loss of key players, too, with Gareth Bale having already suggested that he may leave should Spurs fail to qualify for the top competition. Luka Modric, who tried to leave White Hart Lane last summer is sure to agitate again for a move away.
Redknapp tried his best to be positive ahead of the final, insisting that it had been a "fantastic achievement" by Spurs to finish in the top four, but after the worst happened in Munich he is sure to be consumed by a sense of what could and should have been. Read More
انسخ الكود التالى و ضعه فى موقعك او مدونتك.
