Harry Redknapp: Everton can dig their heels in over Chelsea target John Stones but 99 times out of 100, the player gets his way

Down to the wire: Will it be Roberto Martinez or Chelsea who come out on top in the battle for John Stones?
(Clive Brunskill/Getty Images)
Harry Redknapp28 August 2015

These last few days of the transfer window are a nightmare for every manager. The first couple of games can change people’s minds about their squad an awful lot. There is no doubt that panic can quickly set in among managers and chairman by the end of August.

If things haven’t gone well, they assess the squad and say ‘oh, blimey — it doesn’t look good enough’. Suddenly, you get drawn into making a signing or two and it creates a crazy merry-go-round on deadline day that supporters seem to love.

But it should all be sorted before the season starts. They have got to change it. All the managers are in agreement.

The window is a huge distraction because you don’t always know until the final few days whether certain players want to leave. It is a crazy situation trying to plan for that while preparing a team for matches.

Look at Everton and their situation with Stones. The problem is someone can come along at the last minute, pull off a deal and leave you with a massive hole in your squad.

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Manchester United bought Dimitar Berbatov in the final few minutes of the 2008 summer window and Tottenham didn’t have a replacement. It is ridiculous.

Roberto Martinez says he will be making a stand against all that to show that money can’t buy everything. If they dig their heels in, that is going to be an interesting one because 99 times out of 100, the player gets his own way.

Dealing with players who hand in transfer requests is never easy and Chelsea will probably feel they are in a strong position. Players have their head turned by others — whether they request a move or not — but there are some who can get on with it.

I remember Chelsea coming in for Luka Modric when I was at Tottenham in 2011. Chelsea thought they were going to get him, Luka told me he had spoken to Andre Villas-Boas on several occasions about moving but we didn’t sell him. We told him to give us one more year and he agreed. Luka was a great lad and he just got on with it. Lots of players start causing problems and throw their toys out of the pram, partly influenced by their agent because it’s a big payday for them if a move happens so they try and force it.

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But people I speak to tell me Stones is a great kid. He is at an excellent club in Everton, moving up quickly and if he doesn’t go he’ll be one lad who can get on with it.

There will be one or two who don’t move but I think Saido Berahino will go to Spurs. There is a poker game going on there. The West Brom chairman Jeremy Peace is holding out for every penny and Daniel Levy obviously is trying to do a deal. Daniel will be doing deals an hour before the window closes. He enjoys deadline day. He loves to win a deal and in many big transfers before, he held all the aces — with Gareth Bale, Modric and Berbatov he did — but in this West Brom case he doesn’t.

But Spurs need a striker and West Brom know that so there is a lot of bluffing going on there. Arsenal need to get Danny Welbeck fit and then their search for a striker isn’t so desperate. West Ham can’t afford to wait for Andy Carroll and Enner Valencia because they could be in the relegation zone by then.

Watford and Crystal Palace will look to do more business too. It’s a busy time. But there won’t be many within the game who enjoy it.

You have to play Rooney as a No10 if you want more goals out of him

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Wayne Rooney may have ended his goal drought playing up front for Manchester United on Wednesday night but I still think his best position is as a No10.

He’s at his best when he’s in the thick of a game and too often when he plays up top he gets isolated and you don’t see a lot of him.

He would be better playing with a striker and if United signed a top striker before Tuesday night, it would help get the best out of him.

People always expect too much from him because he came in at Euro 2004 and did so well. I think England’s only chant at the time was: “Rooney! Rooney!”

We expected him to go on and be the world’s No1 player which he hasn’t become. He’s one of the best players in the Premier League and has been outstanding but people wanted him to be the next Diego Maradona. To even get anywhere near that, he has to play at No10 for me.

Be more Terry-ier, Chambers

Calum Chambers needs to go back to the training ground to work through the problems in his game at present.

Arsenal were all over the show at the back against Liverpool. Chambers is a good player but his confidence at the moment is shot. The crowd are on his case. Every time he makes a mistake, he looks edgy.

Gary Neville said Arsene Wenger has got to play him regularly but in fact he shouldn’t. You can’t start getting beaten because you are throwing in a kid who makes mistakes every week.

Really, he’s got to get over that quickly himself. He settled down in the second half and did a lot better but Arsenal can’t give him a run and risk dropping points at present.

John Terry is at the other end of the spectrum and although he made mistakes on the pitch, he had the strength of character to come through it. Chambers needs that and he will find it because he is a good player. It should only be a blip in a long career for him.

Pundit or boss… it’s still about a game of survival

It is very easy to get upset with television pundits when they criticise your management of a club. You think ‘he isn’t in my position so he doesn’t know what’s really going on.’

Gary Neville is paid to voice his opinion on Sky Sports as he did when calling Arsene Wenger “arrogant” this week over his transfer policy at Arsenal. Until you have managed a club, it is very difficult to put yourself in that position. Yes, you may have played the game but managing a club is totally different. Decision-making is vital — get it wrong and you might only last a year. It is about survival. Top players like Neville, Jamie Carragher and Thierry Henry won’t have encountered that too often as players.

But I’ve also worked in TV and to survive there, you have to give an opinion. Managers and pundits may come at it from different angles but really the goal is the same… survival.

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