Harry Redknapp, left, should have defended Aaron Lennon’s absence from Tuesday’s mauling at Real Madrid, instead of trying to make the Tottenham winger a scapegoat, says our columnist.
Harry Redknapp, left, should have defended Aaron Lennon’s absence from Tuesday’s mauling at Real Madrid, instead of trying to make the Tottenham winger a scapegoat, says our columnist.

Redknapp wrong to deflect blame of Tottenham defeat on Lennon injury



I didn't like Harry Redknapp insinuating that Aaron Lennon had bottled it by pulling out of Tottenham Hotspur's game against Real Madrid on Tuesday.

But that's Harry, for you. If he can deflect blame elsewhere he will, but Spurs knew Lennon wasn't well on Sunday; that's why he was prescribed a course of antibiotics.

Good on Lennon for coming out and defending himself. A manager should defend his own player, not spin against him.

Meanwhile, Sir Alex Ferguson's support of Wayne Rooney has been unwavering, but Wayne doesn't always help himself. I just don't understand: why is he so angry? His two-game ban is harsh and Manchester United will miss him as he is playing well.

On the field, it has been a great week of Champions League football, hasn't it?

Tottenham have enjoyed a far better-than-expected first run in the competition, but they will not be going any further after being crushed by Real Madrid. Peter Crouch was a little silly to get sent off so early in the game after two lunges and his side suffered accordingly.

It's hard enough playing at the Bernabeu with 11 men, let alone 10. It's such an intimidating place to go as a visiting player because of the size, reputation and the quality of players you always face there.

Tottenham were taken apart, but Schalke look set to join Real in the last four after scoring five in Milan against the holders Inter. The Germans have been poor in their own domestic Bundesliga but superb in Europe, with the Spanish forward Raul's experience vital.

I was surprised when he went there and thought he could say goodbye to adding any more European goals, but he's proved me wrong. German teams should never be underestimated; you only have to see their national sides to appreciate the quality of their players.

Manchester United or Chelsea will play them, but they should not underestimate them. When I was at United we met Schalke's rivals, Borussia Dortmund, in the 1997 Champions League semi-final. We were favourites. We went out.

Scoring five in the quarter-finals of the Champions League as Schalke did is rare … unless Barcelona are playing at home.

Real can win the tournament for a 10th time, but they will have to overcome Barcelona in the semi-finals, assuming Spurs are unable to pull off a shock comeback in the return leg against Jose Mourinho's side at White Hart Lane.

The Catalans are the best team in the world. They swatted Shakhtar Donetsk away like an annoying fly, their attacking play spectacular as ever. Any team who beats Barca will win that tournament. If Real can't do it in what will be such a huge semi-final, then I think Manchester United or Chelsea will provide the greatest challenge.

United had a great win at Stamford Bridge on Wednesday, but the tie is far from over. United were holding on at the end of the game with Edwin van der Sar making a great save from Fernando Torres. Patrice Evra cleared another Chelsea effort off the line before half time, and Carlo Ancelotti's side will argue they were denied a stonewall penalty when Evra's heavy challenge brought Ramires down in the penalty area, but United held out.

Chelsea can win at Old Trafford, as they did last season, but things are coming good at the right time for United. They have very difficult games every week and none will be tougher than the FA Cup semi-final next week against Manchester City, minus the suspended Rooney. City really are due a win against United, but when I watched United roar back from 2-0 down to beat West Ham United 4-2 last weekend, I thought that I was watching the English champions.

United have benefited from Arsenal dropping far too many points and they don't have the backbone to stay with United until the end of the season.

Don't be surprised if they end up finishing third or fourth. They look very disenchanted at the moment, the opposite of United. My old gaffer [Ferguson] has been in this situation many, many times before, but even he needs luck.

When United reached the Champions League final in Moscow three years ago they didn't have a single injury. United were carrying several injuries two weeks ago, but most of the key players, such as Nemanja Vidic and Rio Ferdinand, have come back just when they are needed.

I've heard talk of United winning the treble, but I would be made up if United won two trophies.

I've been there, I know how tough it is to win a treble and you need lots of luck. It's a cliche, but the gaffer will be taking every game as it comes. Players will be ultra professional and he won't hear any talk of trophies in the dressing room.

I've also seen fans say that United have been far from vintage this season and that's fair comment. But football is about getting results and winning, and that's what United have been very good at doing.

The Bloomberg Billionaire Index in full

1 Jeff Bezos $140 billion
2 Bill Gates $98.3 billion
3 Bernard Arnault $83.1 billion
4 Warren Buffett $83 billion
5 Amancio Ortega $67.9 billion
6 Mark Zuckerberg $67.3 billion
7 Larry Page $56.8 billion
8 Larry Ellison $56.1 billion
9 Sergey Brin $55.2 billion
10 Carlos Slim $55.2 billion

The five new places of worship

Church of South Indian Parish

St Andrew's Church Mussaffah branch

St Andrew's Church Al Ain branch

St John's Baptist Church, Ruwais

Church of the Virgin Mary and St Paul the Apostle, Ruwais

 

COMPANY PROFILE

Founders: Sebastian Stefan, Sebastian Morar and Claudia Pacurar

Based: Dubai, UAE

Founded: 2014

Number of employees: 36

Sector: Logistics

Raised: $2.5 million

Investors: DP World, Prime Venture Partners and family offices in Saudi Arabia and the UAE

Arrogate's winning run

1. Maiden Special Weight, Santa Anita Park, June 5, 2016

2. Allowance Optional Claiming, Santa Anita Park, June 24, 2016

3. Allowance Optional Claiming, Del Mar, August 4, 2016

4. Travers Stakes, Saratoga, August 27, 2016

5. Breeders' Cup Classic, Santa Anita Park, November 5, 2016

6. Pegasus World Cup, Gulfstream Park, January 28, 2017

7. Dubai World Cup, Meydan Racecourse, March 25, 2017

Company%20profile
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3ECompany%20name%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinFlx%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarted%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20January%202021%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFounders%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Amr%20Yussif%20(co-founder%20and%20CEO)%2C%20Mattieu%20Capelle%20(co-founder%20and%20CTO)%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EBased%20in%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Dubai%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EIndustry%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20FinTech%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EFunding%20size%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20%241.5m%20pre-seed%3C%2Fp%3E%0A%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EInvestors%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%20Venture%20capital%20-%20Y%20Combinator%2C%20500%20Global%2C%20Dubai%20Future%20District%20Fund%2C%20Fox%20Ventures%2C%20Vector%20Fintech.%20Also%20a%20number%20of%20angel%20investors%3C%2Fp%3E%0A
The National's picks

4.35pm: Tilal Al Khalediah
5.10pm: Continous
5.45pm: Raging Torrent
6.20pm: West Acre
7pm: Flood Zone
7.40pm: Straight No Chaser
8.15pm: Romantic Warrior
8.50pm: Calandogan
9.30pm: Forever Young

NO OTHER LAND

Director: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham, Rachel Szor, Hamdan Ballal

Stars: Basel Adra, Yuval Abraham

Rating: 3.5/5

The%20Color%20Purple
%3Cp%3E%3Cstrong%3EDirector%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EBlitz%20Bazawule%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3EStarring%3A%20%3C%2Fstrong%3EFantasia%20Barrino%2C%20Taraji%20P%20Henson%2C%20Danielle%20Brooks%2C%20Colman%20Domingo%3Cbr%3E%3Cstrong%3ERating%3A%3C%2Fstrong%3E%204%2F5%3C%2Fp%3E%0A