Redknapp allowed Pienaar to go on loan to Everton in January, but surely he would have been better off keeping him at Spurs?
With Tottenham’s late season collapse showing no signs of slowing down, it is only right that the failings of Harry Redknapp are brought under close scrutiny.
There can be few more costly decisions than allowing South African midfielder Steven Pienaar to leave on loan in January, and failing to replace him.
The decision smacked of over-confidence, a “we’ll be alright we can do without him” attitude and it is coming back to bite Redknapp.
In assessing why this is the case, it is right firstly to start out by acknowledging in the first half of the season, Pienaar was unable to force himself into the Tottenham side.
He was second choice, understandably, to an array of outstanding performing midfielders, with Scott Parker and Luka Modric the pick in the central position and Sandro also on the sidelines.
He struggled with niggling injuries, and played just 17 league minutes for Spurs before being loaned to Everton.
Even so, Pienaar’s presence and talent was very much an insurance policy Redknapp needed if his star performers needed a rest.
Right now Redknapp is busy bemoaning his luck and the tiredness of his stars, but had he kept Pienaar, he could have rotated Modric and co. and kept them fresh.
Pienaar also has the ability to play wide-right, cover Spurs could desperately have done with considering Aaron Lennon’s injury problems.
Last season Spurs fell away in the second half of the season, so Redknapp was foolish not to keep Pienaar as cover in case it happened again, which it has.
His form at Everton since arriving has only underlined what a mistake it was allowing him to leave.
He has scored three league goals, including strikes against Chelsea and Manchester United, and created four others.
Pienaar seems to feel more at home at Everton, but this is perhaps because he was never made to feel totally important at Tottenham.
He may never have been first choice at Spurs, but he could have played a vital role this season. For all their struggles, they are only three points off the pace, a fresh Pienaar surely could have helped avert their decline.
Redknapp today is bemoaning a lack of depth- well who is responsible for that?
The most foolish part of the decision was not replacing him. It would be understandable letting him go on loan if Spurs were going to bring in another star midfielder, but they didn’t.
Instead the limp additions of Nelsen and Saha were served up, but no midfielders, leaving the squad a midfielder weaker than they entered the transfer window.
In a second half of the season compiled with misery and poor decisions, loaning Pienaar and not resting players like Parker and Modric, could be Redknapp’s biggest error of the lot.
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