Tottenham may have lifted a long-awaited trophy last season, but one former player has admitted he left the club too soon, revealing he should have waited for a managerial change instead.
Every footballer dreams of lifting a trophy during their career, and several Tottenham Hotspur players achieved that milestone last season, as Ange Postecoglou led Spurs to Europa League glory.
However, following that success, a few players moved on, with Heung-min Son’s departure standing out as the most emotional of them all, marking the perfect ending to his remarkable stint in North London.
Tottenham’s last major triumph before that came in 2008 when they lifted the League Cup, yet Paul Robinson has now confessed that he regrets leaving the club shortly after that victory to join Blackburn Rovers.
Paul Robinson opens up on Tottenham regret
Speaking on the An Echo Of Glory podcast, the former Spurs goalkeeper admitted that he acted too hastily when deciding to leave Tottenham for Blackburn in July 2008.
Revealing how his relationship with then-manager Juande Ramos deteriorated, Robinson said he should have waited for the Spaniard to be sacked instead of rushing out the door.
He explained, via An Echo Of Glory: “That is why I left. Me and him (Juande Ramos) did not see eye to eye at all. With hindsight, I should have stayed and outlasted him, but sometimes you cannot see the wood for the trees. You know, we just won the Carling Cup, as it was the League Cup at the time.
“But I knew even playing that final that I was leaving at the end of the season because he did not want me around and I was not going to play. At that point, he had taken me in and out of the team.
“The man management and the way he handled that situation, I wanted to get out. I wanted a fresh start and I needed to play. But Juande Ramos left, obviously, and like I say, hindsight, you look back, could have probably seen that coming.
“And then Harry (Redknapp) came in, a manager that I would have probably loved to have played for, but I could not see past the end of the next week and I wanted to play every week. And with Juande Ramos, I was not going to be there. He was never the right fit for Tottenham.”
Spurs aiming to build on new era of success
Footballers naturally crave consistent minutes, and no one can truly fault Robinson’s desire to play regularly. His decision made sense at the time, even if hindsight offers a different perspective.
Spurs, however, failed to build on their 2008 success, enduring a long 17-year wait before finally securing another piece of silverware in 2025.
Thomas Frank and his Tottenham side will now hope to build on that achievement, as they look to compete on multiple fronts this season.
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