I've only met Harry Redknapp a few times and I've never played under him, but the praise heaped on him by so many of his former players suggests he is the right man to turn things round at Tottenham.
Certainly, if the current list of out-of-work managers is considered, none of them ticked as many boxes as he did.
Harry may not exactly have been out of work and readily available, but he fills the criteria Spurs need to meet if they are to haul themselves out of their current crisis.
I like that fact that he's English - I have faith in a manager from this country when it comes to fighting back from the brink. Call it what you want - bulldog spirit or whatever - but home grown managers are willing to battle when necessary. And that's what is needed at White Hart Lane at the moment.
Harry encourages attractive football; what he did at Portsmouth was incredible. He turned them from a club that was going nowhere into a team people wanted to go and watch. But he took them as far as he could. Now he's ready for a bigger challenge at a bigger club.
Despite their current form and position in the league, there is still potential, if he gets it right, to take Spurs into the top four.
Clearly that's not going to happen this season, and probably not the next one either. But the season after that, if Harry is given a chance to make his mark on the club, they can begin to challenge the Big Four and eventually loosen those clubs' grip on English football.
With far better resources than he had at Pompey, Harry has more to work with now and I believe that will help him take them to that level.
The only problem at the moment is that some of the players he has inherited from Juande Ramos simply aren't good enough. He certainly needs to bring in some new blood in January - in every position - to give the place a lift.
I'm sure he'd prefer to stamp his authority on the squad immediately by making some positive signings right now, but he will have to wait until the transfer window opens.
What that means is that he has a couple of months to try to get the best out of what he already has; and that includes some players already identified as potential candidates to leave come January.
The delay may initially frustrate Harry, but he's experienced enough to turn the situation around to his benefit.
Those players who have done little to impress so far this season now have a two-month window to prove their detractors wrong, impress the new boss and prove they want to play for Spurs.
If he can coax some kind of form out of them, turn around their mental state and steady the ship before the transfer window opens, I'm sure Spurs will be okay this season.
He has been told he has £30 million to spend in January and he already proved at Portsmouth that he is astute in the transfer market. He just has to make sure Spurs are in a position from which he can build once the window opens and he is able to mould the squad how he wants.
In the meantime, these next two months are going to be crucial for both Harry and Spurs.