I really consider Rafa to be more of a second striker than anything else. I don't want to see him playing on the wing, I don't think he's cut out to be a winger, I don't think he works well on the wing, he needs to be central.
I think the main problem is that Redknapp is trying to force through an iron-clad first team for all situations rather than sit back and recognize that the team has a lot of players that are very good, and maybe a rotation should be implemented. I think there's nothing wrong with sitting Defoe and VdV down and saying: "Alright boys, I'm really happy with your output at the moment, so here's what I'm proposing: I want to implement a squad rotation between the two of you, leap frogging starts in games, then swap out at half-time moving between the 4-2-3-1/4-4-1-1 and the 4-4-2, just to put defenses on their asses. I think this keeps both of you very fresh, it keeps the opposing defenses guessing, and I really think this is the answer to getting the most goals out of the two of you."
While Rafa might not like not starting every game, I think he would see the logic in it, and I think he'd prefer that to being played out of position. I think Redknapp latches onto particular players that he then decides are class, then he decides they must start every game, and he runs them into the ground featuring them in every tie if they wake up breathing that morning. I don't think this is going to get any better because we dropped so many points to lower-table teams last season; Harry thinks he needs to give the entire first team the run-out every single game. We already have a difficult time with injuries, I think this only compounds the problem.
Likewise, I think rotation needs to be implemented between Parker and Sandro. Both are incredibly impressive at the moment, sitting in the same role (roughly). While I thinks Spurs will be Parker's swan song, Sandro looks to be the future, if we can keep him. I hope Harry is handling it like this: "Sandro, you're our boy. Every game you feature in you look better than the last, you're the future. I've brought Scott in to mentor you, school you on the game to really round you out. You're a rock at the back. You're the linchpin between the defense and midfield, dictating the flow of the game, so people are naturally going to be looking towards you to set a tone and provide leadership. Scott's a veteran of the game, and I want you to learn from him. For the time being he's going to provide competition with you, but I want to rotate the both of you while you sit back and watch him. If a game is going badly and we're losing possession, I'll move the two of you into together."
I don't really like that Rafa went to the press about this, though. I mean, does anyone not think that Redknapp knows that Rafa's best position is central attacking? Of course, the main issue is that Lennon was out (is he ready to come back?) and Pienaar is out.