The Myth that is Harry Redknapp

[St_Tel49]

Just driven through Canford Cliffs in Poole and I'm not sure, but I believe I saw a Bulldog trying to get money from a cash machine !!!

Well - they say that people look like their pets

[St_Tel49]

Redknapp's credentials aren't amazing and there are obviously concerns around the way he operates in the long-term, at club level.

 

The reason he is the overwhelming favourite is partly his affable media schtick but is mainly the fact that there is a dearth of experienced English managers at the highest level.

 

If we want an English manager, realistically who are the other candidates? Of the experienced group that have operated to a significant degree at the highest level and are active or recently active in management there is Hodgson (perceived to have failed at Liverpool), McClaren (damaged goods, been there before), Pearce (seems a decent guy but probably one for the future - the jury's still out). Do you want any of them? Beyond that, current PL English managers are Redknapp, Pardew, [Pulis is Welsh isn't he?] and Mick McCarthy. That's it. Then you get into the realms of Keegan, Hoddle, Venables, Reid, Shearer etc... who all, for various reasons, would be odd appointments.

 

If you cast the net wider to include British Isles PL managers then you might look at O'Neil, Ferguson, Lambert, Rodgers, Hughes, Moyes etc... Of those, I think O'Neil is really the only obvious choice (can't see Fergie being up for it!).

 

You can look at foreign coaches with a lot of experience in England: Wenger and Mourinho are the obvious names but would they really want the hassle?

 

So you can look down the pyramid for an Englishman: Adkins..? Allardyce..? Mowbray..? If you were in the FA would you choose one of them over Redknapp?

 

Or you can go down the Klinsmann / van Basten approach that other countries have tried. Who is our equivalent? Shearer, Adams, Beckham, Neville...? Sound like a good idea? Nah.

 

I agree that Harry's CV isn't as good as it's portrayed to be but if you want an experienced Englishman there is little choice. Anything else is a gamble and given the FA's recent history I imagine they will be looking for a pretty safe option.

O'Neil won't take it.They had their chance with him but appointed Capello. I don't think that he will make himself available again - especially after the start he has made with Sunderland.

[St_Tel49]

You can't criticise a manager for having a fantastic relationship with the press. That itself is at least 50% of the manager's job - managing press, his board, the fans, the public...

 

Hard as I've tried, I cannot dislike Arry. So he likes a deal, so he likes a wise-crack, so he's a cheque book manager... so what. The truth is we were relegated because we'd had 13 managers in 11 years leaving us with a bloated squad of mainly average footballers. Redknapp was employed (knowingly) with a history as a cheque-book manager and given an empty purse.

 

What he actually achieved at Pompey, with Milan, was to take a club at the foot of the Championship and win the FA Cup and deliver mid-top-table performances in the Premier League.

 

The club didn't go bust when he and Milan were there.

 

What he's achieved with Spurs is sensational given the relative spend. And anyone who thnks he cannot improve players needs to take a look at Gareth Bale - now easily the third best footballer in the world.

 

Does he put on a tracksuit and train him?? No. Does MON? No. Does Fergie? No.

 

Management is about results not about whether you coached the top scorer to bend the ball.

 

Put it this way. Will we win the World Cup with Arry? Probably not. But do we have a structure that supports the England team? No, becuase most of us would rather win a corner for Saints than an England game.

 

And sometimes, you're better with a lucky manager than a good one. And after that tax case, he is nothing if not lucky!

Yes - but the fact that they both got out (remember the surprise that Mandaric left!) suggests that they were well aware that things were about to go t1ts up.

[captainchris]

Agreed.

 

He's managing the 3rd best team in England at the minute and the two managers ahead of him won't have the job. So the people that say Redknapp needs money to succeed would rather see a manager who has gained a fair amount on a tight budget, I guess? Graham Westley for England it is then.

Apart from the fact that he is blatently a very ordinary to poor manager without pots of money to spend. Apart from the nepotism at our place and rank bad management - apart from that I object to a guy who puts money into an offshore account under his dogs name being found not guilty of evading tax and then to compound the injustice is made the England Manager.......Call it 'bitter' if you like , in fact call it anything you like but those are the facts as I see them.

[Cabrone]

I may be in a minority but I like HR and think he's a top manager.

 

When he came here we were a ship that was already going down, I remember seeing one of his first games incharge at Spurs and we were total gash. I mean total and utter gash.

 

I can remember thinking that if he could manage to keep us up that season he'd have done something pretty heroic.

 

Let's not forget that he had to work under L**e who was coming up with genius ideas like paying a fortune to get a rugby coach and a 'soccer school' manager to take over behind Harry's back.

 

Let's also not forget that he assembled a damn good champ team that was one quality striker short of getting us out of the Coke at the first attempt IMO.......and how much was he given to spend at the start of that season?? £90K for Fuller.

 

We battered teams without beating them because we couldn't score. Ipswich away springs to mind, we murdered them and somehow only got 1 point.

 

Imagine if the clowns in the boardroom had actually backed him with a couple of million from the sale of Crouch and Phillips?

 

I think we really could have gotten back to the prem and then who knows? HR might have been a hero here.

 

I'm not surprised that he thought 'bugger this' and left. Lesser managers than HR would have walked, SFC was a total circus at the time.

 

No hard feelings Harry, I know who the real culprit was.

[captainchris]

I cant help but like Harry despite what happened when he was with us which I feel was down to him not getting on Lowe more than anything else.

 

I feel he would bring the 1996 vibe back to English footy and it will be great to have a manager with some passion on the touchline rather than the lacklustre pair we have had recently.

 

So you still believe that 'passion' will win us a the Euro cup...........................yawn..........It's not enough any more which is why we brought in a foreign coach because of that exact reason.....France, Spain and Germany are tactically and technically superior and the last time I looked HR is no tactician and will pick his relations and football buddies every time. It will be a Harry 'football friends' fest and totally abhorrant......yuk....We have to have a thinking man in there...

[eelpie]

'arry won't get the England job cos the FA don't like to be told what to do by the press and others.

 

Also Twitchy knows he's on to a good thing with Spurs and he's probably aware England have a poor and complicated squad and so will have a disastrous Euro, whoever is in charge. If he were to oversee this, then what next for himself, is what he's thinking, I reckon.

 

Mind, if he did get the England job, the press would eventually turn against him and all the old stories on their files will start to appear.

[rocknrollman no2]

The last game we played in the prem against Manure was a golden opportunity to stay up.The Mancs were not bothered about the game and were there for the taking.But instead of playing the type of players who would have put up a fight,good ole Arry put out a team of players who couldnt gve a toss.

Good manager my arse!

[Micky]

Have you considered that actually we have had some of the best but that our coaching and infrastructure are shocking?

To hear professional footballers and commentators talking about not being able to 'train for penalties' is perverse.

And is the reason why Tiger Woods doesn't bother to practice putting (because he can't access an eighteen deep gallery in his garden)...

 

The reason we regained the Ashes and won a rugby world cup was because we had a long-term plan put into brutal effect. Woodward told the clubs how it would be and they bought it - because they believed in the vision.

Likewise the cricket counties accepted change to support the national side.

 

Whereas in football, if an England squad member steps on an ant in training, he's rushed off for a metatarsal analysis and bed-rest.

 

This country supports club football, so who cares who runs the England side?

 

I don't actually understand any of the points that you are trying to make there. However, I dont agree that our coaching and infrastructure is that bad. It may not be as good as some continental sides, but I would have thought it's an awful long way from shocking.

[locks heath saint 2]

Apparently all of England want him as manager, it would be very ineresting if the bbc did a pole, im not sure it would be clear cut, I know what my vote would be.

The whole saga with Capello put in a position that pretty much forced him to resign, Harry getting found not guilty syncronised, its all just so painfully predictable.

I dont care even of he wins the Euros it all just sticks in my throat, he makes me vomit.

[Junction 9]

The last game we played in the prem against Manure was a golden opportunity to stay up.The Mancs were not bothered about the game and were there for the taking.But instead of playing the type of players who would have put up a fight,good ole Arry put out a team of players who couldnt gve a toss.

Good manager my arse!

 

There's been some crap written on this thread, but this tops it.

[ART]

I reckon that Gus Hiddink is the right man to get the best out of the England players and a better long term bet than Harry. He's got all the experience and can speak English.

[Chorlton]

I may be in a minority but I like HR and think he's a top manager.

 

When he came here we were a ship that was already going down, I remember seeing one of his first games incharge at Spurs and we were total gash. I mean total and utter gash.

 

I can remember thinking that if he could manage to keep us up that season he'd have done something pretty heroic.

 

Let's not forget that he had to work under L**e who was coming up with genius ideas like paying a fortune to get a rugby coach and a 'soccer school' manager to take over behind Harry's back.

 

Let's also not forget that he assembled a damn good champ team that was one quality striker short of getting us out of the Coke at the first attempt IMO.......and how much was he given to spend at the start of that season?? £90K for Fuller.

 

We battered teams without beating them because we couldn't score. Ipswich away springs to mind, we murdered them and somehow only got 1 point.

 

Imagine if the clowns in the boardroom had actually backed him with a couple of million from the sale of Crouch and Phillips?

 

I think we really could have gotten back to the prem and then who knows? HR might have been a hero here.

 

I'm not surprised that he thought 'bugger this' and left. Lesser managers than HR would have walked, SFC was a total circus at the time.

 

No hard feelings Harry, I know who the real culprit was.

 

He left when we were 3/4 months in to the first Championship season, and we were going nowhere. The near miss was the following season. Whatever you think of harry, (and I despise the bloke), his time at Saints has been airbrushed out of history in the media. I think the Guardian Fiver are the only people who have mentioned his relegation with us, and they are some of the only ones who have questioned him.

 

Bale has been mentioned elsewhere, and that is the man Redknapp barely played and was rumoured to be sending out on loan to Forest until injuries forced his hand. he may be a good man manager, he may have the passion, but when Germany or Spain are running rings around us, thumping your chest for the three lions won't get your very far. Ask the last 'people's choice', Kevin Keegan

 

I think I am right in saying that when Harry took Saints over, we were 4th bottom. We had a half decent team that was lacking a dominant centre back. It wasn't a lack of money, it was a lack of decent transfer dealings and some terrible team selections (agree with the poster above as well, the team for the United match was a joke).

[Chorlton]

I reckon that Gus Hiddink is the right man to get the best out of the England players and a better long term bet than Harry. He's got all the experience and can speak English.

 

yep, totally agree. I wish Capello had stayed, but failing that, Hiddink would be my choice.

[pressingon]

The last game we played in the prem against Manure was a golden opportunity to stay up.The Mancs were not bothered about the game and were there for the taking.But instead of playing the type of players who would have put up a fight,good ole Arry put out a team of players who couldnt gve a toss.

Good manager my arse!

Feel free to post Arry's line up and then the team you would have sent out - just to illustrate your point.

[sfc1971]

If Arry gets the England job we have all played into the hand`s of the English press, be prepared for Fireworks because they are out to get him and I can assure you it won`t be for the good of the game.

The man is a Crook simple as !!

 

And he will I am damn sure one day get what`s coming.

[sadoldgit]

Feel free to post Arry's line up and then the team you would have sent out - just to illustrate your point.

 

I seem to remember that top goal scorer Kevin Phillips sitting on the bench. The thumbs up to Mandaric after Poopey humilated us said it all for me.

[jjsaint]

And he will I am damn sure one day get what`s coming.

 

Agreed. Once the honeymoon is over, the press will have a field day destroying him.

[Dalek2003]

What is the alternative to Harry, not many inspiring choices if we go for an English maanger.

[Legod Third Coming]

"Sensational" - really?! Tottenham, of the current PL clubs (and noting that this link ignores the recent transfer window), are third highest net spenders over the last ten years. http://www.sportingintelligence.com/2011/08/12/arsenals-net-spending-of-48m-in-a-decade-puts-them-9th-in-premier-league-120802/ Only Chelsea and Man City have a higher net spend. Quite frankly, they were underachieving before and now they are about par.

 

Now, presumably you consider Ronaldo and Messi to be the two best players? I bet Bale is chuffed to be "easily" better than Xavi, Iniesta, Silva, Aguero, van Persie, Fabregas, Robben, Neymar, Tevez, Toure, Benzema, Ozil, Ribery, Fabregas, Villa, Gomez... etc

 

If you're going to argue a case, best to avoid astonishing hyperbole.

 

Ok so for ten years Tottenham sensationally under-performed??

Suppose you could be right, I mean how are they getting on against Newcastle tonight...

As for Bale, yes there is no doubt he is now the third best rated footballer in the world. Money speaks. And when you suggest Tevez and Ozil could be in his class, even Fabregas, I have one word for you: Specsavers

[Legod Third Coming]

So much ********, this truely is the myth of Redknapp. He did have money when he came in, and spunked it on crocks like, er, his son, and wasters like Bernard and Davenport, because he couldn't be arsed. Then he spent the summer making bids for Blake and Morrison (who had said he was only going to move to palace). He then had a panic and bought fuller, after which the myth of the 90k budget sprung up. Because he couldn't be arsed. After that, he paid out money we didn't have (and looks to have been a bung) http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/football/news-and-comment/southampton-mystified-by-163100000-that-went-missing-416213.html on players like tejera, who he insisted he needed but then didn't ever play.

 

**** manager, who has only ever managed to beat big stage chokers (and lower division side) Cardiff (who have been failing to get promotion for the last zillion years). He wastes and discards careers. Yet looking at some of the posts on here, he is a pretty good ventriloquist

 

[/b]

 

Triffic manager. And not a wheeler dealer.

 

Rupert Lowe appointed Redknapp and then Clive Woodward ad DoF. Can we stop pretending relegation lies at Redknapp's door. Just read my last sentence again for all the proof you will ever need.

[Legod Third Coming]

'arry won't get the England job cos the FA don't like to be told what to do by the press and others.

 

Also Twitchy knows he's on to a good thing with Spurs and he's probably aware England have a poor and complicated squad and so will have a disastrous Euro, whoever is in charge. If he were to oversee this, then what next for himself, is what he's thinking, I reckon.

 

Mind, if he did get the England job, the press would eventually turn against him and all the old stories on their files will start to appear.

 

If you believe that, I will have an even £500 with you he gets the job. My bookie won't take a bet, at ANY price...

[Legod Third Coming]

I don't actually understand any of the points that you are trying to make there. However, I dont agree that our coaching and infrastructure is that bad. It may not be as good as some continental sides, but I would have thought it's an awful long way from shocking.

 

The point I am making is that in this country club football trumps national football every time. And the FA has no real plan for how to create (or manage) a world class team. The very fact that they let a man they scoured the world to find and employed on £6million per year go four months before a major tournament tells you this...

 

The coaching at club level is superb - since some of the best managers in the world right now are employed in the Premiership.

 

This simply isn't the case at national level because as well as watching a manager leave, you are seeing four of his team (and therefore the infrastructure) go with him.

 

I didn't think it was that hard to grasp??

[rocknrollman no2]

There's been some crap written on this thread, but this tops it.

 

So when we were 3-0 up against Leeds,Rednapp didnt change the team around and the result was we lost 4-3?

Face it, the man was a disaster for us,never really playing our strongest team,bringing in crap players who were worse than we had and publicly blaming the team when they lost.

I stand by my previous statement,good manager my arse!!!

[SNSUN]

[david in sweden]

I've heard that Redknapp will definately take the job for the Euro's

 

As long as there paid straight into his Monaco account

 

 

 

if so ....he should make sure he doesn't get paid in EUROS !

[1960saint]

Harry 'Caught Redhanded' Rednapp ,wont leave spurs until he banks his Bonus bung for spurs best season .

 

 

Paul merson was the main reason pompey got into premiership ,so he duly repaid him by selling him.

he cant read or write but had a column in the sun news paper. he has no morals and will sell out to the highest bidder .

spurs will have to pick up the tab , just like pompey,saints

[Guan 2.0]

Rupert Lowe appointed Redknapp and then Clive Woodward ad DoF. Can we stop pretending relegation lies at Redknapp's door. Just read my last sentence again for all the proof you will ever need.

 

All that statement proves is that you are either so blinded by your hatred of Lowe that you swallow any lie down about him and comment on how good it tastes, or that you are a particulary lazy fan. Clive Woodward was appointed the season after relegation. You are making the same mistake as Leon crouch when he talked about how the appointment made relegation a certainty.

 

But don't worry about it, just whack off to good ol' 'arry some more.

[Legod Third Coming]

All that statement proves is that you are either so blinded by your hatred of Lowe that you swallow any lie down about him and comment on how good it tastes, or that you are a particulary lazy fan. Clive Woodward was appointed the season after relegation. You are making the same mistake as Leon crouch when he talked about how the appointment made relegation a certainty.

 

But don't worry about it, just whack off to good ol' 'arry some more.

 

It doesn't matter when it happened. The point is that Rupert Lowe believed Redknapp and Woodward could work together. What does that tell you about the bloke's judgement of football managers? Always assuming you didn't notice the 13 managers in 11 years that preceded our relegation...

 

I'm sure a manager might have kept us up. Even Arry might have kept us up with a bit more luck (like Crouch taking the ball to the corner against Everton, Higgy not being a fecking useless defender and scoring an own goal in his first game in charge...)

 

But the fans who think our demise was constructed under a six month period when Redknapp was in charge are deluded.

[Badger]

What is the alternative to Harry, not many inspiring choices if we go for an English maanger.

 

Sad but true. A damning indictment about the state of English football, the Prem league etc.

[st.sj]

One reason we are not successful as national team is that we bounce from reaction to reaction. Now for instance the wheel has turned from a manager that could hardly speak English to another one that can hardly speak English. I find it ammusing that Redknapp is such a certainty to get the job. If he can continues his lucky streak he might even do well. I cant see why so many people dont see him as I do, a puffed up self congatulating, twitchy peacock. The only chance he has of me ever having an inch of respect for him would be if he turned the job down because that would mean that he has the minutest bit of self awareness to know that the most ludicrous thing ever could be "Harry Redknapp England Manager"

What a joke!!!