Harry Redknapp is possibly the best English manager of the last 10 years. He has had a long and distinguished managerial career in all levels of English football, has won trophies, gained promotion and staved off relegation, taken his teams to Cup Finals and produced cup upsets along the way. When the England manager job comes up, he always seems to be in the frame, and I think he may actually end up in the job a few years down the line.
There always seems to be a ‘but’ though with our ‘Arry, an undercurrent of alleged impropriety that accompanies the man. The alleged bungs, the alleged tapping up incident, the (wrongful) arrest and the raid on his home. Has he merely been unlucky ? Has he been in the wrong place at the wrong time ? Is he an innocent victim of circumstances ? Nothing has ever been proven, so you have to say ‘yes’ to all of these questions. There can be no doubt, though, that the FA would have given him more consideration when the England managers job last came up, if he wasn’t under investigation.
So, where does the Midas bit come in ? As you will be well aware, everything Midas touched turned to gold. What Harry has done – at Bournemouth, West Ham, Portsmouth and Spurs – is of a similar nature. He has done amazing work, brought through players and improved them, bought players to complement existing ones, and raised standards across the board. He has also tried to get his players to play the right way – entertaining the paying the public. But at what cost though ? West Ham and Portsmouth (his last two managerial appointments prior to taking the Spurs job) both appear to be looking down the barrel of financial guns at the moment. And even Bournemouth and Southampton have had financial issues since he has been and gone.
Now I’m not for one minute saying that any of this is Harry’s fault, but the coincidence is hard to ignore. Obviously clubs want to aspire go to the next level, and bring in better quality players, and Harry clearly did that with the backing of his boards, who stumped up the cash. Judgement calls have to be made, and managers live and die by them – but clubs can sometimes suffer for years on the back of them.
Perhaps Pompey fans think that the FA Cup win in 2008, and then the UEFA cup run that followed it, with AC Milan playing at Fratton Park, was worth it all. If they are relegated this season though, which seems increasingly likely (if they survive the winding up order brought to the high court by HM Customs and Excise, that is), I would imagine it would be a long time before they got back in the Premiership. The squad would be torn apart, and if new finances weren’t found, they could end up on the same slippery slope that Leeds slid down. Is the short term gain of ‘chasing the dream’ worth the long term financial health of a club ?
Although life is not looking that great for some of his former clubs, but in his present position at Tottenham, Harry is again working his magic on the pitch. He has money to spend, and looks to be spending it wisely, in a bid to bring Champions League football at the Lane for the first time. And they have a good chance of achieving that too.
How Midasesque will Harry be at Spurs though ? At the moment everything he is touching is turning to gold. But at what price ? Will Spurs prove to be a club that manages to maintain the success Harry has delivered on the pitch without overstretching itself in the process ? Only time will tell.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
