Harry Redknapp – a man loved and loathed in equal measures

It’s hard not to have some opinion on Harry Redknapp. Whether you think he’s a top geezer, lovely jubbly man of the people. A shifty, underhand dealing crafty chancer, or simply a melting waxwork of his son Jamie, most people can muster up feelings one way or another for him. West Ham fans love him, Southampton fans hate him. Bournemouth fans love him, Portsmouth fans hate him. Tottenham fans love him, Tottenham fans hate him. He doesn’t mince his words does ‘Arry and he remains a man loved and loathed in equal measure.

Although never seeming like a particularly ambitious or career driven manager, his club record has been surprisingly inspirational. At Bournemouth he became their most successful ever manager, helping them escape the drop to the Conference in his first season, famously beating Man United in the cup in 84 and winning the old 3^rd Division in 1987. At West Ham his chirpy wide boy personality seemed to fit perfectly with the club’s, and during his time he gave the Boleyn faithful good football, a famous parade of youth players, a few shiftily acquired but entertaining foreign signings and their second highest top flight finish ever. At Portsmouth he got them promoted to the top flight for the first time in 40 years during only his second season and after leaving, returning, then leaving again, he left behind a legacy that included a surprise FA Cup victory in 2008 – the clubs first in 68 years.  Even now at Spurs, despite grumblings among certain sections of the fan base about his inability to make the best out of the sides potential and propel them into the top 4, ‘Arry oversaw a great escape of sorts last season after the Lilywhites languished on only 2 points when he took over in October, eventually propelling them up to 8^th. Not bad me ol’ cockle.

So it’s hard to see why he’s so loathed by some, even if he does pop off to manage his clubs local rivals for a bit, or leave them to take a more prestigious job once in a while. His habit of starting every interview with “Well…something something…wasn’t it?” may be a bit grating but surely not too much to hold against him? His penchant for nicking former players off his old clubs doesn’t often endear him greatly in truth, even if – as in the case of  Pompey this year – he does them a favor with the fee. His one of lads persona, something that usually goes down well with fans, doesn’t always help him either, as at West Ham, where a frank, pub chat-like interview with a fanzine ended up getting him fired by a Chairman (Terry Brown) none to happy with his honesty. His passion can work against him sometimes too, and he tends to get a bit twitchy when riled up, (which can be a bit off putting, especially on such an odd face) – but he tells it ‘ow he sees it does ‘Arry you see. Wallop!!, that’s the ticket.

It’s his off the field activities that have garnered the most negative criticism. Always seen as a bit dodgy, somewhat unfairly at times, the revelations that he may have had a secret bank account in Monaco or received a couple of nags as a gift from an agent didn’t really come as much of a shock to anyone, whether they were true or not. His arrest in 2007 on suspicion of fraud and false accounting cost him consideration for the England job, even though he was never charged, something he still – understandably – holds a grudge about today. But Harry shouldn’t be the type of person that gets on with the rozzers or the establishment. He should be the type of person that turns up midway through a Guy Richie film and places a monkey on a dead horse.

His tenure at Tottenham is his first real experience at a genuinely big club, he’s used to being a bit of an outsider. Only more time will tell if he’s cut out for this type of management or whether he is just chancing it at this level. He does play favourites but also seems like a boss players want to play for (if you’re in the in crowd of course). Love him or loathe him, he’s a character, and with Jose Mourinho busy pouting half way across Europe and Neil Warnock mellowing in the lower leagues, the Premier League needs all it can get.