[Archived] Do Everyone A Favour, Harry Redknapp

[rover6]

This is my angry response to reading Redknapp criticising the quality of players in the ENgland U21 side.

However true this maybe, this man is one of the people who is CONTRIBUTING to the dearth of talent.

He is a Premier League manager with considerable clout to promote British talent. SO what does he do? He goes and buys Glenn Little, Jerome Thomas, DJIMI BLIMING TRAORE FOR A SIX FIGURE SUM, Kaboul and all manner of sub-standard players. I don't think that there is a single Pompey academy player in their squad. Suddenly, he has a bit of money and random loanees from France are all the rage.

I wish some of these people would actually engage in some self-reflection. Sadly, it seems that their intelligence and arrogance will not allow for this. All faults that exist are necessary caused by someone else.

[Amo]

Yeah, and two of the young English lads he did have (Gary O'Neil and Matthew Taylor, one of which from the youth team) were both sold.

[gumboots]

Yeah, and two of the young English lads he did have (Gary O'Neil and Matthew Taylor, one of which from the youth team) were both sold.

The outstanding young players seem to skip the U21s nowadays and go straight into the main squad or move up very quickly meaning he's partly right - there aren't many outstanding players in there. However, there are some good ones and not all those who are brilliant at 20 or so are brilliant later whilst some players develop later in their career. To be honest the defending by the under21s has been poor and we were battered for a large part of Tuesday's game by a very young Welsh team. However, we did get through so it seems a bit churlish of Harry to whinge.

[Billy Castell]

Readies Redknapp has done nothing for young English players in his time at Portsmouth and Southampton. He spurns new and innovative training methods, buys 2nd rate foreign players to bolster the squad, and ignores the youth set up. He has Rio and Lampard in his favour, but Droopy is not responsible for the number of players Wham have coming through now, or the successes of the Southampton youth set up. He is just bitter as another 'evil foreigner' has the England job and he got turned down as he has won eff all for 30 years.

[JAL]

Readies Redknapp has done nothing for young English players in his time at Portsmouth and Southampton. He spurns new and innovative training methods, buys 2nd rate foreign players to bolster the squad, and ignores the youth set up. He has Rio and Lampard in his favour, but Droopy is not responsible for the number of players Wham have coming through now, or the successes of the Southampton youth set up. He is just bitter as another 'evil foreigner' has the England job and he got turned down as he has won eff all for 30 years.

Dont forget the FA Cup last season Billy

[Amo]

He is just bitter as another 'evil foreigner' has the England job and he got turned down as he has won eff all for 30 years.

Which is ironic when people said we should have given an Englishman a go. Don't they remember what happened with Macca?

[Anti Euro Smiths Fan]

'Arry's Arrogant...

Having spouted his mouth off in the media about Arsenal last week, Harry Redknapp was left with egg on his face at the Emirates on Saturday when his Spurs side were beaten 3-0.

Before the game Harry claimed that Arsenal lack experience and wouldn't win the title, that other teams "always get chances against Arsenal" and said that Spurs were going there to win at the Emirates.

Robbie Keane before the game claimed that Spurs are as good a team as the other 'Big Four' sides and that the Spurs squad has greater depth than Arsenal. Keane said: "If you look at the bench we have, it is probably stronger than Arsenal's bench."

And yet Spurs haven't beaten Arsenal in the Premier League for 20 matches home or away since November 1999.

With a record of no wins in 20 matches, wouldn't it have been better for Harry and Robbie to have done their talking after the game?

Arsene Wenger's teamtalk had been handed to him on a plate by Redknapp and Keane. Monsieur Wenger would have been able to pin the newspaper articles up in the dressing room before the match and say to his Arsenal players: "Spurs think they are better than you."

The fact is that although Spurs have some talented players, they are still considerably behind Arsenal in terms of overall quality and consistency. Arsenal have finished in the Top 4 every season for the last ten years. Spurs have not finished in the Top 4 for 19 years, since they finished 3rd under Terry Venables in 1990.

When Spurs are able to finish above Arsenal in the Premier League (which I'm sure won't happen this season and may not happen for a number of years to come) then Spurs might have a legitimate claim to being a better side than Arsenal. But for as long as Spurs remain below Arsenal at the end of each season, with a dreadful record in derby matches against them, then Mr Redknapp (and Robbie Keane) should frankly shut up and let the football do the talking.

I do wonder sometimes why media darling 'Arry hasn't been properly taken to task for some of the things he has said in the past. This was the man who insisted to Portsmouth fans in 2004: "I will never go down the road to Southampton - no chance."

A week later and Harry brazenly walked into St Mary's as the new Southampton manager.

When Redknapp turned down the Newcastle United job following the sacking of Sam Allardyce, Harry's media friends painted him as a loyal saint - a man of integrity who was staying loyal to little Portsmouth FC and turning down the chance to go to a bigger club in Newcastle.

Redknapp said at the time: "The players I have persuaded to come to Portsmouth I have sold the club to them. To walk away from the club would not be right. I couldn't look people like Sylvain Distin in the eye if I had moved to Newcastle. Portsmouth is where I want to be."

Pompey's chief executive Peter Storrie said: "I'm delighted that Harry is going to be with us at Portsmouth for many years to come."

And yet within a matter of months, Harry buggered off to join Spurs. This from the man who portrayed himself as a loyal manager who couldn't look his players in the eye if he left Portsmouth.

On the subject of Harry's friend Mr Storrie, he has today been been charged with tax evasion. At the moment of course Storrie hasn't been proven guilty of the offence, but if he is found guilty in court, he wouldn't be the first dodgy friend linked to Redknapp.

The final report of the Stevens inquiry in June 2007, criticised Redknapp for his ownership of a racehorse given to him by his friend, the agent Willie McKay.

Mr McKay was criticised in the Stevens report for his failure to co-operate with the inquiry. A year later, in 2008, McKay was given a suspended ban by an independent regulatory commission after being found guilty of breaching FA rules concerning the transfer of Benjani - when McKay acted as the agent on behalf of Auxerre and for Portsmouth.

If Mr Storrie is found guilty in court of tax evasion, will it be time for you Harry to examine the character of some of your friends?

[Majiball]

Readies Redknapp has done nothing for young English players in his time at Portsmouth and Southampton. He spurns new and innovative training methods, buys 2nd rate foreign players to bolster the squad, and ignores the youth set up. He has Rio and Lampard in his favour, but Droopy is not responsible for the number of players Wham have coming through now, or the successes of the Southampton youth set up. He is just bitter as another 'evil foreigner' has the England job and he got turned down as he has won eff all for 30 years.

You've got to laugh especially when you consider tottenhams transfer policy over recent years. What will become of the likes of Bostock?

[LeChuck]

'Arry's Arrogant...

And yet within a matter of months, Harry buggered off to join Spurs. This from the man who portrayed himself as a loyal manager who couldn't look his players in the eye if he left Portsmouth.

One of your much poorer efforts AESF, especially as you usually do your homework.

Pompey were close to financial ruin at the time Redknapp left, they were delighted to £5 million compo for him, whilst also replacing him with a manager on a fraction of his wages.

[thenodrog]

One of your much poorer efforts AESF, especially as you usually do your homework.

Pompey were close to financial ruin at the time Redknapp left, they were delighted to £5 million compo for him, whilst also replacing him with a manager on a fraction of his wages.

Quite a bit of that down to Arry as much as the brittlenesss of Guydamaks finances I think. Pompey broke the bank to a. pay him and b. buy him expensive players just to keep him away from the Mags. Odd really cos he never wanted to go north and used the gullible Geordie club as nothing more than a stalking horse.

[Amo]

I don't really have much against Redknapp for the way he left Pompey. Let's remember that the board chose to pay extortionate amounts in contracts and transfer fees to keep him at Fratton Park. No one put a gun to their head, and it was Redknapp's prerogative whether he chose to leave or not. I'd go above Redknapp's head to see where the real problems emanated from.