Don't get me wrong. Where possible, I will support English clubs in Europe. However, I can't quite bring myself to support Harry Redknapp who, in my opinion, is the least principled man in football management - and there is no shortage of contenders for that crown.
Why am I so against someone who is so widely popular? Why do I not subscribe to the view that he is the best English coach in the game: a great motivator and tactician who is nailed on to be the next England manager?
I believe there are two distinct ends to the football manager range of principles. The far-left is altruism, whereby a manager runs a club the right way, within its means, for the long-term good of the club and for the good of football itself. The far-right is opportunism, whereby a manager runs a club for short-term success, with little or no thought of the future of the club or the game, and seeks to enhance his own reputation by doing so.
An example of the altruism model is, perhaps, Dario Gradi at Crewe. He has spent a career working away with little glory (although some much-justified repute) with very little means, producing good young talents and selling them on. Sustaining the club at its natural level, never demanding more 'ambition' (ie. funds) from the board to inflate the status of the club to unsustainable heights.
Arsene Wenger is on that side of the spectrum too, although you could argue that his altruism is fueled by arrogance and his own ego - perhaps his dependence on youth is not so much about the future of the game as it is about him trying to prove he can win with kids. It is difficult to explain his stubborness otherwise, when he actually could stand to be more expansive in the transfer market without endangering the club's future. Either way, it does show that altruism is, perhaps, an impossible ideal - the principled can't always overcome the unscrupulous. Their ill-gotten advantages are too great.
Redknapp is at the other end. He represent greed, short-term gain and negligence. This was proven in his movement on the south coast before he ever became the legend that he now is at Spurs. His managerial stock was relatively low when he first joined Portsmouth (he would not have taken the job otherwise), and they enjoyed a little success together which raised his profile. An altruist would have been pleased by that, and would have seen the platform for a long-term relationship. Not Harry: he saw an opportunity. When Southampton dangled a bigger carrot - they had new-found ambition (ie. funds) and they needed a spearhead for that. So Harry went. But he found that the grass wasn't greener. The ambition (ie. funds) wasn't really there at all, and how could Harry ever succeed without a transfer warchest?
Portsmouth, though perhaps feeling slighted by Harry's departure, decided to actually follow his ethos. We must spend big to revive the club, they thought, almost as if Harry himself was having a word in their shell. Perhaps he was, because lo and behold, he was suddenly back there, with the much lusted-after warchest and an opportunity at a club with ambition (ie. funds). Chairmen are vulnerable to promises of glory, and they yearn like the fans do for immediate success. Long-term business plans can get forgotten in the excitement.
Now let me anticipate a defence of Harry here: most of his signings at Pompey were bargains. Sol Campbell was free. Lauren was free. Kanu was free. And so on. The fact is that these players were nothing of the sort - Pompey may not have paid transfer fees for them, but with signing-on fees, agent fees and top-level International player wages they were anything but free. And Harry was bringing them in en masse.
The result? Pompey won the FA Cup. Harry became revered as the greatest living English manager. And the club nearly went bust.
Did Harry hang around as the club was sinking? No. He jumped ship to Spurs. With his personal stock having risen as sharply as Pompey's had fallen, Harry was in prime position to get a prestige job - and Harry and Spurs were a perfect marriage of convenience. The club was languishing at the foot of the table under Juande Ramos, desperate for someone to pull them up from that false position. All Harry needed to prise him away from his evidently-not-particularly-beloved Pompey was proof of ambiton (ie. funds) from the Spurs board. Yes Harry, we will give you money to spend. Sold.
So now Harry has taken Spurs to the Champions League and his stock is through the roof. He is nailed on to be the next England manager according to the press, the fans and, most probably, the FA. He is the greatest living English manager, or at least the greatest English opportunist.
Then, in one fell swoop, reality hits home. That stock of his was so high, would the good times never end? Well they have just ended. They are almost certainly out of the Champions League and, five points off fourth, they are unlikely to qualify for it again for next season. Can a wage bill boasting Rafael Van Der Vaart and co (bargain at £10m if you ignore the signing-on fee, agent fees and wages) be sustained on the relatively meagre income of a UEFA Cup side?
It's not really Harry's fault though. As he pointed out in January, the team were lacking in firepower. Daniel Levy, the chairman, wouldn't let him buy a striker. Poor Harry made sure he blubbed about that on transfer deadline day. God help him having to make do with Van Der Vaart, Peter Crouch, Roman Pavlyuchenko and Jermain Defoe, while Robbie Keane and Giovanni Dos Santos are apparently not required. What can you do if you can't buy Harry? Try working with what you have got. Try developing your younger talent.
Or belittle them. Tell Darren Bent your Missus is a better finisher, and flog him to someone else who can make an England number 9 out of him. Farm out Jamie O'Hara on loan and sign Niko Kranjcar and Steven Pienaar instead. After all, why have a young, talented home-grown, squad player when you can have two imported high-earners for the same position instead? Do the same with Ben Alnwick - sign Stipe Pletikosa and Carlo Cudicini. And Kyle Walker - sign Sebastian Bassong and Younes Kaboul.
That's the way Harry, fill up your 25 and then some. Do it with big-name high-earners. Give yourself every chance of glory. As England boss in waiting, you'll only be there until 2012 anyway, and then someone else can clean up your mess, sell off your stars and make the club viable, and probably far less successful, once more.
The problem is, what will you do when your players aren't good enough for England. The FA can't give you funds to spend, and the ambition of a nation will rest on your shoulders. Good luck with that.... although I'm sure the multi-million pound pay-off when you inevitably fail will offer you some consolation.
Published with Blogger-droid v1.6.5
