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Henry James Redknapp (born 2 March 1947) is an English former football manager and player. He has previously managed AFC Bournemouth, West Ham United,
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
,
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
,
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
, Queens Park Rangers and
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
. In his second spell at Portsmouth, he managed the side that won the 2008 FA Cup. At the conclusion of the 2009–10 season, he guided Tottenham into the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
. Redknapp announced his retirement from football management in 2017. His son, Jamie Redknapp, played under him at Bournemouth and Southampton. He is also uncle to
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielde ...
, who played under him at West Ham United.


Early life

Redknapp was born in Poplar, London, the only child of Henry Joseph William Redknapp (1922–1996) and Violet May Brown (1924–2001). At age 11, while Redknapp was playing for East London Schools football, he was spotted by Dickie Walker, a
Tottenham Hotspur Tottenham Hotspur Football Club, commonly referred to as Tottenham () or Spurs, is a professional association football, football club based in Tottenham, London, England. It competes in the Premier League, the top flight of English footba ...
scout. From there, Redknapp grew in the Tottenham youth ranks playing at Cheshunt, meeting the likes of Bill Nicholson, Dave Mackay and Danny Blanchflower. At age 15, Redknapp moved to West Ham United and played alongside Bobby Moore. In a 2008 interview, Redknapp stated as part of a tribute to Tom Finney, "I was a big
Arsenal An arsenal is a place where arms and ammunition are made, maintained and repaired, stored, or issued, in any combination, whether privately or publicly owned. Arsenal and armoury (British English) or armory (American English) are mostl ...
fan as a kid and I remember seeing him play against Tommy Docherty one night." After being appointed Tottenham manager later in 2008, Redknapp stressed his Tottenham connections as well, stating:
I am a big follower of the history of the game and Tottenham have been a great club over the years. I followed Tottenham, I trained there as an 11-year-old, 12-year-old so I know the history of the club. It is a big, big club.


Club career


West Ham United

During his playing career, Redknapp played as a midfielder. He began his career with Tottenham Hotspur, playing for the youth team until he was 15 years old, when he moved to West Ham United. He first broke into the first team at West Ham in the 1965–66 season, making seven appearances and scoring one goal. He made his debut for West Ham in a 1–1 draw at home to
Sunderland Sunderland () is a port city in Tyne and Wear, England. It is the City of Sunderland's administrative centre and in the Historic counties of England, historic county of County of Durham, Durham. The city is from Newcastle-upon-Tyne and is on t ...
on 23 August 1965. His first goal came in a 4–1 away win over Tottenham on 8 April 1966. Redknapp made his first start of the 1966–67 season, and scored his second goal for the club, on 3 December 1966 in a 3–0 win over
West Bromwich Albion West Bromwich Albion Football Club () is an English professional football club based in West Bromwich, West Midlands, England. They compete in the EFL Championship, the second tier of English football. The club was formed in 1878 and has pl ...
. Redknapp made 12 League appearances scoring once during his second season. During the 1967–68 season, he made 28 League appearances and scored twice, the first in a 4–2 home win over
Burnley Burnley () is a town and the administrative centre of the wider Borough of Burnley in Lancashire, England, with a 2001 population of 73,021. It is north of Manchester and east of Preston, at the confluence of the River Calder and River Br ...
on 21 August 1967 and the second in a 5–1 away win over Sunderland on 6 September 1967. During the 1968–69 season, Redknapp made 42 appearances and scored three times, with 36 appearances coming in the league (along with two goals), three in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
appearances and three in the League Cup (along with one goal). His first league goal of the season came in a 4–0 win over West Brom on 31 August 1968, while the next came in a match in the League Cup against Bolton Wanderers, which West Ham won 4–0. Redknapp received a red card in a 2–0 away defeat at Leeds United on 12 October 1968. He had been booked for fouling
Billy Bremner William John Bremner (9 December 1942 – 7 December 1997) was a Scottish professional footballer and manager. Regarded as one of the game's great midfielders, he combined precision passing skills with tenacious tackling and physical stam ...
and was dismissed by the referee for dissent. His third goal of the season came in a 4–3 win over Queens Park Rangers on 2 November 1968. Redknapp made his first appearance of the 1969–70 season on 9 August 1969 in a 1–0 home win over
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
, while his first goal of the season came in a 3–0 home win over
Sheffield Wednesday Sheffield Wednesday Football Club is a professional association football club based in Sheffield, South Yorkshire, England. The team competes in League One, the third tier of the English football league system. Formed in 1867 as an offshoot ...
on 2 September 1969. Redknapp made 26 total appearances and scored one goal; 23 of his appearances came in the league. During the 1970–71 season, Redknapp made 21 league appearances with one more coming in the League Cup. He then made a further 35 appearances during the 1971–72 season with 22 of them coming in the league. This would be his last season at the club before he moved to AFC Bournemouth for the 1972–73 season. He made 175 total appearances in both league and cup action for West Ham, scoring eight times over seven seasons.


AFC Bournemouth

Redknapp joined Division 3 AFC Bournemouth in 1972 from West Ham. He spent four seasons with the south coast side between 1972 and 1976. In the 1972–73 season, Redknapp made 37 appearances with 34 of them coming in the league scoring once in the league and Bournemouth finished seventh in the league. He made a further 46 appearances scoring five times during the 1973–74 season with 39 appearances in the league. Redknapp made 19 (all league) appearances during the 1974–75 season as Bournemouth were relegated to the Fourth Division. In 1975–76, he only managed nine appearances. At the end of the 1975–76 season, he moved to then Fourth Division side
Brentford Brentford is a suburban town in West London, England and part of the London Borough of Hounslow. It lies at the confluence of the River Brent and the Thames, west of Charing Cross. Its economy has diverse company headquarters buildings wh ...
, where he made one appearance during the 1976–77 season.


Seattle Sounders

In 1976, Redknapp joined
North American Soccer League The North American Soccer League may refer to: *North American Soccer League (1968–1984), a former Division I league *North American Soccer League (2011–2017) The North American Soccer League (NASL) was a professional men's soccer league ba ...
(NASL) club Seattle Sounders as a player-coach. He made 15 appearances during the 1976 season as they reached the playoffs after finishing second in the Pacific Conference, Western Division, before losing to the
Minnesota Kicks The Minnesota Kicks were a professional soccer team that played at Metropolitan Stadium in the Minneapolis suburb of Bloomington, Minnesota, from 1976 to 1981. The team was a member of the now defunct North American Soccer League (NASL). Initiall ...
in the Division Championship. Before returning to Seattle, he appeared briefly for AP Leamington in the Southern League Premier Division. Redknapp then made five appearances during the 1977 season as they finished third in the Pacific Conference, Western Division, before losing out in Soccer Bowl '77 to
Pelé Edson Arantes do Nascimento (; born 23 October 1940), known as Pelé (), is a Brazilian former professional footballer who played as a forward. Widely regarded as one of the greatest players of all time and labelled "the greatest" by FIFA ...
's New York Cosmos, 2–1. Redknapp went on to make three appearances in the 1978 season and just the one in the 1979 season, before joining up with old teammate and 1966 World Cup-winning captain Bobby Moore. In 1980 he was contracted to play with ASL expansion team the Phoenix Fire, but the team folded in pre-season.


International career

Redknapp represented England at youth level when he was 17. He was in the side that won the 1964 UEFA European Under-18 Championship after defeating Spain 4–0 in the final.


Management and coaching career


Seattle Sounders and Oxford City

Redknapp began his management career as player-assistant manager of NASL club Seattle Sounders from 1976 to 1979 under Jimmy Gabriel. During his time with Seattle, Redknapp made 24 appearances, helping the side to second place in the Pacific Conference, Western Division, in his first season as player-coach, and then to third place in the Pacific Conference, Western Division, for the 1977 season, taking them to the final of the Soccer Bowl before losing to Pelé's New York Cosmos. During the 1978 season, Redknapp helped Seattle to a third-place finish in the National Conference, Western Division, before they lost in the first round of the playoffs, again to the New York Cosmos. In his final year in Seattle, he helped them to another third-place finish in the National Conference, Western Division, but this time they failed to qualify for the playoffs. Redknapp then assisted his former West Ham teammate Bobby Moore at
Isthmian League The Isthmian League () is a regional men's football league covering Greater London, East and South East England, featuring mostly semi-professional clubs. Founded in 1905 by amateur clubs in the London area, the league now consists of 82 t ...
club Oxford City.


AFC Bournemouth

At the beginning of the 1982–83 season, Redknapp took up his first major coaching role as assistant manager to David Webb at AFC Bournemouth, six years after leaving the club as a player. Redknapp applied for the manager's job when Webb moved to
Torquay United Torquay United Football Club is a professional football club based in Torquay, Devon, England. The team currently compete in the , the fifth tier of English football. They have played their home matches at Plainmoor since 1921 and are nickna ...
partway through that season, but was overlooked in favour of Don Megson. Megson was sacked in late 1983 as Bournemouth were in the Third Division relegation places, and Redknapp was hired as his replacement in October 1983. In his first season at the helm, Redknapp helped Bournemouth avoid relegation to the Fourth Division. Bournemouth also caused a shock in the
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
when they defeated holders
Manchester United Manchester () is a city in Greater Manchester, England. It had a population of 552,000 in 2021. It is bordered by the Cheshire Plain to the south, the Pennines to the north and east, and the neighbouring city of Salford to the west. The ...
2–0 in the third round. He led Bournemouth to victory in the inaugural
Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Lea ...
by beating Hull City in the
final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...
. Bournemouth won the Third Division title in 1987 with 97 points, breaking the club's record for the most points accumulated in a season. After two years at this level, Bournemouth were relegated at the end of their third season. Bournemouth were in 13th position on 3 March, but injuries which depleted the squad, combined with a catastrophic loss of form, meant they won only one more match that season, and were relegated on 5 May after a 1–0 defeat at Dean Court against Leeds United.


Road accident

In June 1990, while in Italy to watch the
1990 FIFA World Cup The 1990 FIFA World Cup was the 14th FIFA World Cup, a quadrennial football tournament for men's senior national teams. It was held from 8 June to 8 July 1990 in Italy, the second country to host the event for a second time (the first being ...
, Redknapp was involved in a road accident along with Michael Sinclair, the chairman of York City, Fred Whitehouse, the chairman of Aston Villa, and Bournemouth's managing director,
Brian Tiler Brian Tiler (15 March 1943 – 30 June 1990) was an English footballer. Tiler, a central defender, began his career at his home town club Rotherham United where he made his debut in 1962–63. He spent seven seasons at Millmoor, playing more tha ...
. Travelling through Latina, south of
Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus ( legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...
, at night, their chauffeur-driven minibus was in a head-on collision with a car containing three Italian soldiers. The minibus was flipped onto its roof and skidded 50 yards along the road. Sitting in the seat where Redknapp had usually sat during the trip, Tiler was killed, as were the three occupants of the other vehicle. Redknapp was doused in petrol and pulled clear of the accident by Sinclair. Redknapp suffered a fractured skull, a broken nose, cracked ribs and a gash in his left leg. Ambulance services arriving at the scene believed him dead and placed a blanket over his head. Unconscious for two days, Redknapp was flown home two weeks later in a special air ambulance paid for by Bournemouth. Though he made a full recovery, apart from losing his sense of smell and gaining a facial tic, he eventually quit Bournemouth at the end of the 1991–92 season.


West Ham United

For the next season, Redknapp was appointed assistant manager to Billy Bonds at West Ham, another of his former clubs. However, in August 1994, the club
board of directors A board of directors (commonly referred simply as the board) is an executive committee that jointly supervises the activities of an organization, which can be either a for-profit or a nonprofit organization such as a business, nonprofit orga ...
opted to turn control of the team over to Redknapp and move Bonds into an administrative role. Bonds eventually resigned outright from the club, leaving Redknapp solely in charge. Just months before being promoted to the manager's seat at Upton Park, Redknapp was linked with the managerial vacancy at
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
after the departure of previous manager Ian Branfoot, but the job went to Alan Ball instead. Redknapp helped to establish the club in the FA Premier League and introduced a number of young players from the club's academy, including Michael Carrick, Joe Cole,
Rio Ferdinand Rio Gavin Ferdinand (born 7 November 1978) is an English former professional footballer who played as a centre-back, and is now a television pundit for BT Sport. He played 81 times for the England national team between 1997 and 2011, and w ...
and
Frank Lampard Frank James Lampard (born 20 June 1978) is an English professional football manager and former player who is the manager of club Everton. He is widely regarded as one of Chelsea’s greatest ever players, and one of the greatest midfielde ...
. The signings of Stuart Pearce, Paolo Di Canio and
Trevor Sinclair Trevor Lloyd Sinclair (born 2 March 1973) is an English football coach, professional footballer and pundit. As a player, he was winger who notably played in the Premier League for Queens Park Rangers, West Ham United and Manchester City. He a ...
helped them re-establish their careers having been signed by Redknapp. He also made mistakes in the transfer market, particularly with overseas players, including
Marco Boogers Marco Boogers (born 12 January 1967) is a Dutch former professional footballer who played as a forward. Boogers spent almost all of his career in the Netherlands, apart from an ill-fated spell at English club West Ham United. He later worked a ...
,
Florin Raducioiu The Florentine florin was a gold coin struck from 1252 to 1533 with no significant change in its design or metal content standard during that time. It had 54 grains (3.499 grams, 0.113 troy ounce) of nominally pure or 'fine' gold with a purcha ...
and Paulo Futre. Nevertheless, West Ham finished in eighth position in 1998 and fifth in 1999, which saw them qualify for the UEFA Intertoto Cup in what was their second-best ever season in the top division. In the 1999–2000 season, West Ham won the Intertoto Cup and qualified for the UEFA Cup but failed to match their performances in the
Premier League The Premier League (legal name: The Football Association Premier League Limited) is the highest level of the men's English football league system. Contested by 20 clubs, it operates on a system of promotion and relegation with the English Fo ...
. Redknapp left West Ham on 9 May 2001, one match before the end of the 2000–01 season. For some time, it was unconfirmed whether he resigned or was sacked but Redknapp shed new light on the true circumstances in October 2007:


Portsmouth

Redknapp became director of football for
Portsmouth Portsmouth ( ) is a port and city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. The city of Portsmouth has been a unitary authority since 1 April 1997 and is administered by Portsmouth City Council. Portsmouth is the most d ...
in 2001, and when the Leicester City manager's job became vacant with the dismissal of Peter Taylor that autumn, Redknapp was widely tipped to take over at the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...
club, but stayed loyal to ''Pompey'', with the Leicester job going to Dave Bassett. Ironically, it was reported in the national media that had Redknapp taken over, Bassett would have been on his coaching staff at the
East Midlands The East Midlands is one of nine official regions of England at the first level of ITL for statistical purposes. It comprises the eastern half of the area traditionally known as the Midlands. It consists of Leicestershire, Derbyshire, L ...
club. However, after the club's poor form, he replaced manager Graham Rix in March 2002. Redknapp managed the club to the
Division One The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First Div ...
title in the 2002–03 season, gaining promotion to the Premier League, replacing his former club West Ham. Redknapp kept Portsmouth in the Premier League in the 2003–04 season, but had a dispute with Portsmouth owner Milan Mandarić over his assistant Jim Smith. Redknapp had another disagreement with Mandarić over the appointment of Velimir Zajec as director of football and resigned as manager in November 2004.


Southampton

A few weeks after his departure at Portsmouth, Redknapp became manager of Southampton, a move which infuriated Portsmouth's supporters, as the two clubs are fierce local rivals. Some fans even bore T-shirts which referred to Redknapp as "Scummer" and "Judas" and called for him to "Rot in Hell". Redknapp was tasked with keeping Southampton in the Premier League – a similar task to the one Redknapp was facing with Portsmouth, and a familiar one at the club over the previous 15 years, which he would have faced had he accepted the offer to take over a decade earlier – but ultimately was unable to achieve this, ending Southampton's 27-year spell in the top flight. Redknapp remained in charge for the 2005–06 Championship season but was unable to establish consistency needed to make Southampton promotion contenders. Redknapp was also unhappy with chairman
Rupert Lowe Rupert James Graham Lowe (born 31 October 1957) is a British politician, farmer and businessman, who served as a the Brexit Party Member of the European Parliament (MEP) in the West Midlands constituency from 2019 to 2020. Lowe was chairman ...
's appointment of
Clive Woodward Sir Clive Ronald Woodward (born 6 January 1956) is an English former rugby union player and coach. He was coach of the team from 1997 to 2004, managing them to victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup. He also coached the 2005 British & Irish Lio ...
to the club's coaching staff. After being repeatedly linked with a return to Portsmouth after they sacked Alain Perrin, Redknapp resigned as Southampton's manager in early December 2005. Lowe quoted Redknapp as referring to Portsmouth as his "spiritual home".


Return to Portsmouth

Redknapp returned to Portsmouth on 7 December 2005 with the club threatened by relegation to the Championship, although not in the relegation zone. At first it looked like Redknapp would be heading for a second successive relegation, but a fine run of form at the end of the season, aided by the takeover of Portsmouth by Alexandre Gaydamak (which provided Redknapp with more money), ensured Portsmouth's survival. In the following season, Redknapp led Portsmouth to a ninth-placed finish which was the club's highest league finish since the 1950s. In October 2007, Redknapp signed a new contract at Portsmouth lasting until 2011. In January 2008, it emerged through the media that Redknapp was offered the vacant manager's job at
Newcastle United Newcastle United Football Club is an English professional football club, based in Newcastle upon Tyne, that plays in the Premier League – the top flight of English football. The club was founded in 1892 by the merger of Newcastle East En ...
following the sacking of Sam Allardyce. Redknapp had apparently declined the job, stating, "I have a job to do to take this club forward and to walk away would not have been the right thing to do." It was later stated by Newcastle chairman Christopher Mort that Redknapp "was interviewed for the job but he was only one of a number of people we were speaking to at that time", and at the time of Redknapp's interview the club had already been in secret talks with the eventual appointee, Kevin Keegan, for a week. On 8 March 2008, Redknapp led Portsmouth to an
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
quarter-final victory over Manchester United, completing a
hat-trick A hat-trick or hat trick is the achievement of a generally positive feat three times in a match, or another achievement based on the number three. Origin The term first appeared in 1858 in cricket, to describe H. H. Stephenson taking three w ...
of FA Cup wins over Manchester United, and followed this with a semi-final victory over West Bromwich Albion at
Wembley Stadium Wembley Stadium (branded as Wembley Stadium connected by EE for sponsorship reasons) is a football stadium in Wembley, London. It opened in 2007 on the site of the Wembley Stadium (1923), original Wembley Stadium, which was demolished from 200 ...
on 5 April. He guided the club to their first FA Cup Final in 69 years, where they defeated
Cardiff City Cardiff City Football Club ( cy, Clwb Pêl-droed Dinas Caerdydd) is a professional association football club based in Cardiff, Wales. It competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1899 as R ...
on 17 May 2008 to win The FA Cup 1–0, thanks to a goal scored by
Nwankwo Kanu Nwankwo Kanu (born 1 August 1976) is a Nigerian former professional footballer who played as a forward. He was a member of the Nigeria national team, and played for Nigerian team Iwuanyanwu Nationale, Dutch side Ajax, Inter Milan of Italy, ...
. He is the last English manager to win a major English trophy. Redknapp returned to Portsmouth to receive the Freedom of the City in a ceremony on 28 October 2008. As this event took place two days after his departure for Tottenham Hotspur, he received a mixed reception from the Portsmouth fans, despite having led the club to a long-awaited trophy in the 2008 FA Cup.


Tottenham Hotspur

In October 2008, following the sacking of Juande Ramos by Tottenham Hotspur, the club announced Redknapp had agreed to take over as the new manager at Spurs, the club where he began his playing career. Tottenham paid £5 million in compensation to Portsmouth for releasing Redknapp. Spurs had secured only two points from the first eight matches of the season prior to Redknapp's arrival and lay bottom of the Premier League table, but in his first two weeks in charge, he took the club out of the relegation zone, winning 10 out of the 12 points available after wins against Bolton Wanderers,
Liverpool Liverpool is a City status in the United Kingdom, city and metropolitan borough in Merseyside, England. With a population of in 2019, it is the List of English districts by population, 10th largest English district by population and its E ...
and Manchester City, as well as a remarkable 4–4 draw against North London rivals Arsenal. In January 2009, Redknapp signed five new players in order to add quality and much-needed depth to his squad. He brought back Jermain Defoe from his old club Portsmouth for £15.75 million and Honduran midfielder Wilson Palacios from
Wigan Athletic Wigan Athletic Football Club () is an English professional association football club based in Wigan, Greater Manchester, England. The team competes in the Championship, the second tier of the English football league system. Founded in 1932, ...
for £12 million. Long-serving Chelsea goalkeeper Carlo Cudicini also joined on a free transfer; former Spurs player
Pascal Chimbonda Pascal Chimbonda (born 21 February 1979) is a French former professional footballer who played as a right-back. Chimbonda began his professional career in 1998 with Le Havre, where he featured over 100 times combined for the club's first team an ...
returned to
White Hart Lane White Hart Lane was a football stadium in Tottenham, North London and the home of Tottenham Hotspur Football Club from 1899 to 2017. Its capacity varied over the years; when changed to all-seater it had a capacity of 36,284 before demolition. ...
from Sunderland for a fee in the region of £3 million; and Robbie Keane, who like Chimbonda and Defoe had only left Spurs within the last year, re-joined after an unsuccessful spell at Liverpool for an initial fee of £12 million. In the second half of the season, Spurs gradually moved up the league table after a significant improvement in form. In March 2009, Redknapp led Spurs to the League Cup final, which they lost on penalties to Manchester United. Spurs eventually finished in eighth position with 51 points, narrowly missing out on a
UEFA Europa League The UEFA Europa League (abbreviated as UEL, or sometimes, UEFA EL), formerly the UEFA Cup, is an annual football club competition organised since 1971 by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) for eligible European football clubs. ...
place. Redknapp made significant alterations to the squad in the summer of 2009. Striker Darren Bent was sold to Sunderland for an initial fee of £10 million, while midfielder Didier Zokora departed for Sevilla for £7.75 million. In came England international striker Peter Crouch and Croatia midfielder
Niko Kranjčar Niko Kranjčar (; born 13 August 1984) is a Croatian former professional footballer. He primarily played as an attacking midfielder, but could also operate as a winger or second striker. As of 5 May 2021, he works as an assistant to Josip Šimu ...
from Portsmouth for £9 million and £2 million respectively along with defender Sébastien Bassong from Newcastle United for £8 million. In 2009–10, his first full campaign with the club, Redknapp guided Spurs to one of their most successful Premier League campaigns to date. Beginning with four consecutive wins, Spurs went on to finish in fourth place with 70 points, therefore gaining the chance to qualify for the
UEFA Champions League The UEFA Champions League (abbreviated as UCL, or sometimes, UEFA CL) is an annual club football competition organised by the Union of European Football Associations (UEFA) and contested by top-division European clubs, deciding the competi ...
via a play-off. As a result of his efforts, he won the Premier League Manager of the Year award, only the second manager to do so in a season when his side did not win the title. On 13 July 2010, it was confirmed Spurs had extended Redknapp's contract until the end of the 2013 season. On 25 August 2010, Spurs confirmed their position in the Champions League group stage by overturning a first-leg deficit to defeat Swiss team Young Boys at White Hart Lane in the Champions League play-off. After a surprising run to the quarter-finals, Spurs were eliminated in April 2011 after a 5–0 aggregate defeat to
Real Madrid Real Madrid Club de Fútbol (, meaning ''Royal Madrid Football Club''), commonly referred to as Real Madrid, is a Spanish professional football club based in Madrid. Founded in 1902 as Madrid Football Club, the club has traditionally wor ...
. Spurs ended the Premier League season in fifth position with 62 points. Although not enough to secure a second year of Champions League football, this finish instead meant that Redknapp's Spurs qualified for the Europa League. In the 2011–12 season, Redknapp signed 40-year-old goalkeeper
Brad Friedel Bradley Howard Friedel (born May 18, 1971) is an American professional soccer coach and former player who played as a goalkeeper. Friedel played 84 games for the United States national team between 1992 and 2005, and represented his country ...
after his contract expired with Aston Villa. He also made a season-long loan move for Manchester City striker Emmanuel Adebayor. On transfer deadline day, he signed English midfielder Scott Parker for an undisclosed fee from West Ham. Redknapp then went on to win the Premier League Manager of the Month award for September and November. Despite leading Tottenham to their second fourth-placed finish in three years and missing out on UEFA Champions League qualification only due to Chelsea winning the competition, Redknapp was sacked by Tottenham on 13 June 2012, after reportedly failing to agree terms on a new contract.


Queens Park Rangers

On 24 November 2012, Redknapp, who had been working at former club Bournemouth in an advisory role, was appointed as manager of Queens Park Rangers, taking over from Mark Hughes, whose contract was terminated the previous day. QPR were bottom with only four points from 12 matches. His first match in charge of QPR came on 27 November, a 0–0 draw away to Sunderland. Redknapp earned his first win as QPR manager, and the club's first Premier League victory of the 2012–13 season, on 15 December after defeating Fulham 2–1 at Loftus Road. On 2 January 2013, Redknapp led QPR to a 1–0 victory away from home against reigning European champions Chelsea. This was QPR's first away win in the Premier League since November 2011 and their first top flight victory at Stamford Bridge since March 1979. His first match against Tottenham since being sacked by the North London club came on 12 January 2013, with Redknapp leading QPR to a 0–0 draw at Loftus Road. On 28 April 2013, after a 0–0 draw against fellow relegation rivals
Reading Reading is the process of taking in the sense or meaning of letters, symbols, etc., especially by sight or touch. For educators and researchers, reading is a multifaceted process involving such areas as word recognition, orthography (spell ...
, and with three matches of the season to play, QPR were relegated from the Premier League to the Championship after two seasons in the top flight. After a single season in the Championship, Redknapp managed QPR to a 1–0 victory in the Play-off Final against Derby County on 24 May 2014 at Wembley Stadium, returning the club to the Premier League. On 3 February 2015, Redknapp resigned as manager of QPR. With an imminent knee operation, Redknapp said that he could not give 100% to the job and that it would be better for someone else to take over as manager.
Les Ferdinand Leslie Ferdinand MBE (born 8 December 1966) is an English football coach, former professional footballer and television pundit, who is currently the director of football at Queens Park Rangers. A striker, his playing career included notable sp ...
and Chris Ramsey were placed in temporary charge. In April 2015, Redknapp expanded on his reasons for leaving QPR, stating he had also left the club because he "no longer knew who was on my side". At his time of departure, QPR were in second-last position in the Premier League with 19 points from 23 matches and a record zero points from away matches.


Jordan

In March 2016, Redknapp was appointed manager of Jordan national team alongside his former assistant, Kevin Bond, for the country's next two qualifying matches for the
2018 FIFA World Cup The 2018 FIFA World Cup was the 21st FIFA World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's national football teams organized by FIFA. It took place in Russia from 14 June to 15 July 2018, after the country was awarded the hosting righ ...
. Redknapp's first match as Jordan manager, on 24 March, ended in an 8–0 win over
Bangladesh Bangladesh (}, ), officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh, is a country in South Asia. It is the eighth-most populous country in the world, with a population exceeding 165 million people in an area of . Bangladesh is among the mo ...
. This was followed by a 5–1 defeat to
Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands. With an area of , Australia is the largest country by ...
.


Birmingham City and retirement

On 18 April 2017, Redknapp was announced as the manager of
Birmingham City Birmingham City Football Club is a professional football club based in Birmingham, England. Formed in 1875 as Small Heath Alliance, it was renamed Small Heath in 1888, Birmingham in 1905, and Birmingham City in 1943. Since 2011, the first te ...
until the end of the season after the resignation of Gianfranco Zola. His first match in charge was a 1–0 loss to local rivals Aston Villa. The final two matches of the season saw Redknapp's team beat Huddersfield Town 2–0, followed by a 1–0 away win at
Bristol City Bristol City Football Club is a professional football club based in Bristol, England, which compete in the , the second tier of English football. They have played their home games at Ashton Gate since moving from St John's Lane in 1904. The ...
, allowing Birmingham to escape any threat of relegation. In May 2017, Redknapp signed a one-year deal to continue as Birmingham manager for another season. Kevin Bond was reunited with Redknapp as assistant manager, replacing the outgoing Steve Cotterill. His first signings were
David Stockdale David Adam Stockdale (born 20 September 1985) is an English professional footballer who plays as a goalkeeper for York City. Stockdale started his career with the Huddersfield Town youth system before joining York City's youth system in 2000, w ...
, Marc Roberts and
Cheikh N'Doye Cheikh Tidiane N'Doye (born 29 March 1986) is a Senegalese professional footballer who plays as a midfielder for club Red Star. He made 30 appearances scoring twice for the Senegal national team between 2014 and 2019. Club career Born in Ru ...
. On 16 September 2017, after five straight league defeats that left the team second bottom in the table, a statement from Birmingham City said the club were "left with no choice but to terminate the contract of the manager with immediate effect". After his sacking, Redknapp said that there was "every chance" his role as Birmingham manager would be his last managerial job. A month later, Redknapp confirmed his retirement from management after 34 years in the dugout.


Other roles

In January 2016, Redknapp made a return to football as a director at Wimborne Town. In March 2016, he was named as a football advisor for Derby County until the end of the 2015–16 season. On 29 April 2016, it was announced that Redknapp was to join Australian side
Central Coast Mariners Central Coast Mariners Football Club is an Australian professional soccer club based in Gosford, on the Central Coast of New South Wales. It competes in the A-League Men, under licence from the Australian Professional Leagues (APL). The ...
as a football consultant. In October 2017, following his departure from Birmingham City, Redknapp briefly joined League Two club Yeovil Town in a voluntary advisory role to manager
Darren Way Darren Way (born 21 November 1979) is an English professional football manager and former player who is currently the assistant manager at Fleetwood Town. A hard tackling centre-midfielder as a player, Way started his career at Norwich City as ...
. On 8 February 2021, Redknapp returned to Bournemouth to advise caretaker manager
Jonathan Woodgate Jonathan Simon Woodgate (born 22 January 1980) is an English football manager and former player who is currently the First Team Coach at EFL Championship club, Middlesbrough. Woodgate began his career at Middlesbrough but moved to Leeds Uni ...
, though was not officially involved. On 9 July 2021, Redknapp made a small cameo appearance in the popular British soap opera,
East Enders ''EastEnders'' is a Television in the United Kingdom, British soap opera created by Julia Smith (producer), Julia Smith and Tony Holland which has been broadcast on BBC One since February 1985. Set in the fictional borough of Walford in the Ea ...
.


Corruption allegations and arrest

On 19 September 2006, Redknapp was shown on camera by BBC '' Panorama'' taking part in what appeared to be an interest in approaching a player in a manner forbidden by FA rules. Redknapp denied that his conversation about then- Blackburn Rovers player Andy Todd with the football agent Peter Harrison amounted to " tapping up" or improperly approaching the player. Redknapp referred to Todd as a "tough bastard" during the conversation and suggested he would be interested in signing the player on a full-time basis if he was available. Redknapp told the BBC he has never taken a bung and had given Kevin Bond no reason to think otherwise and that he considers himself to be "one million percent innocent". In the final report of the Stevens inquiry, published in June 2007, the only criticism of Redknapp concerned his ownership of a racehorse named Double Fantasy thought to have been given to him by the agent Willie McKay, which has aroused some suspicion. Redknapp told the inquiry it was possible he did own the horse but insisted he had not made any money out of it because the horse was a failure and never won a race. On 28 November 2007, Redknapp, along with Portsmouth's managing director Peter Storrie, former Portsmouth chairman Milan Mandarić, agent Willie McKay and footballer
Amdy Faye Amdy Moustapha Faye (born 12 March 1977) is a Senegalese former professional footballer who played as a defensive midfielder and could also play as a centre back. Faye began his career with Monégasque club AS Monaco, French clubs ES Fréjus a ...
had been arrested by
City of London Police The City of London Police is the territorial police force responsible for law enforcement within the City of London, including the Middle and Inner Temples. The force responsible for law enforcement within the remainder of the London region, o ...
on suspicion of conspiracy to defraud and false accounting. Redknapp was later released without charge and announced his intention to sue the police because of his arrest, considering it as the reason for the failure of the FA to consider him for manager of the England national team after the sacking of Steve McClaren. The High Court ruled in May 2008 that the raid by City of London Police officers, on Redknapp's home in
Poole Poole () is a large coastal town and seaport in Dorset, on the south coast of England. The town is east of Dorchester and adjoins Bournemouth to the east. Since 1 April 2019, the local authority is Bournemouth, Christchurch and Poole Counc ...
, was illegal and quashed the search warrants, calling their actions "wholly unacceptable" and ordering them to pay £1,000 damages to Redknapp as well as part of his legal costs. Following further investigation by HM Revenue & Customs as part of the corruption enquiry, in January 2010, Redknapp was charged with two counts of cheating the public revenue, along with Milan Mandarić. The charge related to a £189,000 payment from Mandarić to Redknapp via a bank account in
Monaco Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
. The trial began at Southwark Crown Court on 23 January 2012. Part of Redknapp's defence was that he was both dyscalculic and
dyslexic Dyslexia, also known until the 1960s as word blindness, is a disorder characterized by reading below the expected level for one's age. Different people are affected to different degrees. Problems may include difficulties in spelling words, r ...
and therefore had difficulty in dealing with transfer contracts. He was found not guilty on both counts on 8 February 2012.


England manager's job

Redknapp's acquittal came just hours before the resignation of England national team head coach
Fabio Capello Fabio Capello (; born 18 June 1946) is an Italian former professional football manager and player. As a player, Capello represented SPAL 1907, Roma, Milan and Juventus. He played as a midfielder and won several trophies during his career whi ...
. Two days later, he refused to rule himself out of the running for the job, but said it would be very difficult to combine the role with his then position as Tottenham manager. A few weeks later, the FA appointed
Roy Hodgson Roy Hodgson (born 9 August 1947) is a former English football manager and player. He managed 22 different teams in eight countries, beginning in Sweden with Halmstads BK in the 1976 season. He later guided the Switzerland national team to ...
as manager.


Personal life

Redknapp and his wife Sandra have two sons:
Jamie Jamie is a unisex name. It is a diminutive form of James or, more rarely, other names. It is also given as a name in its own right. People Female * Jamie Anne Allman (born 1977), American actress * Jamie Babbit (born 1970), American film and t ...
, a football pundit and former professional footballer; and Mark, a model. Jamie made his professional debut under his father at Bournemouth in 1990 before moving on to Liverpool and later Tottenham Hotspur and lastly Southampton before retiring in 2005. Harry's grandson via his son Mark, also called Harry Redknapp, signed for Bournemouth during May 2014. His nephew is former England midfielder Frank Lampard, Jr. whose parents are Sandra's late twin sister, Patricia, and Harry's former teammate and managerial assistant Frank Lampard, Sr. Redknapp and his wife are the fundraising presidents for the
Southampton Southampton () is a port city in the ceremonial county of Hampshire in southern England. It is located approximately south-west of London and west of Portsmouth. The city forms part of the South Hampshire built-up area, which also covers Po ...
-based charity Leukaemia Busters, a role they took over in 2004 previously held by former cricketer David Gower and his wife Thorunn. Redknapp and his wife also own a property development company, Pierfront Developments. In August 2011, it was announced that a housing development their company was building in Southsea, Hampshire, would go ahead without affordable housing. The £600,000 they offered to the council to build affordable homes elsewhere, was accepted by the council. Opponents of the scheme estimated this will only be enough to build eight homes instead of the 28 that council policy says they should be building in this development. In October 2019, planning permission was granted for the company to convert a homeless shelter in Bournemouth into flats, despite pleas from residents who told planning authorities that the development would exacerbate homelessness and put their welfare at risk. In January 2011, Redknapp was mugged while attending a football match in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
. On 2 November 2011, he had an operation to unblock
coronary arteries The coronary arteries are the arterial blood vessels of coronary circulation, which transport oxygenated blood to the heart muscle. The heart requires a continuous supply of oxygen to function and survive, much like any other tissue or organ ...
. Redknapp wrote for the online gambling company, Betfair, as its "
Euro 2012 The 2012 UEFA European Football Championship, commonly referred to as UEFA Euro 2012 or simply Euro 2012, was the 14th European Championship for men's national football teams organised by UEFA. The final tournament, held between 8 June and 1 ...
columnist". In 1998 Redknapp published his autobiography, ''Harry Redknapp: My Autobiography''. It was co-written with Derek McGovern. His second autobiography, ''Always Managing'', was published in 2013. It was
ghostwritten ''Ghostwritten'' is the first novel published by English author David Mitchell. Published in 1999, it won the John Llewellyn Rhys Prize and was widely acclaimed. The story takes place mainly around East Asia, but also moves through Russia, B ...
by journalist Martin Samuel. Redknapp was a contestant in the 2018 series of ''I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here!'' He subsequently won the show, and was crowned 'King of the Jungle'.


Career statistics


Player


Manager


Honours


Player

England U18 * UEFA European Under-18 Championship: 1964


Manager

AFC Bournemouth *
Associate Members' Cup The English Football League Trophy, known for sponsorship purposes as the Papa Johns Trophy after restaurant chain Papa John's Pizza, is an annual English association football knockout competition open to all clubs in EFL League One and EFL Lea ...
: 1983–84 West Ham United * UEFA Intertoto Cup:
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
Portsmouth *
Football League First Division The Football League First Division was a division of the Football League in England from 1888 until 2004. It was the top division in the English football league system from the season 1888–89 until 1991–92, a century in which the First ...
: 2002–03 *
FA Cup The Football Association Challenge Cup, more commonly known as the FA Cup, is an annual knockout football competition in men's domestic English football. First played during the 1871–72 season, it is the oldest national football compet ...
: 2007–08 Tottenham Hotspur *
Football League Cup The EFL Cup (referred to historically, and colloquially, as the League Cup), currently known as the Carabao Cup for sponsorship reasons, is an annual knockout competition and major trophy in men's domestic football in England. Organised by t ...
runner-up: 2008–09 Queens Park Rangers *
Football League Championship play-offs The English Football League Championship play-offs are a series of play-off matches contested by the association football teams finishing from third to sixth in the EFL Championship table and are part of the English Football League play-offs. , ...
:
2014 File:2014 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: Stocking up supplies and personal protective equipment (PPE) for the Western African Ebola virus epidemic; Citizens examining the ruins after the Chibok schoolgirls kidnapping; Bundles of wa ...
Individual * Premier League Manager of the Season: 2009–10 * Premier League Manager of the Month: November 1998, April 2004, October 2004, March 2005, April 2006, August 2009, September 2011, November 2011


Bibliography


Autobiography

*''Harry Redknapp: My Autobiography'' (CollinsWillow, 1998) *''Always Managing: My Autobiography'' (Ebury Press, 2013) *''A Man Walks On To a Pitch: Stories from a Life in Football'' (Ebury Press, 2014) *''It Shouldn't Happen to a Manager'' (Ebury Press, 2016)


References


External links

*
Harry Redknapp
West Ham United statistics
Harry Hotspur – The Start of a revolution
Shelfside Spurs {{DEFAULTSORT:Redknapp, Harry 1947 births Living people Footballers from Poplar, London English footballers England youth international footballers Association football midfielders Tottenham Hotspur F.C. players West Ham United F.C. players AFC Bournemouth players Brentford F.C. players Seattle Sounders (1974–1983) players Leamington F.C. players English Football League players North American Soccer League (1968–1984) players English expatriate footballers English expatriate sportspeople in the United States Expatriate soccer players in the United States English football managers West Ham United F.C. managers AFC Bournemouth managers Portsmouth F.C. managers Southampton F.C. managers Tottenham Hotspur F.C. managers Queens Park Rangers F.C. managers Jordan national football team managers Derby County F.C. non-playing staff Birmingham City F.C. managers Yeovil Town F.C. non-playing staff AFC Bournemouth non-playing staff English Football League managers Premier League managers English expatriate football managers English expatriate sportspeople in Jordan Expatriate football managers in Jordan I'm a Celebrity...Get Me Out of Here! (British TV series) winners English autobiographers English businesspeople English businesspeople in property British real estate businesspeople People with dyslexia Harry Phoenix Fire (soccer) players West Ham United F.C. non-playing staff FA Cup winning managers Association football coaches