Harry Redknapp is one of the most popular English football managers of the 21st century. Even though he didn’t achieve much success, he was quite popular. He led Portsmouth to an FA Cup and Tottenham Hotspur to a Champions League berth. Harry Redknapp is also the uncle of the famous West Ham, Chelsea, and England player Frank Lampard. As a matter of fact, Lampard played under Harry Redknapp when he managed West Ham United. In this post, we will find out more about the interesting life and career of Harry Redknapp. Let’s get started.

Harry Redknapp: All You Need To Know

Why was Harry Redknapp sacked by Tottenham?

Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp, whom everyone saw becoming England manager a few weeks ago, was sacked unceremoniously.

Redknapp, 65 at that time, was in negotiations for an extension to his contract with Spurs, which expired at the end of next season. But the club, which had prepared for the possibility of his departure this winter, preferred to turn the page.

A colorful character

“This is not a decision that the management committee and I have taken lightly. It doesn’t take away from Harry’s excellent work,” Tottenham chairman Daniel Levy said.

Redknapp, a colorful figure well-loved by both fans and the media, arrived at Tottenham in 2008 from Portsmouth when the club was at the bottom of the Premier League.

Success with Spurs

In four years, he managed to make Spurs a team that mattered in English football. The Londoners finished third in the Championship in 2010 and reached the Champions League quarter-finals the following year.

Last season, they again took a good fourth place which punched their ticket into the Champions League.

Why wasn’t Harry Redknapp hired as the coach of the English football team?

The name of Fabio Capello’s successor at the helm of the England team could soon be known. Acclaimed across the Channel, Harry Redknapp no ​​ rules out the idea of ​​combining mandates and could take care of the selection of Tottenham. Not sure that the news will delight the London club. Redknapp is ready to combine two positions.

For several days, England has been waiting to know the name of its future coach. A few months before Euro 2012, time was running out. A name emerged however and seemed to be unanimous across the Channel, that of Harry Redknapp. Designated as the ideal successor by several important figures in English football, the Tottenham coach did not however intend to leave the London club before the end of the season. 

Redknapp was well aware of being the favourite, however. “ I would be lying if I told you I wasn’t a popular choice. I know I am. It’s written everywhere, in every newspaper, every day. It’s not an easy choice”, said Redknapp. Determined to continue his work with Tottenham, the Spurs manager had changed his mind about the combination of mandates and seemed ready to manage two teams for the next few months. “ Part-time? I think it’s possible in the short term, why not during the Euro? In the long term, it’s difficult for a man to combine the role of club manager and that of coach, ”explained the British manager. 

On the side of Tottenham, this wasn’t good news. They were Third in the Premier League, 7 points behind Manchester City and 5 behind United, Spurs still had their say in the title race and for a qualification in the Champions League. Not sure that the good results will always be there if Redknapp no ​​longer devoted himself 100% to London training while Arsenal and Chelsea will do everything to get back on the podium. The situation was expected to be very unclear at Tottenham.

Following Fabio Capello’s resignation, Redknapp was the clear favorite to take over. But the English Federation (FA) created a surprise by appointing Roy Hodgson in May.

In the meantime, Tottenham had a terrible slump in the league and lost their place on the podium, after having been close to both Manchester for six months. Having held a ten-point lead over Arsenal in February, Spurs were eventually overtaken by neighbors and rivals in north London.

Redknapp has always ensured that the agitation aroused by his possible appointment as the coach had no adverse consequences for the team. He himself had refused to openly declare himself a candidate and had underlined his attachment to Tottenham.

“I have enjoyed my time with Spurs immensely and I am proud of my accomplishments. I had four fantastic years with the club. I am sad to leave, but I want to thank the players, management and supporters for their support,” Redknapp said in a club statement.

It remained to be seen whether his departure from the London club opened the doors of the selection to him, in the event of failure of this one at the Euro.

Does Harry Redknapp coach the Jordan football team?

Englishman Harry Redknapp, former coach of several English clubs including Tottenham, was appointed coach of Jordan, Prince Ali, president of the Jordanian Football Federation, confirmed in a press release.

“I am very proud to be able to announce the appointment of Harry (Redknapp) as manager of our national team,” Prince Ali said. “He is a world-class coach,” added the leader, an unsuccessful candidate for the presidency of Fifa last month. Redknapp, 69, succeeded Paul Put who resigned in mid-January after a ruling by the Brussels Court of Appeal in a bribery and match-fixing case in 2004. Former coach of English clubs West Ham, Southampton, Portsmouth, Tottenham and most recently Queens Park Rangers, the one who had been expected to take the reins of the England team before Euro-2012 will assume the duties of national coach for the first time in his career. 

Is Harry Redknapp about to release his autobiography?

Former player and current QPR manager Harry Redknapp has just signed a contract with Ebury Press to write his autobiography. If the character is not well known in France, outside of football circles, he is however well known in England. He is notably the uncle of Frank Lampard, the former England and Chelsea star. 

Andrew Goodfellow of Ebury Press said he had acquired worldwide rights to the book, which is actually written by journalist Martin Samuel. Goodfellow said: “ Harry is someone unique and his autobiography is a classic. Funny, honest and insightful, his story is also that of football for the past 50 years .” 

Indeed, before becoming a coach, notably of Portsmouth and Tottenham, Harry Redknapp had a playing career. Although he will not be remembered for his qualities on the pitch, he nevertheless had a rather decent career. 

He had more success as a manager, taking Portsmouth and Tottenham to levels those two clubs had never before. For the year 2009-2010, he even received the award of Premier League Manager of the Year. 

So much for the sporting aspect of a career also studded with scandals, linked to accusations of corruption. Each time cleared, despite the suspicions that continue to hover over dubious transfer cases, we imagine that he must however have several things to say about the functioning of English football. 

The autobiography will cover his entire journey. He will also take advantage of the book to evoke his childhood. Redknapp said: “It has been very pleasant to look back and free myself from the weight of certain things. There is a lot to say. I tried to make the book entertaining and as open as possible”.

Did Harry Redknapp win a reality show?

Former football manager Harry Redknapp made headlines in the UK after winning a survival reality show at the age of 71. The 2010 Premier League manager of the year won the “I’m a Celebrity” contest after spending 23 days in the jungle beating 10 famous rivals.

After passing through Tottenham Hotspur, Portsmouth, and Birmingham, the coach decided to join the adventure and traveled to the Australian jungle to surprise the British television audience with his natural ways of living with the rest and overcoming the tests. All this has led him to become a television star and to be the big surprise of the edition. Among the details that he pocketed viewers for is how he learned to sing rap.

Despite, as he acknowledged after winning, never having seen the program, that was not a problem and he ended up being the great favorite of the public. In addition, the reality show “taught him to laugh again” after assuring him that football was a “lonely business ” and acknowledging that most of his life is “homely and very happy”.

“ My grandchildren will be jumping around the living room now. They will be very excited ”, he expressed with a big smile on his face after knowing that he had achieved the victory. And it is that as a coach he did not achieve great titles, except for an FA Cup in the 2007-2008 season.

However, taking this particular trophy has not been an easy task. Among the tests that he has had to overcome are those of eating things that he is not used to, such as spoons, goat’s eyes, spiders or a bull’s penis. 

In addition, he has had to climb at the age of 71, cover his body with different substances or get things with his eyes covered. And as if that were not enough, he went four days without eating after discovering that the hunger that happens there is real, because before he believed that when the cameras were turned off he could eat.

Did Harry Redknapp almost leave the show?

The future of the contest could have been very different if Redknapp had decided to leave to be with his wife. The former coach received the news that Sandra had become ill due to sepsis, a disease that arises from a sudden immune response to an infection that made him fear “the worst”. Thankfully, Harry Redknapp stayed on the show and ended up winning it.