My Sporting Life is The i Paper’s look behind the curtain at what drives sports stars to greatness. This week, we speak to Harry Redknapp, one of English football’s longest-serving managers, about his sadness watching the decline of West Ham and Tottenham, his stint in the I’m a Celebrity jungle, and the England job that never was.
I’ve got to know some of the homeless people where I live
It’s scary isn’t it, sleeping on the street? One boy’s an ex-soldier, just the nicest person you could ever meet, needs a bit of help in his life.
I wouldn’t have picked this England World Cup squad
They’ve got a chance, got some good players, good team. The manager, I hope he picks the right team. We’d all pick different teams. I’d have Cole Palmer in my squad any day. Foden, unlucky not to go, Harry Maguire. We’ve all got different opinions.
The worst bit of I’m a Celeb trials
I just get on with it, they’re not going to make you eat anything that’s gonna kill you. I thought, ‘I hope I’m not really in a coffin with rats running over, am I alive? Or is this what happens when you’re dead?’
Managing who?!
The favourite bit of my career? Playing with Bobby Moore, Geoff Hurst and Martin Peters, who played in the World Cup-winning team. Playing was the best days. Managing was great, Bournemouth for 10 years, West Ham, QPR, Portsmouth, Tottenham. When they said, “Could you manage Jordan?” I thought they meant Katie Price. I said, “No I couldn’t manage her, I’d probably have a heart attack, it would be too much for me.”
I have no regrets about not getting the England job
I’d like to have done it if I’d have been offered it, I think I could have done OK. So many good teams over the years, England should have done a lot better. Since ’66, we should have won tournaments with them players. Gerrard, Lampard, people saying they can’t play together. Why can’t they play together? We didn’t get the best out of great players in my opinion, John Terry, Rio Ferdinand, Wayne Rooney, David Beckham, Ashley Cole, the best left-back in the world at one time. We should have won trophies.
Half these managers don’t know what they’re doing
At Tottenham, I moved Gareth Bale from left-back to left-wing, Luke Modric from left-wing to central. It ain’t rocket science. Half these managers try to be too clever. Either that or they don’t know what they’re doing – and I think a lot of them really don’t know what they’re doing. It’s all this jargon now, low block, high block, transitions. They’ve all learned it reading a book somewhere – that is what’s happening with the game now.
What bothers me most about football
Where are the kids? You look at West Ham, that was a club that everybody came through the youth policy. Homegrown players. They haven’t got anyone there in that team. Tottenham haven’t got one player out the youth team. What’s happening? We should be producing players in this country.
I wonder what Bobby Moore would think looking at West Ham now
I felt sad watching it [West Ham go down]. It’s been a bad year for West Ham. It’s a great club, great tradition. I wonder what Bobby would think seeing the club now. It’s not the club we grew up in. We played at Upton Park, great atmosphere, traditional football ground. It was a tough place for opposing teams, intimidating. Now there’s a running track. The atmosphere creates nothing.
The worst footballer at Soccer Aid
A lot of the celebrities think they could play football, but they can’t. The worst player I ever seen at Soccer Aid was Tommy Fury. He looks great, but Tommy is a boxer, he’d never kicked a football in his life. The ball went out of play and he rolled it in underarm. He didn’t know what a throw-in was. We had GK Barry – she was scared the ball was gonna hit her. She was terrible. Keir Starmer was there [at the training session], I don’t know if he’s a good footballer, I didn’t see him – I shouldn’t say that, in case it stops me getting a knighthood!
I’m never going to get a knighthood or MBE anyway
I’ve never been given nothing like that. I wouldn’t say no but I wouldn’t be offered it. If I’d have got the England job and failed to win anything, I might have got it. If I’d got to the quarters and lost I probably would have got a knighthood. Perhaps if I’d have won Soccer Aid, I’d have got it.
I don’t even know who half the Spurs players are now
It’s been disastrous. De Zerbi ain’t no fool, he’ll start having a big say in the players that come in, he won’t leave it to other people who have really made a mess of it. The recruitment’s been shocking, wasting money on average players. I don’t even know who half the players are.
Who I blame for the mess at Spurs this season
It’s the players on the pitch – they’ve not performed. They’ve not been good enough. They’ve been poor. The training ground’s the best in the world, the stadium’s the best in the world, but the players are not the best. That’s the most important thing, you need good players. And they’ve recruited badly, gone for middle-of-the-road rather than going for top players.
When a top player becomes available, you never see Tottenham getting him. That’s got to change. They’ve got to get some of them out. There’s a lot of players here who don’t deserve to be playing for a good club like Tottenham. Loads that don’t want to be there, get rid of them quick, get them out of the dressing room. A manager comes and goes, another manager comes and goes, and the players are still there.
London Heritage Quarter’s city-wide lion trail, unveiled by Harry Redknapp and Fara Williams MBE to celebrate England’s summer of international football, will run until 10th August 2026. Visit http://www.london-hq.co.uk/for more information.
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