The people’s pundit
HARRY REDKNAPP has earned a reputation as a miracle worker over the years.
That’s why Birmingham City turned to him to save their Championship skins after sacking Gianfranco Zola.
But like any reputation, Harry’s is an exaggeration.
He’s just a football manager – albeit a very experienced one.
Fortunately, that is exactly what Birmingham need.
My mate Harry won’t have to walk on water to lead the Midlands club to safety. He just needs to keep their heads above the surface.
That is a task he is more than capable of carrying out.
I had a wee chuckle to myself when I heard Harry had returned to management at 70 years old.
It turned into a belly laugh when I discovered his reason – being “bored” at home.
My mate is just not wired-up for the quiet life or twitching his way through morning TV
That’s the Harry I know and love. He’s a football man through-and-through.
I can imagine him twitching his way through Homes Under The Hammer, kicking his heels in the garden, getting in his wife’s way and looking at his watch every 10 minutes.
He has spent his whole life in football – he’s not wired-up for the quiet life!
The fact that he has agreed to receive payment only if he keeps them up says it all.
Harry took the job because he loves the game, not for any other reason.
I have absolutely no doubt he’ll go in there at St Andrew’s and get a response.
And let’s not kid ourselves – that is what’s required.
With three games to go the Blues are in big trouble, and today’s derby clash with Aston Villa is absolutely massive.
But another thing we can’t delude ourselves about is that Birmingham City are in a mess of their own making. At the start of the season hopes were high. In Gary Rowett they had an exciting, up-and-coming manager with a good record.
They started well, and after beating Ipswich Town on December 13 sat seventh, just one place below the play-off spots. Then Rowett was sacked. It seemed a bonkers decision at the time. When Gianfranco Zola arrived to replace him, it began to look downright rotten.
As nice a guy as Zola is – and there are few nicer in football – his record wasn’t great.
The Blues won just two games under the Italian’s stewardship before he was, himself, sacked.Now Harry has been parachuted in, and the job is on. He knows what he has to do, he knows how long he has to do it, and, by now, he will know what he’s got to work with.
Harry is experienced enough to put all of that to use in a sensible way.
He will have his team set up correctly and he will have his players trying their hearts out – that is all he can do.
Three points might be enough on their own, while four should certainly do the job.
If anyone can lead the Blues to safety after their season of folly, it is Harry.
If he does, I’d suggest not keeping him on would be another mistake the club’s board can ill afford to make.