Harry Redknapps departure at QPR may not only have been the end of a tumultuous period for the London club, but it may have been the end of an era. The end of Harry Redknapp in english football.
There was still a surprise when Redknapp announced his departure from QPR the day after deadline day. Which has also led to many speculations over the real reason why he quit his job. A knee surgery followed by a few weeks away from the training pitch does not sound as a reasonable enough reason to quit a Premier League side. The speculations are not growing smaller also due to the fact that QPR did not sign a single player on the last day of the transfer window. Yes, Mauro Zarate was signed earlier in the window on loan from West Ham, but few believe Harry would be satisfied with this one signing in the fight to keep the R’s in the Premiership.
While interviewed at the Rangers training ground on deadline day Redknapp seemed disappointed that the club was not able to bring anybody in, but stated that they had tried to bring in some players. That is contrary to the fact that the club chairman Tony Fernandes wrote on twitter the same day;”- Bought all the players manager asked for in summer. Good guys. Given the right motivation, tactics and coaching we can achieve much more.” Fernandes also said the would be “no more check book”. He wants the club to be a developing club, not only a buying one.
There is definitive grounds to say that there seemed to be some miscommunications between Redknapp and Fernandes, or even different views on the direction of the club. Also, one of the reasons why there were few surprises on deadline day was because most clubs had known and planned long in advance what kind of players they wanted to bring in. The days of panic buys on the last day of the transfer window might just be over. That is one of the parts of the game Harry knows very well, so that might not be be a good thing for Mr. Redknapp. Harry is known as a “wheeler and dealer”, even if he does not want to be. Now, just maybe the modern game of football is developing a bit to fast for this man. So there is definitely reason to ask if Redknapp resigned due to his perception of lack of ambition at the London club.
It is also worthwhile pointing out that Redknapp probably won’t be missed by QPR supporters. He was not able to keep the club in the Premiership, which was his first task. Not saying that would be easy when you look at the number of overrated mercenaries QPR had on it’s payroll at that time. He was only just able to promote them back into the Premier League, with the highest budget in the Championship by far. QPR finished fourth, securing play off, but with ten teams scoring more goals than them. Bobby Zamora sent the club back into the top tier, with a 90th minute goal against Derby in the playoff finals. Redknapp stated that had the club not gone up, he probably would have quit.
Now, have we seen the last of Harry? At 67, he is surely a veteran manager. He is one of the last “old school” english managers. It does seem like the game is evolving beyond Harrys reach of influence. He surely has not had the success at QPR to make other clubs line up for his services, and it really does seem like this is the end of Harry Redknapp in english football. At least as a manager.
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Main Photo via Dave Thompson
