Cry God For Harry, England and St. George …

Harry Redknapp exited Southwark Crown Court yesterday afternoon a free man.  Charged with two counts of tax evasion, along with Sheffield Wednesday owner Milan Mandaric during their time at Portsmouth, the two were found not guilty in the case brought by Her Majesty’s Revenue and Customs at an alleged cost of £8 million to the tax payer over a period of five years.  Meanwhile, a few hours later, at Wembley, England manager Fabio Capello was being driven away from a meeting with the FA Board about the removal of the captaincy of the national side from John Terry … a meeting that saw the manager resign his position.

In a day of fluctuating fortunes, Harry was suddenly the firm favourite to take over from Capello, whereas, earlier in the day he looked like he might be public enemy number one.  And how ironic that on a day when cleared of charges of defrauding the revenue over what was reputed to be a “bung”, it ended with Capello getting an estimated £1.5 million to leave his post.  Bung … Golden Handshake … it is a fine line between the two isn’t it ?

But the real annoyance over this matter as far as I am concerned is around the whole root of Capello’s outrage at the FA’s decision to make Terry hand back the armband.

John Terry was involved in an incident in the Chelsea game at QPR on 23rd October 2011, when he collided with QPR goalkeeper Paddy Kenny and an exchange of words with Anton Ferdinand ended with allegations of racist comments being made to the former West Ham defender.

Firstly, I have no time for Terry.  I find his attitude on the football pitch boorish and that of a bully.  He gives me the impression that he feels he is able to get away with a large number of incidents, maybe perhaps because he was England captain, although he has always been a bit like that in my opinion.  And he has got away with things, but having been deprived of the England captaincy once before when he slept with the mother of a team-mate’s child, before regaining the position.

Secondly, he plays for Chelsea, whose owner floods the club’s bank balance with his own cash to fund their success with no limits.  Before Abramovich arrived Chelsea were a club with few prospects and then they won the title for the first time in years.

And following the decision from the Crown Prosecution Service to take a case against the Chelsea and England skipper for a racially aggravated public order offence, it was his club Chelsea who appealed to the court to defer the hearing until after the European Championships in the summer at the initial hearing in February.

This left the FA with a dilemma.  Did they allow Terry to continue in his role and if everything had gone well, be the one to lift the trophy in July, only to be charged with this offence a few days later ?  While everyone is innocent until proven guilty, the potential embarrassment for the FA was clear to see and so they ruled that he would not be captain, but was still available for selection.  Surely, even his inclusion in the squad might send the wrong message out to the outside footballing world, with England being the first to cry foul if racist abuse comes from the terraces in their away games.

However, over a couple of days, Capello could not withhold his peace over his disapproval of the decision and appeared on an Italian TV show to say his bit that he felt that the move should not have taken place.  This lead to a meeting with David Bernstein and the other two members of his board and Fabio Capello emerged as a man without portfolio.

So, if you didn’t have reason to dislike Terry and Chelsea before now, then there are reasons to now, as without one’s actions and the other’s self-interest in having the defender available for the remainder of their season as they strive to qualify for the Champions’ League through a fourth place finish, we would not find ourselves in this current position.

I don’t think I am being too melodramatic when I say that Harry Redknapp’s decision over the England post, should it be offered to him, will not only affect his own future, but the future of Tottenham Hotspur.

No wonder all the other Premier League managers and supporters want him to take the England job, as they don’t feel that Spurs should be one of the top four.  The removal of the club’s manager will probably lead to a drop in status in the table and a return to the odd glimpse of success instead of what promises to be an era of challenging for bits of silverware on a regular basis.

I am sure Daniel Levy will have made provision should this moment arrive and will make sure that the FA more than adequately compensate THFC for procuring their manager.  But the man to take over him must be charismatic enough to win over the players and make them believe he can forge them into better individuals and more importantly a better team.  If they can secure someone who fits that bill not all is lost.

On TalkSport this morning they were saying that Joe Jordan is highly regarded by the hierarchy, but whether they would make him manager on a permanent basis is unsure.  The same applies to Tim Sherwood, who takes the development squad at the moment and like Clive Allen before him, is being lined up to make a seamless move into the coaching/management set up at the club.

Away from the club itself, Jose Mourinho has been installed as the favourite to replace Redknapp if he goes, but I am not a fan I am afraid.  Too cynical and too sterile in the football his sides play, I really hope that the Chosen One is not in this instance.  Others in the betting include Carlo Ancelotti, not a bad punt, but not a great success at Chelsea after only doing the Double; David Moyes and Martin O’Neill are both names long associated with Spurs, but their time may have come and gone; No thanks to the likes of Tony Pulis and Rafa Benitez, who often only have a one track way of playing.  More interesting is the name of Gus Poyet, who left Tottenham under the Juande Ramos cloud, being part of his coaching staff, but he has made a name for himself with Brighton and the football they play, so might relish the opportunity to take on a big challenge on his own.  I think he left on good terms and he would understand the Tottenham Way more than someone like Mourinho, as well as bringing former Spurs full back Mauricio Taricco back to the club with him as his assistant.

There have been a couple of glimpses of hope in the mess.  Harry’s speech on his exit from court paid heartfelt thanks to the club for its support and on leaving home today, he said he was only focused on Spurs.  Added to that the FA’s press conference today tried to quell the clamour for Redknapp’s appointment, by saying that it is not definite that the appointment will be that of an Englishman.  They want the best man for the job and while a lot of England players want him to take control of the team, the FA want the best man for the job … with some excellent candidates out there, be it Hodgson, Hiddink, Mourinho or Pardew.  All would fit the FA’s requirements.

And Levy will battle to persuade Harry that he can finish the job he has started at the Lane.

What happens between now and the end of the season will shape the way we see Spurs in the years ahead.  Daniel Levy has done well for the club and I am sure that there will be a plan in place.

And maybe, just maybe, it is a plan that can gather dust on the shelf for a few years longer.