In the annals of English football, one finds Harry Redknapp among the few individuals to leave behind a great legacy for the sport and be popular for other attributes besides football. Before becoming a famous manager and a television pundit for numerous channels, the man was a midfielder for some English sides. Being a resident of Poplar, East London, Harry became a footballer for West Ham United and made his senior debut in 1965. Though not known as a star player of his era, Harry Redknapp gained experience in football, thus developing a unique style of football and man-management skills required for a manager.
Beginning of Redknapp's football life: West Ham United
Redknapp is another example that proves the theory that the childhood of football players is crucial for developing football skills as well as personal traits and style, which are characteristic of the man. The personality of Redknapp formed during the times spent in Poplar; therefore, he acquired all those qualities required from a midfielder including the ability to play as a part of the whole system without showing off, loyalty, intelligence, etc. Besides that, he received valuable practical experience from his mentor – West Ham, which was always known as a good club to grow intelligent football players.
In this regard, Redknapp's biography tells us about the process of growing football players in this part of the capital city, as well as about his future career. As the clubs that were part of Redknapp's biography as a footballer, the following need to be mentioned: West Ham United as the place where Harry learnt how to play and where he started making his way as a professional player (from 1965); AFC Bournemouth where he worked further as a player and started preparing to move from playing to man management and to training as well; and Brentford as the place where he completed his league playing career.
Though Harry is best known as a manager now and the fans do not know the details about his playing biography, it must be admitted that this stage in his life taught him much about club management which he uses as a manager nowadays, as well as many other peculiarities about the profession which were very useful for further success in man management. Thus, the footballer's biography gives an insight into how football clubs function and evolve in time.
The manager Redknapp and his achievements
As has already been mentioned above, the playing period in Redknapp's career ended rather soon after he learnt all that he had to in order to be able to manage successfully in the future. After completing his football career at West Ham, Redknapp went on working on his managerial career at AFC Bournemouth. In this club he managed to gain much useful experience and to become known to the whole British football society, as at Bournemouth he became a manager in 1983, thus marking the start of his most successful career in this profession.
He managed such famous clubs as West Ham United in 1994, then Portsmouth from 2001, Southampton in 2004, Tottenham Hotspur in 2008, and finally Queens Park Rangers in 2012. The list of Redknapp's career shows the manager's great ability to find himself in different conditions and work efficiently, to cope with various problems which can emerge within the process of organizing the work of clubs, to inspire his team and make players work effectively in accordance with his instructions. In this regard, it must be noted that his greatest achievement which made part of his biography as a manager was winning the FA Cup in 2008 in a match played by Portsmouth under Redknapp's control. This achievement of Redknapp is remarkable because it demonstrates the ability to develop a game and to prepare the team for a match.
Style of Redknapp the manager
Redknapp's style of football and management appeared on the basis of all that he knew about football as a former player and his own practical experience in playing football. Having been a rather humble player who had to make efforts in order to prove himself in the game, Redknapp easily got along with players in need of additional attention and trust. The manager knows well what lower division football is and how the clubs work there because in this division the managers usually face various problems; therefore, it can be said that his practical experience in management is rather unique for modern football.
A familiar public figure
It must be stated that Redknapp's popularity was not connected only with his football achievements because in the process of work he became a rather good conversationalist and publicist who can talk to everybody using a humorous and simple style of communication. The fans loved the direct way of speech and his stories about what happened in the old times. The manager is very popular in public life, especially because of the football stories which people like.
It is also important to note that family ties make Redknapp even more popular for people because his son Jamie Redknapp is a famous Premier League midfielder and a well-known television personality. Thus, Redknapp is part of a famous football dynasty.
To sum up, it can be said that Harry Redknapp is an example of the classic football man who became popular due to his achievements as a manager. As a manager he never dominated headlines because he started his football career as a footballer, and therefore people like his story as that of a man who started from the bottom of the game.