Harry Joins Tottenham

Last updated : 26 October 2008 By Jim Bonner
Harry Redknapp has left Pompey to join Tottenham Hotspur.

There was a phone conversation with Harry on Sky Sports News where he confirmed that he was joining Tottenham Hotspur because he has no choice as Pompey are skint and need the compensation money, apparently around £5 million.

He revealed that he wants to have a go at managing a "big" club before he retires where he will have a big transfer budget compared to Pompey where the financial situation is so dire that Redknapp believes that Sacha is looking to sell up.

He also revealed that because money was so tight, Peter Storrie was rushing around trying to do a last-minute deal on transfer deadline day for one of our players and one of the reasons he joined Spurs is because the money situation has changed dramatically at Portsmouth.

Peter Storrie and Sacha Gaydamak have released a statement this morning claiming that they did everything they could to keep Harry at Fratton Park but he found the temptation of White Hart Lane too much.

Tony Adams and Joe Jordan will take temporary control of the team but Sam Allardyce has been made favourite for the job after he claimed he was "very interested" in the vacancy.

Big Tone also has a chance of getting the job permanently whilst former Pompey executive director and Chelsea manager Avram Grant is also very much in the frame to replace Redknapp.

So, Pompey's situation in summary then:

a) Arguably Pompey's best ever manager has left for a bigger club who are in trouble either to satisfy his ego or because of Pompey's money troubles. It could possibly be both reasons.

b) Pompey are in serious financial trouble if Sacha is looking to sell and if our best players are on the market. Expect the likes of Defoe, Diarra, Kranjcar and Johnson to either be poached by Redknapp or to move on to bigger clubs unless we find a new owner before January.

c) The new manager is likely to be Sam Allardyce, Tony Adams or Avram Grant. Whoever gets the job will have to try and convince our best players to stay (if money permits) and may not have any transfer budget at all in January.

I'm not bitter at Harry Redknapp for leaving Portsmouth Football Club and I will applaud him when he returns to Fratton Park. After all, he'll go down as a Pompey legend for what he has done for the club.

Transforming a club that was struggling in the second tier into a solid Premier League side that is in Europe and has won the FA Cup is nothing short of remarkable.

Fans are split on his decision to leave us with such bad timing. We won't know the complete truth as to why he left for a while yet but I do spot a contradiction when the club say that they were doing everything they could to keep Harry at Pompey yet the man himself claims that Sacha was happy to accept the £5 million compensation.

I expect the truth will out eventually and the whole situation will be straightened out. But thanks to the management of PFC a huge cloud of uncertainty hovers over the club and I foresee some tough times ahead.

Thanks for everything Harry.