Comments on: Redknapp & Storrie: What Are We To Make Of It?

By: Iain Dale

Iain Dale — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 13:55:40 +0000

Redkipper, I do try to do a footy story whenever possible. I reckon I manage to mention West Ham about every third time I do a paper review!

By: redkipper

redkipper — Sat, 01 Dec 2007 13:35:38 +0000

I watched Sky News late last night and was shocked to see apparently 28 police officers go to riad the Agents home.
Seems way over the top to me and agree with previous comments above – many other crimes need investigating/preventing by the police before going so heavy handed to these minor crimes.
Ian, I watched your comments on the Papers ————— very good! Do you ever get a chance to comment on football? If so in the future let us know before hand.

By: new york

new york — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 19:07:01 +0000

hadn t thought of it prior to plaistow mentioning it, but it is a bit strange that all this comes out again now, just as redknap s name was coming into the frame as a potential candidate. as if someone wanted to make well and truly sure that he is deemed “not establishment ” enough for the job. if there were questions to answer , why weren t they dealt with many many months ago when that program on Panorama was aired on alleged corruption in the game?

the other thing is , do the police not have things higher on their priority list to sort out? we have across the UK, and in london in particular , rising teenage/youth gun crime , resulting in numerous murders. we still have a very credible terrorist threat in the uk. surely the police have more urgent things to attend to than to harry redknap.
i m not suggesting that the issue of potential irregularities in the transfer market shud be brushed aside ,or swept under the carpet, but one wud have thought that the FA or Premier League itself wud be the starting point for investigating alleged irregularities.
whether redknap is innocent or not , and i hope that he is innocent, i do think he has a point when he objects to the way it was handled . It seems like the intent was to achieve the maximum sensationalist effect. is sensationalizing the situation, which is what the police , wittingly or unwittingly, have done, really teh best way pursue justice?

By: BAC

BAC — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 17:09:58 +0000

The incident the police are investigating has nothing to do with West Ham United, and nothing to do with anything Harry may have done whilst he was connected with the club, so let’s not worry about it, eh?

There have been plenty of great managers allegedly involved with the ‘bung’ culture, including George Graham and Brian Clough. Didn’t do their clubs/teams much harm, did it?

By: redkipper

redkipper — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 16:29:26 +0000

Has a manager ever been brought to court? I seem to remember George Graham was sacked because of thousands of pound notes in his desk drawer but no conviction – I could be wrong!
Anyway the rumours have often been around Harry’s deals but no actual substance brought forward to send hime to court. I suspect this latest ‘news’ may well go the same way.
With so much money in footbal you can be sure that big money laundering goes on, no names of certain owners/chairmen to be quoted!!!!!!!!!!!!

By: KennyHammer

KennyHammer — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 09:21:18 +0000

What’s going on with all you hammers supporters? This is a fishing trip by the police targeting a high profile manager who has always been a wheeler dealer in the transfer market. Sure, not every player turns into a success, but no ones complaining about Hartson & Kitson or DiCanio. When you don’t have a board that will sanction big money signings you have to evaluate if a lesser player is value and can do a job for the team. Harry is good at that.
Just remember what a good manager he was for wham, working with club directors who would not release the purse strings even after 18Mil for Rio.
Good luck Harry, I truly hope that this does not detract from your chance to be the new England manager I think you are the best option available. From a hammers point of view the sooner we get you out of managing in the Premership the better it will be for us.

By: new york

new york — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 07:21:29 +0000

whether the man is totally innocent as he is suggesting, or not , one does wonder why the need show up at his house at 6am? this is not a terrorist investigation ,after all.
if all the police required was some information, was it necesary to handle it the way they did? or is there indeed ,something more to it than that ? Also ,would it have been worse if the police had shown up at portsmouth s training ground?

By: Plaistow54

Plaistow54 — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:32:40 +0000

Yes New York. I also find it hard to believe that these days is it that hard for the F.A. & the Premier League to monitor these deals more closely. Is it that hard to get access to personal details in the U.K. now ? I think not. Harry was with us a long time & to my recollection has never said a bad word about us. I hope he is innocent. He does seem like the sort of bloke who thinks on his feet & he would get the best deal possible,however until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt, he is in the clear. There is a lot of money & a lot at stake in the game these days & this is another slur on the best game in the world. Harrys odds for England manager were starting to shorten & now he will never get that position. Call me a conspiracy theorist if you must, but the timing of this says something.

By: steve

steve — Fri, 30 Nov 2007 04:08:28 +0000

I find it strange that these investigations take so long to come to the fore.Many West Ham supporters and indeed supporters from outside our club are well aware of the rumours going back to Harry's tenure as manager of West Ham.Harry had/has a close friend and agent who was responsible for the majority of transfers that took place while he was West Ham's manager.Terence Brown eventually audited the transfer activity,found the same agents name appearing over and over again and asked the question,WHY? Harry soon departed.On a more personal note.I've had a few drinks with Lampard Snr and he said Harry would buy players without seeing them play.He would look at a video tape and make a decision to buy!Maybe it was the commission and not the player he wanted !

By: MUGABE

MUGABE — Thu, 29 Nov 2007 20:28:08 +0000

The Rigobert Song purchase was very smelly with Harrys son , Jamie , providing a link and the news that the guy was totally useless but going for a price that everyone could make some money from. Doesnt Harry have another son who , at the time , was involved with trading footballers ???.
Agents are total parasites. The FA shows its compliance with their distasteful trade as they both feed off the fans at the end of the day.