Henry James “Harry” Redknapp was born in Poplar in March 1947. He made his debut for West Ham at home to Sunderland in August 1965 and has seldom been out of the professional game in England in one way or another since that day. The speedy right winger played for seven seasons at Upton Park, making 170 appearances in claret and blue and scoring eight goals. Whilst he could dribble with the ball efficiently his main footballing asset was his speed. My recollection of “Arry” as he was fondly known, was of him drawing the fullback in and then kicking the ball 20 yards past him, using his blistering pace to “beat his man.” The Greenwood days, when the near post crosses for Hurst and Peters were a pivotal tactic, were heavily reliant on right winger Redknapp and left winger John Sissons for supply. It was commonplace to see Harry use his speed in this way and whip in a near post cross to a team mate.
Whatever West Ham fans think of him now, following his colourful football management career, Harry Redknapp was indeed very much a fans favourite during his time at West Ham. A favourite song on the terraces in his playing days was sung to the theme tune of Flipper the dolphin. “They call him ‘Arry, ‘Arry, ‘Arry, faster than lightning – no one you see, is faster than he” would normally follow after another left back had been left in his wake. The flowing red hair and his spindly legs, together with his pace endeared him to the Upton Park faithful. There are two moments from his West Ham playing days that remain in my memory for two reasons – surprise and disappointment. The surprise came when ‘Arry showed he could volley a football when he scored in a 4-3 win against QPR in November 1968. There again Bobby Moore scored two that day so anything is possible! The disappointment followed elation after ‘Arry was brought down by Gordon Banks in the last minute of the League Cup semi final against Stoke in 1972. The save that Banks made from the ensuing penalty kick from Geoff Hurst eventually cost us a place in a Wembley final.
A few months after that Stoke game, Harry Redknapp moved on to Bournemouth in division three where he played until 1976. His playing career pretty much fizzled out after that but Harry was to return to Bournemouth and then back to West Ham to manage both clubs. In 1990, seven years into his nine year stint as manager of Bournemouth he was involved in a road accident in Italy whilst watching the World Cup there. Travelling in a minibus there was a collision with a car carrying soldiers and four people were killed including one of Harry’s best friends, Brian Tyler. Harry, who was covered in petrol from the accident, was pulled clear from the wreckage with a fractured skull, a broken nose, cracked ribs and a deep gash to his leg. Ambulance services arrived and thought he was dead, covering his head with a blanket. He remained unconscious for two days but made a full recovery apart from losing his sense of smell and gaining a facial tic which is still evident when we see him today.
His senior tenure at West Ham lasted from 1992 until 2001. Initially he was assistant manager to his good friend Billy Bonds but in August 1994, in what was at best an unsavoury episode of events, Harry Redknapp was appointed West Ham manager and Billy Bonds resigned from the club and discontinued his friendship with Harry. His time at the helm saw a fairly successful period with four top ten finishes and a best placed effort of fifth in the 1998/99 campaign. Most fans would remember these seasons as an era that saw a good brand of football played and the progression of several outstanding young talents from the youth Academy.
Harry Redknapp has since managed Portsmouth twice, Southampton, Tottenham and QPR. He is the oldest serving manager in English football and at one time was widely tipped for the England managers job. Never far from the headlines, Harry has made football a lifetime career but my fondest memories are those of him speeding down West Ham’s right flank in the late sixties and early seventies.