Yesterday an overjoyed Harry Redknapp mouthed an emotional "thank you" to the jury across Southwark Court Room 1 as logic prevailed and he was found not guilty of tax avoidance.
Phew! I personally have a lot of time for Redknapp, an opinion not in keeping with an awful lot of folk it would seem.
Saints fans seemingly can't forgive him for his defection to Pompey, twice, and Pompey fans are similarly non-plussed by their former gaffer despite him leading them to FA Cup glory during the pre-bankruptcy glory days.
My friend, a Charlton Athletic enthusiast, takes exception to Redknapp's wheeler-dealer persona, the vernacular he employs in interview, and his desire to discuss transfer targets in the media.
But for any ill-feeling there apparently is towards the ex West Ham manager, and without having ever met him or knowing the first thing about him other than the fact he’s an exceptional football manager, I personally think he's alright.
But on 8th February 2012 as he headed back to Dorset where he resides with wife Sandra (you remember Sandra, who can finish better than Darren Bent) a free man, reputation in tact after a 5 year probe into his financial affairs, there is sorrow in my heart.
And it's not that he got off. To my mind there was nothing to get off from. £8,000,000 of tax payers money was spent trying to put away Redknapp, Milan Mandaric and Peter Storrie for supposedly swindling the same public purse out of just £30,000 in unpaid taxes. Talk about value for money (or should that read, the authorities trying to prove a point and flex their mite).
With barely a shred of incriminating evidence against them and after two trials, no convictions have been passed down. Make your own minds up on who the real criminals are here.
No. The sorrow is that Tottenham Hotspur, purveyors of the finest football in the land this season may soon be without the architect of their magnificent recent run of good form, the aforementioned Henry James Redknapp.
Fabio Capello's shock resignation last night means the inevitable just got even more, well, inevitable. Harry has said in the past that the England job would be the pinnacle for any English manager, and he is now surely top of the FA’s little list of suitable candidates, above Messer’s Allardyce, Hodgson et al that's for sure.
FA chairman David Bernstein has already stated his preference for a British or English candidate, keeping in scope Martin O’Neill, but O’Neill is surely not a realistic option, having only recently returned to top flight football management, and having been through this particular interview process once already it would appear doubtful that he would want to go through it all over again.
If Redknapp does leave Spurs for the short journey around the A406 to Wembley, be it now or the end of the season, Spurs will need a top-class manager to fill the void.
I love the idea of Mourinho replacing him at White Hart Lane, but for all the bravado, Mourinho's “win at all costs” style, often at the expense of aesthetically pleasing football, may not rest easy with the Tottenham faithful.
England’s players all want Redknapp and doubtless so do the FA now that he’s been cleared of his charges, but spare a thought for Spurs’ board and chairman Daniel Levy, who took Redknapp on knowing there was a court case hanging over his head.
Levy might acquire the services of a top class manager to replace Redknapp - he will need to to satisfy the ambition of the likes of Bale and Modric – but there’s still no guarantee they will reach the heights that Redknapp has taken them to.
Contrary to my mates’ view of Redknapp, I see him as a man of honour, and I doubt he will leave Spurs in the lurch during the run-in to the league title – particularly with Spurs still very much in the title race.
But when the summer comes, Redknapp will surely go.
Of course if Redknapp was to turn down the England job and stay at Spurs, it would be a damning indictment on the status of international football in this country, confirming the belief that club football and the lure of the Champions League is more important than International honours these days
Players attitude to playing for England has been called into question in recent years and if the best English manager in the land was to turn down the job, we really would be in a desperate situation.
England needs Redknapp. It’s the perfect time for him to take the job on, to unite the dressing room and to blood a new, younger team that’s hungry for success and eager to represent their country.
If Redknapp won't do it then I don’t know who will.
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