QPR gaffer launches fresh attack on FA.
Queens Park Rangers boss Harry Redknapp has launched yet another scathing attack on the Football Association by claiming that officials within the organisation aren’t capable of making high level decisions and believes he “would not trust them to show him a good manager if their lives depended on it,” the Telegraph reports.
Redknapp was believed to be the clear favourite to take over the reigns from Fabio Capello last summer after the Italian resigned shortly before the Euro 2012 Championships, only to be snubbed at the last minute in favour of then West Bromwich Albion manager Roy Hodgson.
It had almost been a foregone conclusion that Redknapp would be named as England boss, and he then revealed that he had asked Brendan Rodgers to be his assistant at the tournament before he left to join Liverpool from Swansea.
And although Redknapp insists he holds no grudge against Hodgson, he is still unhappy at the snub and believes he was the leading choice amongst both fans and players, claiming that several senior members of the national squad like Steven Gerrard texted him to offer their support for him to succeed Capello.
“I wouldn’t trust the FA to show me a good manager if their lives depended on it. How would they know? What clubs have they ever run? Who do they speak to who really knows the game?” the QPR boss wrote in his new autobiography, serialised in the Daily Mail.
“This isn’t about them giving the England job to me or Roy Hodgson, but English football being run by people who really haven’t got a clue. And they get to pick the England manager!
“Everyone said I was the people’s choice, the only choice. All the senior players seemed to be up for me to get the job. I got quite a few text messages at the time from players saying they would love me to manage England: Steven Gerrard, Wayne Rooney, Rio Ferdinand, John Terry.
“But the FA went for Roy Hodgson to be the England manager – a man who is more their cup of tea.”
Many Spurs fans believed that Redknapp had been allowed to leave by chairman Daniel Levy in order to give the National job his full attention, but despite denying that, he did admit that he had been making plans whilst in the Spurs dugout.
“If I had become the England manager I would have taken Brendan Rodgers as my No 2,” he added.
“My thinking on Brendan was this: if he can do it with players from the lower leagues at Swansea what can he do with Rio and Terry or Rooney and Gerrard?
“So when Tottenham played Swansea on April 1, 2012 I pulled Brendan after the game and said that if all the speculation about me and England was true would he consider coming to the European Championships in the summer as my part-time coach?
“I told him I wanted England to play with as much technical ambition as Swansea. He was up for it.
“Some Tottenham fans might think I was distracted from my club job, but I can assure you the conversation took five minutes. And we beat Swansea 3-1 that day, by the way.
“It didn’t work out. On April 1, I was contemplating the way forward for England with Brendan Rodgers – and on April 29 the FA offered the job to Roy Hodgson.
“I’ll admit, I thought it was mine. Everyone seemed so certain, everyone I had met from all parts of the game seemed utterly convinced it was my job.”