According to Alasdair Gold, a football.london journalist, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp recently shared his experience of being sacked by Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 during an interview on "The Jeff Stelling Show". He believes that then-chairman Daniel Levy and owner Joe Lewis called him separately about Robbie Keane's playing time, and these two calls made him realize that his position as manager could be precarious.

Redknapp managed Tottenham Hotspur for four years, during which the team had one of its strongest squads in recent years, including players such as Luka Modrić, Gareth Bale, Rafael van der Vaart, Ledley King, Aaron Lennon, Kyle Walker, Danny Rose, Jermain Defoe and Robbie Keane.

In his final year at Tottenham Hotspur, Redknapp was linked with the England national team job, and admitted at the time that he would be willing to leave Tottenham if England came calling. Meanwhile, the team's performance began to decline. In June 2012, with a year remaining on his contract, Redknapp was sacked by Tottenham Hotspur.

Now 79 years old, Redknapp believes that the two phone calls from Levy and Lewis about Keane's playing time gave him an early warning about the possibility of his departure.

Redknapp said on "The Jeff Stelling Show," which is expected to air in late October: "We were second in the league at that time, and the team was performing exceptionally well. I had never met Joe Lewis. Joe was the owner of Tottenham Hotspur; he was the one who really called the shots. Daniel handled the day-to-day affairs of the club, but Joe was the one who made the final decisions, and I had never met him before."

"Then, one Friday, I received a call while driving to Stansted Airport. We were preparing to play at Old Trafford."

"The call was from Daniel. He had never called me on a Friday before, and he never interfered in my work. To be honest, Daniel had always been very good to me. I never had any issues with Daniel Levy. Although we barely communicate now, I have to say that at that time he was very good to me."

"That day, I was driving to Stansted Airport, preparing for the match at Old Trafford. We were second in the league and playing very well."

"Daniel called and asked me: 'Harry, who are you going to play up front tomorrow?' We had some injured players at that time, and I replied: 'Robbie Keane'."

"He asked: 'Robbie Keane?' I said: 'Yes, why?'"

"He said: 'Oh, I'm a bit surprised. Have you thought about asking Rafael van der Vaart who he'd like to partner with?'"

"I replied: 'Daniel, what does that have to do with Van der Vaart? I decide the team lineup, not Van der Vaart'."

"He said: 'I just thought it might be interesting to ask him'."

"I said: 'No, I don't think so. I'm not interested in that, I'm playing Robbie'."

Redknapp continued: "That evening, after arriving at the hotel in Manchester, my phone rang again. This time it was Ivana, Joe Lewis's secretary."

"I said: 'Hello, Ivana'. She said: 'Joe wants to speak with you'. I replied: 'Of course'."

"Joe got on the phone and said: 'Hello, Harry, how are you?' I said: 'I'm fine, Joe'."

"He said: 'I really like our attacking lineup: Lennon, Pavlyuchenko, Van der Vaart, Gareth Bale'. I replied: 'Yes, Joe, our front line is very strong'."

"Then he said: 'That Robbie Keane is useless, isn't he?' I replied: 'Joe, that's just your opinion, isn't it?'"

"He said: 'He doesn't even understand the offside rule'. I said: 'I think he does, Joe. He's scored a lot of goals'."

"Then he said: 'I'll tell you what, if he plays tomorrow, I won't even watch the match'. I replied: 'That's your choice, Joe'."

"At that moment, I realized something was wrong. Christmas had already passed, and I thought: 'Now I could be in trouble'."

"Obviously, I still played Robbie the next day. Daniel asked me again: 'Why didn't you ask Van der Vaart who he wanted to partner with?' My answer was exactly the same as before."

"But I knew then that if things didn't go well for the team, even the smallest mistake, I would be sacked."

"To be honest, I think Daniel also regretted my departure. I think he may have been fighting to keep me. Of course, I'm not certain, but Daniel and I never had conflicts. Obviously, Joe had strong opinions about me playing Robbie Keane."

Currently, Tottenham Hotspur, under the direction of Roberto De Zerbi, finds itself in the lower reaches of the Premier League after the opening five matches of the season. However, Redknapp believes the Italian manager can gradually pull the team out of its difficulties.

The former Portsmouth and West Ham United manager said: "I don't know what to say. I think they can finish in the top four, five or six this season. I really believe they will turn things around and get back to form. Considering the players they have, they have to do it."

"But being in 17th place, you know, is incredible. They have a good manager and good players. Obviously, something isn't right within the team, but I don't know what the specific problem is. And they've brought in quite a few players."

"Last season and the one before, their squad quality should have delivered better results than their final position. They should have performed better, there's no doubt about that. They have enough good players to compete for European qualification."

"As I heard someone say the other day, some of the players they bought couldn't even get playing time at their previous clubs. These aren't players who win trophies regularly, are they? One or two of them have even been relegated. And the players already at Tottenham Hotspur haven't been particularly impressive either."

"Still, you'd expect Tottenham Hotspur to finish in the top six. I still believe my prediction that they'll finish in the top six will be validated by the end of the season. But they need to turn things around quickly."

Traducido por IA.

¡El sitio web de AF ya está disponible! Consulta noticias, comentarios, detalles de partidos y estadísticas en tu ordenador. Visita: www.allfootballapp.com