According to Alasdair Gold of football.london, former Tottenham Hotspur manager Harry Redknapp recently recalled his departure from Tottenham Hotspur in 2012 during an appearance 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 might be under threat.

Redknapp managed Tottenham Hotspur for four years, during which time the club boasted one of its strongest squads in recent memory, featuring 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 he acknowledged at the time that he was willing to leave Tottenham Hotspur if an offer came from England. Meanwhile, the team's results began to deteriorate. In June 2012, Redknapp was sacked from Tottenham Hotspur a year before his contract expired.

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 sign of his imminent departure.

Redknapp said on "The Jeff Stelling Show," which is expected to air in late October: "We were second in the league at the time, and the team was playing brilliantly. I had never met Joe Lewis. Joe was the owner of Tottenham Hotspur; he was the one who truly ran things. 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 got a call on the way to Stansted Airport. We were preparing to play at Old Trafford."

"It was Daniel calling. He had never called me on a Friday before and never interfered in my work. To be honest, Daniel was always very kind to me. I never had any problems with Daniel Levy. Although we don't speak much now, I have to admit that he was really good to me back then."

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

"Daniel called and asked me: 'Harry, who are you planning to start up front tomorrow?' We had a few injured players at the time, and I replied: 'Robbie Keane.'"

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

"He said: 'Oh, I'm just a bit surprised. Did you not think to ask 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, not Van der Vaart.'"

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

"I said: 'No, I don't think so. That doesn't interest me; I'm playing Robbie.'"

Redknapp continued: "That night, after I arrived 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 talk to you.' I replied: 'Of course.'"

"Joe got on the phone and said: 'Hi Harry, how are you?' I said: 'Good, Joe.'"

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

"Then he said: 'This 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 so many goals.'"

"Then he said: 'I'm telling you, if he plays tomorrow, I won't even watch the broadcast.' I replied: 'That's your choice, Joe.'"

"At that moment I knew something was wrong. It was already past Christmas, and I thought: 'Maybe I've got problems now.'"

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

"But I already knew then that if results went badly, even with a small mistake, I would be sacked."

"To be honest, I think Daniel was actually sad when I left. I believe he may have fought to keep me. Of course, I'm not certain, but Daniel and I really never had any conflict. Obviously, Joe had strong opinions about me playing Robbie Keane."

Currently, Tottenham Hotspur under the management of Roberto De Zerbi sits in the lower part of the Premier League table after the first five matches of the season. However, Redknapp believes the Italian manager will gradually lift the team out of their difficult situation.

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 genuinely believe they will sort things out and find their form again. With the players they have, they simply have to."

"But being 17th, you know, that's incredible. They have a good manager and good players. Clearly something isn't right, but I don't know exactly what the problem is. And they've also brought in a lot of players."

"In the last season and the season before that, their quality should have delivered better results than they achieved. They should have performed better, there's no doubt about it. They have enough good players to compete for European qualification."

"As I heard someone say the other day, some of the players they bought weren't even playing for their previous clubs. These aren't the kind of players who regularly win championships, are they? One or two of them were even relegated. And the players who were already at Tottenham Hotspur haven't shown outstanding results either."

"Nevertheless, you'd still expect Tottenham Hotspur to finish in the top six. I still believe my prediction that they will finish in the top six will come true by the end of the season. But they need to sort things out quickly."

Переведено ИИ.

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