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Harry Redknapp slams Hammers for selling home-grown stars
Ken Dyer and Tom Collomosse09.04.09
Harry Redknapp believes West Ham would now be regular Champions League contenders if they had kept their nerve in the transfer market during the last decade.
Redknapp's Tottenham side face his former club in Saturday's derby at White Hart Lane, with Spurs knowing they must win to maintain a realistic chance of pipping the Hammers to seventh place, which is likely to secure European football next season.
If they reached the Europa League, the replacement for the UEFA Cup, this season, it would be a remarkable achievement for West Ham after a campaign blighted by the Carlos Tevez affair and financial uncertainty.
Yet Redknapp, who was in charge at Upton Park from 1994 until 2001, claims the club made a huge mistake in selling home-grown stars like Rio Ferdinand, Frank Lampard, Joe Cole, Michael
Carrick and Jermain Defoe between 2000-04, when Terry Brown was the club's chairman.
The Hammers earned more than £46million from the sale of the quintet but Redknapp said: “Four players who grew up at West Ham — Ferdinand, Lampard, Joe Cole and Carrick — played in last year's Champions League Final. It makes you upset when you think they should all be playing for West Ham.
“West Ham have great support and they should have held on to those players. They could have built a team around them which would have challenged regularly for a Champions League place.
“From the fans' point of view, it was a big blow to see them all go. None of them cost the club anything and, if they had stayed, who knows where West Ham would be now? Until that crop came along, West Ham hadn't produced many good young players since Paul Ince came through the ranks in 1986. Those five all became great players.”
The current West Ham squad contains youngsters such as Mark Noble, James Tomkins, Jack Collison, Freddie Sears and Junior Stanislas, but Redknapp said: “They are not in the same class. No one will have five British kids as good as that lot again.”
Noble, who earlier this week signed a new five-year contract at Upton Park, made his first Premier League start at White Hart Lane back in November 2005. West Ham drew 1-1 that day, thanks in no small part to Noble, who was given the daunting task of playing opposite Dutch star Edgar Davids.
But since then, in four subsequent London derbies against Spurs in which Noble has taken part, he is still looking for that first elusive win.
He said: “This derby is always such a big game to be involved in and we'll hopefully coming out on top, which hasn't happened for a bit.
“This is always a big game for our fans, probably our biggest along with Chelsea. We need to get the better of them this time, though, as they beat us at home earlier in the season. We also need to go there confident after the Sunderland match which was a big win for us while Spurs lost at Blackburn.”
Spurs will be without midfielder Wilson Palacios, who serves a one-match ban, so Didier Zokora is expected to deputise alongside Jermaine Jenas in central midfield.
Ledley King will again be given until as late as possible to prove his fitness, although Redknapp admitted he might consider resting the centre-back from certain matches once Spurs' Premier League safety is assured. Redknapp also said that fit-again defender Alan Hutton could be involved.
Gianfranco Zola will await tests on Scott Parker and Radoslav Kovac before making a final decision on his West Ham team, although 19-year-old Stanislas, who scored on his first start last weekend, is sure to be in the squad.
Reader views (11)
I agree with everyone here-clearly a selective memory when it comes to Harry's dealings in the transfer market at WHUFC. It was estimated that Suker's wages sucked up the income from the gate receipts of a whole stand for the season. He didn't suddenly become a good judge in the transfer market, he served his apprenticeship, and, as otehrs have illustrated here already, he made some BIG mistakes, chif amonh them was the squandering of the transfer money of the sale of Ferdinand, as well as not adding a sell on clause that would have netted further fees.
BUT I also think this has to be put in the context of terrible club ownership. WHUFC had been sucking money in for years-a good e..g. was the amount of funds made available from the sale of Fedinand. We were also told a season or so later that we were £30 mill in debt-no-one knows how we racked that one up. Well we do know how-the owners sucked the club dry and put very little back in.
People see clubs as a kind of co-op, and react angrily to the Glasers of this world. The sad truth is that a lot of clubs were run as highly profitable businesses by unscrupulous chairmen, and WHUFC was no exception.
- Ted, London England
As a Brit temporarily living overseas, I recommended Harry Redknapp for the Spur's managerial post a few months prior to him winning the FA Cup with Portsmouth. I cited that, among other things, Harry was a Londoner and had a great 'passion' for football. It is what I felt was needed at White Hart Lane. Bloggers replied that I did not know what I was talking about and that Harry 'was a middle-of-the-table manager whom had never won anything'...soon after he won the FA Cup!
The conclusion is that he has been good for Spurs, depite many recent derogatory remarks about his judgement and record. Having been a Tottenham supporter for over 50 years - I foresee a few more trophies coming Spurs' way -and 'Arry will be one of the reasons!
Esther Clark, Los Angeles California
- Esther Clark, Los Angeles
Paul London you hit the nail right on the head if he reads that it would give him an uneasy "TWITCH" also I might add he was not much cop as a player he did not even get much joy on Hackney Marsh.
- Peter, Essex
Good ol' loveable 'arry, he just can't keep his Churchill chops quiet. He has a short memory, the Rio money was completely blown on useless players. He can never talk about loyalty. I seriously think everyone's bored of his comments now.
Come On You Irons !
- Drew - The Only Vegan Hammer, London
ummm, wasn't it him that sold them? and if it wasn't it was soon after he left because someone had left West Ham with the third highest wage bill in the country while delivering bootom half of the table finishes
thw wonderful world of Harry, that bloke's never ever wrong about anything, does he even believe all that himself?
- Tynan, London
'Twitch' is convenientky forgetting that players such as Lampard, Ferdinand, Carrick & Defoe wanted to move on. He should concentrate on getting a UEFA place for us rather than spouting drivel. Shame Jol isnt here still, joint top in Germany & in the late stages of the UEFA cup.
- Rob Hotspurs, South London
THANKS HARRY, YOU HAVE JUST GIVEN US THE PUSH WE NEEDED AS WE ARE COMING TO THE END OF A SATISFACTORY SEASON, WE WERE IN THE COMFORT ZONE AND OUR OUNG TEAM DESERVE BETTER RESPECT, THEY WERE NOT THE ONES THAT MISMANAGED THE TEAM..AGAIN THANKS 0-1 FOR US
- Alan Campbell, manilva spain
His stories are better than his memory yet again. Redknapp sold Rio Ferdinand - an event that probably triggered the rest.
But then again Harry has always preferred the “experienced” and “proven” player .
I don't remember too many other young players being nurtured under Redknapp but I do remember Florin Raduciou (preferred shopping with his girlfriend at Harvey Nichols than playing), Joey Beauchamp (not a single competitive game for the club as he decided he couldn't stand the traffic travelling from Oxford), Marco Boogers (2 games then disappeared, discovered several weeks later hiding in a Dutch caravan park), Davor Suker (£50,000 a week who managed only 8 starts), Titi Camara (£2.2 million, massively overweight - 13 appearances no goals).
I could go on... But I wish I couldn't.
- Paul, London
Well done Harry, rewriting history once again.
- Graeme Archer, Hornchurch, England
The hypocracy of HR knows no bounds. He sold Rio, accepted£300K for doing so and then wasted the proceeds on Rigobert Song and Titi Camara et al; where might we have been if that money had been spent wisely. Lampard could hardly stay at WH after his Uncle Harry and Father Frank Snr were chopped and we lost Carrick and Cole after relegation.
A final thought - where might Southampton be if "good old 'arry" had shown a bit of loyalty to them.
- Hammerathome, Brentwood,
Is this the same Redknapp "Rio's going nowhere, but if an offer in excess of 15m comes in we will have to think about it". Then spent the money on a load of Carlos Kickaballs and Christian Daley.
Yeah nice work Redknapp!
- Darren Bent, London
