Harry Redknapp: Pompey was the best time of my life

well Harry just yesterday we're speaking to people like David James so Campbell Herman all players that were accomplished something yeah but all three of them said one of their greatest achievements was Pompey and the FA Cup what would that be well I don't know it was just an amazing time wasn't it John you know winning the FA Cup with Pompey a club with such tradition as Pompey you know I still remember when Pompey was lead team in the country back in Jimmy Dickinson's here you know just after the war time and that when they were and then obviously gone through some form ups and downs in this life and in Mullane coming in and buying the club for about a penny when it was just going to go out of business I remember meeting him and telling him I thought it was a great club to buy a great tradition and then to finally end up in the premier as we did and to come when the FA Cup was was just a dream come true really for you too yeah absolutely I remember the data we've got drawing the quarterfinals I was playing golf that day was the capsule was coming through and I was on the golf course and I had I had a phone call people listening life to the draw and I did a good driving I had an 8-iron into the green and I'm stopping uh sixth you hang on hang on I sell the cut drawn here's the cut draw it came up man United Portsmouth my eye time went further than the ball of awful it's always just wanted to get the Wembley even if it had been a semi-final at that time I thought let's go to Wembley with these supporters that was my dream take Portsmouth to Wembley so you know then to cope the man United and win as we did which was an incredible result you know and then to win the semi obviously at Wembley win the final Wembley go back the following year for the Charity Shield or whatever it's called now community whoever it was great sadly Wembley was like a home ground to Portsmouth it was an amazing time when that team sheet came will came out Old Trafford you'll probably feel with even greater dismay but did you have to instill belief that in a one-off game you could go out there and do that yeah we had good players John Deere we were some fantastic players great characters and yeah we were determined to go out and and get the job done you know and yeah great belief in that group of players you know when you had a goalkeeper like jmo you always had a chance you know the game at Preston when he was absolutely amazing that day sada penalty in the last minute or so then we got the unwritten Hermann scored you know so it was yeah it was a great excrete round and a great time in my life but I always say people say where was the best time and I would have to say it was my time at Portsmouth when you look back at it every game from the third rail run would be won by a single goal nothing was easy now every game was tough oops switch away was a tough game so yeah it was all deal tough but we we got through and kept they kept clean sheets difficult to beat no as I say it was everything about it was just resistant the day the whole day to some ease but when we got to the semis you thought now we've got here we've got to get to the final we got to win it that was the key we had to win it you know and that was a dream come true I grown up what you never cut finals and to actually be on the pitchers and manager with a club like Portsmouth for me was amazing that was a kind of new pressure wasn't it because suddenly he went to rank Outsiders favorites yeah and that brings new pressures yeah yeah we went a man you know it obviously you know and not expecting to get a result win there and then suddenly chose to get beat at Barnsley you know and suddenly the whole thing opened up then suddenly there was three championship teams left in with us and suddenly we became rid of favourites so it was a big difference but we had a beat man united way on the way people forget that and assembly for in a quarterfinal to get there so we fairly deserved to win the Cup that year those two days at Wembley do you have to absorb them and not let them go away too quickly yeah you've got a you know you've got a but we had experienced players in the team so I think we were and we had kind of scored in both the semi in the final you know I took him on a took him really was out at work when I rang him up he never had a club and I said listen come in and come and play and again come and train let's have a look at you we came down we signed him and what a career EF report some of what a player he was it was a genius amazing footballer and say we took him for nothing and he came in and just played for number four three or four or five years or whatever at Pompey deni greatest achievement for nearly 70 years then it started to unravel are you surprised how quickly it began to unravel yeah of course I mean you know it was done that when you were man G than what's going on behind the st. John's you only know every plow we bought nearly was we sold for more than we pay for him you know we bump people like Lassana Diarra a four and half million sold it's a 20 odd it was you know so and what people going about wages the wages were next alternativa doing comparison Sol Campbell came to a court with a wages he'd be done in an Arsenal I don't know but you don't know what's going on I didn't under the owned the club was owned by by mr. Guillam act it was a Russian though I didn't know very well I didn't know the finances of the club but so no it was a shame I was Soros it but then that lots of football clubs unfortunately yeah you turn down Tottenham once so was it too good to turn down again given what was going on it well you know that was going on when I left Jon know I was things were great we're in the UEFA Cup I just suddenly had this offer to got a Tottenham you know I didn't a Portsmouth one that cup and a great time so he took them come along I turned the job down two years earlier when I was managing Paul supposed to go to Tottenham but I just felt maybe you know his chance wouldn't come again to manager club you know that could with the potential that they had and I and to be honest when the offer came I've said many times I think mister guide and McCadden offer a five million pound for me from Tottenham that's the compensation they receive five million pound and I think he felt that yet Tony Adams beer and Tony I think he felt that Tony could do the job every bit as always good as I was doing it so why not take the five million pound I think him I didn't get any feeling that when I said look Tottenham will being on that he had any real and he spoke to him and suddenly had a 5,000,000 pound offer that he really was too keen on keeping me so I thought well in that case I'll go you know how ironic two years later is it meet Pompey FA Cup semi-final yeah yeah it was yeah going they're going the winner it was amazing we yeah Abraham was here who I brought to the club so it was great to see him and if I was gonna lose to anybody I know when I'd rather lost to it in Portsmouth to be honest you know I didn't want to lose I can't sit and say I want to lose but I thought if I was going to lose to anybody and see anybody get a Wembley again it'd be Portsmouth I can't let you go without talking to you about the jungle well it was a long slog John believe you me it was a long old slug sitting bought quite boring you know I was in the other group of people none of any interest in football or racing or any of the things that interest me in my life so it was a good experience and I enjoyed it and it kept me busy since that's for sure I must admit I looked at it at the time I thought that's not you but it yeah one of the things was you were yourself yeah that's what I've always be self John I think that's what I've been there's a football manager I never try to be anything that I'm not people know what what I'm like I don't change you know I talked to everybody I've time for everybody I said I live my life and I just got on with it and yeah that was me so and I think you know the be honest John since I came out football management I learnt something you gonna learn at a laugh yeah yeah and to be happy because that we knew in football management there's not a lot of time to be happy you know you get them fee things are not right you're winning you're worrying about next week there's always something going on suddenly I'd no pressure come out of football yeah when in the jungle and I really became a much happier person again so it was good so you know return to football management for you I would love to go in somewhere where young manager and work with him and maybe be around a few days a week go to the games on Saturdays I would love that yeah that's what I'd like to do I think I know I'd still have a lot to offer I know the game John you know you don't stand a game as long as I didn't managing man at games I didn't let you know what you're doing so yeah I think I'd have st. to offer the right you know if someone coming on so are we gonna give it to a young man would like you to come and work with him a couple of days a week throw it to a football whatever I'd love that yeah somebody so you're in the perfect position now that you're on the periphery of football still involved with it but oh yeah I mean I'm off tomorrow night to do man united Tottenham I'm working for Amazon tomorrow they've got the game tomorrow night so yeah John uh could be every day I'm somewhere every day I don't get a day off I come and the last time I played golf every day caught him last I went racing you know every day on somewhere working but it's been it kept me busy kept me young so I've quite enjoyed it Harry stay happy nice to see you good luck to everybody at Pompey play up Pompey as I said many times John it was the best time of my life there I'd actually loved it the fans were amazing the Football Club was amazing still got loads of friends here so I follow the results every week [Music] [Music] you [Music]

Channel: Portsmouth FC

Views: 37,203

Keywords: i'm a celebrity, i'm a celebrity get me out of here

Id: UuMteKpOsBA

Length: 10min 12sec (612 seconds)

Published: Fri Dec 13 2019