Harry Redknapp is known for his instinct for talent, but when he began his career as a manager, he overlooked a true gem among the players.
If Harry values you, there is a good chance that you will follow him to different clubs – I mean you, Niko Krancjar.
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At the age of 76, he has decided that his time in the coaching bench is over after playing for Tottenham, Portsmouth, Southampton, West Ham and other clubs during his career.
But it all began in 1983 when he became manager of Bournemouth and, after three years as manager, poached the young Carl Richards from Enfield Town.
But while Richards was toiling away at Bournemouth, his mate, Arsenal legend Ian Wright, carried on and had a fantastic career.
In his book “Always Managing,” Redknapp didn’t mince his words when it came to the two of them.
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He wrote: ‘I bought Carl for £10,000, picked him up in Enfield and while he went in to say goodbye to his manager, he left me with his mate.
“‘Why are you getting him?’ said this boy. ‘I’m ten times better than him. I’ve scored 26 goals this season, he’s only scored 12. I’m in a class of my own. Why don’t you get me?’
“I was worried. ‘I can’t buy you, I’ll buy him,’ I said to Carl’s buddy, ‘but I’ll keep an eye out for you, don’t worry.’
“So we took Carl and he was absolutely useless. He could run, but that was it. We played about six games and couldn’t win a single one. Carl was terrible.”
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“After about four games he came to me. ‘I have a friend,’ he said. ‘He asked if he could do a trial. He’s a striker, like me.’
“‘And is he as good as you, Carl?’ I asked suspiciously. ‘No, he’s not as good as me,’ he said, ‘but he’s decent.’
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“‘Well, tell him not to bloody bother,’ I snapped, and that was the end of the story.
“The following Saturday we went to the game against Crystal Palace. ‘My mate who wanted a trial is playing for Palace today,’ said Carl. ‘Oh good,’ I thought. ‘Then there’s no problem.'”
“Anyway, three goals later I realised Carl wasn’t a particularly good scout either. His mate’s name? Ian Wright, who scored 238 league goals.”
Wright, who joined Palace from Greenwich Borough in 1985, had an incredible career first at Crystal Palace and then as a striker in the Premier League with Arsenal and West Ham.
And Arsenal weren’t the only ones interested in signing Wright. Former Chelsea player Andy Townsend was asked by his manager if Palace star Wright would consider a move to Stamford Bridge in 1990.
He told The Pitch Prospect Drive: “It’s natural for clubs, when a particular team has a player they’re interested in, they ask you to do a bit of the dirty work.
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“They ask you to find out about certain players. I’ll never forget the one that got away from me, if you will.”
“I remember Bobby Campbell – God rest his soul – saying to me: ‘I really want Ian Wright.’ I remember speaking to Wrighty once when we were walking out of Selhurst Park and I asked him: ‘Would you come to Chelsea?’ and Wrighty said: ‘Yes, I would!’
“Whether he did it or not, I’m sure a lot of people would have talked to Wrighty at the time. But these things happen all the time.”
However, Townsend admitted that his friend made the right decision in the end. At the end of his career, he scored 185 goals, second only to Thierry Henry on the all-time list.
Under Arsene Wenger, he won the Premier League and FA Cup double in 1998, another FA Cup in 1993, the League Cup and the Cup Winners’ Cup in 1994.
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