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North London club Tottenham Hotspur will be visitng the United States this summer with matches against Los Angeles Galaxy on July 24th, Liverpool in Baltimore on July 28th and New York Red Bulls on July 31st.
Photo: THFC
The trip marks an opportunity to return to the USA for one man who knows this country very well, Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp.
Redknapp played in the Pacific Northwest while occupying the dual role of assistant manager and player in the NASL for the Seattle Sounders.
Between 1976 and 1979, he made 24 appearances being credited with assisting nine goals.
As assistant coach to Jimmy Gabriel, he took the Washington State club to the final of the 1977 Soccer Bowl where they lost to a Pele inspired New York Cosmos at Portland’s current stadium. The occasion was also Pele’s last ever game as a professional player.
That was four decades, two American professional leagues and a few hair styles ago. The effervescent Redknapp has experienced a great deal since; including being on both sides of the vituperative south coast derby between Portsmouth and Southampton, managing West Ham United his local club where he also made his name as a player, a very public acquittal and vindication in a tax case, and being touted as a potential England manager.
Redknapp remains one of English football’s most colourful characters in an era where a drab conformity sometimes reigns.
Most notably he has taken Spurs into league positions where so many qualified predecessors had failed.
Under Redknapp the Spurs were fourth in 2009, their best league position in the 19 year history of the EPL.
He may be about to go one better. If they beat Fulham on Sunday and Arsenal don’t win at West Brom, Spurs will finish third which would be their best finish for one year short of half a century. That Spurs side was also the first English side to win any European cup competition.
Redknapp also won the FA Cup with Portsmouth and is Frank Lampard’s uncle.
When we spoke to him however, it was America very much on his mind.
Prost Amerika: What excites you about coming here?
Harry Redknapp: I love America as a country. I spent time out there playing and coaching back in the 1970’s and I always enjoy going back there. It is a country with great potential for soccer. The game is still improving and it is always nice to go over there and play and see how the game is developing.
Prost Amerika: You played in Seattle in the old NASL. What memories do you have of those times and the city?
Harry Redknapp: Seattle was a great city to live; we had a great time there. Touring around America at that time was fantastic playing all the different teams in the league. I spent time in Baltimore as well as a player with West Ham, we spent six weeks there back in the 70’s, so I am looking forward to visiting Baltimore as well as New York and Los Angeles.
Prost Amerika: Are you still in touch with any team mate or opponent from those days?
Harry Redknapp: Jimmy Gabriel, he was a player and coach at Seattle. Me and Jimmy are still good friends now.
Redknapp keeps in touch with Jimmy Gabriel (centre); here in Seattle with Everton manager Davie Moyes and Derby County legend Alan Hinton in 2010 / Photo: Greg Roth
I still speak to Bobby Howe who was the coach at Seattle and he is now very involved with the coaching setup in the States.
I also speak to a number of lads who played at that time and stayed on that are still living there.
Prost Amerika: Are you following the current resurgence in North American Soccer?
Harry Redknapp: Yes, for sure.
It is great to see that Robbie Keane has gone over there with David Beckham. There are lots of good players out there now and I am sure there is some great young talent coming through as well.
Prost Amerika: What has Robbie Keane said in England about the current MLS?
Harry Redknapp: He loves it there. I think it has been a great experience for Robbie. I think he has really enjoyed. It has been a great move for him.
Prost Amerika: You’ve been involved in some of English football’s greatest rivalries; North London, South Coast etc. What are the best things MLS should copy from English rivalries, and what should we not?
Harry Redknapp: I think they should continue to make it a family day out. That is the big thing I always enjoyed about America. Both sets of fans can come to a game with no trouble, everyone enjoys it. There are tailgate parties before the game, everybody is friendly and I always found that fantastic. I think that is something that was special out there.
Prost Amerika: Spurs have a tradition of playing football a certain way, with a bit of panache, a duty to entertain and maybe even, according to critics, a cavalier approach. Has that history helped you manage the club or can it sometimes tie your hands when a different tactical approach is needed?
Harry Redknapp: It is the way I have always enjoyed playing football anyway. I grew up at West Ham and so my philosophies have always been about playing football with good skilful players so that will never change for me. That is the way I like to play.
Prost Amerika: Spurs have had some great midfielders in the past but Glenn Hoddle, Chris Waddle and Ossie Ardiles stick in the mind. Can Gareth Bale achieve that status at White Hart Lane?
Harry Redknapp: I am sure he can. We have had great midfield players even before the Hoddle’s and Waddle’s. Probably the greatest of them all was Dave MacKay. You also had the likes of Danny Blanchflower and John White, absolute legends at Tottenham. We have always had great players at Tottenham and Gareth Bale is certainly another great player.
Prost Amerika: Every Spurs goalkeeper for nearly forty years has been judged by the standards of the great Ulsterman Pat Jennings. In Seattle, a young man has had to follow Kasey Keller. What advice would you give to a young player who has the shadow of a legend hanging over him?
Harry Redknapp: Just be yourself, it is hard and you can’t really follow. Pat Jennings was hard for anyone to follow. Kasey Keller has been a top goalkeeper in his time but the States produce good goalkeepers, they have always had good goalkeepers coming through.
Redknapp in action for the Seattle Sounders in 1976 / Photo: GOALSeattle.com Archives
Prost Amerika: How about outfielders? How are we doing there?
Harry Redknapp: The talent in America is fantastic. I just think it needs to be developed and have somewhere for it to go now.
The MLS has ensured there is somewhere for the young players to come through because they do produce great athletes and they could produce a huge pool of great soccer players.
Clint Dempsey over here is a prime example and he has had a great season in the Premier League this year.
Prost Amerika: Spurs have a loose tie with San Jose that has seen Simon Dawkins play here. What can these ties bring to each party and are Spurs looking to strengthen their relationship with the Quakes or indeed another MLS franchise?
Harry Redknapp: We were hoping to loan Tom Huddlestone out [to them] this year. Tom is a big player here at Tottenham but he has been injured, however they weren’t allowed to take him on loan unfortunately.
It would have been a great experience for Tom. I think it is a great experience for any of the players in England, especially the younger players to go and play in the MLS in the summer.
Prost Amerika: Spurs have a great history of club songs like Nice One Cyril, Ossie’s Dream, When the Year Ends in One. Do you have a favourite Spurs anthem, and would you like to hear one played in the stadium when you visit here?
Harry Redknapp: Glory, Glory Tottenham Hotspur is always a great song!
Also See:
The “Beckham Effect” Is Coming To An End – Soccer in the Pacific Northwest has established itself without European Glamour by German journalist Widar Wendt
3 Comments
This interview reads like I imagine Harry spells. Great representation from Tottenham.
Wish ‘Arry was bringing his team to Seattle.
Bring the Spurs to Seattle for a friendly. Too bad we are not having 3 this year. Still want to see Bayern Munich, AC Milan and Real Madrid also !!!!!