Richard Keys has ripped into Harry Redknapp on Twitter and claimed he would have destroyed Tottenham “but for Daniel Levy”.
The beIN Sports anchor and former Sky Sports host reacted furiously to a report in the Daily Telegraph which quoted Redknapp as saying he is not responsible for the dire financial straits of Birmingham City after his brief spell as manager.
Keys claimed Redknapp caused great damage at his other former clubs QPR, Portsmouth and West Ham and “might have done” the same at Tottenham were it not for long-standing chairman Levy.
Of course he didn’t. Same bloke f****d up QPR Pompey & West Ham & might have done at Spurs but for Daniel Levy. Let’s hope he’s out of the game now and can’t do anymore damage – whoever he was. pic.twitter.com/v3l8ps9lx7
— Richard Keys (@richardajkeys) March 21, 2019
OPINION
Ouch! We can guess from this Keys rant that Redknapp will not be a guest pundit anytime soon on beIN Sports, which frequently invites out-of-work and former managers on to discuss English clubs and the Premier League. Sure, Redknapp signed 14 players at Birmingham in the summer of 2017 before being sacked early in the campaign after six straight defeats, but is he too blame for overseeing a major recruitment policy? Does the buck not stop with the board who sanctioned the deals? It’s the same at QPR, Portsmouth and West Ham, who all had periods of success under Redknapp. The former manager, who is a pundit and TV celebrity these days, is unlikely to be too fussed by Keys’ claims. Yes, his days as a manager are now behind him at the age of 72, but he had a fine career and his record at Spurs over four years was actually quite impressive. Only Mauricio Pochettino has been a more effective manager of the north Londoners during the Premier League era.