Harry for England: does he want what the nation wants?

© flierfy, Flickr

At the end of a wonderful week for Harry Redknapp, having been cleared of tax evasion during his spell at Portsmouth with Milan Mandaric and being all but given the England manager vacancy by the football media, nothing will have pleased him more than watching his Tottenham Hotspur side demolish Newcastle United 5-0 at White Hart Lane.  Since taking over at Spurs, Redknapp has transformed the club from an underachieving, at the time relegation-threatened side to a club on the cusp of its second Champions League spell, while remaining very much in the Premier League title race this season, as well as the FA Cup.

Meanwhile, England are a footballing side somewhat in purgatory.  John Terry was recently stripped of the captaincy by the FA following his ongoing racial abuse allegations towards Anton Ferdinand, ultimately resulting in the departure of former manager Fabio Capello.  Former key players such as Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard are ageing and arguably not the answer to any future tournament success.  Wayne Rooney is suspended for the first two games of England's Euro 2012 campaign, in a group which is no easy route to the knockout stages.

Which begs the question: why would Harry Redknapp want to leave Tottenham to take the England job?

Many would consider it an honour to even be offered the opportunity to manage your national football team, and Harry Redknapp does seem to tick the right boxes to succeed Fabio Capello.  He is English.  He is enjoying success at a top Premier League side.  Generally, he is well-liked by England football supporters.  Therefore it is no surprise to see him as the clear-cut favourite to take the position.  However, it is not as simple as that.  First of all, Redknapp must want the job.  He stated this week that he would certainly 'consider' any offer, as any manager would do with an offer of this nature.  Secondly, he would need to be shortlisted for the vacancy, although this is more than likely to happen.  In addition, Tottenham would have to be happy with the circumstances – and you'd have to think that chairman Daniel Levy would be less than thrilled to see Redknapp leave the helm at White Hart Lane after the excellent work he has done over the last four seasons.

Not only would there be huge pressure on Redknapp if he were to become the England manager, but any tournament failure could turn him from hero to villain in the space of a few weeks.  Despite his proven managerial success, there is no guarantee that he would help the England football team reach its potential at Euro 2012.  There is no doubt that he may bring in fresh faces if he were appointed, but this could also be to the frustration of the nation's football fans who may believe that a stronger element of experience leads to tournament success - although this has not proved to be the case for England in recent history.  In short, Redknapp may not guarantee success at international level.  How would it fare among fans if England were eliminated at the group stages this summer? 

It is easy to forget that Fabio Capello, despite not winning a major tournament, had the highest ever winning percentage during his four years as England manager.  It always seemed apparently easier for naysayers to focus on the losses, his nationality and broken English than to take any positives from his campaign.  It would be imperative for England, under Redknapp, to win those crunch games against European giants such as Spain, Holland and Germany.

There are a number of possible scenarios.  Redknapp could leave Tottenham Hotspur in the immediate future to take the England job, if offered it.  He could stay at Tottenham until May, leave at the end of the season to take charge of the national team in time for Euro 2012.  He may opt to turn down the position in favour of his loyalty to Tottenham, who have come closer to a title under his reign than over the last half-century. The FA may want a manager to start right away, forcing Redknapp to make a decision in the next couple of weeks.  Alternatively, they may be happy for him to start in May, which could also impact upon Tottenham's season at a crucial stage.  If he did start in May, would that be enough time to unite an underachieving footballing nation and lead them to victory in the space of two months?

What happens over the next few days, weeks and months will be vital for Redknapp, Tottenham and England.  Despite him being the assumed frontrunner for the job, there are many variables which may decide the fate of all three.