His quick wit is one of his most distinguishing features, but Harry Redknapp's career has been a slowburner. In his seventh decade, however, it has certainly come to the boil, on and off the pitch.
The Tottenham manager won his first major trophy at the age of 61, when Portsmouth secured the FA Cup two years ago. It made him the first English coach to triumph in the competition since 1995. Now, the lone representative for his country among the elite of a cosmopolitan division, he is closing in on a greater achievement: a top-four finish.
Victory at Eastlands tonight would ensure it. It would render Redknapp the first English manager to qualify for the Champions League via the Premier League since Sir Bobby Robson with Newcastle in 2002. Tottenham, perceived as one of a "Big Five" two decades ago, have not ended a campaign in the top four since 1990.
It would mark the crowning achievement of a career that, as Redknapp is fond of reminding an audience, began at Bournemouth in 1982 with a 9-0 defeat. It was emphatic enough to make him wonder if he would get a second game in management; instead, more than 1,000 have followed, at Bournemouth, West Ham, Portsmouth, Southampton, Portsmouth (again) and now Spurs.
The offers to lead a genuinely big club only arrived late in life. In January 2008, he rejected Newcastle; a decision that, with the benefit of hindsight, ranks among his best. Four months later, he won the FA Cup.
Five months after that, Tottenham lured him away from Fratton Park. Given Portsmouth's subsequent downward spiral, it is another indication of a canniness to sense where his interests are best served.
Along with alternating between Portsmouth and Southampton, it has also led to accusations of disloyalty. More serious allegations are the criminal charges Redknapp faces, of tax evasion concerning a payment he received from Milan Mandaric, the former Portsmouth chairman. There is a court hearing later this month and the damage to his reputation is a reason Redknapp is unlikely ever to be considered as manager for England's national team.
Money, whether his own or the club's, is a pertinent issue. Each of Redknapp's previous employers have endured financial difficulties after his departure. They are particularly pronounced in Portsmouth's case. Redknapp, with an eye for a bargain, has pointed out the profits the club made on several of his signings, such as Lassana Diarra, Sulley Muntari, Sylvain Distin, Glen Johnson and Jermain Defoe, but he also assembled a squad with an unaffordable wage bill.
Transfers are a constant for a man who both resents and cultivates his image as a wheeler-dealer.
There is some consistency of thought, however. Schooled at West Ham under Ron Greenwood, a manager with a footballing ethos, Redknapp is an essentially attack-minded influence.
He has an admirable weakness for slender playmakers and genuine mavericks - Tottenham's Luka Modric belongs to a tradition that includes Paul Merson, Joe Cole, Eyal Berkovic and Paolo di Canio - and an appreciation of goalscorers. Defoe, the professional predator, has played for Redknapp at three clubs.
His style suits Tottenham's. Just as significant, however, is his gift of the gab. Redknapp's skills lie more in man-management than coaching, one of the reasons Spurs possess such a large staff.
Redknapp's colourful turn of the phrase makes him the front man. "John Hartson's got more previous than Jack the Ripper," was his assessment of one of his former players. Once asked about his side's prospects of qualifying for continental competition, he replied: "Where are we in relation to Europe? Not far from Dover." It is a way of deflecting the question.
Now, for Tottenham, the issue is how far they are from Europe's finest, from the possibility of facing Barcelona and Real Madrid. And, witticisms aside, the answer is very, very close.
@Email:sports@thenational.ae
The specs
Engine 60kwh FWD
Battery Rimac 120kwh Lithium Nickel Manganese Cobalt Oxide (LiNiMnCoO2) chemistry
Power 204hp Torque 360Nm
Price, base / as tested Dh174,500
The years Ramadan fell in May
The five pillars of Islam
Why seagrass matters
- Carbon sink: Seagrass sequesters carbon up to 35X faster than tropical rainforests
- Marine nursery: Crucial habitat for juvenile fish, crustations, and invertebrates
- Biodiversity: Support species like sea turtles, dugongs, and seabirds
- Coastal protection: Reduce erosion and improve water quality
WOMAN AND CHILD
Director: Saeed Roustaee
Starring: Parinaz Izadyar, Payman Maadi
Rating: 4/5
Brief scoreline:
Tottenham 1
Son 78'
Manchester City 0
The five pillars of Islam
Ticket prices
- Golden circle - Dh995
- Floor Standing - Dh495
- Lower Bowl Platinum - Dh95
- Lower Bowl premium - Dh795
- Lower Bowl Plus - Dh695
- Lower Bowl Standard- Dh595
- Upper Bowl Premium - Dh395
- Upper Bowl standard - Dh295
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The burning issue
The internal combustion engine is facing a watershed moment – major manufacturer Volvo is to stop producing petroleum-powered vehicles by 2021 and countries in Europe, including the UK, have vowed to ban their sale before 2040. The National takes a look at the story of one of the most successful technologies of the last 100 years and how it has impacted life in the UAE.
Read part four: an affection for classic cars lives on
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Read part one: how cars came to the UAE
Specs
Engine: 51.5kW electric motor
Range: 400km
Power: 134bhp
Torque: 175Nm
Price: From Dh98,800
Available: Now
Key facilities
- Olympic-size swimming pool with a split bulkhead for multi-use configurations, including water polo and 50m/25m training lanes
- Premier League-standard football pitch
- 400m Olympic running track
- NBA-spec basketball court with auditorium
- 600-seat auditorium
- Spaces for historical and cultural exploration
- An elevated football field that doubles as a helipad
- Specialist robotics and science laboratories
- AR and VR-enabled learning centres
- Disruption Lab and Research Centre for developing entrepreneurial skills
House-hunting
Top 10 locations for inquiries from US house hunters, according to Rightmove
- Edinburgh, Scotland
- Westminster, London
- Camden, London
- Glasgow, Scotland
- Islington, London
- Kensington and Chelsea, London
- Highlands, Scotland
- Argyll and Bute, Scotland
- Fife, Scotland
- Tower Hamlets, London
The specs
Engine: Long-range single or dual motor with 200kW or 400kW battery
Transmission: Single-speed automatic
Max touring range: 620km / 590km
Price: From Dh250,000 (estimated)
Call of Duty: Black Ops 6
Developer: Treyarch, Raven Software
Publisher: Activision
Console: PlayStation 4 & 5, Windows, Xbox One & Series X/S
Rating: 3.5/5
The five pillars of Islam
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The specs
Engine: 2.0-litre 4-cylturbo
Transmission: seven-speed DSG automatic
Power: 242bhp
Torque: 370Nm
Price: Dh136,814
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
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LILO & STITCH
Starring: Sydney Elizebeth Agudong, Maia Kealoha, Chris Sanders
Director: Dean Fleischer Camp
Rating: 4.5/5
F1 drivers' standings
1. Lewis Hamilton, Mercedes 281
2. Sebastian Vettel, Ferrari 247
3. Valtteri Bottas, Mercedes 222
4. Daniel Ricciardo, Red Bull 177
5. Kimi Raikkonen, Ferrari 138
6. Max Verstappen, Red Bull 93
7. Sergio Perez, Force India 86
8. Esteban Ocon, Force India 56
Profile Box
Company/date started: 2015
Founder/CEO: Mohammed Toraif
Based: Manama, Bahrain
Sector: Sales, Technology, Conservation
Size: (employees/revenue) 4/ 5,000 downloads
Stage: 1 ($100,000)
Investors: Two first-round investors including, 500 Startups, Fawaz Al Gosaibi Holding (Saudi Arabia)
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
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Analysis
Maros Sefcovic is juggling multiple international trade agreement files, but his message was clear when he spoke to The National on Wednesday.
The EU-UAE bilateral trade deal will be finalised soon, he said. It is in everyone’s interests to do so. Both sides want to move quickly and are in alignment. He said the UAE is a very important partner for the EU. It’s full speed ahead - and with some lofty ambitions - on the road to a free trade agreement.
We also talked about US-EU tariffs. He answered that both sides need to talk more and more often, but he is prepared to defend Europe's position and said diplomacy should be a guiding principle through the current moment.
Mohammed bin Zayed Majlis
Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
ESSENTIALS
The flights
Fly Etihad or Emirates from the UAE to Moscow from 2,763 return per person return including taxes.
Where to stay
Trips on the Golden Eagle Trans-Siberian cost from US$16,995 (Dh62,414) per person, based on two sharing.
'Young girls thinking of big ideas'
Words come easy for aspiring writer Afra Al Muhairb. The business side of books, on the other hand, is entirely foreign to the 16-year-old Emirati. So, she followed her father’s advice and enroled in the Abu Dhabi Education Council’s summer entrepreneurship course at Abu Dhabi University hoping to pick up a few new skills.
“Most of us have this dream of opening a business,” said Afra, referring to her peers are “young girls thinking of big ideas.”
In the three-week class, pupils are challenged to come up with a business and develop an operational and marketing plan to support their idea. But, the learning goes far beyond sales and branding, said teacher Sonia Elhaj.
“It’s not only about starting up a business, it’s all the meta skills that goes with it -- building self confidence, communication,” said Ms Elhaj. “It’s a way to coach them and to harness ideas and to allow them to be creative. They are really hungry to do this and be heard. They are so happy to be actually doing something, to be engaged in creating something new, not only sitting and listening and getting new information and new knowledge. Now they are applying that knowledge.”
Afra’s team decided to focus their business idea on a restaurant modelled after the Leaning Tower of Pisa. Each level would have a different international cuisine and all the meat would be halal. The pupils thought of this after discussing a common problem they face when travelling abroad.
“Sometimes we find the struggle of finding halal food, so we just eat fish and cheese, so it’s hard for us to spend 20 days with fish and cheese,” said Afra. “So we made this tower so every person who comes – from Africa, from America – they will find the right food to eat.”
rpennington@thenational.ae
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RESULT
Huddersfield Town 2 Manchester United 1
Huddersfield: Mooy (28'), Depoitre (33')
Manchester United: Rashford (78')
Man of the Match: Aaron Mooy (Huddersfield Town)
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
What are the GCSE grade equivalents?
- Grade 9 = above an A*
- Grade 8 = between grades A* and A
- Grade 7 = grade A
- Grade 6 = just above a grade B
- Grade 5 = between grades B and C
- Grade 4 = grade C
- Grade 3 = between grades D and E
- Grade 2 = between grades E and F
- Grade 1 = between grades F and G
ICC Women's T20 World Cup Asia Qualifier 2025, Thailand
UAE fixtures
May 9, v Malaysia
May 10, v Qatar
May 13, v Malaysia
May 15, v Qatar
May 18 and 19, semi-finals
May 20, final
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
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