FourFourTwo September 2019 9when I went back there, but we stayed
up. If we hadn’t, that would have been
the end for me there. I would have been
in big trouble, because I went back and
there was a funny atmosphere. It wasn’t
suddenly, ‘Great, Harry’s back’. We went
on an incredible run and managed to
stay up, then everyone was great again!
That’s football, isn’t it?
How did it feel to lead Portsmouth to
FA Cup glory in 2008?
‘Marcus_5992’, via Instagram
It was great. After we beat Cardiff, we
didn’t have a big function or anything.
We ended up in a pizza house in Hilsea.
We were all treated to a pizza!
You’re still the last English manager
to win a major trophy. Why do English
managers not achieve more success?
Sev B Las, via Facebook
It’s so difficult for boys to get a top-six
job now, and the top six teams have got
the best players. You take Pep Guardiola,
who I’m sure is fantastic, and put him
in at Burnley or Huddersfield – he ain’t
suddenly going to get them in the top
six, is he? It’s about players. Manchester
City have brought in fantastic player
after fantastic player, and it’s not much
different to training racehorses. Aidan
O’Brien’s Coolmore has the best horses
in the world, so they win the Derby and
they win everything. The poor trainer
who’s spent £2,000 on a horse is racing
against Aidan O’Brien’s horse that cost
£6 million – who’s going to win?
Football’s no different. OK, you’ve got
to get the best out of what you have, but
there ain’t no magic formula. There’s no
coach who’s out there every day doing
things that are suddenly making a big
difference. I’ve never met a genius of
a coach. We can all go and box training
up differently, but there’s nothing really
different happening. It’s players.
Maybe Frank can win a trophy, if he’s
got the right players. If Chelsea don’t, he
ain’t got a magic wand. He’s not going
to make them the greatest team you’ve
ever seen, unless they’ve got the players.
Yakubu, Kanu or Benjani – who was
your greatest African signing?
Old Naija Football, via Instagram
Kanu [right] was a genius. He had been
released by West Brom, came in and
was an amazing footballer. On Sunday
nights, though, he’d always phone and
say, “Gaffer, I have an upset stomach.
Can I miss training?’ I’d say, “Yeah, no
problem.” I was in bed by then anyway!
What made you take the job at Spurs?
Lee Piper, via Facebook
I’d turned them down 18 months or two
years before that. I had a meeting with
Daniel Levy, but Martin Jol was doing
a good job. I was slightly surprised they
wanted to get rid of him. I said I didn’t
think it would be a good idea, and I was
happy at Portsmouth anyway. I turned
down the Newcastle job as well, after
having a meeting with them. When
Tottenham came up the second time,
we’d changed owners at Portsmouth.
Alexandre Gaydamak had come in and
I didn’t really get to know him. He was
very distant and a quiet man. I’d won
the cup at Portsmouth and was leaving
them in the top half of the table. Spurs
was a great opportunity for me.How awkward was it to be given the
freedom of Portsmouth, days after
you had left Pompey for Tottenham?
Greg Jones, Southsea
Very awkward. I met Daniel Levy on the
Saturday and he told me, “I want you
to take the team tomorrow at home to
Bolton.” I said, “I can’t – I’ve got to get
the freedom of the city on Monday. Can
someone else take the team this
weekend and we can announce
it on Tuesday?” He said, “We
can’t – we’ve started the
season really badly, we’re
in trouble.” I had to do it.
I was on the touchline at
Spurs on the Sunday, we
won 2-0, and on Monday
I got the freedom
of Portsmouth at
a huge public do.“BALE HAD THE LOT: TALL, QUICK,
POWERFUL, AND HE COULD HEAD,
DRIBBLE AND SHOOT. ALL WE DIDWAS PUSH HIM FURTHER UPFIELD”
It was a very difficult day. I never did
drive any sheep through Portsmouth...
[FFT: Were you sad some Pompey fans
didn’t react well to your exit?] Very sad.
They had great times when I was there
and I loved every minute of my time at
Portsmouth. It was such a happy time
in my life and career.Did you know that Gareth Bale would
become a big star?
Dimitri Gremos, via Instagram
Very early on. When I first went there,
he’d gone quite a few games without
ever being on the winning team. But he
was 6ft 1in, powerful, quick, could run
all day over long and short distances,
and head a ball, dribble and shoot. He
had the lot. We just pushed him further
forward from left-back to the left wing.
Luka Modric was playing on the left side
when I first went there, but we played
Arsenal at home and I said, “I’m going
to play Luka central.” One or two of the
lads on the staff thought I was crazy.
They said, “He’s too small, he can’t
play in there.” I stuck him in there,
we beat Arsenal, but they said,
“He’ll get overrun on Saturday
against Chelsea – they’ve got
Essien, Lampard and Ballack.”
I said, “I’m playing him there,
that’s where he’s playing now.”
We beat Chelsea and he’s
never played anywhere
else since, has he?
Great player.What did your missus think of your
comment about Darren Bent’s miss?
Did she say, “You’re right Harry, I’d
definitely have buried that”?
Alexander Marshall, via Facebook
[Laughs] She don’t watch the football!
Listen, I hear managers come on after
games and talk such a load of rubbish -
‘We’ve just got beat 5-0 but there’s so
many positives to take from the game’.
I think, ‘Fucking show me one’. Darren
Bent missed an open goal in the last
minute, and all I said was that there
were three million blokes watching at
home saying to their missus, ‘Cor, even
you’d have scored that, darling’. OK, you
mustn’t criticise players publicly, but
everyone is so precious these days. We
can’t take the piss out of each other.
Benty got the hump with it and so did
his agent. I think he rang the chairman.
A few years later, I went to Derby for
the last six weeks of the season. The
chairman asked if I would help Darren
Wassall and advise him a little bit. I got
there and was about to go and watch
training, and I realised Darren Bent was
there at Derby. I thought, ‘Oh my God,
no... he hates the sight of me, he’s going
to slag me off in the dressing room!’ But
I swear to God, as I arrived on the side
of the pitch, he hit a 30-yard volley that
arrowed into the top corner. I’ve never
seen a strike like it in my life. I shouted,
“Oi Benty, my old woman couldn’t have
scored that one!” He laughed, everyone
else laughed, and that was the end of it.