Perhaps one of the most famous speeches in
English literature is that of King Henry V encouraging his men to storm the
French town of Harfleur
during the Hundred Years War. The speech, penned by Shakespeare in approximately 1599 is
perhaps best known for King Henry V calling his troops to charge “Once more unto the
breach”, but it was his final rallying cry – “Cry God for Harry , England
and Saint George” – which struck me as most pertinent. The besieging English
army was in a precarious position, although 10,000 strong it was ravaged by
sickness, had no strong foothold on the continent and faced the prospect of
having to fight off a relieving French army,
The current state of the English national
team is not too dissimilar… The squad hasn’t yet left for the continent
but is already demoralised by internal conflict, ravaged by off the ball issues
and with no leaders left to make stirring speeches. The rudderless ship that is the
English football team looks like it might not even make it to Harfleur in 2012,
let alone Poland and Ukraine . What
we need is a new Henry V – or “Harry”, as he was affectionately known.
Fortunately we have our very own Harry more than able to
unite the English dressing room and steady the ship on its way voyage to Euro 2012. The fans
want him, the players want him, and the critics want him, but the question
remains… will he heed England ’s
call?
Harry Redknapp is nothing if not a patriot,
but the Spurs manager is continuing to perform miracles in the Premier League.
With almost 2/3 of the season gone, Tottenham are in the Champions League
places, riding high in 3rd – 7 points ahead of Chelsea and a massive
10 points ahead of bitter rivals Arsenal – and, as a football fan, you could understand if not
forgive Harry if he turned a deaf ear to his country’s cries. On top of that,
Tottenham have been very supportive of Harry, particularly during his court
case for fraud and you do have to question whether any sane man would swap that
kind of steadfast support for the poisoned chalice that is the job of England manager.
So will Harry take the job? Although he’s
made a few telling comments – describing it as “the ultimate job for an
Englishman”, and assuring us the FA will do “the right thing for the country”
(I wonder what that would be…) when appointing Capello’s successor - of far
more significance is what he hasn’t said. He’s placated Spurs, praising the
support he received from them, he’s also said “It wouldn’t be right to focus on
anything else but Tottenham” (quite right too - he is their manager!), but he hasn’t said he doesn’t want to be
considered for the job (as Pardew and O’Neil already have), and he hasn’t said
he wants to stay at Spurs. His silence is deafening.
At 64 you have to ask how many more years Harry has in the game, particularly given his health problems. It is very possible
that this will be his only chance to manage England and, for someone who has
always spoken of that job as the pinnacle for any English manager, I can’t see
him turning it down.
Looking at it from a brutally pragmatic
stance, he will also ask himself how much further he can take Tottenham.
They’ve had a fantastic three seasons under Harry but without splashing the
cash in the way that other top clubs are doing, and by sticking to their rigid
wage structure (a stance which has much to commend it), you can’t help but think that what goes up must eventually come
down. That’s not to have a pop at Spurs fans – they’ve got enough to worry
about without supporters of rival teams (if West Ham can even be
called Spurs’ rivals anymore…) sticking the boot in – I just can’t help but think that in the past Harry’s shown he’s too shrewd a
football man to stay at an overachieving team (and they are, considering the
money they’ve spent). This is especially the case when he has the opportunity to seize Immorality with England.
I’m putting my neck on the line here, but
Harry will take the England
job, possibly managing the national team alongside his responsibility at Spurs
until the end of the season.
We all know what Harry will bring to the
table and there’s no question that he’s the best man for the job – especially
when you consider the collection of rather uninspiring English alternatives! –
but, who will be his captain? I’d suggest he could do a lot worse than give the
armband to Scott Parker.
Parker is a player who would give
absolutely everything for the cause, like Harry, he seems to appreciate the
importance of the national team to English football fans in a way that isn’t
always evident in the current crop of players. He’s also likeable, a rare
commodity in the England
squad, a real leader on the pitch and is absolutely bursting with integrity.
Following the Terry captaincy debacle we need a leader who both the fans and
players can respect and get behind. Can you honestly say that Wayne Rooney,
Ashley Cole or Rio Ferdinand are worthy of the armband?
Give it to Scott. Give the managers job to
Harry. Lets get the feel good factor back in English football. Let’s have a
team that the fans deserve and can get behind. I’m not saying we’ll win Euro
2012 or the World Cup in 2014, but at least England would give it a bloody good
go and show some passion for a change. So fill your lungs, pull on your England top and Cry God for Harry , England
and Saint Scott!!