Harry talks Guardiola, Klopp, Terry and Spurs

Mark Holmes
Pep Guardiola: New City boss

Pep Guardiola: New City boss

Harry Redknapp has warned Manchester City fans against expecting miracles under Pep Guardiola.

Guardiola will replace Manuel Pellegrini as City manager at the end of the season, but Redknapp does not believe he will be able to emulate the success of his Barcelona and Bayern Munich days without spending huge amounts of money.

“I don’t care who he is,” said Redknapp. “Guardiola can go to Manchester City and unless he gets some good defenders in, he isn’t going to win the Champions League.

“If he had taken over Norwich or Sunderland, they wouldn’t have got in the Champions League either. But if those clubs got taken over by a Roman Abramovich, who bought all the best players, then they could do it.

“The game is about great players rather than great managers. Jurgen Klopp has come into Liverpool, but he hasn’t got a magic wand. They are still ninth in the League because the players aren’t good enough.

“I heard a load of rubbish in his first game – people saying, ‘Oh you can see the difference’. He has only arrived on the Thursday! What has he said? “They say, ‘He had them all closing the opposition down’. Brendan Rodgers must have been sitting at home thinking ‘Cor, f*****g hell’.

“Similarly, [Luis] Enrique had a nightmare at Roma and they couldn’t wait to get rid of him. Then he went back to Barcelona, where he has got Lionel Messi and Luis Suarez. You just give them the ball and say, ‘There you go’. It’s easy with great players.”

Redknapp on Man City defence

City slipped to fourth in the Premier League after last weekend’s defeat to Leicester, but Redknapp believes things could get even worse for the Blues when they host second-placed Tottenham on Sunday.

“Sunday could be the end of City, because they have to win against Spurs,” Redknapp said.

“You don’t know what you are going to get with City, they can’t defend, they are wide open, but for Leicester to go there and take them to the cleaners last week was fantastic.

“What do you make of Man City at the moment? They have some great players, but they look very much off the cuff and they can’t defend. They have defenders who don’t know what it is to defend. They haven’t got a centre-half.

“When Kompany doesn’t play, the centre-halves keep getting murdered – they can’t keep a clean sheet.

“Whoever has brought in these central defenders, they haven’t bought in good players unfortunately – City are very vulnerable at the back.”

With John Terry recently announcing he expected to leave Chelsea in the summer, Redknapp says he would have tried to sign the 35-year-old last month if in charge at City.

“I’d have got on the phone on deadline day and tried to take John Terry now. I’d have said, ‘If you ain’t giving him another contract, we’ll take him’.

“He could have won the league for Man City.

“They wouldn’t have got smashed up like they did by Leicester. He’d have marked Robert Huth better from set plays than whoever did on Saturday.”

Redknapp on Tottenham

Redknapp also gave his verdict on Tottenham’s title chances, adding: “This is a good Spurs squad, they haven’t got a Gareth Bale or Luka Modric – but they have got a stronger squad all-round now.

“I am a big fan of Mauricio Pochettino. They have a genuine chance of winning the League.

“They have strength in depth everywhere, he’s got four full-backs they rotate. They have lost [centre-back] Jan Vertonghen but Kevin Wimmer, they think, is good enough.

“Eric Dier has been great in midfield, but they still think he is going to be a centre-half. If Harry Kane got an injury, they say the Korean boy [Son Heung-min] and Nacer Chadli can play up front.

“Their youth could work in their favour. What a fantastic player Dele Alli is. He has no fear. He plays with no respect for the opposition almost.

“He doesn’t care who he has it out with. He has a streak in him, he doesn’t mind a bit of aggro, does he? He’s only a kid, but I think he is an amazing talent.”