Harry Redknapp Had No Doubts When Naming Two Worst Signings of His Career

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Harry Redknapp Had No Doubts When Naming Two Worst Signings of His Career

The Englishman made some questionable signings during his managerial career

Harry Redknapp has already made his feelings clear about the two worst signings he made during his managerial career.

Across a coaching career that spanned more than 30 years, Redknapp signed hundreds of players.

He managed some of England's biggest clubs, including West Ham United and Tottenham Hotspur, although arguably his greatest achievement was winning the FA Cup with Portsmouth in 2008.

Redknapp retired in 2017, following a difficult spell with Birmingham City, where the club lost their first five league games of the season under his management.

In December 2023, he briefly came out of retirement to help Swansea Senior League side Cwm Albion, as part of a partnership with Specsavers.

During his short time in Wales, he guided the team from bottom of the table to seventh place.

Harry Redknapp struggled during his time in charge of Birmingham City (Image: Getty)
Harry Redknapp struggled during his time in charge of Birmingham City (Image: Getty)

Throughout his career in football, Redknapp became known for his personality - memorably leaning out of a car window on transfer deadline day as his clubs tried to secure last-minute deals.

He made some smart signings during his career, with the likes of Robbie Keane and Jermain Defoe going on to have successful careers at Spurs.

However, not all of his business was positive.

Back in 2018, Redknapp revealed the two worst signings he made during his seven years in charge at West Ham.

The first he named was the £1.5 million signing of Florin Raducioiu from Spanish side Espanyol in 1996.

Florin Raducioiu playing for Romania (Image: Getty)
Florin Raducioiu playing for Romania (Image: Getty)

Redknapp told The Mirror: "I worked for a couple of hours with Raducioiu on the first day in training and I must admit he impressed me.

"He was a quality finisher and I really thought he'd be a success.

"But the moment we got into anything physical, he didn't want to know.

"He just couldn't face being tackled in any shape or form.

"Dicksy was anxious to get stuck in to him to see what he was made of, but Raducioiu made it clear that he wouldn't be challenging for anything."

The other name on Redknapp's list was Marco Boogers, who joined the Hammers for £800,000 from Sparta Rotterdam in 1995.

"Right from the word go Boogers' attitude stank," he said.

"He was among the stragglers at the back whenever we went for a run, he didn't want to work, he was lazy and the players all took an instant dislike to him.

"I suppose you could say he could play a bit, but certainly he was nowhere near as impressive as the video had made him out to be."

Redknapp claimed Boogers' attitude did not improve, and after six months he was loaned out to Groningen in the Netherlands.

Featured Image Credit: Getty

Topics: Harry Redknapp, Football, West Ham United, Premier League