Harry, There's No Smoke Without Fire...
After watching Andy Townsend get on his soapbox on ITV4 this evening and defend Harry Redknapp from the police, I've been spurred on for the first time in ages to get on mine again (something not England's ineptness managed to do).
Apparently, he didn't like the police knocking on his door at 6am surrounded by photographers. The latter is irritating admittedly, but then Harry loves to play the media game more than anyone else, so he was very naive if he thought that the media spotlight would shine elsewhere if matters took a turn for the worse.
However, while fraud investigations are frequently hard to get to court and even harder to get a successful prosecution, the evidence usually has some factual basis. If one believes the police when they say that their investigation has run on different lines to the Stevens inquiry (although in some cases it has looked at the same transfers), it's fair to say that something stinks.
It's this point that should be recognised. While people should feel free to defend Redknapp, they shouldn't be telling police forces not to arrest him, simply because he is being mentioned as the next England manager. This is much the same as asking them not to interview a cabinet minister for dodging dealings purely because that might affect their future career. If the police believe someone has committed fraud and they feel that they can prove that it has taken place, then let them do their job.
Personally, I feel the police have done everyone a massive favour by eliminating Redknapp's chances of becoming England manager, but that is an issue for the next sporadic post.
Apparently, he didn't like the police knocking on his door at 6am surrounded by photographers. The latter is irritating admittedly, but then Harry loves to play the media game more than anyone else, so he was very naive if he thought that the media spotlight would shine elsewhere if matters took a turn for the worse.
However, while fraud investigations are frequently hard to get to court and even harder to get a successful prosecution, the evidence usually has some factual basis. If one believes the police when they say that their investigation has run on different lines to the Stevens inquiry (although in some cases it has looked at the same transfers), it's fair to say that something stinks.
It's this point that should be recognised. While people should feel free to defend Redknapp, they shouldn't be telling police forces not to arrest him, simply because he is being mentioned as the next England manager. This is much the same as asking them not to interview a cabinet minister for dodging dealings purely because that might affect their future career. If the police believe someone has committed fraud and they feel that they can prove that it has taken place, then let them do their job.
Personally, I feel the police have done everyone a massive favour by eliminating Redknapp's chances of becoming England manager, but that is an issue for the next sporadic post.
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