West Ham manager Alan Curbishley is the bookies favourite to be the first manager sacked this season with Harry Redknapp is a firm favourite to return to Upton Park should this happen… And according to the journalists of The Sunday Supplement on sky sports today they could see this as something that could, and maybe even would happen!
Shaun Custis – from the Sun said: ‘if I was Alan Curbishley I would be worried about that story because Paul Smith is just about the best-connected journalist there is in Portsmouth.
‘It looks to me like there’s definitely something in it so I’d say Alan Curbishley hasn’t got very long at the start of this season if they don’t get off to a flyer.
‘I’m not saying West Ham should get rid of Curbishley, but Harry’s their favourite son, he’s done a magnificent job with Portsmouth and he did a magnificent job with West Ham beforehand.
‘Portsmouth, from Harry’s point of view, don’t seem to want to spend any more money – or don’t have any money – and for Harry I think it would be a very attractive proposition to go back again.
‘From Curbishley’s point of view he hasn’t quite won over the West Ham fans, there was a little bit of disgruntlement among the supporters last season – but then there often is at West Ham.
‘I just think there’s no smoke without fire in this one. Harry Redknapp seems to have been angling to get away from Portsmouth over the summer and there’s clearly a bit of unrest in the way Harry feels at Portsmouth.’
Martin Lipton – from the Daily Mirror believes that Redknapp has ‘taken us as far as he can’ and with ‘an aging side’ he will be ready for a new challenge, even more so as he has no money to spend: ‘he’s won the FA Cup, what more can he do with Portsmouth?
‘The money’s not there and you saw the players in the Community Shield last week – any older and they’d be taking their pension book at the back. They really were looking like an old team.
‘He’s lost Sulley Muntari, one of his better players, he’s got in Peter Crouch and Younes Kaboul and they’re not going to be in the top five or six with those sorts of players.
‘West Ham do have the backing, the Icelandic money is still there, and as Shaun said he is still the favoured son.
‘It’s another challenge and let’s be fair, Harry loves the next move. He’s always interested in what comes next and he’s never settled anywhere.
‘He can commute from Sandbanks to West Ham because he used to when he was manager there before, so it’s viable for him.
‘I don’t see any reason why he wouldn’t want the job.’
Aging side? Whatever the fella says! I do not care what anyone says, despite the loss of one or two players we are still as good as anyone outside of the top 4!
Maybe Redknapp would be tempted to return to West Ham, but would that be a step forward? Sorry, but if anyone suggests that it is they are wrong…
This is one of a few jobs that I could see him go for, but I sincerely hope that this does not become the case as despite what Lipton says he can still do something with Pompey even if funds are a bit tight at the moment!
What do you reckon guys, squeaky bum time yet? Thoughts please as always…
PLAY UP POMPEY!
Share this article
