Harry's end game

Redknapp's eventful time at West Ham is up

BBC Sport Online chief football writer Phil McNulty believes a season high on expectation and low on achievement has ended Harry Redknapp's long-running love affair with West Ham United.

Harry Redknapp has walked away from West Ham United a beaten man - a manager who lost the will to juggle the explosive mixture of temperament and talent at Upton Park.

Redknapp's decision may have come as a surprise in the light of his bullish weekend talk of a summer spending spree after Premiership status was confirmed with victory against Southampton.

But to those closer to the club he has cut an increasingly tired - and almost puzzled figure - as West Ham's season slumped into freefall.

He talked of taking a long holiday at season's end, admitting: "It's not been a bundle of fun in the last few weeks."

Now he can have as long a holiday as he likes, but in circumstances no-one expected.

Di Canio - temperamental

Redknapp looked to have finally turned raw materials into the finished article this season when West Ham United performed with great maturity to knock Manchester United out of the FA Cup fourth round at Old Trafford.

He had successfully married the young talents of men like Joe Cole, Michael Carrick and Frank Lampard with the old heads like Stuart Pearce and Paolo Di Canio.

It was the perfect blend of youth and experience, the final answer to those who always accused West Ham of being more about style than substance.

He also had £18m in the bank from the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Leeds United.

Managerial life was sweet at last - or so he thought.

West Ham won in the FA Cup fifth round at Sunderland - but slipped tamely away against Spurs at Upton Park in the quarter-final.

It was a fateful day for soon-to-be-sacked Spurs boss George Graham, and ultimately it was the day that signalled the end of Redknapp's West Ham reign.

It was an old, old story, but West Ham's sudden plunge into relegation trouble shocked even Redknapp.

Talented Michael Carrick

The goals and the creative well dried up.

West Ham only had a mild fliration with the drop, but it appears it was close enough to make Redknapp realise his love affair with Upton Park was over.

He admitted he was finding it tough to play the maverick talents of Cole, Di Canio and Frederic Kanoute in the same team - and even had a minor spat with Cole when he left the youngster out of his starting line-up.

Redknapp found his signings questioned, and there is no doubt expensive deals for Liverpool duo Titi Camara and Rigobert Song were less the successful.

He was always active in the transfer market, a loan signing here and a triallist there, but was never really allowed to operate in the big-money league that may just have pushed West Ham that extra yard.

It was clear after Saturday's win against Southampton that Redknapp's batteries were in need of a serious recharge.

Few people expected he would start his recuperation away from the surroundings of his beloved West Ham.

£18m Rio Ferdinand

Maybe Redknapp was ultimately undone by his desire to fashion a team in the time-honoured tradition of the Hammers - a task frought with difficulty and one not necessarily designed to bring silverware to the East End.

He tried the foreign route, bringing men like Florin Radiciou and Paolo Futre to West Ham, then concentrated on home grown talent.

Redknapp then tried to mix and match the two.

He was tantalisingly close to success - but never quite crossed the thin divide between potential and delivering the success he so desperately wanted.

Redknapp may try again in football, and the old Hammer in him will ensure he tries to succeed with style and a swagger.

He was criticised by a frustrated section of West Ham's fans at the end, but even his detractors knew he was attempting to achieve success in the Upton Park tradition.