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Redknapp says he can't fill in team sheets PRINT EMAIL FACEBOOK DIGG RSS SHARE Decrease font Enlarge font
LONDON (AP) -- Tottenham manager Harry Redknapp denied tax evasion to police by insisting he "couldn't even fill a team sheet in."
A tape recording of the interview was played at Redknapp's court trial where he is accused of hiding $295,000 of transfer bonuses in an offshore account. Redknapp told officers he had not seen his pay slip in years, saying: "You talk to anybody at the football club. I don't write. I couldn't even fill a team sheet in."
Redknapp, who along with co-defendant Milan Mandaric denies tax evasion charges relating to their time at Portsmouth, described himself as "utterly disorganized."
"I am not going to fiddle taxes, I pay my accountant a fortune to look after me," Redknapp said in the June 2009 police interview.
"He writes all the checks for me and my wife," the 64-year-old manager added. "He pays my bills. He runs my life basically."
Redknapp's bank adviser, Alan Hills, recalled in court on Thursday how Redknapp made "disastrous" business decisions and lost 250,000 pounds (now $392,000) trying to invest in Oxford United at an undisclosed time.
Redknapp's lawyer, John Kelsey-Fry, used the example to deny prosecution claims that Redknapp was a "hardheaded businessman".
Mandaric is accused of paying $145,000 into Redknapp's Monaco bank account in May 2002 - a bonus prompted by Peter Crouch's sale from Portsmouth to Aston Villa - and another $150,000 two years later.
The prosecution case is that the Redknapp and Mandaric, who is now chairman at third-tier club Sheffield Wednesday, were trying to dodge paying income tax and national insurance.
Redknapp managed Portsmouth, which is now in the second tier, from 2002-04 and returned to Fratton Park in 2005 after a brief spell at its rival Southampton before moving to Tottenham in 2008.
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WHAT THEY'RE SAYING "I can't work a computer, I don't know what an email is, I can't, I have never sent a fax and I've never even sent a text message. I have a big problem, I can't write so I don't keep anything. I am the most disorganized person, I am ashamed to say, in the world."
-- What Tottenham coach Harry Redknapp told police while denying tax evasion charges. (ESPN.com
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Reports: Redknapp no longer Tottenham manager 0 inShare AddThis Email Print Decrease font Enlarge font
LONDON (AP) -- British media are reporting that Harry Redknapp is no longer Tottenham manager following his failure to repeat his feat of leading the team into the Champions League.
BBC and Sky said late Wednesday that Redknapp has left after nearly four seasons in charge and with a year left on his contract.
The decision would cap a difficult few months for the 65-year-old Englishman, in which he missed out on the England coaching job and Spurs failed to reach Europe's top club event despite holding a 10-point lead over their nearest rival at one stage of the Premier League season.
Redknapp joined Tottenham in October 2008 with the team hovering above the relegation zone. By May 2010, Spurs had qualified for the Champions League for the first time.
Copyright 2012 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
