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Jamie Redknapp
Personal information
Full name	Jamie Frank Redknapp
Date of birth	June 25, 1973 (age 33)
Place of birth	Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire, England
Height	6 ft 0 in (1.83 m)
Nickname	Redders
Playing position	Midfielder
Senior clubs1
Years	Club	App (Gls)*
1989–1991 1991–2002 2002–2005 2005	Bournemouth Liverpool Tottenham Hotspur Southampton Total	013 0(0) 308 (41) 049 0(4) 016 0(1) 386 (46)
National team2
1995–1996	England	017 0(1)
1 Senior club appearances and goals counted for the domestic league only and correct as of 18:56, 6 March 2007 (UTC). 2 National team caps and goals correct as of 18:56, 6 March 2007 (UTC). * Appearances (Goals)

Jamie Frank Redknapp (born June 25, 1973 in Barton-on-Sea, Hampshire) is a well-known former English footballer of the 1990s and early 2000s and current football pundit.

He played as a midfielder in a promising career that was also dogged by injury. Redknapp was one of the most popular players of his generation although it is widely accepted that his good looks, celebrity spouse and modelling commitments often overshadowed his football talent. His cousin is Chelsea midfielder Frank Lampard.

Contents 1 Club career 1.1 A.F.C. Bournemouth 1.2 Liverpool 1.2.1 That goal 1.3 Tottenham Hotspur 1.4 Southampton 2 England career 3 Family 4 Post retirement 5 Quotes 6 Accolades 7 References 8 External links

Redknapp started his career at A.F.C. Bournemouth under his father, manager Harry Redknapp, before going on to play for Liverpool where Redknapp will be remembered for his best performances. After that Redknapp played two and a half seasons for Tottenham Hotspur then finally joined Southampton to reunite with his father for a second time. Redknapp was also capped 17 times with England, scoring one goal.

Redknapp started out on the road to professional football as a schoolboy at Tottenham Hotspur but began his professional career, at the age of 16, in 1989 at Bournemouth, then managed by his father, Harry. Jamie had only made 13 appearances for the club before attracting the attention of Liverpool whom he joined on 15 January 1991. Kenny Dalglish signed the 17-year-old Redknapp for the bargain price of £350,000, although, at the time, this made him one of the costliest teenagers in English football.

Redknapp was the last player to be signed by manager Kenny Dalglish before his, surprising, resignation the following month, before later becoming the youngest Liverpool player to appear in European competition, he was 18 years 120 days, when he made his Reds debut against Auxerre in the UEFA Cup on the 23rd October 1991. Unfortunately it wasn't a winning start for Redknapp as the Reds lost 2-0 to the French side. However, Liverpool managed to turn the tie around at Anfield beating Auxerre 3-0 to progress to the 3rd round of the tournament, Jamie was an unused sub for the game.

Redknapp's first goal for Liverpool came in his league debut on the 7th December '91 when he emerged from the bench as a a 63rd minute substitute for Jan Mølby in the fixture with Southampton at the Dell. Jamie's 74th minute tap in was enough to earn the Reds a 1-1 draw after they had been trailing, and struggling, to a 54th minute Alan Shearer goal.

However, following Dalglish's departure, Redknapp or 'Redders' as he came to be known, was part of a transitional Liverpool team under Graeme Souness. Redknapp would later spend most of his first two-and-a-half years on the substitute's bench and in the reserves, only becoming a regular first-team player in the 1993/94 season at the expense of Mark Walters. At the time (1993), Redknapp had also become one of the mass-marketed poster boy icons of the newly developing FA Premier League where, alongside other photogenic young players like Manchester United players Ryan Giggs and Lee Sharpe, he was used ceaselessly in commercials, advertising spots and for the league's promotional purposes in merchandising and sales. It was not uncommon to see Redknapp's face on the cover of any given football magazine like 'Shoot!' or 'Match', various Lad's mags, and even fashion magazines like GQ or Loaded.

On the pitch, Redknapp established himself as a true midfield marshall during the Roy Evans managerial reign at Anfield. He rose to fame together with fellow young professional colleagues like Steve McManaman and Robbie Fowler, but was black listed together with them and others like Stan Collymore and Jason McAteer at the time for their collective culture of being "Spice Boys" - a derogatory term that signified the team of that time as underachieving playboys that epitomised the lad culture in the game. Redknapp, in particular, came to epitomise the face of that team and was singled out many times because of his flash off-field lifestyle, often getting described along with David James as a player more concerned with the catwalk and modelling shoots with fashion labels like Top Man and Armani, rather than his football prowess, which many felt was one of underachievement considering his talents although Redknapp did manage to gain a League Cup winner's medal in 1995, an FA Cup runners-up medal in 1996, and come in close contention as nearly men for the FA Premiership, whilst with that 'Spice Boy' team.

Redknapp's talents in the game revolved around being a central midfielder who distributed the ball around the pitch with a huge range of passing skills, as well as a keen eye for set pieces and long range shooting abilities. Redknapp scored many spectacular goals in his time at Anfield and his contributions during the 1998-99 season peaked as he created numerous chances and scored 10 goals to help lift the club as it was undergoing a continental revolution under new boss Gérard Houllier. Redknapp became vice and then full club captain by 1999-2000 following the departures of John Barnes, Steve McManaman and Paul Ince respectively.

Redknapp again led by example as the side blended talented youth players like Michael Owen and Steven Gerrard with continental players like Patrik Berger and Sami Hyypiä. Redknapp's contributions helped put the club back into the top three of the FA Premiership but, unfortunately, a knee injury curtailed his involvement in the 2000-01 season and in a bid to cure his long standing injury troubles he underwent knee surgery under renowned knee specialist Dr Richard Steadman in the America. As a result, Redknapp was unable to participate in the club's historic cup treble campaign which yielded the FA Cup, Worthington League Cup and UEFA Cup. Such was his popularity, although injured, the club captain, was called up by his team-mates to receive the FA Cup with vice-captain Robbie Fowler at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff. Redders made his comeback from injury during the pre-season tour before the 2001-02 season and received an amazing reception during the Far East tour of Singapore and Thailand, where his popularity is second only to David Beckham.

Tragically, just when it looked like he was back, his injury curse struck again and although he fought back once more the end of his Liverpool career was in sight. On the 27th October 2001 he played and scored in a 2-0 win over Charlton Athletic at The Valley, in a game that would prove to be his last for the Merseyside club, he had played 308 times for the Reds and scored 41 goals, he also became a favourite amongst the Anfield faithful.

Not many people, never mind Liverpool players, silence Anfield. Jamie Redknapp managed it on the last day of the FA Premier League 1994-95 season. Bitter rivals Manchester United needed to beat West Ham at Upton Park and a Liverpool victory over title challengers Blackburn to win the league. Also brought into the equation was the facr that Rovers were now managed by former Reds manager and the man who took Redders to Anfield, Kenny Dalglish, . Blackburn took the lead through a Alan Shearer strike but John Barnes equalised in the 64th minute to put the title back in the balance. With the game looking set for a 1-1 draw Liverpool won a last minute free kick just outside the left edge of the Rovers penalty area. Up stepped Redknapp, who remained the ultimate professional, to score directly from the kick. The Rovers and Liverpool fans were silent as they knew it was the winner and no one wanted to celebrate the goal that would win United the title. However, just 30 seconds later news filtered through that United had only managed a 1-1 draw in the Capital which was not enough to overturn the 2 point deficit, the crowd erupted with both sets of fans celebrating and singing the Man United song 'Always look on the bright side of life.'

Redknapp was allowed to join Glenn Hoddle's Tottenham Hotspur on a free transfer on 18 April 2002 with just a couple of fixtures remaining of the 2002-03 season. However, he didn't make his debut until the beginning of the following campaign when he played well on 17 August 2002 in the 2-2 league draw with his former club's derby rivals Everton at Goodison Park. He capped a fine display with a brilliant pass into the path of Matthew Etherington to score his first ever Premiership goal; it was also a game that saw the debut of a promising Everton youngster named Wayne Rooney.

Redknapp scored his first goal for the club a week later on 26 August 2002 in the 1-0 league win over Aston Villa at White Hart Lane; the game, which was a little dour, was lit up with Redknapp's alertness when he quickly controlled a punched clearance from Villa keeper Peter Enckelman and from around 30 yards out hit a dipping shot back into an unguarded net, a typical piece of Redknapp play, always thinking, always aware of what is around him.

Redknapp played 49 times for Spurs scoring 4 goals in his two-and-a-half years at the Lane before becoming his father, Harry's, first signing for Southampton on 4 January 2005.

The 31 year-old joined Southampton's fight against relegation on a free transfer and made his debut on 5 January 2005 in the 3-3 league draw with Fulham at St Mary's. Redknapp's only goal for the club came 3 days later in the 3-1 FA Cup 3rd round victory over Northampton Town at Sixfields.

Unfortunately, as he was rarely fully fit during his brief spell at the Saints, Redknapp wasn't able to prevent them from being relegated to the Championship after a 27 year stint in England's top flight.

At the end of the season, on 19 June 2005, he decided to retire from the game due to his constant injury problems and on the advice of his medical specialists.

Injuries blighted Redknapp's relatively successful career, severely limiting the scope and influence of his role on the English national team. The notorious headline chasing British tabloids dubbed his career as being jinxed.

Terry Venables gave Redknapp his international debut on 6 September 1995 in the 0-0 international friendly with Colombia at Wembley. Many forget that it was Jamie's long cross-come shot (after the whistle had blown for an infringement) during this match that produced Rene Higuita's infamous 'scorpion kick' save.

His one and only international goal came on 10 October 1999 in the 2-1 friendly victory Belgium at the Stadium of Light, Sunderland, Redknapp's 67th minute strike was an absolute peach, venomously striking the ball with his weaker left foot from 25 yards out.

Redknapp was officially capped 17 times for England. After playing a brief part in Euro 96, injury ruled him out of both World Cup 98 and Euro 2000. Many still acknowledge Redknapp's talent, and have fond memories of his short stints with the national team. Many believe that if it were not for Redknapp's injuries he would of played at least 50 times for his country, infact Redknapp was injured 3 times whilst on international duty, they all came in games against countries that began with the letter S, Switzerland in 1995, Scotland during Euro 96, and South Africa in 1997.

In 1998, Redknapp married former Eternal singer Louise Nurding. Their first child, Charley, was born on July 27, 2004.

Since his retirement, Redknapp has successfully entered the field of punditry, mainly with Sky Sports. Redknapp has also admitted he is obtaining his coaching badges in preparation for a possible future career as a manager. His father Harry Redknapp has been reported to be offering him a coaching place at Portsmouth when he gets his badges, but he would want Jamie to quit his job with Sky Sports.

In 2005, Redknapp launched a bi-monthly magazine with former team-mate Tim Sherwood and Louise titled Icon, aimed at professional footballers and their families.^[1]

In May 2006, Redknapp wore the England shirt again playing for the pro/celeb Soccer Aid team and scored the only goal against an England masters team.

On his (and Louise's) comparisons to David Beckham (and Posh Spice): "He may be a better footballer than I am but I certainly won't say she's a better singer than she is." (Source: ESPN Player Focus, 2004)

On his injuries: "People ask me why I keep getting injured but I have just had to accept it is one of those things that happen. It's a horrible feeling - there's nothing worse for any player than to be thinking at the back of your mind that there's something wrong with you. I haven't counted, obviously, but I reckon I've probably lost over a year and a half of my career through injury so far".

Preceded by Paul Ince

Liverpool F.C. Captain 1999-2002

Succeeded by Sami Hyypiä

A true gentleman of the sport he is still held in high regard by the Anfield faithful, this was verified when he was voted in at position 40 in the 2006 poll 100 Players Who Shook The Kop which was conducted by the official Liverpool Football Club web site. More than 110,000 Reds worldwide voted for their 10 favourite players of all time.

• Official past players at Liverpoolfc.tv
• Player profile at LFChistory.net
• Jamie Redknapp index at Sporting-heroes.net
• Jamie Redknapp career stats at Soccerbase
• Jamie Redknapp fansite
• Louise Redknapp Official Website