Where did it all go wrong for Harry Redknapp?

By the end, even Harry Redknapp’s biggest supporters had grown tired of his excuses. Resigning from his Queens Park Rangers post the morning after the January transfer deadline was a curious move, and while no-one doubts the legitimacy of his knee problem, it’s not like this injury crept up on him overnight.

Redknapp’s managerial abilities can be underestimated, but his spell at QPR was nothing short of a disaster – having got them relegated the first time around, then sneaked promotion through the play-offs despite having the best squad in the Championship by miles, Redknapp has now left the club in a perilous position with his replacement unable to sign his own players. For a man whose Tottenham side were briefly Premier League title contenders in 2012, when Redknapp was the strong favourite for the England job, it’s a quite dramatic fall from grace. Few supporters of Redknapp’s former clubs remember him fondly, and we can now add QPR to the list.

QPR actually have a talented squad this season, just as they did two seasons ago when relegated. The side is certainly unbalanced, but compare the players in the QPR side with those for Leicester or Burnley, and there’s a world of difference – QPR have experienced international players, while Leicester and Burnley have players who wouldn’t look out of place for a bottom-half Championship side.

The difference, then, is about organisation and team spirit, and QPR have huge problems in both respects. While Redknapp has often insisted he doesn’t care much about tactics, realistically during periods at Tottenham he made some extremely canny strategic decisions, and even when playing a basic 4-4-2 system the team was drilled excellently when defending, with the midfield protecting the defence and the strikers taking it in turns to drop back onto the opposition holding midfielder and make up the numbers in the centre.

At QPR, though, Redknapp’s approach has rarely been convincing. Defensively the side has often been a shambles, particularly the complete lack of relationship between the full-backs and the centre-backs – the likes of Armand Traore and Mauricio Isla need to be tucking inside and getting tight to the centre-backs, not concentrating their efforts on raiding down the touchlines.

This, in part, is a consequence of Redknapp starting the season with an ill-fated 3-5-2 system, which was quickly abandoned when it became clear the organisation was poor in that respect too. The 3-5-2 seemed to come at the request of Glenn Hoddle, who Redknapp had brought into his typically large coaching staff – but Hoddle, while a great football thinker, had been out of Premier League football for over a decade, and his system looked outdated even then.

Tim Sherwood seems the most likely man to replace Redknapp, and if QPR fans were hoping for some kind of tactical mastermind, they’ll be somewhat disappointed.

Sherwood’s record at Spurs last season was actually rather good – as he’s keen to point out, he boasted the highest points-per-game record of any Spurs manager in the Premier League era. Quite how this was achieved, however, remains something of a mystery. Sherwood sent out teams in a simple shape, with a poorly balanced midfield and little protection for the defence.

In some matches they looked completely outplayed and yet picked up points, but if that’s what happens at QPR for the remainder of the season, it’s job done.

Sherwood, presumably, instilled some kind of team spirit at Spurs and appeared to be popular with the players. Emmanuel Adebayor, for example, was rejuvenated and started scoring for fun – and while QPR failed in a late bid to sign the Togo striker last month, they already have their fair share of Adebayors in terms of attitude. If Sherwood can get the best from the likes of Junior Hoilett or Sandro, he could be onto something.

More than anything, though, QPR are a sad example of how not to run a football club in the modern era. Once a respectable club who produced good youngsters, they’ve become something of a laughing stock in recent seasons, continually recruiting over-the-hill players who see west London as a more convenient location for an easy payday than MLS or India.

Signing younger players with something to prove is a more promising strategy, and the success of striker Charlie Austin is the obvious example: QPR’s outstanding performer this season was previously the most unheralded first-team player. Big-name stars bring an initial wave of excitement, but they’re not always the best bets for Premier League survival. Sherwood, however, will be forced to work with what’s already there, thanks to Redknapp’s untimely departure.

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