Harry Redknapp slams 'idiotic' council over flag ban

0:03The Telegraph.

0:09Is he getting more deluded by the day? Keir Starmer, in the Last Chance Saloon, out of desperation has offered a big cabinet role to his nemesis, Andy Burnham. But what can he possibly offer to our Andy, who's only interested in one job, Prime Minister? And we speak to all-round football legend Harry Redknapp, ahead of England's first game in the World Cup. He says they can go all the way and win it and is furious at a miserable Lib Dem council banning England fans from flying their flags. Welcome to The Daily Tea with me, Tim Stanley. And me, Camilla Tomini.

0:51Tim, the Prime Minister is increasingly deluded, isn't he? He's given an interview to Sky News' Beth Rigby in which he's announced that he is poised to give Andy Burnham a big job in his government. I love how you've put on your explaining to daughter that grandma has dementia. Yeah, am I doing my softly, softly? You notice how sometimes Keir doesn't know where he is. I don't mean it to sound like that, but I looked at that and I just thought, oh, bless him. I know what you're trying to do, but the big job he wants in government is your job. It's yours. And lots of members of your own cabinet are supporting that.

1:28So it's almost like the coup is being played out in plain sight. It's not even a backstabbing thing. It is a stabbing directly in his face and he's pretending he can't see the knife. I find it extraordinary. Yes. Well, he said he would offer Andy Burnham a big role, but I'm not sure what he's got to offer him besides, say, a hamburgette. No. Because no one else wants to move. It is reported that Yvette Cooper has said, we're on something like nine foreign secretaries in 10 years. Yes. And is arguing that if you move me out, it just looks ridiculous on the world stage. It already looks ridiculous.

2:05OK. But again, in the context of the rouse over defence spending, etc., if you start moving people around, he can't move Rachel Reeves because that's a vote of no confidence in the government's economic strategy for the last two years. Yes. He can't touch David Lammy. He can't touch Shabana Mahmood, although Burnham has, it's reported, been offering Chancellor to. But Mahmood again has said, I don't want to go anywhere because I've got my immigration. In other words, what is the big role that he could offer him? No, he can't offer him Ed Miliband's job because Ed Miliband is apparently not speaking to him.

2:41That's right. He's ghosting him. Yes, yes. Apparently, the Prime Minister has tried to get a meeting with the Energy Secretary and is being snubbed. Yes. And when the Commons met today for a DPMQ's, Deputy Prime Minister's Questions, Claire Coutinho represented the Conservative Party and she asked this question. The world is getting more dangerous. Yet last week, the Prime Minister asked the Energy Secretary to help fund the defence of our country and he ghosted him. Let me repeat that. the Energy Secretary refused to meet the Prime Minister on a matter of national security. Why hasn't he been sacked?

3:29Prime Minister... Stop reading the papers, I'd say to the Honourable Lady. Mr Speaker. What do you think of Coutinho, by the way? She's the shadow Energy Secretary, so she's gone for Miliband because that's her opposite number. Also, the Tories think they're going to be able to make hay with this idea that we're happy to take oil and gas from the Russians, but not from the Scots, so to speak, not from the North Sea. Yes, this is within 24 hours of a yacht reportedly being fired upon by a Russian ship. Although I'm told from Russian media that in fact the yacht fired upon the Russian ship. Yes, that's right.

4:03And the Russian ship was just there to see the beautiful Straits of Dover, which are very well known in Russia. Yes, Russia Today, yes. George Galloway, appearing on Russia Today, said there's absolutely nothing to see here. Funny enough, though, the MOD... The soldiers were terrified when the ancient couple reared up in their boats. And had a cup of coffee and a hobnob. Yes, the couple got onto the deck, had a cup of coffee and a hobnob, and at that point, warning shots were fired by the Russians. Less self-defence. It's interesting the MOD is also playing it down, presumably not to escalate anything.

4:33Well, it follows on from the British boarding a Russian vessel, so it wouldn't be a great surprise if there was a bit of tit for tat in it. But she's asking these questions and making the point that you're always talking about resilience. But if we continue to rely upon oil and gas from countries like Iran and Russia, because we're not producing oil and gas in the British Isles, and because we're relying upon the less reliable sources like solar and wind, then isn't that bad for resilience and security? But I'll tell you who is being resilient. Ed Miliband. Because at the end of the day, it's not just this ghosting of the prime minister.

5:11He also resolutely refused to budge when asked by the Treasury whether he could cut his budget somewhat in order to pay more to the Defence Department. Yes. So he's one of the candidates that was cited by Al-Khans, wasn't he, as standing in the way of securing this great nation. Yeah. So Miliband's clearly emboldened. And by the way, doesn't that say something about his aspirations come the next government? Yes. I mean, we were told behind the scenes that we were underplaying and underpricing Miliband's own quest for greatness again. I mean, he did run. He was leader. He did do terribly badly.

5:46He did garner less support than, I believe, Jeremy Corbyn. He has been tried and tested and failed. The Ed Stone literally sort of landed on his career. You could be describing Andy Burnham, by the way. Yes, I could be. Lost the leadership twice. was once beaten by Jeremy Corbyn and he started the race against Corbyn, perceived to be the front runner as that generation's golden boy and ended up getting beaten by Grandpa Crazy. So he himself has obvious flaws. Now, this episode of PMQs was very lightly attended. And that's because a lot of MPs are in Makerfield while the Prime Minister is abroad.

6:26It's also off-Broadway. Right. I mean, you've got the understudies. Yes, Claire Coutinho versus David Lammy, who was, you know, as Lammy always is, he always does his I can't believe you said that act. Yes, that's right. He's quite good. He has quite a bit of presence in the chamber. Yeah, he does. I, you know, I rate David Lammy. I think he's pretty good. Nigel Farage wasn't there, where Streeting was watching and John Healy was watching as well. Well, we'll get onto Streeting in a minute because Streeting is now flying the flag and we will get onto that. And in the balcony were friends and relatives of Jo Cox, because the house was marking 10 years since her assassination.

7:02And that's why everyone was wearing a white rose of Yorkshire. OK, but the tone was at times very serious. So it was also being used, I think, the PMQs as a stick with which to beat reform ahead of the by-election. Inevitably, yes. We had a very impassioned question about reform's candidate in Makerfield. Oh, this was the best question of all. And this got a lot of laughs from the press gallery. The Makerfield candidate for reform has disgracefully said, and I quote, the majority of abortions are for vanity purposes. He described mums in his words with their fat bellies pushing prams in their PJs and failed to apologise to National Treasure Carol Borderman for endorsing sexually explicit comments about her.

7:47Mr Speaker, this exposes the rank hypocrisy of reform politicians, talking tough on Vorg, but in reality having zero respect for women. Does the Deputy Prime Minister agree with me that reform has a problem with women, further highlighted by seemingly welcoming a woman-beater into their fold? So that was Sarah Owen, a Labour MP from Luton. Now, had Owen stuck to just some of the crass things that Robert Kenyon has said about women in the past, it might have landed better. But I think she made that rhetorical mistake of trying to elevate one of the victims a little too far by calling Carol Vorderman a national treasure.

8:29Yeah, I think that may be overstating it. Somebody said on Externational Embarrassment. Listen, I mean, Carol and I have had, we've come to blows on social media. I don't mind telling you. Right. But at the same time, this idea of sort of elevating... I mean, I tell you who was a national treasure. Richard Whiteley, the original host of Countdown. He was a national treasure. Left us too soon. Carol, not so much. Yeah, it's funny that, isn't it? Why one and not tother? Probably because Richard Whiteley kept his opinions to himself. That could be it. Also, I don't think Richard Whiteley at one point decided to go and work with David Cameron and then had an enormous case of buyer's remorse.

9:08Maybe, I don't know why, but maybe because a peerage wasn't offered. Yes. And then switch sides. And I don't think Richard Whiteley, from memory, I mean, I could be wrong, initiates pylons against people that they disagree with. So for all those reasons and more. I'm intrigued in an Alan Partridge-esque way, what makes someone a national treasure? And for instance, the fellow who you do this morning with. Charles Brandreth. Charles Brandreth, the one with the jumpers. He is a national treasure. Yes, he'd be delighted to hear that. But not in the 90s. No. Because he was a Tory MP. That's right.

9:45As soon as you go political and partisan, you surrender your national treasure status. But people can forget that you are political and you can re-emerge as a national treasure. I mean, Roy Hattesley, to some extent, for some people, began to... Yeah, I'm trying to think of Tory national treasures. Yeah, they're few and far between. You really have to distance yourselves from the party. I'll give you one. Michael Portillo. Oh. But that's because... Railway man's best friend. That's because of the railways, not because of the political career. Oh, definitely not. If he were only remembered for...

10:18He who dares wins. We dare. We will win. If Michael... I hope he's not watching. If he was only remembered for that, then he wouldn't be a national treasure. He's remembered for being humiliated on election night. He is. That reminds me of Del Trotter. He who dares wins. He who hesitates. Don't. Now, that is a national treasure. Yeah. David Jason. Exactly. But it isn't Carol Vorderman, and I think we need to just state that for the record, my lord. Yes. There was a funny joke about a tattoo. There was, yes. Josh Baberindi, the Lib Dem MP, said this to David Lammy. As an Eastbourne boy born and bred, I can tell the Deputy Prime Minister that Eastbourne Pier is an iconic part of our heritage, an iconic part of our local economy, and an iconic part of me.

11:06I literally have it tattooed on me. I can show the deputy prime minister afterwards. The question raised both some amusement and confusion because Babarindi went on to ask for more money for Eastbourne Pier and it wasn't clear if he was asking for money for the pier or his tattoo. Right. OK. Which itself has probably now gained the status of a national treasure. Well, to be fair, the Lib Dems are so socialist that they probably think that the taxpayer should be funding tattoos. I have seen the tattoo. Oh, have you? He's posted it online. Oh, thank you for clarifying that. Where is it upon his arm?

11:43Thank you. It's on his arm. Yes. And it's a little triangle with the pier in it. Right. It's disappointing. Is it? I was hoping that there would be an enormous pier stretching right across his buttocks. Yes, that's right. Instead, it's just a little sort of postage stamp on his arm. Or just two Ws on his buttocks. No, I'm sorry. It's just so crass. Would you ever get a tattoo, Tim Stanley? I think I probably would, yeah. What? That is not the answer I was expecting you to give. I know. Are you joking? I know, but I'm not. It would have to be religious, of course. Jesus Christ. Well, I'm thinking of, yeah.

12:17Virgin Mary. Yes. Jesus Christ. I'm thinking of the Queen of Heaven all down one arm, something like that, yes. With colour or black and white, out of interest. But, of course, you know, you can have religious tattoos. the Cots get something tattooed across their wrist, which they show when they go into church and things like that. But some of my friends, some of my more religious friends, tell me I shouldn't do it because it's defiling God's temple. My body is a temple. Well, we know that. Yes. Especially after your glow up noted by Kami Bainok. Wipe your feet before you enter. Can I just say that Josh Babarinde is a sensible Lib Dem.

12:53He's a, well, I sat next to him at dinner once. He never shuts up about Eastbourne. Oh, come on. He's a good campaigning constituency MP. No, I know. And it's not just Eastbourne, it's Eastbourne Leisure Centre. Almost every single question he has to mention, Eastbourne Leisure Centre. But I sat next to him at a dinner once and I kind of thought, oh, you're in Lib Dem, this is surprising. And I mention the Lib Dems because, once again, they're in breach of the Trade Descriptions Act. They're meant to be both liberal and democratic. Now their esteemed leader, Sir Ed Davey, is advocating crossing Keir Starmer's red lines and making the case for us to re-enter the customs union in the single market.

13:28This was Daisy Cooper. Now, I find that extraordinary on the basis that, and we're marking the 10th anniversary of the Brexit vote next Tuesday, and we will have an exclusive interview with Nigel Farage, just to flag that now. But, I mean, it is certainly neither liberal nor democratic, is it, to reverse a once-in-a-lifetime referendum that was supported by the majority of voters. Even if it was a slim majority, it was still a mandate. Daisy Cooper also asked for more money for defence via a bond. There is nothing I can imagine they aren't prepared to spend money on. I'm unclear what they want to cut except for taxes.

14:08There's something for everyone. I mean, yes, it's very easy to sit next to a Lib Dem at dinner. I mean, if you don't watch them eat. It's easy to sit next to a Lib Dem at dinner and find them very reasonable because they are all things to all people. But they're actually not as transparent as they might first appear. So, for instance, official Lib Dem policy is not to go back into the EU. Well, what's this then? This is as near as, damn it, without quite saying we want to go back into the EU. And, you know, I'm sure he will return to our conversation in the next couple of days. But why is Rupert Lowe playing so well, for instance, on Facebook seems to be his scene?

14:46It's because there's a clarity there. People perceive that he's just going to do this thing because he said he's going to do this thing. And there's a lot of mucking about in politics at the moment with the mainstream parties of not quite saying what does he want to do. What's stopping the Lib Dems from just being an ideological Remainer party? There's all the votes in it. Have the courage of your convictions. They're not doing very well. They're doing quite badly in the national polls. They've been eclipsed by the Greens in terms of political salience. So why not just say we are a Remain party?

15:16Yes, because they don't want to alienate people in leafy shires that did vote for Brexit. Well, quite possibly. But I think they are the most disingenuous party because of that. Although actually, no, the Greens are more dishonest. We're all about the environment. No, you're not. You're actually about anti-Zionism. Yeah. The other thing I would say as well about the whole Ed Davery offering is actually that is why people mistrust politicians. and he's only being outmaneuvered on the whole, oh, I'm going to say everything that comes into my mind at any given moment in order to appeal to the widest electorate possible.

15:51Yes. That is the definition of Burnhamism. Yes. Burnham, who, if he's on the doorstep of a red ruler who did vote for Brexit, says that it's an absolute aberration to reverse the referendum. Yes. But if he happens to be speaking to a Remainer in metropolitan Manchester, then he's going to say, yeah, I think it's actually a mistake and people are having regrets. You know, one minute he's speaking to some kind of, you know, far left student society and so he thinks trans women are women. The next he's speaking to an ordinary bloke on the street who doesn't think that women can have penises and then he changes his tune.

16:21So he is the definition of the political everyman, the man who stands for everything and therefore nothing. Do we know where he stands on death and specifically the assisted dying bill? I don't know, but that being revived, pardon the expression. The irony here is... The corpse literally having the life support machine placed on it. That legislation is a disgrace. The irony here is that if the assisted dying bill were a human being, its supporters by now would have flown it to Dignitas. Yeah, that's right. Yet the one thing they are willing to fight to the bitter end to keep alive is their euthanasia bill.

16:58It's extraordinary, isn't it? Don't at me. It's a euthanasia bill. Yes, it is. I think it's extraordinary. The other reason why we need to be down on the yellows, breaking news story on the Telegraph website. Do check it out. So we've got this council in Oxfordshire, Lib Dem run, saying, even though the World Cup is on, don't know if you noticed that, Tim. You across it? No, I know that. I'm aware of this. Because we're going to be speaking to Harry Redknapp in just a moment. Excellent. England versus Croatia, 9pm tonight. Obviously, people want a flag fly. I mean, you know, of course they do.

17:32Obviously, in Scotland, flags are being flown all over the shop for the Haiti match. They will be again on Friday for Morocco. But apparently St George's Crosses and Union flags are problematic to the Lib Dems in that area. They've been placed on motorway bridges and streetlights across the county since last summer's Raise the Colours campaign. And that's associated with the right. So doubtlessly, the Liberal Democrats don't like it. But the Lib Dem Council there has now taken the fight against flags a step further. Presumably they've used taxpayers' money for this, to launch a ban at the High Court.

18:06They want an injunction to stop people from placing flags near public highways. Now, yes, they've talked about safety risks, but also the intimidation and distress linked to this activity. Right. The ongoing scale and persistence of the behaviour by Raise the Colours has created safety risks, caused distress within communities and led to abuse and intimidation directed at council teams and residents. Right. I interpret that as people have tried to take down the flags for the council and they've been shouted at by people possibly in white vans, possibly not. Right. Is there another country in the world in which the country's flag is considered problematic by its people?

18:50Now, you're now writing with loads of examples, but if you do, they will be third world countries with civil wars going on. The point being, we are a relatively happy, stable, wealthy democracy. I just can't believe there's anywhere else in, say, Europe, where there is this degree of controversy or awkwardness around the flying of the national flag. Let me just quote Councillor Tim Bearder, leader of Oxfordshire County Council, who said, This application is about protecting our residents, our workforce and the values we stand for as a country. We are proud of Oxfordshire's diverse communities and of our Council of Sanctuary status.

19:30Oh, that means that they encourage refugees to move in. OK, we proudly fly the union flag and St George's flag at County Hall and we fully support the right of residence to display flags on their own private property. This activity is not about national proud or unity. It is unlawful behaviour which has caused fear and division within our communities. Now, I'm sorry, but if people are publicly flying flags, How on earth can Oxfordshire Council infer the motivations for doing that? Well, if someone is flouting the law by creating an ecological or a safety problem with, say, burdening a street lamp or a lamp that hangs over a motorway with too many flags, OK, fair enough.

20:07Then someone has to be paid to go in and take it down for safety reasons. I get it. But to say on the one hand, we are standing up for British values, and then to take down the British flag or the English flag, can you not see the contradiction there? It seems to be a little bit. Is the flag not itself an expression of English and British values? Yeah. Also, you know, we had that discussion a couple of weeks ago about how we could sense the woke in something immediately and then the woke in it was denied. Right. And then you see the statement and it's got the word diverse in it. Yes. And then you're like, oh, OK, now I get it.

20:38It's not really about safety. It's about the Lib Dems trying to push diversity over patriotism. But if you're proud of your diverse communities, whatever that means, I think it's a pretty weird thing to go around saying, I'm just so jolly happy that everyone around here is so very different from each other. But even if you are, the English flag is still part of that diversity. And it's the thing that knits the diverse community back together again. Also, you'd hope to think that the Lib Dems, if they are promoting diversity and inclusion, would like to welcome immigrant communities, first, second, third, whatever generation, who embrace the St George's flag.

21:16They came to live here for a reason. Maybe they still support their native country, but I mean, I see quite a few people of colour in pubs and in the street and by big TV screens during national sporting events, embracing the flag like everyone else. They don't seem to find it divisive. And also, if the flags were rainbow coloured, how would they feel? Because in Sevenoaks in Kent, I can't help but notice, and I assume it is my local council, have insisted upon hoisting the rainbow flag above the cricket green. But at the same time, it used to be when it was all the rage, you get one or two shops putting up a little sticker in the window.

21:58Almost no one except the Oxfam has done that, because really, the wind has gone out of pride. No one's into it now. And seeing this sad, tatty little flag flying, it had all the political salience of the flag of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. It was just a silly little symbol of a political issue which has passed us by. And yet there are still some people who I suspect would rather drape themselves in that flag than the flag of their own country. But to reiterate, the World Cup's all about flags. Yeah. I mean, that's the whole point. It's about a team. It's about national support. My son is so good on flags simply because of his football supporting.

22:36Honestly, I mean, do you remember I went on that Celebrity Pointless and the first round was flags and Rachel Johnson and I, we crashed out. We got two big red Xs. I think it's the first time in the show's history that contestants did so badly in the first round. But it's educational. It's just frustrating. The left will only be satisfied when we put on the flag Carol Vorderman. That's what we should do. Yes, because she's a national treasure. Exactly, with a calculator or something. Richie Sunak would love that. Exactly. A little sum. Yes. Carol Vorderman. Now, talking of national treasures, actually, I think in footballing terms, our next guest is a national treasure.

23:15Yeah. Harry Redknapp. He's the crown jewels. He's the crown jewels. I spoke to this footballing legend earlier, Tim. Coming up next, we're going to play out our discussion where we talk about Flaggate, the wonders of Harry Kane, and whether he's better than Lionel Messi.

23:39Harry Rebknapp, thank you very much for joining me on the Daily Tea for a momentous day in England's footballing history, the first match tonight against Croatia. Now, you had previously expressed some scepticism that Thomas Tuchel, as a German, could adequately manage this team. What do you think now, Harry? No, I didn't think he could adequately manage the team. I just said I would love to have had an Englishman manage in England. That was all I said. And I don't change my opinion of that. We have coaching badges. We have coaching courses. We have lots of young managers in this country. That's just my view.

24:15I just think I'm English. I'm proud to be English. I would like to see an English manager managing the national football team. There's nothing wrong. That's my opinion. And that won't change. Fair enough. I've got nothing against Thomas Tudor. I'm sure he's a fantastic... I'm sure he's an excellent manager. hopefully he'll win the World Cup which is, you know, what is it which will be amazing so let's wait and see but there's nothing against him at all I don't care if he's German if he's Italian I just don't want to see a foreign manager that's my opinion I want to see an English manager managing England do you honestly think an Englishman would get the chance to manage the German national team or an Englishman would get a chance to manage Italy or an Englishman would get a chance to manage Spain I doubt it very much Actually, you make a good point when it comes to a discussion about whether or not Tuchel will sing the national anthem.

25:06So we know that players differ in their approach to singing God Save the King. Some players historically have always belted it out. I'm thinking about Stuart Pearce. I'm thinking about David Beckham in yesteryear. Some players just stand and they obey it, but they don't necessarily sing it. What should Tuchel do? I don't know what he would do. He would do whatever he wants to do. I mean, it's up to him if he wants to sing it or not. It's up to Tuchel if he wants to sing the national anthem. You know, I don't know. It's his choice, obviously, and it's whatever he feels he should do. I doubt it.

25:39He's not English. I don't suppose he has to sing it, really, does he? No. If he doesn't want to, you know? Do you think we can win this thing, Harry? Yeah, I think we've got a good chance. I think it's a wide-open tournament. I honestly wouldn't like to pick a winner. France last night, second half, were very good. Spain weren't great. They're the two of the Brazil look quite ordinary. I mean, you know, when I look back over the great Brazilian teams of yesteryear when they were just incredible, I think it's a wide open tournament. And I think we've got some good players. We've got the best centre forward in the world in Harry Kane.

26:13So when you've got him in your team, you've got to have a chance. Yeah, I think we've got a chance. Worry about us defensively. Are we good enough at the back to win it? But we go in there with a real chance. I would love to see us win it. And so we start tonight. I think we'll probably beat Croatia. They're a team, their best player is still Luka Modric, who's 40 years of age. Yes. An incredible player. You know, I was lucky enough to manage him for four years. Just the most fantastic footballer, professional person, just a lovely man. So he's still their best player. So there's no reason we should beat Croatia tonight.

26:48It's amazing, this longevity in football these days, Harry. We had Lionel Messi scoring that hat trick, is first in a World Cup at the age of 38. You've mentioned Modric there. We've also, of course, got Ronaldo playing for Portugal aged 41. Are these guys defying age and gravity? What's going on here? Well, Stanley Matthews played in the top division in England, Division 1, which was the Premier League, at 51. Wow. Was he still any good, Harry? Was he still any good? Stanley Matthews was an absolute legend, Sir Stanley Matthews. He was just an amazing footballer and he still played at 51. So, yeah, these lads, and they look after themselves, their special talents.

27:37Ronaldo, look at the condition he keeps himself in. But last night, all the top goal scorers came to the front. You know, Haaland scored two. Yes. Messi scored three goals. Mbappe scored two. I think Harry Kane will get off the mark tonight with a couple of goals. And let's hope he ends up leading goal scorer in the tournament. And by doing that, he helps England win the World Cup. It'll be fantastic. How do you rate... And Thomas Tuchel, it'll be great for him and great for England if he wins it. How do you rate Harry Kane alongside some of those names you've just mentioned? Because obviously he's had the most extraordinary season at Bayern.

28:12He's done so well. He's leading from the front. He's absolutely prolific with his goal scoring. How do you rate him against the likes of Messi and Ronaldo and others? Oh, Harry, at this stage now, Harry would be a better player than them. I'm not saying he's been a better player than them. Messi, Ronaldo would have been better than Harry. But at this stage of their careers, at 38 and 40 years, whatever they are, Harry's banging his prime. So if you ask me who would I rather have in my team going into the World Cup, I take Harry Kane in front of them to any day of the week. If you'd have asked me 10 years ago, it would have been a different story.

28:47eight years ago, whatever. Harry is in his prime. Harry is just a fantastic centre forward. He is the best centre forward in the world. Haaland, for me, would be second best centre forward in the world. But Harry Kane, I wouldn't swap him for any player in the tournament. I just think he's amazing. I think he should win the Ballon d 'Or. He should be the world footballer of the year after what he's achieved this year. So, yeah, Harry Kane is a special talent and we're lucky to have him. Great captain for England. and I think hopefully he can lead us to the World Cup, winning the World Cup. Is there anyone in the team that you would swap out?

29:22Obviously, there was a bit of controversy over Cole Palmer staying at home. I would have took Cole Palmer. I don't say who I would have... Listen, they're all good players, but Cole Palmer, I think, is a fantastic player. He's a talent. He can change a game. Phil Foden, Gerald Bowen, another... And even last night, when we had the injury to Livermento, the right-back at the pull-out, I thought probably he'd call up, you know, Trent Alexander from Real Madrid. Yeah. You know, what a player at Liverpool, right back. But obviously Thomas, the manager, doesn't fancy him at all. And he's not called him up.

30:00He's called up Chalabar from Chelsea instead. And it's a game. You know, what you do as a football manager, you sink or swim by your opinions. And he's picked a team there that he thinks can win the World Cup. Sure. If he's right, he'll be the biggest hero ever. If he doesn't and we have a disastrous World Cup, he'll get almighty criticism. That goes for anybody, whether he's an Englishman, a German, Italian, whoever manages England, that's what will happen. But do you look up on it with a degree of envy, Harry? Do you wish you had managed England? I would love to have done that, of course. I'd have been very proud to have done that.

30:37It would have been fantastic. And we had great players in that at that time. We had better players than what they've got now. Yes. I think we should have won a World Cup. All them fantastic players that we had. Wayne Rooney, Stevie Gerrard, Lampard. Incredible talent. Michael Owen. Michael Owen, what a centre forward. Yeah, one after that, you could name, you know, you go through that group, them team, John Terry, Rio Ferdinands and, you know, Gary Neville was a great right back. You know, Ashley Cole, the best left back in the world at that time. We had so many fantastic players, you know, David Beckhams.

31:12and we've had players that we should have won a World Cup, but, you know, we shouldn't have been 1966 since we last won the World Cup. Final question, Harry. Are you a flag flyer? We've got a story running on The Telegraph that a very spoilsport Liberal Democrat council in Oxfordshire has tried to ban flag flying near Rhodes. They don't want the St George's flag and others flying during the World Cup. What's wrong with these people, Harry? What is wrong with these people? We are proud to be British. That is what we are. That is what we are. Fly your flags. Be proud of your country. Don't worry about these stupid councillors who have, you know, idiotic opinions.

31:59We are proud to be British. Don't be ashamed to be British. Oh, and one more question, Harry, because it's been controversial already throughout the tournament. The hydration breaks. Do we need to have these footballers having water every five minutes like they're at primary school? What's going on? I know. I mean, it's crazy. It's, I don't know, it just doesn't make sense to me, really. I mean, some of them are playing indoors with air-conditioned stadiums. It's not even hot. So why they've got to have a, you know, I think they've got to look at the conditions. If it's 90-odd degrees out there and they're playing in terrible heat, fine.

32:39You know, let's have a break during the first half. Not a problem. But if they're playing in conditions, you know, Seattle or somewhere, I lived there for four years. You know, we lived in Seattle. I played at the Seattle Sounders. It don't get that hot in Seattle, really. They get more rain than what we get in Manchester. So, I don't know. It's a crazy, crazy decision. Halftime in the World Cup final, they're telling me there's going to be a show on and it's going to be a long, long halftime break. This is football. We are trying to turn it into, I don't know what, into a Super Bowl or something, show business.

33:12Yeah, it's rubbish. Where are you watching tonight's match, Harry? Tonight, I'm actually going to London to do something for a company and I'm going to be watching the game with some nice people and chat about the game before, have a little chat half-time and then that'll be about it, really, yeah. Lovely. Normally, I sit at home and watch it on my own. I don't like anybody watching it with me. What about Sandra? No, she's not mad. Last time I watched a football match with Sandra, we were on Gogglebox. Oh, yeah. So we're watching Gogglebox, right? And they put up some... This was a couple of years ago.

33:50They put up some old videos of films on the telly, and we're sitting there, and the 1966 World Cup final came on, and we're doing Gogglebox, I swear. And I'm sitting there, so we're eating crisps, they give you a load of food to eat, and it's England versus Germany, 1966. And Sandra said, oh, it's football. I said, yeah, England, Germany. She said, who do you think will win this game? On my life. I went, Sandra. And she still didn't get it. Oh, Harry, you know, you can share some passions in a marriage, but not all. And I think, you know. No, she's not mad. She'll watch it. She'll sort of drift in and out between EastEnders, Coronation Street Emmerdale Love that You know When it's When it's Who's winning You know Yeah fair enough She likes soaps You like soccer And on that note That's why we get That's why we've been married 58 years Never have a problem Indeed so Harry Redknapp Delighted to speak to you On this Day of Days Thank you so much For joining me Pleasure Nice talking to you

35:01Thank you.