Harry Redknapp says the London riots have left him sad, angry and sickened

Posted Thursday, August 11, 2011 by thesun.co.uk

Harry Redknapp says the London riots have left him sad, angry and sickened
THUGGERY ... shocking scenes have hit Harry Redknapp hard

THE last time I drove through Tottenham was last Saturday night at around 7.45pm.

We had finished our final pre-season friendly against Athletic Bilbao. I spent some time at the ground afterwards, chatted to a few of the locals and then left White Hart Lane.

Everyone seemed happy, the roads were OK and I headed back towards the south coast.

Only when I got home did the missus tell me to look at the TV... and I could not believe it.

There was Tottenham - buildings and shops I'd just driven past and places I know so well - being completely trashed by utter morons I probably only missed the start of the trouble by half an hour and goodness knows what would have happened had the trouble flared just when 30,000 football fans were leaving the ground.

These last few days have left me sad, sickened and angry.

These riots have nothing to do with the shooting of someone but are an excuse for thuggery, robbery and a way of making a negative impact on decent people. It scares me where this country going, to be honest.

It's like a film and it feels almost unreal.

Some people watched the pictures of riots in other countries thinking it would not happen here.

Yet I've had a feeling for a while, for a few years now, that something like this was going to explode somewhere in this country. And, unfortunately, I was right.

People have seen it is easy to steal and the problems escalated as a result. Some kids think it is fine to behave like this and should they get caught, they'll only get a smack on the wrist. Too many people no longer fear authority and they are not bothered about the consequences if they do something wrong.

In any case, they normally end up getting sent to a holiday camp by some politically-correct do-gooder.

I've heard some politicians saying that the problems are about cut-backs in communities. What a load of absolute cobblers that is.

I thought it was tragic that some of them in Westminster were trying to win political points while all this was happening. It's got nothing to do with cutbacks. There are lawless people in this country and it's down to a breakdown in family values.

I would never have let my kids out in the streets at 10 or 11pm when they were 12 years of age.

Where are these kids' parents? It simply defies belief. Years ago, we grew up and were respectful to our elders. When I was on a bus, you were taught to stand up and give a lady my seat while you would also hold a door open for a woman. That doesn't happen now.

I was brought up in the East End of London and we didn't have any money but we had family values. We had good manners, we respected each other and you'd never get hit on the head for a fiver.

That was just after the War when everyone had been through so much. No one then was going around mugging old ladies.

If someone robbed a woman, the rest of the street would take it out on them. Or if someone got put in prison, even the rest of the prison would give them a good hiding for mugging an old lady.

Now, as a football manager, I am dealing with kids who have different attitudes to a few years ago.

Not all of them are a problem because I work with some terrific kids. But an awful lot of them simply do not have respect. When I was aged 12 or 13, boys would meet their football manager dressed in a blazer or at least a pair of trousers.

Now some of them turn up to see me wearing a pair of jeans with their their a**e hanging out. They just don't care.

These riots are threatening our weekend football programme and I totally understand why they postponed last night's England-Holland international match at Wembley.

If Tottenham's Premier League match against Everton is to be played on Saturday - along with all the other fixtures - then we cannot afford to have any more problems.

Equally, if the riots continue, then I would completely respect the decision of the police and other authorities to call the games off.