Redknapp is on his way back Jamie Redknapp's goalscoring comeback and his emerging partnership with Paul Ince has all the hallmarks of a young man intent on spending next summer in France.
And Redknapp's call-up to rekindle his World Cup dreams with England this week proves to the young Liverpool star that he's not been forgotten by Glenn Hoddle.
The skilled midfielder will only be at Bisham Abbey to take part in the training, along with teenage club-mate Michael Owen, not as part of the full squad to play Cameroon.
But it's the start Redknapp wanted after months of injury anguish since breaking his ankle playing for England against South Africa last May.
Redknapp continued his impressive comeback for Liverpool with his first goal of the season in the 4-0 drubbing of Spurs, re-inforcing his emerging partnership with Paul Ince.
It's a pairing Hoddle could well use at England level, an option of utilising club understanding that will not be lost on the England chief.
Redknapp said: "I was not too disappointed not to be in the full squad when it was named, I hardly expected it after playing just a few games since I returned from injury. John Gorman
has kept in touch with me. I know I'm not forgotten and there will be plenty of friendly matches for me to be involved in."
And boss Roy Evans maintains Redknapp is still on course to play a major role in France 98. He says: "I don't believe the injury Jamie got playing for England has put him back or left
him down the pecking order.
"I was maybe a little surprised he wasn't in the full squad, but it's early days yet - he's only had a couple of games. He has the talent and ability and Glenn Hoddle knows that."
Redknapp's revival started with his return in the 3-0 UEFA Cup defeat in Strasbourg, but in the four games since then Liverpool have been unbeaten, and the Anfield men have stuck to a
4-4-2 formation with the Redknapp-Ince axis the key feature.
Evans said: "I'm delighted to have Jamie back in, obviously. It was always going to be a long haul, but not as long as it could have been, which is a bonus.
"He has stepped in and done really well. You have got to maintain that and hopefully he will. And hopefully he will get better because his ability is undoubted.
"Jamie has got a different range of passing and he has got a different vision to a lot of the other midfield lads.
"He is also likely to start lashing one or two more now into the back of the net. His shooting power, certainly in training sessions since his return, has been fantastic.
"I hope he can transfer that on to the pitch more. He scores loads of goals in training and I want him to start doing that in the matches.
"Paul and Jamie have great ability. Sometimes you get pairs who can work well with each other - hopefully Jamie and Incey can do that.
"We had seen Jamie and Paul working at international level, so we obviously thought it would work for us as well."
Midfield star Jamie Redknapp is looking to make up for lost time with both club and country,
now that his latest injury nightmare is behind him.
England international Redknapp,24,has already suffered more cruel luck with injuries than many
players do in an entire career,but he has remained positive throughout his time on the treatment table
and now perfers to look forward reather than back.
Says Jamie:"I've had more than my fair share of bad luck as far as injuries are concerned an I'm
hoping now that they are all in the past. I haven't picked up any slight knocks or minor injuries,
everything I've picked up in games has been enough to rule me out of action for months and that
has seemed to be the case,but it's just a succession of unfortunate coincidences really."
Redknapp's latest injury nightmare came during last summer's England friendly with South
Africa at Old Trafford. An innocuous challenge from Phil Masinga resulted in Redknapp being
stretchered off the field in great pain.
Original estimations were that his damaged ankle would keep him out of the game right up until
Christmas - a crushing blow to both Redknapp and Liverpool boss Roy Evans who had watche Jamie return to
his best form towards the end of the last campaign.
But his positive thinking combined with hard work an the encouragement from Physio Mark
Leather has ensured that Redknapp is back in action sooner than originally thought.
Says Jamie:"It has been a long road back and it has killed me watching games from the sidelines to
be honest.At the end of the day though I had two choices. I could either feel sorry for myself, which
isn't my way anyway, or I could work extremely hard and get ack to full fitness as soon as possible.
"Because of the way I am there was only ever one option really.I love playing football and every day I was
working in the gym or with the physio was, to me, one day nearer my return.That's what kept me going.
"The lads have all been brilliant as well. I've travelled to some of the away matches even
though I haven't been fit enough to play. I so much want to be a part of wath is going on.
"Mark Leather has been brilliant with me.He has kept me going and it's because of him
really that I'm back to full fitness as soon as I am.It was quite a serious injury that I had and was the
exact replica of the injury I had beforehand which sidelined me last season.I thought I must have
been cursed or something because it's very rare you get two injuries exactly the same so close together.
"It has been especially disappointing being out of action because of the fact that towards the end of
last season I really felt as though I was coming back to my best form.I was playing well for Liverpool and hadd been
selected in the England squads around that time.
"Everything was looking good for me but then it went horribly wrong in the England match against
South Africa.I had no idea the injury was quite so bad at the time,and I was gutted when told the extent
of the damage I had done.
England coach Glenn Hoddle had to revise his plans for 'Le Tournoi' - the summer tournament in France -
because of Redknapp's injury. He had earmarked Jamie for a role as sweeper in the competition as he looked to experiment
ahead of the crucial World Cup qualifiers which have since taken place.
Says Redknapp:"I know what Glenn wanted me to do in that competition because we had spoken about it.
He asked me how I'd feel about playing as a sweeper and I was surprised at first. But the more I thought about it the more
I was excited the prospect.
Obviously, defending isn't the strongest part of my game and so it would have taken me a while to learn those skills,
but I think the best part of my game is my passing ability and I would have enjoyed being able to step out from the
back and spray the ball around the field
It wasn't to be though on this occasion as the injury kept me out of the tournament, but it is something I would like to
have a go at one day. That's all to come in the future though, the important thing for now is to stay fully fit,to get back into
the Liverpool first team and then to stay there. That's all I'm bothered about at the moment.
Now the challenge for Redknapp is to force his way back into the manager's first team plans,where he would have to line
up alongside Paul Ince in the Reds' engine room.
Says Redknapp:"Incey is a quality player and he has already shown us that in the games he has played for Liverpool this season.
He is a real battler who never gives up and he is a tremendous asset to this team.I would love to play alongside him in the midfield,
but then so would any other player.You can learn so much form him because he has won so much in the game and also succeeded in Italy
which isn't an easy thing to do.
"The quality of players we have at Liverpool is frightening to be honest and it's a real battle to get into
the starting eleven.I know what I can do though and I know I am worth a place in the side when fully fit.Once my chance
comes along it is up to me to take it and then go from there.
"I've had bad luck with injuries over recent years but that's all in the past now. I want to look forward and want to help Liverpool win the Premiership title."
As Liverpool walk through another storm, not many of Roy Evans' players can hold their heads up too high.
Under-achieving, by their own and popular consent, they were embarrassed last weekend by Barnsley. One of
the few Liverpool luminaries to emerge from the current malaise with reputation enhanced is Jamie Redknapp,
finding his clever feet again after injury, writes Henry Winter.
Far too polite and modest to trumpet his own performances, Redknapp admitted that he had spent time
thinking over his game, determined to improve while his ankle recovered from fate's unwelcome intervention
during an England international last spring.
"When I came back, I wanted to take my game on to another level," Redknapp said yesterday amid preparation
for tomorrow's pressure game at Arsenal. "At times, I wasn't happy with the way I was playing last year. I was
playing on the fringes of games, not stamping my authority. Without making excuses, I wasn't quite right. It was
proved when I broke my ankle. The specialist said there was a bit of bone floating around that was causing a lot
of the trouble. That's why I broke it in the end."
Redknapp appears a more accomplished midfielder now, with a ball-winning desire bolstering that
much-respected distribution. "I probably am tackling more strongly than before. It's nice to be able to throw
yourself into tackles." Physically confident about diving in where the studs fly, such occurrences also reflect a
change in attitude.
His father, Harry, the West Ham manager, passed on some good advice. "Dad doesn't get 'busy' with me, he's not one of those sort of people. He just says perhaps you could get after the ball more. Incey [Paul Ince] does it well when he breaks the ball down, runs at people and makes things happen. I've looked at him and thought if I can get that in my game, with what else I've got, I can be a better player. It's very important not just to be a nice passer of the ball. If you've got a bit of aggression about you, people won't take liberties."
He derives equal satisfaction from a successful challenge or a 50-yard pass. "You do get as much enjoyment
out of making a good tackle. Incey said to me the other day that you can't beat it. He said it sets the tempo for
the game, and it does. If you are in midfield and get fired into a couple of tackles, you can get the team on the
back foot." Think Stuart Pearce versus Roberto Di Matteo when Italy fell to England during the summer Tournoi
de France. "It set the pattern," Redknapp agreed.
Liverpool have missed such an enforcement agency in recent times, arguably since the Steve McMahon or
Graeme Souness days. "That was definitely aimed at us last year; some people said John Barnes and myself
were too nice. That was a bit harsh."
Ince's summer arrival, and Redknapp's development, has added steel. "But now we do have that and we are
still not top of the league. I'm not having a go - I hope it doesn't sound like it - but maybe there is something else
we've got to work on."
Redknapp, 24, does not duck the criticism that Liverpool have been under-achieving. "I can agree with that, to
be honest. I see it at first hand every day we train. There are great players here. Until we do win something, we
will always have this tag of being under-achievers.
"I've been here seven years in January. I've been unlucky with injuries but I'm not a kid any more. It's the same
for the likes of Macca and Robbie [McManaman and Fowler]. It's about time we went on and won something
and proved we are not just good players, that we can be great players for Liverpool.
"You look at the Manchester United players; they are very young but they have had so much experience and
success. As much as it hurts me, I have to say what a good team Manchester United are. They are the pinnacle,
what everyone wants to achieve now."
United battered Barnsley, who then beat Liverpool. "The points we have lost at home to so-called lesser teams
over the last three years have cost us dearly. We know how well we can play and when we don't, it must be so
frustrating for the manager. It frustrates us. And the fans, who are so passionate about their football, get upset. I
can understand how they feel after games, especially on Saturday. It probably broke their hearts.
"A lot of papers say we let down the gaffer. The gaffer has been a massive help to me. He's a good
man-manager. If you are playing well, he lets you know. If you are not playing well, he also lets you know. He's
got a very good relationship with the players."
Too good? Redknapp denied the charge that Evans is too soft on his high-profile players. "He is disciplined.
The thing with footballers, if you do give an inch, they will take a yard. You sometimes have to clamp down. It's
the same in any job. But the gaffer knows when it's right to have a go at people. If people haven't done it, they've
left the club. They are not here any more."
For the outsider looking in, there seems a definte bond between the players, notably the England quartet of
Ince, Redknapp, Fowler and McManaman, often a unit at Bisham Abbey. "That's the same in any club,"
Redknapp said, before adding: "Maybe we are too close. It's a difficult question. We go down there and are a
little bit together. But we get on with everybody down there, it's not a case of sticking together." In truth, all are
popular.
Redknapp's injury ruined Glenn Hoddle's hopes of assessing him as a ball-playing central defender, one
capable of seeing and delivering the 60-yard pass. "I've always been a central midfield player since I was a
six-year-old kid so I was a little bit surprised when he [Hoddle] did say that to me. But I'm always open to those
sort of things. My dad had said it to me, that he could see me playing at the back because I could pass it and
defend reasonably well. And sometimes you get more space.
"Three or four years ago, it was getting so quick in there [central midfield] that I thought players who can pass the ball might have to move back. There was a lot more long-ball in English football then. Now with Venables and Hoddle, people are starting to play more, which has helped my kind of player." One now prepared for any challenge.
"If you hadn't made it as a footballer would you have considered modelling as a career?"
"I've never thought about that really because all through my childhood I had my heart set on one thing and one thing only, making it as a professional footballer. I have no idea what I'd have done had that not worked out for me. My brother is a model and so there may have been a route into that line of work for me. I do a bit of modelling work at the moment but it's nothing really serious and football is the most important thing to me. I enjoy the modelling work I do now, but whether I would have enjoyed it as a full time career I don't really know.Thankfully that was a decision I never had to make though.
"How pleased were you to finally put your injury nightmare behind you and get back into the side?"
"IT was really good for me to get back into the side,but the result in my first game back,in Strasbourg,was very disappointing for all of us.From a personal point of view though I was pleased with how my comeback went. I felt sharp and comfortable and the injury gave me no problems at all. I'd played a number of junior matches before that first team comeback and so I knew I was match fit. Now I jsut want to stay clear of injuries and establish myself as a regular in the side again. It's a big year for Liverpool,and of course the World Cup comes along at the end of it,so there is every incentive to play to my best form as consistently as possible.
Did the goal against Tottenham convince you in your own mind that you were back from all your injury problems?
"I wouldn't say it was just that goal which convinced me of that,although of course it was nice for me to see the ball hit the back of the net.I have been really pleased with the progress I have made sice coming back from injury. The biggest battle after regaining full fitness was always going to be keeping my place in the side and I'm delighted that I have been able to do that. I feel as though I am playing well and I think I am getting better with each game. It was always going to take a while for me to get fully back into the swing of things,but I'm really happy at the moment. The goal against Tottenham was great for me and it was wonderful to see the ball hit the net. I want to score more goals yet this season and I know I can do.(Yeah,you've proved).
England midfielder Jamie Redknapp felt Liverpool's Coca-Cola Cup extra time victory over Newcastle last
night was more comfortable than it may have looked.
Although it took Michael Owen until the fifth minute of extra time to break the deadlock the feeling amongst the visiting players was that only one side deserved the opportunity to face Middlesbrough in the semi-final.
Redknapp, whose own performance was a great improvement on that which so disappointed his manager when the sides met in the Premiership eleven days earlier, even had time to set up Robbie Fowler for the clincher 13 minutes into the first period of extra time.
Two of the sides who had so publically taken the competition seriously from the early rounds, when managers Evans and Dalglish played their strongest teams, produced an interesting if hardly heart-stopping 90 minutes.
But in the first period of extra time the under-pressure Anfield outfit took control and could have scored four times.
Redknapp explained: "I think we played very well throughout the tie. And I don't think it is unfair on them to say that we were comfortable and at no time thought we were going to go out.
"Naturally, it wasn't easy, it was never going to be a stroll against Newcastle, but we felt confident we'd reach
the semi-finals."
The 24-year-old midfield star showed signs of a return to form after his long fight for full fitness after a serious ankle injury picked up in the England friendly with South Africa at Old Trafford.
With fellow England stars Paul Ince and Steve McManaman claiming most of the limelight along with Norwegian international Oyvind Leonhardsen it has been a frustrating time for the son of West Ham manager Harry.
But there are clear signs he's about to show more influence on Liverpool's remaining games. His superb run which set up Fowler for their second was something the player himself shrugged off.
He said: "I attacked their penalty box and just kept on going as they all stood off.
"But, really I just put him in and he did the rest."
Newcastle had their half chances but in truth the visitors clearly had the upper hand in terms of offensive threat.In Owen and Fowler they produced players who, although not playing really well, still have the priceless ability to put away the one chance they might get in a game.
"With these two you know we're going to score goals, you simply have to keep playing your football and
eventually it will pay off - as it did against Newcastle."
Roy Evans' men now face Bryan Robson's Middlesbrough in an intriguing semi-final clash.
And Redknapp for one is not about to write off their opponents from Teesside. He said: "It is not going to be easy, this wasn't going to be the case whoever we drew.
"They have some quality players and will be very tough but we must believe we have the ability to win through."
Jamie Redknapp has set himself a double figure goals target after his brace against Wimbledon which earned Liverpool a fifth straight Premiership victory.
The England international doubled his tally for the season with two clinical second-half strikes which sealed a 2-0 win over Joe Kinnear's side.
Now Redknapp is anxious to follow Steve McManaman onto the goal trail and start weighing in regularly from midfield - maintaining Liverpool's bid to keep the pressure on Premiership leaders Manchester United.
"I probably should score more regularly," admitted Redknapp, whose efforts secured only Liverpool's third win in 19 attempts against Wimbledon.
"I have got four now and the way I strike the ball I should get a few more.
"That is something I can hopefully improve on and get into my game. I think a good midfielder should get at least 10 goals.
"Steve McManaman has nine so far which is fantastic.
"Between us on Saturday, Paul Ince and myself had around 13 shots which was good and if I can improve my
goals ratio that is great."
Skipper Paul Ince believes the partnership he has formed alongside Redknapp is developing into one of the best in the Premiership.
"We compliment each other well," explained Ince. "He is the more skilful player out of the two of us, but as a partnership I think there are not many better in the Premiership.
"As long as we keep playing as a team we have a chance of doing something this year."
Redknapp also revealed the answer to his goal celebrations with Reds' physio Mark Leather after he had
doubled the advantage.
"Mark has been great to me since I had my injury and he said to me at half-time that I would get two goals,"continued the midfielder.
"For him to say that then was uncanny. I got the first and didn't really think about it, then when the second one went in and I saw him and went over to the bench.
"It was a little bit of a thank you to him and for what he said. He is my best mate in the world considering all the time I have spent with him."
JAMIE REDKNAPP has taken the first steps on his comeback trail - just four days after an operation to cure a
knee problem.
The Liverpool midfielder, who underwent keyhole surgery last Thursday which ruled him out of the goalless draw
with Blackburn Rovers, took part in a light training session at Melwood to boost manager Roy Evans' hopes of a speedy recovery.
He will miss Saturday's match with Southampton, but could even return for the trip to Sheffield Wednesday the
following weekend.
Hamstring strain victim Steve McManaman is also responding to treatment and still has a chance of being fit for
the Southampton game.
"Jamie has done a little bit today. He is doing a bit of walking and trotting; very light work," said Evans.
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