Birmingham City: Harry Redknapp responds to accusations of overspending with threat of points deduction
Redknapp signed 14 players during his short stint at the club with the Blues now facing the prospect of a 12-point deduction
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Harry Redknapp has denied any responsibility for Birmingham City’s financial trouble despite signing 14 players in a 13-game stint in charge.
Despite saving Blues from relegation at the end of the 2016/17 season, Redknapp was sacked at the start of the following campaign.
Overspending at the club with Redknapp in charge led to losses of £37.5 million at the end of the 2017/18 season, which may now see the club facing a points penalty after the club’s bosses faced an EFL disciplinary commission for breaking profit and sustainability results.
Blues will learn their fate before their match with West Brom next Friday, which could see them fall to within two points of the relegation zone if they are handed a 12-point penalty.
“It’s surely down to the people who run the club, like the chief executive and the chairman, or whoever, to know if we’ve got any money to spend,” Redknapp told the Telegraph. “I didn’t know anything about Financial Fair Play. I was never warned by anyone at the football club that there was going to be a problem with that.
“There were three lads from Brentford that came in [Jota, Harlee Dean and Maxime Colin] – they were all good players but they weren’t on my shopping list. I’d never even see any of them play, they were brought in by other people above my head.
“We bought in Isaac Vassell for £1m [from Luton Town], and he will be worth massive money in my opinion. He was an absolute bargain, but I can’t even take credit for that because he was nothing to do with me, to be truthful.
“I don’t think any of the signings were mine. I was taking John Ruddy on a free transfer from Norwich and instead they brought in David Stockdale from Brighton. The director of football [Jeff Vetere] wasn’t brought in by me either.”
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