The Day Every Manager Dreads

It is always hard when you have one of your top players leave your team. It is like any other relationship, and it is natural for a manager to take it personal.

Harry Redknapp is a guest columnist for the Sun, and writes about how he sympathises with the potential of Arsene Wenger and Arsenal losing Cesc Fabregas to Barcelona.

IT'S the knock on the door every manager dreads.
And I should know - I've been on the receiving end of it before now.

That's why I had every sympathy with Arsene Wenger when Cesc Fabregas broke the news every Arsenal fan had been fearing, by announcing he wanted to leave.

OK, it was slightly different with me, when I was West Ham boss and we sold Rio Ferdinand, but the principle is the same - you're losing a bloody good player.



But if Arsene spends that money wisely - and I'm sure he will - then he could bring in two or three who make the difference.

Let's be honest, it's a dream move for Fabregas and, as much as Arsene would love to keep him, once a player's made up his mind it is very, very difficult to stop.

We couldn't manage it with Rio at West Ham, even though we didn't want to sell and he didn't want to go!