Woodgate has been playing for Stoke City this season after leaving Tottenham on a free, and Redknapp, no stranger to trying to avoid any culpability or blame for any mistakes, suggested that it was the club’s decision to release him.
“There were problems with insurance; he [Woodgate] wasn’t insured to train with us,” Redknapp said. “It was tough [to let Woodgate go] because I knew that if he could get fit, and he was convinced he could, that we had a top-class centre-half, one of the best in the world. I wanted to keep him but I could understand it from the club’s point of view. They had paid his wages for the last two years and he’d hardly played. So it wasn’t easy. Full credit to Stoke. They’ve got him fit and he looks in good shape. He’s a fantastic boy, and I just hope it goes great for him now.”
