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THE LEAGUE PAPER
Sir Clive says sorry and is blasted!
27-11-05
Sir Clive is buried alive
Sir Clive Woodward made an amazing climb down last week when he apologised to the Southampton players for the fallout following Simon Cliffod's time at the club.
And to complete a miserable few days, the Saints performance director joined chairman Rupert Lowe on the end of a verbal volley from manager Harry Redknapp at Thursday's board meeting.
Woodward made Clifford his first appointment in September handing him a £300,000 a-year coaching job.
But the move backfired spectacularly when the Garforth Town owner quit St Mary's a fortnight ago and hit out at Redknapp and backroom staff Dave Bassett and Kevin Bond.
Apart from describing Redknapp as a short man with a red face and red hair, Clifford criticised the fitness of the first team players and accused people at the club of spending too much time talking to journalists.
Although Woodward publicly denied regretting his decision to take Clifford on, he was privately embarrassed at the negative publicity the 34-year old generated.
Woodward took the floor at a players' meeting last Monday and accepted that he made a mistake in aligning himself with Clifford and said sorry for all the media attention.
But that didn't spare him a dressing down from Redknapp, who was furious about Woodward and Lowe's interference in first-team matters.
Lowe, in particular, outraged the Saints boss with his programme notes for last weekend's game against Leeds United which read: "People are given greater or lesser natural advantages at birth but those who are successful usually work hard.
"As a club we need to put in extra work over the next two crucial seasons to give us the best chance of promotion and retaining a place in the Premier League.
"We need to give extra emphasis to our defensive and attacking set-pieces - and indeed, use any opportunity we can of giving ourselves the edge on our opponents."
It is believed Redknapp warned he would not tolerate Lowe commentating on the fitness of his players and told Woodward to stick to working with the kids.
Lowe however appears to have ignored Redknapp's blast and told the club's official radio staiton, The Saint: "We have got the kind of raw material that a lot of clubs would love to have. There is a requirement to see results improve.
"We have got to start to see the natural advantages we have begin to tell. If they don't, I think everybody knows the consequences."
Redknapp could yet walk out of St Mary's but it is likely he will hang around to see what transfer kitty he is given to spend in January.
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