Redknapp rules himself out of Leicester frame

George Graham has emerged as favourite to take over the manager's job at Leicester City after Harry Redknapp yesterday ruled himself out of the running to succeed Peter Taylor. Redknapp had claimed in his Racing Post column yesterday morning that the Premiership's bottom club had made him an offer, saying: "It's now up to me to say yes or no."

But Leicester issued a statement in the afternoon which included a denial that the job had been offered to the former West Ham manager and now Portsmouth director of football. It read: "Harry Redknapp has asked to be no longer considered for the position of manager. This follows discussions he had with his chairman at Portsmouth. Harry was one of several people the board have invited for interview. A preliminary meeting was held earlier this week as part of this process. The board wishes to make it clear no formal offer to manage the club had been made to Harry or, for that matter, anyone else at this stage."

In a movement reminiscent of Marconi's share price, Taylor's stock has taken a rare tumble. Eleven months ago, Leicester were third in the Premiership while England, under his caretaker management, exhibited style and conviction in Turin, only to lose 1-0 to Italy. Pride fairly radiated from those defiant features of a man who five years earlier had been dismissed by his home-town club, Southend.

Yet, even by the season's end, there was the equivalent of a profit warning about his performance when his contract was extended by a year but he was told after two games that the next could be his last. By last weekend it didn't require too much insider trading after the defeat by Charlton to realise that the Leicester chairman, John Elsom, was about to sell before the crash.

Taylor's parting delivery – "Call me biased but I think they're letting a good man go" – was a brave attempt at gallows humour. But it is pertinent to suggest that, even on a more serious level, he may have had a point.

To put it another way, was he the architect of Leicester's decline, which a series of abject results – nine Premiership defeats in 10 matches at the end of last season and stranded at the bottom of the League already this – suggest he was? Or are they a club who overachieved in the days of Martin O'Neill and are now reverting to their optimum position? The answer is probably both.

It raises significant questions about whether Graham, the fans' choice to succeed Taylor, can provide the team structure and inspiration required to reassert the Foxes as a Premiership force, particularly with the existing financial constraints. Redknapp had said before yesterday's development: "From what I can see, there is enough quality to keep the team up, especially if [Gerry] Taggart, [Gary] Rowett and [Matt] Elliott are fit to play together at the back on a regular basis. There is always the option of getting a couple of decent guys in on loan."

Graham had talks with Elsom on Friday and the club are reportedly willing to match the former Arsenal, Leeds and Tottenham manager's wage demands. The Scot polled nearly four times as many votes as Redknapp on a fans' website, but one potential sticking point is his compensation case against Spurs.

A third big-name candidate has emerged in the Dutchman Wim Jansen, who has worked as a scout out of the public eye since leaving Celtic shortly after leading them to the Scottish Premier League title in 1998. "Obviously, we want the new manager to have the strongest possible squad to work with and so it is very important that our best players stay," said Elsom. "It is only fair to the new man to give him the best chance of pulling us up the table and any decisions will be his when he has had time to judge the capabilities of the squad."

On the face of it, the team that Taylor has bequeathed offer no kind of confidence that they can avoid relegation, let alone resume the mid-table respectability and cup success they enjoyed under O'Neill, who also had the benefit of the now-departed Emile Heskey, Neil Lennon, Steve Guppy and Tony Cottee.

The squad that Taylor part-inherited, part-constructed are sadly deficient in flair performers, with the exception of Muzzy Izzet. But what they possessed under O'Neill was an indefatigable spirit, which the Ulsterman galvanised expertly after inauspicious beginnings.

Taylor, for all the coaching prowess recognised by Glenn Hoddle, who made him England Under-21 coach during his term of England management, was never going to be that kind of character. Though initially City prospered, and even reached the summit of the Premiership early last season, in hindsight that appears to more the result of momentum created by five years of the O'Neill flywheel.

The Filbert Street faithful believed it had been a seamless transition. But it clearly wasn't. Some of the players were apparently unhappy at Taylor's insistence on a 4-4-2 system after having settled into a 3-5-2 routine under his predecessor.

It was also said that some felt "over-coached" by Taylor, who was rarely absent from the training ground and insisted on dissecting every perceived fault. In contrast, O'Neill frequently left day-to-day working with the squad to Steve Walford and took the view that, if there was a problem, the players should take responsibility for resolving it.

Taylor may have also suffered from self-inflicted wounds. Guppy was restricted frequently to the substitutes' bench, although his accurate crossing from the left had created many opportunities in the O'Neill era. He eventually departed to join O'Neill at Celtic.

Meanwhile, some of Taylor's purchases, including Ade Akinbiyi, who scored only 10 goals last season, were questionable. Quite why he forked out £1.6 million for Dennis Wise, now approaching 35, is another matter which Taylor will reflect on at his leisure.

While Taylor's involvement with Sven Goran Eriksson's England as one of the backroom staff was not necessarily a distraction, it is said that it caused some irritation in the dressing room. Taylor frequently spoke about Eriksson and his office contained a photograph of David Beckham, signed by the man Taylor first made England captain, and inscribed with the legend, "To Pete, thanks for giving me the chance". It was a nice gesture from Beckham, but perhaps it should have been placed on display at home, not for the viewing of visitors to his office.

Rightly or wrongly, it all added to the belief among some that Taylor was too concerned with advancing his England status. That is a difficult area, and one that other coaches will have to overcome, not least Steve McClaren. Some players may relish the fact that their manager regularly dons his England tracksuit and rubs shoulders with the international élite; indeed, may feel it might enhance their own England opportunities. But others will be convinced that a manager's energies should be directed wholly towards his club.

At least Graham would not be troubled by such conflict of interests. Whether he believes that he can succeed where Taylor failed is quite another matter.