"I'm on my way to Stansted Airport to fly up to Manchester and I get a phone call from Daniel. Now, Daniel never rung me on a Friday, never interfered with the team. Daniel said, 'Hello, Harry. It's Daniel.' 'Hello, Daniel,' I said... 'Who are you gonna play up front tomorrow?' I said, 'Robbie Keane.' He said, 'Robbie Keane?' I said, 'Yeah, Robbie Keane.' Then he said, 'Why don't you speak with Rafael van der Vaart about who he wants to play with?'"
"I said, 'What's it got to do Rafael van der Vaart, Daniel? I pick the team, not Rafael van der Vaart.' He said, 'Well, I thought it'd be interesting to see what Rafa thought, you know.' 'No, not really,' I said, 'Robbie Keane's playing.'"
"[Joe] says, 'I like that forward line of yours, [Aaron] Lennon, Van der Vaart, and [Roman] Pavlyuchenko. That Robbie Keane is useless.' The veteran manager stood his ground against the billionaire owner's demands. 'I said, 'That's your opinion, Joe,' He then said, 'Why don't you ask Rafael van der Vaart who he wants to play with?'"
Harry Redknapp has revealed that during his time as Tottenham manager, chairman Daniel Levy and owner Joe Lewis attempted to interfere with his team selections. Before a Manchester United match in October 2010, Levy called Redknapp while he was traveling to the airport, questioning his choice to play Robbie Keane and suggesting he consult Rafael van der Vaart about the forward line. Redknapp refused, asserting his authority as manager. Subsequently, owner Joe Lewis also called, criticizing Keane as useless and similarly suggesting consultation with van der Vaart. Redknapp maintained his position against both the chairman and owner's demands, defending his managerial decisions.
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