Harry Redknapp’s innocent, but how did he get in this mess in the first place?

So, Harry Redknapp has been found not guilty, but what was he actually charged with?

He's still being tipped as the next England manager but his trouble with the police and UK customs and revenue has been hanging over Harry's head for five years now.

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What landed 'Arry in trouble anyway?

It all began back in March 2002 when he signed a new deal to become manager of Portsmouth where he was already Director of Football. He was alleged to have gotten an extra bonus for the sale of Peter Crouch, for which the club profited to the tune of £2.3 million. While under his previous role at the club he would have gotten a 10 per cent bonus, as manager that bonus was halved.

Police alleged that the club's very wealthy Serbian chairman, Milan Mandaric, arranged to make sure Harry would get the extra money. They said sums totalling £189,000 were lodged in a Monaco bank account which Harry had set up. He was first brought in for questioning by police in late 2007.

What was the prosecution's evidence?

Well, the Monaco account, called Rosie47 (named after his bulldog and his birth year) was one of the main bits of evidence. They said Harry flew to Monaco to set up the account personally with the intention of dodging tax on the extra bonus money.

Prosecuting council also used Redknapp's phone conversation with now defunct newspaper News of the World as evidence against him. The then Portsmouth manager told NOTW journalist Rob Beasley that the account was set up for the bonus. Harry told the court, though, that that was not the reason and he was just trying to get Beasley off the phone.

How did Harry react to all the accusations in court?

Well, when the not guilty verdict came he was almost in tears. But his habit of coming out with colourful outbursts seemed to flow seamlessly from his press conferences to the court.

We found out during the trial that Redknapp is almost illiterate, writes like a two-year-old and can't use a computer. He then went on to claim he was framed because his name was Harry and he was a Cockney.

He also told the court: "I am a fantastic football manager not a hard-headed businessman. I've got no business acumen whatsoever."

He was absolute steadfast in his assertion that he had not tried to evade tax: "You think I put my hand on the bible and told lies? That's an insult."

How much has this whole waste of time cost?

That's a good question, one that yields an extraordinary answer. The City of London spent over £8 million in an exhaustive investigation which failed to yield a single conviction after five years.

Milan Mandaric is worth over £100 million and Harry Redknapp's not short of a few bob either. Why they'd try to cheat the Revenue of a relatively small sum probably should have been a question someone asked before it got to this stage.