Harry Redknapp swoops in to save Britain’s worst football team: Welsh side which lost all 22 of their games last season finally win after drafting in Premier League legend

Britain’s worst football team has finally won a game after a dramatic intervention by Premier League legend Harry Redknapp.

The former Spurs, West Ham and Portsmouth boss came out of retirement to help hopeless Cwm Albion FC after they lost all 22 of their games last season and racked up a mammoth 191 goal difference after conceding 200 goals.

The team includes goalkeeper Jamie MacDonald, who has never had a clean sheet in his ten years with the club, and veteran midfielder John Rees, who is still playing aged 74.

But the club has already seen a turn around in their fortunes since Redknapp came on board – winning their first game in three years with a hard fought 4-3 victory last weekend.

Cwm Albion were named Britain’s Worst Football team by Specsavers – and Redknapp, who also managed Bournemouth, Southampton and QPR, has said his new role may be his toughest yet.

Harry Redknapp came out of retirement to help hopeless Cwm Albion FC after they lost all 22 of their games last season

Last season the team racked up a mammoth 191 goal difference after conceding 200 goals

Redknapp, 76, said: ‘When I got the call up from Specsavers, I didn’t know what to expect.

‘The team’s 191-goal difference certainly caught my eye, but after meeting the lads, you can’t doubt their determination.

‘They’re a real close unit, and their hard work is already starting to pay off, with the lads securing their first win in three years in their latest match – 4-3 against Tennant Colts, fantastic result!

‘With the right training and guidance, I’m hopeful that these victories will continue throughout the season.’

READ MORE – We’ve been crowned Britain’s worst football team: Our midfielder is 74, our winger has ‘legs like Bambi’ and we conceded 200 goals in a season

Redknapp, who helped shape  the careers of stars including Gareth Bale, Rio Ferdinand and Frank Lampard, has been taking training sessions with the team and passing on vital knowledge to the players. 

The side’s regular manager, Dan Gill, said: ‘Having Harry on board for the season is the biggest thing to have happened to our club since I joined when I was 16 years old.

‘He’s a huge inspiration for myself and the lads and we can’t wait to start training with him.’

Players at Cwm Albion FC have an historic 100-year-old pedigree but have fallen on hard times in recent seasons.

The side, who play in the Swansea Senior League also include winger Shane Prior who says he has ‘legs like Bambi’, and holding midfielder Paul DiMarco, who will ‘have a nose bleed’ if he goes too far up the pitch.

John Rees, who is now club chairman after being part of the team for 55 years, tld This Morning that being named Britain’s worst football team had been ‘great’.

‘The way people have jumped on the bandwagon with us and helped us out has been brilliant,’ he said.

The 74-year-old said he had played the first game of the season, adding: ‘I thought I did well but they haven’t been picked since.’

Defender Chris Pippins said he had been playing for the team for 15 years and had ‘tried to leave on two occasions’ but returned – gaining the nickname ‘boomerang’ in the process.

Harry in the changing room with the Swansea side, which was founded more than 100 years ago 

The former West Ham manager with Cwm Albion FC’s regular manager, Dan Gill

Winger Shayne Prior found the game on Gumtree.

‘I went to a couple of training sessions and realised there was no pressure and I could get 90 minutes. They were struggling for the team at first,’ he said.

‘Over the years a lot of people have come and started to make the team good before giving up and leaving. So it’s never the same players for long.’

He described playing for the team as ‘frustrating’ but ‘good fitness’.

Redknapp praised the team for their 4-3 win last week and said there were ‘more wins to come’. 

Lisa Hale, head of consumer comms at Specsavers, said: ‘Almost 2,000 grassroots football teams across the country applied for the opportunity to be Specsavers’ Best Worst Team and we couldn’t have found a better team in Cwm Albion.

‘It’s clear how passionate they are about the game and their community, so we really can’t wait to get behind them and hopefully with our and Harry’s support we will see improvements both on and off the pitch.’

Cwm Albion’s journey will be documented by Specsavers throughout the 2023/2024 footballing season in a series of episodes, narrated by Jill Scott, available to view on a dedicated YouTube channel.

The team appeared on This Morning today to speak about the experience of being coached by Redkapp 

Veteran midfielder John Rees is still playing for the club aged 74

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