Is Redknapp the right man for Tottenham?

Is Redknapp a Portsmouth hero or villain?

Chalk this one up to Harry Redknapp, the first victory of his Tottenham Hotspur career. How much could he really have done in a matter of hours? Plenty, apparently, to judge from the transformation of a group of players rendered ordinary by the dead hand of Juande Ramos. Anyway, it is not so much what he did as what he was prepared to take responsibility for: in an era when most newly appointed managers shyly watch their team for one match from the safety of the directors’ box, just to see what they have got themselves into, Redknapp eschewed convention, rolled up his sleeves and got stuck in.

He met the team at 11.30am, went with the starting XI selected by Clive Allen, the caretaker, sensibly trusting that Allen would know more about player fitness – Redknapp claimed that he was unaware that Jonathan Woodgate was unavailable until he talked with Allen at the hotel – but made one modification that changed Tottenham’s fortunes in this match, and perhaps for the rest of the season. It was Redknapp who decided to move Luka Modric, the Croatia playmaker, out of the midfield four and play him behind Roman Pavlyuchenko, the striker. Generously, he talked of making the decision in consultation with Allen, but it had Redknapp’s stamp all over it.

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“That is his position,” Redknapp said, emphatically, after Tottenham’s first Barclays Premier League win of the season. “He needs to be free, I’ve never seen him as part of a 4-4-2, because that withdrawn role is where he can do most damage. I had Eyal Berkovic at West Ham United and Portsmouth, and he was very similar. Give him the ball and give him space and he can win the game for you. But Luka was more than that today. Did you see him at the end? He was heading balls away, kicking balls away.”

Modric’s positional change exempts him from the criticism that will be directed at many of Tottenham’s players after this: namely, if a performance of such energy was within them, where the hell has it been all season? Ramos may have made a lot of errors, but he could not physically weaken the team, making it slower or less combative – these are personal traits. Redknapp will look to build confidence from here, so do not expect a negative word, but the old football man within will be driving him mad with questions about the character of players that can blow as hot and cold as this.

Redknapp arrived on the team bus, sat on the bench and, as such, would have been vulnerable had another debacle unfolded as had happened at Stoke City and against Udinese in the past eight days. Bolton Wanderers are no mugs – and the visiting fans’ derision for Gary Megson, the manager, was mystifying in the circumstances – yet Tottenham held strong and only a stupendously erratic performance from Heurelho Gomes in goal gave Bolton a sniff of a point.

Gomes appeared to be channelling the spirit of Bruce Grobbelaar, along with a bit of Michael Flatley and one of those silent movies in which Harold Lloyd hangs precariously from the big hand of a large clock at the top of a tower, legs kicking, one arm flailing wildly, perpetually on the brink of disaster. Redknapp’s crumpled features can take on a life of their own under pressure, and Gomes is a goalkeeper designed to give them a full workout over 90 minutes.

It would be easier to list the times that the Brazilian dealt with the ball cleanly, but, of the potential calamities, three in particular stood out. In the 27th minute, Gomes came close to flattening his captain, Ledley King, while in pursuit of Matt Taylor, and was almost embarrassed by a chip from Kevin Davies that went wide of his unguarded net.

Soon after, he came for a corner, missed the ball, and King cleared a shot from Johan Elmander off the line. And midway through the second half, a punch from well beyond the six-yard box landed at the feet of Fabrice Muamba, whose return volley went just over the bar. One can only wonder about the ability of César Sánchez, his understudy, if Gomes continues to be selected. On this form, if Tottenham continue picking namesakes from The Addams Family, they might be better off finding a Morticia.

Fortunately, this game was decided in midfield, where Tottenham were most effective and Bolton were weakened after 55 minutes when Gavin McCann, their defensive guardian, was sent off for a second bookable offence. Cautioned for a challenge on David Bentley shortly before half-time, his tackle on Tom Huddlestone was mistimed and drew an audible scream from the Tottenham midfield player, which Megson hinted may have influenced Andre Marriner, the referee. Certainly, there have been worse tackles, but McCann knew he was on the brink, and it probably would not have made a difference had he stayed.

Tottenham, inspired by Redknapp’s arrival, were simply better on the day. Some lousy Bolton defending helped their cause, too, allowing Bentley acres of space to cross in the 17th minute and not getting near enough to Pavlyuchenko, who steered his header out of the reach of Jussi Jaaskelainen, the Bolton goalkeeper. After that, Modric ran the game, looking very much the player that had dispatched England in the qualifying group stage of the European Championship.