West Brom 2 Tottenham 0:BAD HABITS die hard and Tottenham Hotspur are in danger of slipping back into their old ways, after a sobering defeat left Harry Redknapp and his players entrenched in a relegation battle. The Spurs manager raged at the referee, Steve Tanner, for failing to spot the push on Michael Dawson in the lead-up to Albion's late opening goal, but so listless were the visitors that it was difficulty to feel much sympathy.
The reckless lunge that precipitated Benoit Assou-Ekotto's second dismissal in two months hardly helped, yet even with 11 men Tottenham had looked flat and bereft of ideas.
Indeed, it says everything about their performance that Heurelho Gomes was comfortably their best player, the Brazilian goalkeeper producing three fine saves from free-kicks before Roman Bednar, nodding home his sixth goal of the season, and the substitute Craig Beattie found a way through.
It would be exaggerating the extent of Tottenham's malaise to draw parallels with the team's form under the Juande Ramos regime, although one win in six league matches suggests the players are no longer performing with the freedom and spirit that characterised Redknapp's early days. In the 34 minutes before Assou-Ekotto's red card Spurs threatened only once and thereafter a stalemate was the limit of their ambitions.
That objective might well have been achieved but Bednar's late header left Spurs empty-handed and Redknapp incandescent. It was easy to understand the manager's frustration, although Dawson flew through the air as if he had been given a boot up the backside rather than the alleged nudge in the back by Bednar. The Czech carried on regardless, heading the excellent Marek Cech's diagonal ball beyond Gomes.
Until then Albion had failed to make the most of their numerical advantage ensured by Assou-Ekotto's studs-up lunge on Gianni Zuiverloon. "I thought it was a sending off. I thought he turned his back and put his foot in and I could see why he sent him off," said Redknapp, briefly offering the referee some credit after a lambasting.
The sending-off seemed to galvanise Spurs before the interval as Didier Zokora moved to left-back and Luka Modric took up a more withdrawn role to add some midfield ballast.
Albion took control again after the restart, however, and looked set to take the lead in the 48th minute when Chris Brunt's 22-yard free-kick flew towards the top corner, only for Gomes to produce a wonderful fingertip save.
It was a reprieve for Spurs, but Bednar's header in the 83rd minute, followed by Beattie's tap-in deep into injury-time after Cech had released James Morrison to square, meant the goalkeeper's efforts were in vain.
For Albion the relief was tangible, this second victory in three matches lifting them to within two points of Tottenham and safety after a chastening sequence of 10 matches without a win.
Tony Mowbray maintained that his players "have never stopped believing we have the qualities to stay in the league" and pointed to the remaining home fixtures, which will see many of the bottom clubs visit the Hawthorns, as reason to be optimistic.
Redknapp, meanwhile, is almost certain to be charged by the FA for bringing the game into disrepute after his scathing attack on referee Tanner.
"I couldn't even put into words what I thought of (Tanner's) performance," said Redknapp.
"I'll be honest with you, I walked into the referee's room before the game and saw who was refereeing and I really knew what was coming. I expected that sort of performance.
"I've had him many times before and I know what he's like. He's really not good enough. He's just a poor referee and I've seen him make a mess of so many games before that it didn't surprise me.
"I saw him when I was in the Championship and I thought to myself then, 'Where has he come from?' I don't complain about referees. I never, ever walk in after a game and complain about a referee. I haven't done for years. But this guy today was scary. He's not up to the Premier League."
