Tottenham reached the Champions League for the first time in their history with a vital 1-0 win at Manchester City on May 5, 2010. Peter Crouch scored the winner, but the story could have been very different had manager Harry Redknapp stuck to the script.

Harry often worked on gut instinct — and it led to some baffling ­decisions at times. You wouldn’t understand why some players were in from the cold or dropped without warning.

Sometimes I’d sit with [fellow coaches] Kevin [Bond] and Joe [Jordan], the three of us shaking our heads in confusion.

The City game was the ultimate ­example. If you’d asked Kevin, Joe or I before the game how we were going to line-up, it would never have been the way we did that night. There was a long ­discussion about whether David ­[Bentley] or Aaron [Lennon] should play on the right [wing]. Aaron was fit again after being out for five months but David had done so well in ­deputising after a flare-up with Harry at the training ground.

However, you don’t manage more than 1,000 games by relying on ­sentiment. Aaron was back and the best man for the job.

The big decision was who would play up front. Crouch and Jermain Defoe? Crouch and Roman Pavlyuchenko? Pav did well in big games. Pav and Defoe? Maybe Eidur Gudjohnsen could play? He’s got so much experience at big clubs. Should we play one up?

Harry didn’t want to play Jermain in attack on his own.

We knocked it around for ages. Eventually, after a lot of agonising, the consensus was that Crouch should start on the bench. The players arrived and Harry began addressing them, spelling out the importance of the game, urging them to keep their heads and outlining general tactical information before naming the team. “... and starting up front, Crouch and Defoe,” he said.

The players got up and left the room. Kevin, Joe and I sat on the back row and just stared at each other. I ­whispered into Joe’s ear: “Er, I didn’t think it was Crouch and Defoe — has he made a mistake?”

Joe didn’t say a word. Not one of us thought Crouchy would start.

I assumed Harry just got a feeling and wanted to go with it. It was a big surprise and maybe the chairman wouldn’t want to hear such decisions were made in this way, but that’s what you get with Harry.

The celebrations after that win at City were led by David Bentley, who drenched Harry Redknapp with a bucket of water on live television. Although Bentley ended up playing a key role in that season’s run-in, the animosity between the pair ran deep — and all due to a reserve match a few months earlier

The game started and Alan [Hutton] and David were a disgrace — their attitude stank.

Early in the first half, Harry came down to watch, as first-team training had finished, and he stood alongside me.

“Everything all right?” he asked.

“Not really, gaffer. Hutton doesn’t want to play. He’s not warmed up and isn’t interested. Bentley’s the same. They are just messing about.”

“Right, get ’em off.”

I signalled to a couple of the kids on the bench to start warming up. All of a sudden, Harry changed his mind.

“Leave ’em on.”

I turned to the two youngsters: “Sorry lads, sit back down.”

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Harry continued: “Get them all in at half-time. Don’t say anything, I’ll come in and have a word with them.”

“Fine, boss. No problem.”

Harry went storming in and said: “What the f*** is going on here? ­Hutton, you’re an insult to this club.” Alan shrugged his shoulders.

“David Bentley — you’re a disgrace.”

David responded by standing up, turning around and reaching into his jacket for his phone. He kept his back to Harry, who by this point was almost going to swing for David.

“What are you doing?” asked Harry.

“I’m just ringing my agent to tell him to get me out of here.” He made the call, telling his agent to speak to ­Daniel Levy in order to get the club to sell him, before putting the phone back in his pocket and sitting down.

“Who the f*** do you think you are?” asked Harry, incandescent by now. David couldn’t care less.

Harry vented his anger and substituted him. He banished him to the reserves for the next few days, training away from the first team.

During those few days, though, Aaron Lennon got injured and Bentley came back into the team.

Clive Allen’s autobiography ‘Up Front’ with James Olley is published by deCoubertin and out tomorrow, priced £20. decoubertin.co.uk/CliveAllen