For our journey to
Manchester on Sunday morning I made a Bruce Springsteen compilation CD for the
car that was driving us up there. The CD started with Thunder Road, a majestic
song that looks ahead to reaching the Promised Land after a lifetime of past
disappointments. Setting the scene for the story in the song, it contains the
line “Like a vision she dances across the porch as the radio plays”. The
following morning I doubt I was the only one whose first vision when they woke to
their own radio alarm was a yellow ball rolling across the goal, Joe Hart stranded,
and Jermain Defoe poised to come onto to it...
I have seen enough
football to know that vision may stay with me for a long time.
Losing that match
dramatically at the Etihad has given some air for pundits who despise Tottenham
to talk about a title challenge now over and self-hating Spurs fans who want
justification for their ignorant and cynical belief that a title challenge was
a delusional idea. Yet stoppage time on Sunday showed the swings and
roundabouts in sport, the tight margins involved, and gave a perfect example of
the term ‘six-pointer’.
We went to City on
the back of a disappointing result at home to Wolves, where a few individual
performances dropped below the high standards set this season. It is wrong to
say that title talk in the preceding days caused that slight dip; there was no
problem with the mentality, though it did look a case of one too many games
after a hectic period, having also played an extra game three days earlier,
with the game in hand against Everton.
Both Michael Dawson and
Aaron Lennon, starting their third games in a week after coming back from
injury, struggled, while tiredness also seemed to effect others, including
Younes Kaboul, who as with the Everton game, began shakily and with errors. The
atmosphere inside the ground to begin with was good though, with the expectancy
raising the volume to start with, rather then inducing nervousness, which
sometimes can happen.
But there were three
stoppages in the first fifteen minutes, we never really got the up-tempo start
we would have liked and we soon ended up chasing the game, as Wolves suddenly had
something to hold onto. Perhaps through inexperience, Kyle Walker, cheaply gave
away possession via a throw-in in our own half. He seemed to recover well
enough to see the ball out for a goal-kick but a bad decision by the officials
led to a Wolves corner and an opening goal.
Despite a concerted
effort we failed to equalize before half-time as another vital decision went
against Adebayor (although the fact he is offside so many times suggests he
didn’t know he was being played on when he converted the Gareth Bale shot that
looked goal-ward bound). But there were still 40 mins to go when we equalized.
The goal came from fantastic movement again by Rafa Van Der Vaart, taking up a
position in the box before using great technique to engineer room to pass to Bale,
whose who lay-off in turn set up Luka Modric, who finally hit the target with
one of a number of shots from him on the day from the edge of the area. That
was the time to go on and make the pressure tell. A second goal then and Wolves would have
buckled. But they saw that period out, and we dropped two points.
Teams will drop
points in the second half of the season. The key is making sure that when we
don’t win, we don’t let it affect us, and get straight back on another winning
run. Sunday was more than just another game though.
We started off well
enough at the Etihad with a five man midfield and playing a large portion of
the first fifteen minutes in their half. We continued to be comfortable until
half-time, with Sergio Auguero’s individual ability the only threat, and
masking Man City’s general play, which was decidedly average.
City started the
second half off the better though before we countered four times, Van Der Vaart
and Bale both looking to get in advanced positions without creating a clear-cut
chance: Bale slipping the one time he could have had a strike on goal. Within
two minutes City took the lead, Nasri’s movement and clinical finish doing
justice to Silva’s killer ball. From nowhere, it was 2-0, Lescott given a free
run to bundle home from a corner, the second soft goal we have conceded from a
corner in two games.
Fortunately we were
back in the game straight away. Jermain Defoe expertly capitalised on Savic’s
error, finishing coolly and naturally, giving us a springboard for a comeback. Lennon stretched City on the left after
combining with Bale and Van Der Vaart before coming inside and, as so many
times for us, providing a vital assist, this time to Bale, who proved how dangerous
he is from the centre with a wonderful first time shot.
Whatever followed
later, seeing the ball hit the back of the net, and the ensuring celebrations
that had me hugging all and sundry and took me out dancing onto the concourse
behind me, produced a few endorphins. And reports of an unusually animated and
excited press box at the Emirates as Bale scored, was another example of the
potential significance of the goal. As League games go, this was the biggest
since our visit to City in May 2010, and while a positive result could only be
judged in hindsight, that equalizer meant everything was possible.
We tightened up in
midfield with Livermore on for Van Der Vaart, shortly after City brought on
Balotelli for Dzeko. Lennon swapped again, Ekotto providing the width on the
left, with Bale again dangerous with his movement from the centre.
City were there for
the taking. On the back of two home defeats in cup competitions, without Yaya
Toure and Vincent Kompany, and now under pressure against a better team. We
pressed them high up the pitch looking to score the next goal. There is no
doubting the resilient qualities of this Tottenham team, with second-half fight
backs away at Inter and Arsenal last season, and a winning mentality that has
been evident for three seasons now.
We had half chances,
but no clear cut opportunity until the first minute of stoppage time and the
aforementioned chance for Defoe. Livermore put Bale in, and his run and ball
were perfect, taking all the defenders and Hart out of the equation. Defoe held
his run so not to get offside but just failed to make sufficient contact.
Fine margins that
could leave ghosts in our eyes.
Pienaar was close to
putting Defoe in again before City then had a spell with the ball, while their
fans were leaving in droves. All our men were behind the ball, and we eventually
won the ball back, but a long ball from Ekotto gave it straight back. They then
hit a long ball of their own and got behind us.
The one player in the
world you would want defending in that situation is Ledley King. I have been
lucky enough to see Baresi, Blanc, Hierro and Maldini play in the flesh, and
Ledley is as good as any of them. It was a cruel way to end his personal record
of 11 wins in a row and such a rare occurrence that he has mistimed a tackle
his foul will be as memorable for that fact, let alone the significance and
timing of the occasion.
But having seen all
but one of the competitive games Ledley has played at White Hart Lane in his
career, plus a fair few away and on international duty, he has noticeably found
it harder this season. It is evident in the physical pain he clearly has when
he is on the pitch and inevitable with his injuries. He would still be in my
team every time if fit to play, but those days will sadly be rarer.
Television pictures
later showed that Balotelli, who won the penalty and then scored it in stoppage
time caused by prolonged treatment to Scott Parker, whom he petulantly but
dangerously attempted to stamp, shouldn’t have been on the pitch. And neither
should have Lescott, who was shown to have forearm smashed Kaboul.
Howard Webb, who has
given us so many atrocious decisions in the past but appeared to have an okay game,
apparently ignored Balotelli’s stamp, claiming he didn’t see it, which looks
implausible from the pictures. It’s more credible he missed Lescott’s foul, but
beyond belief that he has said yesterday Lescott would have only received a
booking, meaning that City are fortunate in the extreme that Savic is not their
only available natural centre back for their next league game.
And we shouldn’t lose
sight of City yet. Technically we are now bang in the middle of a top five –
five points ahead of fourth place Chelsea, five points behind second place
United; eight points of the top and nine points above fifth place Arsenal. But we still need to keep on City’s tail.
On paper they have a
winnable run of games coming up and importantly the momentum is now with them.
But history suggests points will be dropped. Conversely, considering the top
three placings, the Man United win later that on Sunday afternoon may benefit
Tottenham, as it keeps pressure on City, and everything suggests it will be
pressure, if anything, that means City don’t go on and win the League this
season.
Also strangely, a
good parallel for Tottenham at this stage is Arsenal, who won the title in 1998
from being 9 points behind United as late as March. It was their first title
for seven years and they were outsiders for most of the season, but were the
form team, and won the double at a canter in the end, with a comparatively
small squad. They had games in hand, and importantly won their six-pointer
away, which we didn’t do on Sunday, but United then had pedigree City don’t
have.
City could yet
buckle, but all Tottenham can do now is get on another good run. As Springsteen
also wrote in Thunder Road “You can hide ‘neath your covers and study your
pain”, but feeling sorry for yourself is not an option.
We are as good as any
team in the League, we need to pull out of Manchester and start winning again, forget
the disappointment of Sunday, and blind out the distractions from Southwark
Crown Court. It is a strong group of players and if they play to potential
there is an outside chance Defoe’s miss will not be the definitive moment of
our league season.
MG
MG
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