from the league.
That would have been the cherry on top of the cake. But beating Stoke on their special
day, with Charlie Adam being sent off will have to do.
Oh you mean you didn’t know there was other games on this weekend. Premier league fixtures, league play-offs and the F.A. Cup final. Yes there was more, far more than Slur Alex Ferguson of Puceface’s goodbye from the club he single-handedly built from nothing – including the stadium which was a piece of scrub land before 1986. Matt Busby you ask, who’s he?
Another come from behind performance, another goal conceded from a set piece, another important goal from Dempsey, another goal from Adebayor and yet another away win. The pluses outnumbered the minuses.
Stoke boss Tony Pulis stated They’ve [the fans] turned up to watch a great game of football and it’s been taken away from them
. He was claiming the ref prevented it from being a great game when in reality it was him and his mob of clodhoppers who spoiled proceedings.
There can be no one who would shed a tear if Stoke had gone down this season. You look at those sides fighting for their lives at the bottom of the table and all of them at least try and play football. All of them would be preferable members of the top flight than Pulis’ ugly mob.
The Premier League some claim is the best league in the world. Well it isn’t the best footballing league in the world but it has excitement and it has it’s fans, who tune in, in their millions all around the world. How many of them tune in to watch Stoke clog about, kicking, grabbing, holding, shoving, barging, hacking and hoofing?
Anyway things started badly for Spurs after a Stoke style challenge by Dempsey. What followed was more classic Stoke and pretty much classic Spurs. Set piece goal. Inept defending from zonal marking. Adebayor lets the scorer run off him, while Parker and Bale just stand there doing bugger all – nothing new for the former.
Was it going to be one of those days?
Well things took an up turn not long after. Dempsey was close to equalising with a nifty back heel, but was just offside. Before Parker played an overambitious – for him – forward pass that was going to get nowhere near Lennon’s excellent run into the box. It was simply cut out by the defender who found Dempsey wit the clearance, with the ‘keeper coming out for he original pass he was out of position and Dempsey with a lot to do, did it.
Yet another important goal from Deuce. He either scores equalisers or winners. And still get stick.
After that Stoke reverted to type and started racking up the yellow cards. Hacking, grabbing, holding. All here by the usual suspects. One of whom was back just after the break, Adam, when he had yet another hack at Vertonghen. Pulis whinged. Was there contact. Well the likes of Pulis are tying to make excuses they usually cite the lack of intent
and he’s not that type of player
. Well we all know Adam is that type and he knew he couldn’t legitimately take the ball off Vertonghen with his position and lack of tackling ability. So there was just intent to hack.
A righteous and well deserved red card.
Stoke then put their flat back nine wall in place. While the baying mob jeered and booed the various Spurs players who had the temerity to be hacked down over the years by Stoke players.
With Stoker offering absolutely no attacking threat AVB unfortunately dithered again in making the necessary changes. There was absolutely no need for Parker to be on he pitch, slowing things up, giving the ball away and generally butchering situations.
And someone needed to come on with one of those little notes for Adebayor, telling him to stick to the box, stop dropping deep and drifting wide. Against 10 men there was enough Spurs players in those positions what here wasn’t was a focal point with Adebayor missing. Lennon was criticised when he made a run to the byeline, for not doing it enough but when anyone had made a run like hat there was never anyone in he box. All those in blue were circled around the red and white striped wall.
Dempsey and Bale had good chances. One tipped over one just wide. Again it was looking like one of those days. Then with less than 10 minutes to g0 a Bale ball into he box deflected into Dempsey’s path for him to centre for Adebayor to tap it in.
Justice. Never mind what the commentators or Pulis say, Stoke deserved nothing from his game for the anti-football they inflicted on it. Holding out for set pieces, cynical fouls, hoofball is that what their fans and ex-players came to celebrate? Ex-players who saw out their last days at Stoke or moved on from Stoke to see better days.
Now we just need Wigan not to have a hangover after their excellent victory to win the F.A. Cup and it’s back in our hands.