in the bin.
With Spurs’ unbeaten run in the league and West Ham turning over big teams on their travels this had Spursy banana skin written all over it, but the little team were put in their place.
The riff-raff were in town, level on points with Spurs, having beaten Chelsea, ARSEnal, Liverpool and Man Citeh. It could have been a tough one, in the end the 4-1 scoreline massively flattered the visitors.
The first 20 minutes though didn’t hold out much hope. Spammers looked like they were still managed by Sam Allardyce, while Spurs were doing their old chameleon routine of playing like the opposition. Lot of hoofball no football.
But then football broke out. Started with a nice move that brought a shot from Eriksen and a good save. Shortly after there was more good football, Dembele to Son to Alli, which ended with Kane turning his man in the box and banging in the opener.
There was a classic Spurs drop off after this that almost allowed them back into it. It came with a rather large helping hand from the officials who somehow didn’t spot a player yards offside in the box taking a shot. Not the last piece of inept officiating we’d see on the day.
So as per usual a second was required.
It came shortly after. Eriksen’s corners weren’t coming off, eye of a needle stuff at the near post. This time though after Son had won the set piece it did. Alderweireld leaving all those marking him for dead and burying the header.
This puts Spurs into cruise control. They were playing some good stuff here. All starting with the power of Dembele, playing in a deeper role than of late. Heading through Eriksen, Son and Alli. The latter two could have extended the lead, Son with a shot saved, from which the former’s header hit the crossbar.
The miss of the half, well the miss of the game though came from Harry Kane. From their attack Spurs were quickly on the break, Dier played it forward, Kane back-heel to Alli and he was off to receive the return ball and through one on one with the ‘keeper only to horrendously scuff it wide.
He made amends somewhat just five minutes after the break. Trying play out from the back after the ‘keeper had saved Kane’s overhead kick, Alli was quick into the press, the ball coughed up to Eriksen who played in Kane. His shot from outside the box should probably have been saved but it curled, probably at just the right moment, to beat the ‘keeper.
More chances for the fourth came and went before the fourth came.
In less than five minutes we say the full range of Kyle Walker’s Forrest Gump impersonation. He galloped forward with the ball, not really having any clue what to do, eventually he played it off to Son who rolled it back to him brilliantly for Walker to strike with the outside of his right foot – well he was never going to use his left was he.
It was a cracking goal but didn’t quite deserve the crowing from the fanbois.
Though if they hadn’t what followed minutes later wouldn’t have been so funny. They didn’t deserve anything out of the game, not even a consolation goal but that’s what Walker gifted them. A dim slice into the middle of the park followed by being completely bamboozled with a step-over saw Lanzini free to fire in at the near post.
At that point Spurs had the joint best goal difference in the league. Now this might sound a rather petty stat but generally their GD has lagged far behind those in the top four and the better it is the better chance of being in that group.
That joint best GD could have been restored, Ryan Mason having the best chances to do so when his shot hit the post.
Mason replaced the yellow carded Alli, straight after he’d got that card. It was a chippy performance by the youngster, in which he firmly put Mark Noble in his place – Noble the piss poor man’s Scott Parker and when you regard how lowly I rate Parker then. Noble did enough in the game to have been sent off before his handbags with Alli that will see the 19 year old miss the next game, against Chelsea, having picked up his 5th yellow.
It was inept officiating that saw cards handed out for nothing while professional fouls and thuggery went unpunished.
The Spammer were talking themselves into the big time before the game, no doubt Karen Brady was giving it in the directors box but that four one scoreline really did flatter them, it should have been more a lot more.
Take out the fullbacks, Rose did little while Walker did what he did, the rest though were excellent. Hard to pick a man of the match, though I did plump for Dembele, who looks to be back to the way he was that first few months under AVB, with Sandro alongside him.
Hopefully I can keep on Tweeting this for some time…
Kyle Walker, still the last player to score a winning goal against Spurs in the league… #COYS #THFC
— Toxic Web (@Toxic_Web) November 22, 2015