luck.
When the referee goes off at the end of the game to jeers from both sets of fans you know he’s had a shocker, he helped and cost both Spurs and Watford.
For the second game in a row – at least – Martin Atkinson made his mark on a game by getting it wrong.
Had asked for Spurs to get some luck, good luck, which has evaded them while been all over those above them in the league – bar Burnley, who don’t get that much. Well they got lucky with one of the final acts of the one all draw away to Watford, when the officials failed to spot Dier’s handball in the area.
It was pretty damn blatant, though could the ref see where the ball hit as Dier’s body was more likely between him the action. The lino, well they’re even worse than the refs but could he give it without a shadow of doubt? They should have given it and it’s the one bit of luck Spurs have had over recent weeks, that they didn’t.
The rest of the game the ref went against the visitors. With a little help from Spurs themselves and yours truly.
The other week I wanted to praise Davinson Sanchez for his performances. He’s come into a new country, only 21, with very few games under his belt really and slotted in brilliantly. Yeah, he’s looked a bit raw at times but that age and inexperience. it’s understandable. I didn’t want to praise him because I knew it would be the Toxic Web Kiss of Death.
And so it has turned out to be. For since then he’s been at the centre of a few cockups. The latest being his straight red for an elbow to the face, which leaves Spurs light in the centreback area for the next few games. What with Toby being out for the next year or two. Was it a red? Probably. Well it was needless and stupid enough to give Atkinson the chance to brandish his red card.
Of course he wasn’t so quick to flash the red when it was called for in the rest of the game. The number of fouls on Spurs players that went unpunished was quite ridiculous. It all started with fouls on Kane and then Dier, which weren’t give, ending up with Watford opening the scoring.
Don’t know where the defence went for that opener from the resulting corner, well Dier and Kane probably wondering what constitutes a foul these days. Throughout the game Kane was kicked from pillar to post, fouls which should have seen more first and second yellow cards. The same happened to Dele.
Maybe Atkinson thought he’s just let ’em get on with it like Clattenberk is now claiming he did for the Battle of Stamford Bridge a couple of seasons back.
He was right though that in the build up to the equaliser it wasn’t a penalty. Falling over doesn’t equal a foul. Nice counter with some pace and a good finish from Son, from Eriksen’s cross. The Dane though still looks off it, he really needs a rest or something. Dele didn’t like being taken off late on, he shouldn’t, shouldn’t like it that is, he should have been removed possibly earlier. Again, something wrong there.
Kane put in some beautiful balls through the game but they were all the type of balls he’d thrive been on the end of, rather than the start. Felt when Lamela came on he looked tentative going into challenges, which didn’t help but then what also didn’t help was the first sub coming on being Sissoko. Of all the questions about this season. Why Sissoko? is one of the main ones. Why? Why Poch? What do you see? Yes he can run fast but he’s all the ball control of a baggy pair of boxers. He brings nothing to the table. It’s just a gift to the opposition. Never mind 10 men, it was 9 men.
They could have nicked it near the end, with a pile driver off the post but again that came about through inept officiating. The ball having gone out off a Watford player for a goal kick, said player pointed at his boot, said something to the lino, who shrugged and all of a sudden pointed for a corner. It was beyond belief.
Well, with 10 men, at least it wasn’t a loss but after the weekend’s results Spurs are now 15 points adrift of the league leaders and 15 points above the relegation zone. Time to focus more on the cups then…