Spurs Suicide Squad

The dream is over. But credit all round to Jol and the players for the Cup run. In the end we came up short, and once more we left feeling a little frustrated with the old 'shooting ones self in the foot' that we do pretty well. If Simon Cowell was judging us on The Choke Factor, he'd remark:

"Spurs take their fans to the edge, within in touching distance, before stumbling backwards and landing on their bum. As far as choking goes, they gag like champions"

Oh yes, we are consistently good at some things.

I got into the ground (having returned from Boro) one minute into the game. Before I had time to get my singing voice into tune, I found myself rather bewildered that we were down 2-0 in seven minutes, and both goals appearing to be rather simplistic (though Fredi's finish was cool - no idea what Steed was doing).

Who the fuck re-drafted the script? Maybe, its a tad cruel to slate our players. Even with my initial over-confidence, Sevilla showed the type of experience and mentality that we lack. But we know this is a missing ingredient, and sadly wishing and hoping things will come together in 90 minutes doesn't appear to be likely until the team grows a little more and we maybe draft in one or two other players in key positions.

Miserable first half it was. In fact, shocking performance. The exact opposite of what was needed. No warcry. Ledley looked, well not at 80%. Chimbonda and TT uncomfortable. Berbs isolated and Lennon (again) non-effective. It was shambolic. And everyone knew at that point it was over and done with. I mean, come on.....to score 4 goals in 45 minutes against Sevilla? Fantasy football.

And yet, what a difference the second half was in comparison. Some spirit and fight to go with some wonderfully relentless chanting of 'Martin Jol's Blue and White Army'. This wasn't just about tonight, it was pretty much a big thank you to a great season back in Europe (even if it fell short of our dreams of Glasgow).

But still, Sevilla were tough to break down, and once more aided by some abysmal referring and the textbook playacting, at one point, I sorta gave up jokingly remarking:

"Defoe? He can't even score in the Prem, how the hell is he gonna score against this lot?"

Cue, Defoe goal. 1-2. Then Lennon, the cheek of it, decides to give us hope. But still, and I'm sure most would agree, we lacked the sharpness of previous games (especially in Europe). It still all looked a little too heavy. The final ball not being of the quality to break down the team from La Liga.

And then Lady Luck stuck her two fingers up at us, when she wrapped herself around Dawsons leg to cause him to blast the ball over when it was easier to hit the back of the net. Had that gone in.......blimey. It would have been an incredible final 10 minutes. Berbatov was then guilty of lame shot easily saved. And that was it. Though TT gave us a cheer when he picked up a red card for laying the smackdown on Puerta. Well done that man.

Big time credit to the Sevilla fans who chanted 'Tottenham Tottenham' at the end of the game and both sets of fans applauding each other. Sort of shows up the Spanish riot police for being a bunch of over zealous pigs.

And that was it. Brave, but naive. Giving Sevilla two goals.......that's just suicide. Did Jol get it wrong? Or maybe the penalty decision from the first game has proven to be more decisive in the end. Should we have played patient football from the kick-off, gradually building into high tempo and pace? Perhaps so. Gifting the away goals in the manner we did only elevated the Spaniards aided by the the clown in black (yet another one - where do you find them UEFA?) and the usual dirty tricks. But thankfully, the second half - and the support from the fans - at least restored a little pride. Let's not forget we have been a joy to watch this season in Europe. Chin up lads. We've still got work to do.......


~Spooky