At 2-0 up I muttered the immortal words: "If Spurs don't win from this position, they will never beat United". Oh how the Gods unzipped and showered me with their irony.
It was going so well. Bent getting in amongst them to control and hit for the first, Modric the second from a Lennon cross. In at half-time, two up. And playing well. With confidence. We took our chances with relative ease. Surely we can hold onto it if the same ineffective Utd returned for the second? Sadly that didn't happen. The Utd of a few months back started to turn the screws having decided to turn up for the second 45 mins, but still we sat at 2-0 to the good. All the way up to the 57th minute when the Gods pulled their pants down completely, turned around and unloaded an almighty number two. Penalty to Utd. Did Gomes get the ball? Did he get the player? Was it a penalty? If it was, then why did Howard Webb not dish out a red card too? Having seen it a couple of times on replay, it wasn't clear cut by a long long way. But why should that stop the ref from giving them a route back into the game? The sooner we get refs into our fantasy football sides the better. They would score a bundle of points with their assists. But it was still only 2-1. Let's not collapse Tottenham. Don't collapse. What do we do? We collapse quicker than Stephen Hawking attempting to snowboard down the side of Kilimanjaro.
Still, you can’t deny Utd as an attacking force. And softer pens have been given in the past. But let's not linger too much on that one single incident. Let's move onto the 'laying down for them' bit.
And boy, did we lay down for them.
Confidence gone. Almost akin to something of prior seasons when our backbone turns to jelly just because the opposing team suddenly have belief. Yes, we are 2-0 up against the mighty Man Utd. So what? Push on, attack, force a third. Don't be dumbstruck by the occassion.
Far easier for us to allow that one decision, to knee-jerk us to a spanking.
Where was that little bit of leadership and composure? Not sure at the moment I want to start having a dig at our players (because I really can't be bothered on the back of this result). But at full pelt, Utd are impossible to defend against. More so if that much needed leadership and composure is non-existent.
Rooney, 67, Ronaldo 68, Rooney 71. 3-2.
The Gods had obviously feasted on a curry late yesterday evening.
When Berbatov casually, apologetically, bundled the ball for a 5th I momentarily died a little inside.
I hate football. Hate it.
If Spurs don't win from this position, they will never beat United.