Spurs Blow It

[jayp]

No wonder Martin Jol looked on in dismay as Tottenham threw away three points after leading 2-0 and then 3-1. As if the manager hadn't enough to contend with off the field, his side dominated big chunks of this match and should have won it with plenty to spare. Instead, Jol's decision to bring off key man Robbie Keane proved costly, giving Fulham the impetus and encouragement to launch a late comeback.



Lawrie Sanchez admits his first taste of the Premiership's summer transfer market has been something of an eye-opener - and he was still wheeling and dealing right up to Friday night's deadline. The Fulham manager's final acquisitions were Portsmouth's Dejan Stefanovic, Danny Murphy, from Tottenham, Reading's Ki-Hyeon Seol, in a straight swap for Liam Rosenior, and Shefki Kuqi, on a six-month loan from Crystal Palace.
They brought the number of new arrivals at Craven Cottage to 15 - for a total outlay of around £25m. The departure of Rosenior and, earlier in the day, Papa Bouba Diop, to Portsmouth, meant Sanchez has parted company with a dozen players, completing a radical reshape of the squad aimed at avoiding the relegation fight he was involved in at the end of last season, after replacing Chris Coleman. 'I'm pleased the uncertainties of comings and goings are put to bed until January,' he wrote in the match-day programme. 'The chairman has invested in the squad, so it's time to turn good performances into results.'

Stefanovic made his debut at the heart of the defence, alongside Carlos Bocanegra and there was a return, earlier than expected, after a shoulder injury, of former Watford striker Hameur Bouazza, who was preferred to David Healy in the starting line-up.

Jol, who had completed £39m worth of business well before the deadline, was without three central defenders - Ledley King, Anthony Gardner and Michael Dawson - although Dawson was fit enough for the bench. Younes Kaboul and Ricardo Rocha formed a makeshift partnership.

Antti Niemi was also back for Fulham, but was left red faced after conceding a sloppy goal with 10 minutes gone. The goalkeeper was all at sea as Keane delivered an inswinging corner and was fortunate to see the ball scrambled behind. He was not so lucky when Gareth Bale curled in a second one, from the opposite flank. Again, Niemi failed to make any contact with the ball which, this time, dropped for Kaboul to stab it over the line from no more than a yard out to open his Tottenham account.

Niemi then had to watch under-pressure England keeper Paul Robinson get away with a blunder that could easily have led to an equaliser. Diomansy Kamara was allowed to bring the ball through before eventually having his shot blocked, but it broke wide to Bouazza. His cross was fumbled by Robinson, but, in the ensuing melee, Steven Davis drove wide.

Tottenham swept further ahead after 28 minutes, when Niemi was beaten by genuine quality. Keane accepted a throw-in to volley a pass that released Dimitar Berbatov, running through the inside-right channel. The Bulgarian comfortably held off a challenge from Stefanovic and finished with a sweet strike.

Tottenham threatened to run away with the game as Jermaine Jenas and Keane bore down on goal and were halted only by despairing challenges.

When Tom Huddlestone then tried to play in Keane, Niemi had to rush from his line to be first to the ball. After another defensive mix-up, Fulham giving the impression of playing like strangers, Clint Dempsey had to drop back to clear up the mess.

Surprisingly, Fulham gained a foothold when Dempsey rose above Pascal Chimbonda to head Simon Davies' corner powerfully past Robinson. But the danger posed by Berbatov persisted. The ball dropped in to his path, 30 yards out, and, almost lazily, he swung a boot and Niemi had to watch the resulting volley all the way before touching it over the crossbar. Shortly afterwards, Niemi produced a flying save to keep out a 25-yarder from Jenas, but he needed a touch of lady luck when Bale's cross hit Keane and fell nicely for Steed Malbranque, who struck a post.

But Tottenham were not to be denied. Keane volleyed another pass through the Fulham defence and Bale went clear before placing his shot wide of the goalkeeper for his first goal for the club.

Keane looked far from happy when Jol pulled him off midway through the second half, particularly as he then saw Alexey Smertin make it 3-2 with a shot that hit Rocha and looped over Robinson. Kamara then conjured up a most unlikely equaliser with a bicycle kick in the 89th minute.

[histon]

well done fulham for comeing back

[BeeJesus]

pi$$ off Fulham!

[GreenBee]

Bl**dy useless Spurs (my other team! ) keep doing what Bees did last season and letting in last minute goals! Morons! After spending all that money during the summer as well!

BTW I actually applied for a job to work in the Fulham ticket office
about a month ago - possibly didn't even get an interview as mention
that I'm a Brentford fan on my cv!

[GreenBee]

Oh dear! Spurs trying to copy Bees today!

[CXPF]

must make Mr Jol favourite for the first premier manager to get the old Spanish Archer ??

[GreenBee]

There were rumour a few weeks ago that Spurs had been
having talks with some Spanish club's manager behind Jol's back,
but they denied it!