Jenas' stunner
Should have won with our 2nd half performance.
Too bad Davids will miss the derby match next week.
Arse, be afraid, be very afraid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man Utd 1-1 Tottenham:
Paul Robinson's blushes were spared but the title hopes of injury-ravaged Manchester United took another savaging at Old Trafford as a brilliant Jermaine Jenas free-kick earned Tottenham a 1-1 draw.
For 65 minutes, the clanger Robinson dropped when he spilled a routine Ruud van Nistelrooy header at Mikael Silvestre's feet looked like costing the visitors dear.
But, just as Spurs were running out of ideas, up stepped Jenas to curl an exquisite shot into the top corner after Rio Ferdinand had bundled Jermaine Defoe over 20 yards out.
Even without six senior men, so desperate was Sir Alex Ferguson for victory that he ended the game with five out-and-out forwards and just three defenders. But when a bad week for Cristiano Ronaldo continued when he sent a free header flying wide in the last seconds of stoppage time, United were left nine points adrift of Chelsea.
Tottenham may still not have registered a win at the Theatre of Dreams since 1989 but United have only mustered one in four outings this term and with Jose Mourinho's side the next Premiership visitors in a fortnight, an unimaginable change in fortune is required to haul the Red Devils back into the championship race.
If events had worked out differently, Martin Jol could have been in the home dug-out assisting Sir Alex Ferguson instead of fighting from the front for the visitors.
Events at White Hart Lane over the past 12 months suggest Jol would have been wasted playing second fiddle to anybody.
The days of maddening inconsistency and under-achievement appear to be over and nothing happened at Old Trafford to dispel the theory that with a bit more experience and a slightly stronger squad, Spurs will emerge as genuine top-four contenders once more.
Certainly little occurred in the opening half to dispel the theory even if Tottenham did find themselves behind.
For long periods, Spurs pushed United back with some slick midfield play, with Jermaine Jenas and Michael Carrick particularly impressive.
It took them a long time to fashion an opportunity, a low Jermain Defoe shot which Edwin van der Sar unconvincingly shovelled round a post but, even though United's standards have slipped over the years, rarely do they encounter opposition so prepared to engage in a pure football match - and be equals at it.
Nevertheless, it was the hosts who carved out most of the chances and if Robinson was clearly at fault for their opener when he failed to collect cleanly when van Nistelrooy met Paul Scholes' far-post corner, Tottenham were indebted to the England keeper for keeping them in the contest.
Alan Smith has yet to find the net since being switched into midfield but a fierce volley was arrowing into the top corner until Robinson palmed it away and O'Shea lacked conviction when he found himself on the end of a Darren Fletcher cross which had been flicked on by van Nistelrooy.
It was little surprise returning Wayne Rooney should produce one of the most eye-catching United performances, a greater shock was that it was his industry and willingness to track back which which brought the crowd to their feet.
Rarely in the first half as an attacking force, Rooney twice tracked back 60 yards to win possession back and his commitment was only exceeded by that of Smith.
There have been many who have questioned the Yorkshireman's suitability for the midfield holding role which Roy Keane usually occupies. Yet, game by game, Smith is improving markedly.
Totally prepared to play the easy ball and let his team-mates get on the with more glamorous parts of the game, Smith never shirks a physical challenge as the bruises of Edgar Davids and Paul Stalteri will testify.
The first moment of attacking inspiration from Rooney was an outrageous back-heeled pass to van Nistelrooy that forced a desperate block from Michael Dawson.
It was the start of another thrill-a-minute half, good old-fashioned English fare, with neither side prepared to give an inch, such a contrast to the dross served up at so many Premiership grounds, including this one, over the past few weeks.
Certainly, it would have been a shame if a basic error had settled it and Jenas came to Robinson's aid with his magnificent free-kick.
As if the answer the critics who claim he has abandoned the attacking approach that characterised so much of his success, Ferguson finished the match with five all-out attackers as Darren Fletcher and Phil Bardsley were sacrificed for Ronaldo and Giuseppe Rossi.
Ultimately though, it was all to no avail.
• Jol unhappy with booking
Frustrated Tottenham boss Martin Jol slammed referee Uriah Rennie for the booking that will rule Edgar Davids out of next weekend's north London derby.
Jol said: 'I couldn't repeat what I thought when the incident first happened. About a minute earlier, the referee had thanked Edgar for not making a meal of the challenge by Smith.
'Then Edgar does the same thing to Smith and he gets booked. It was his first foul and normally in Europe they leave the first one.
'I like the referee and he let the game flow in the first half which the players appreciated. But sometimes you need to have a feel for these things and after what went on before, it was a harsh decision.'
Jol continued: 'The pressure is on Manchester United to win the Premiership, but we felt we could win.
'We certainly had a better feeling when we realised Cristiano Ronaldo was not playing and while I still expect Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to finish in the top four, maybe we are not far away.'
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: 'All we can do is stick together, there is no other way to do it.
'Apart from set-pieces, Tottenham were never really a danger to us but the free-kick changed the whole shape of the game.
'We got a bit careless in possession and couldn't take our opportunities in the final third.
'We cannot do anything about Chelsea, all we can do is concentrate on our own results.
'We have to collect as many points as we can and try to stay as close as possible.'
Too bad Davids will miss the derby match next week.
Arse, be afraid, be very afraid.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Man Utd 1-1 Tottenham:
Paul Robinson's blushes were spared but the title hopes of injury-ravaged Manchester United took another savaging at Old Trafford as a brilliant Jermaine Jenas free-kick earned Tottenham a 1-1 draw.
For 65 minutes, the clanger Robinson dropped when he spilled a routine Ruud van Nistelrooy header at Mikael Silvestre's feet looked like costing the visitors dear.
But, just as Spurs were running out of ideas, up stepped Jenas to curl an exquisite shot into the top corner after Rio Ferdinand had bundled Jermaine Defoe over 20 yards out.
Even without six senior men, so desperate was Sir Alex Ferguson for victory that he ended the game with five out-and-out forwards and just three defenders. But when a bad week for Cristiano Ronaldo continued when he sent a free header flying wide in the last seconds of stoppage time, United were left nine points adrift of Chelsea.
Tottenham may still not have registered a win at the Theatre of Dreams since 1989 but United have only mustered one in four outings this term and with Jose Mourinho's side the next Premiership visitors in a fortnight, an unimaginable change in fortune is required to haul the Red Devils back into the championship race.
If events had worked out differently, Martin Jol could have been in the home dug-out assisting Sir Alex Ferguson instead of fighting from the front for the visitors.
Events at White Hart Lane over the past 12 months suggest Jol would have been wasted playing second fiddle to anybody.
The days of maddening inconsistency and under-achievement appear to be over and nothing happened at Old Trafford to dispel the theory that with a bit more experience and a slightly stronger squad, Spurs will emerge as genuine top-four contenders once more.
Certainly little occurred in the opening half to dispel the theory even if Tottenham did find themselves behind.
For long periods, Spurs pushed United back with some slick midfield play, with Jermaine Jenas and Michael Carrick particularly impressive.
It took them a long time to fashion an opportunity, a low Jermain Defoe shot which Edwin van der Sar unconvincingly shovelled round a post but, even though United's standards have slipped over the years, rarely do they encounter opposition so prepared to engage in a pure football match - and be equals at it.
Nevertheless, it was the hosts who carved out most of the chances and if Robinson was clearly at fault for their opener when he failed to collect cleanly when van Nistelrooy met Paul Scholes' far-post corner, Tottenham were indebted to the England keeper for keeping them in the contest.
Alan Smith has yet to find the net since being switched into midfield but a fierce volley was arrowing into the top corner until Robinson palmed it away and O'Shea lacked conviction when he found himself on the end of a Darren Fletcher cross which had been flicked on by van Nistelrooy.
It was little surprise returning Wayne Rooney should produce one of the most eye-catching United performances, a greater shock was that it was his industry and willingness to track back which which brought the crowd to their feet.
Rarely in the first half as an attacking force, Rooney twice tracked back 60 yards to win possession back and his commitment was only exceeded by that of Smith.
There have been many who have questioned the Yorkshireman's suitability for the midfield holding role which Roy Keane usually occupies. Yet, game by game, Smith is improving markedly.
Totally prepared to play the easy ball and let his team-mates get on the with more glamorous parts of the game, Smith never shirks a physical challenge as the bruises of Edgar Davids and Paul Stalteri will testify.
The first moment of attacking inspiration from Rooney was an outrageous back-heeled pass to van Nistelrooy that forced a desperate block from Michael Dawson.
It was the start of another thrill-a-minute half, good old-fashioned English fare, with neither side prepared to give an inch, such a contrast to the dross served up at so many Premiership grounds, including this one, over the past few weeks.
Certainly, it would have been a shame if a basic error had settled it and Jenas came to Robinson's aid with his magnificent free-kick.
As if the answer the critics who claim he has abandoned the attacking approach that characterised so much of his success, Ferguson finished the match with five all-out attackers as Darren Fletcher and Phil Bardsley were sacrificed for Ronaldo and Giuseppe Rossi.
Ultimately though, it was all to no avail.
• Jol unhappy with booking
Frustrated Tottenham boss Martin Jol slammed referee Uriah Rennie for the booking that will rule Edgar Davids out of next weekend's north London derby.
Jol said: 'I couldn't repeat what I thought when the incident first happened. About a minute earlier, the referee had thanked Edgar for not making a meal of the challenge by Smith.
'Then Edgar does the same thing to Smith and he gets booked. It was his first foul and normally in Europe they leave the first one.
'I like the referee and he let the game flow in the first half which the players appreciated. But sometimes you need to have a feel for these things and after what went on before, it was a harsh decision.'
Jol continued: 'The pressure is on Manchester United to win the Premiership, but we felt we could win.
'We certainly had a better feeling when we realised Cristiano Ronaldo was not playing and while I still expect Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool to finish in the top four, maybe we are not far away.'
United boss Sir Alex Ferguson said: 'All we can do is stick together, there is no other way to do it.
'Apart from set-pieces, Tottenham were never really a danger to us but the free-kick changed the whole shape of the game.
'We got a bit careless in possession and couldn't take our opportunities in the final third.
'We cannot do anything about Chelsea, all we can do is concentrate on our own results.
'We have to collect as many points as we can and try to stay as close as possible.'
posted by dgarden at 8:24 am
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