SHERWOOD RIGHT TO LAMBAST ABJECT SPURS

SHERWOOD RIGHT TO LAMBAST ABJECT SPURS

D. Ray Morton, 9th March 2013.

Chelsea proved they were the cream of the London crop yesterday evening with a comfortable 4-0 win that keeps fueling their Premier League title effort. Mourinho's men won convincingly thanks to goals from Samuel Eto'o, a penalty from Eden Hazard and a brace from substitute striker Demba Ba. Chelsea look as likely as anyone to top the table at the end of the season now but the focus here will be on the hopelessness of Tottenham Hotspur, manager Tim Sherwood's reaction to it and how a certain other in the media sees it.

Any 4-0 defeat makes for bad reading but, as mentioned several times this season about Spurs, the manner in which they lost was most disappointing. This wasn't Chelsea at their best. They didn't need to be. Each of the four goals could be classified as gifts. Though Spurs made themselves compact in the first half, giving away few clear cut chances and even looking like they might create a few of their own, their second half capitulation was abysmal.

Eto'o opened the scoring in the 56th minute after an error by Jan Vertonghen in what was probably his worst performance as a Spurs player. Barcelona have been sniffing around for his signature due to their need for a ball-playing defender and after such a miserable performance, Daniel Levy should consider cashing in.

The second goal came only four minutes later. Eto'o was picked out inside the penalty area, took a heavy touch and fell under the momentum of Younes Kaboul's covering run. There was very little contact and there were plenty of players around but referee Michael Oliver still felt the need to issue a red card and a penalty. I have examined the penalty/dismissal laws before but in this incident, there was nothing cynical about Kaboul's approach and the referee seemed to get it completely wrong as agreed with by Gary Neville in his Sky Sports commentary. Hazard slotted home the spot-kick and the game was over as a contest effectively.

Half an hour of Jose Mourinho smiles followed until Demba Ba, this time, was given a present by the continually struggling Vertonghen. Slipping in possession inside his own third, rather than knocking the ball out of play, he attempted a desperate pass back which Hugo Lloris couldn't reach. The Senegalese took the chance with aplomb. About a minute later, more madness from Spurs at the back. Lloris cleared away with his feet only to receive a header back from Nabil Bentaleb who must not have seen Demba Ba standing way beyond what would be the offside line. Ba competed with the French goalkeeper and slipped it past him to score the easiest of tap-ins. Tim Sherwood looked on furiously as Jose Mourinho made an early escape for the dressing room barely able to disguise his elation.

Tactically, there wasn't a whole lot that Sherwood did wrong. Jokingly nicknamed "Tactics Tim" for the perception that he doesn't like to bog down his side with the instructions that made Andre Villas Boas so unpopular with the playing staff, Spurs were set up quite well yesterday. He had fielded Kyle Walker at right midfield in order to double up on Eden Hazard and, removing individuals errors and some dodgy refereeing, it might have worked.

Sherwood went on the offensive in his post-match interview: "You can't legislate for the capitulation - you can't have that" he stated. "Lack of characters, too many of them too nice to each other and you need to show a bit more guts and not want to be someone's mate all the time. They need to drag it out of each other."

Sherwood was right. It wasn't strategies that cost them such a heavy thrashing. It was attitude. This is the same poisonous attitude that has persisted all season and resulted in two heavy defeats to Manchester City, another from Liverpool and an utterly humiliating 3-0 defeat to West Ham at home.

Glenn Hoddle, whenever there is speculation over a manager's future, again took the opportunity to criticise whilst subtly flying his kite for the Spurs job which might not necessarily go to Louis van Gaal, as expected, in the summer. In response to Sherwood's post-match views, he interjected: "I agree he was very honest but personally that's something you say in the dressing room to the players. You might come out and disguise what your feelings are." Words of wisdom from a man who lost the England job for suggesting that disabled people were being punished from "past lives".

Tottenham do deserve to be criticised publicly and Sherwood would only have been untrue to himself if he had stated otherwise. No-one expects Tottenham to get into the top four now and no-one expects Sherwood to stay on as their boss. His honesty was refreshing however and it's a shame that he's now caught between a rock and a hard place when it comes to landing his next job. Primarily a coach, will he want to take that step back after being in the main hot seat? Will Spurs even want to keep him on as a coach? Regardless, the message has been clear. Tottenham have not been good enough this season and don't deserve any credit after what was a grim performance at Stamford Bridge yesterday.