A fan’s eye view of Stoke 2-1 Spurs

Controversial decisions from referee Chris Foy ended Tottenham’s 11-match unbeaten run in the Barclays Premier League.

Despite conceding two sloppy first-half goals, scored by former Spurs winger Matthew Etherington, Tottenham could have won the game should decisions have gone their way.

Although Foy did award the visitors a penalty in the second half, which Emmanuel Adebayor coolly converted, he failed to spot two clear handballs that should have resulted in an extra two spot kicks. He also harshly sent off Younes Kaboul for two soft yellow cards.

To worsen the blow, the referee’s assistant ruled out what should have been Adebayor’s second goal, putting up the offside flag even though the Togolese striker was clearly onside.

Harry Redknapp was understandably frustrated with the referee after leaving the Britannia Stadium pointless:

‘’I thought he had a poor day. It (Kaboul’s sending off) was farcical’’, he exclaimed.

‘’Adebayor was way onside.

‘’There were two blatant handballs and the referee missed them.

‘’I never complain about referees’ decisions-I have not done it in 30 years of management, never. But today, I’m afraid, he got some badly wrong.’’

Spurs remain in third position in the Barclays Premier League with 31 points, five behind second placed Manchester United, and seven behind Manchester City, who are still in top spot.

The 2-1 loss to the Potters will be seen as a clear blemish to an impressive league run, but a strong second half performance indicated that Tottenham are still one of the current in-form teams.

With the exception of hosting Chelsea in a fortnight’s time, the lilywhites are set to play five teams that currently sit in the bottom half of the Premiership in their next six fixtures.

If Redknapp and the players can continue to execute similar performances of recent weeks, the New Year could be set to be a promising one.

By Dan Lloyd

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