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Tottenham trounce Sunderland but Tim Sherwood's fate looks sealed Tottenham trounce Sunderland but Tim Sherwood's fate looks sealed
(about 3 hours later)
If this was just another act in Tim Sherwood's Tottenham swan song, he continued to play the lead role in the only way he knows. Brash, exuberant and always entertaining, Sherwood at times provided more compelling viewing on the touchline than the game itself, during which his team secured a comfortable victory that piled more misery Sunderland but may do little to convince Daniel Levy that he should remain at the helm beyond the summer. If this was just another act in Tim Sherwood's Tottenham Hotspur swan song, he continued to play the lead role in the only way he knows. Brash and exuberant, Sherwood at times provided more compelling viewing on the touchline than the game itself, during which his team secured an emphatic win that piled more misery on Sunderland but may do little to convince the Spurs' chairman, Daniel Levy, that he should remain at the helm beyond the summer.
Sherwood, who is set to leave Tottenham at the end of the season, could actually depart with the highest win percentage of all Premier League managers to have occupied his position. Here, following a day when speculation over his future had been plastered all over the TV and radio airwaves, he came out fighting and two goals from Emmanuel Adebayor and efforts from Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen and Gylfi Sigurdsson sent Spurs back into sixth above Manchester United. Sherwood, who is set to leave Tottenham at the end of the season, was gesticulating and interacting with supporters with renewed vigour and enthusiasm throughout the game. While his side were dismantling Sunderland, who remained rooted to the bottom of the table, he was all smiles and jokes. There were a few moments of incredulity – one being when Christian Eriksen was denied a penalty and the other when Harry Kane, a goal-scorer just minutes before, did not return to the pitch quickly enough with blood gushing from his head following an injury – but other than that, Sherwood appeared in good spirits.
The manager delayed his entrance before kick-off and emerged from the tunnel to a swarm of cameramen waiting expectantly in front of the dugout. Yet his presence on the touchline, rather than his recent preference of watching from the stands, failed to inspire a bright start from his side. Given the speculation over his future that had dominated the buildup, his stance was admirable but, then again, Sherwood has never been one to hide away. His evening was made easier given Sunderland's miserable capitulation, Gus Poyet's side collapsing after taking the lead early on and eventually going down to goals from Emmanuel Adebayor, Eriksen, Kane and Gylfi Sigurdsson.
Instead, it was Sunderland who took the initiative as the rain swept down in north London. Gus Poyet made two changes to the team that lost at home to West Ham United but persisted with five at the back, a ploy that paid dividends in the early stages as Spurs dominated possession and piled forward with numbers but failed to breach the yellow barricades. Poyet said afterwards that Sunderland, lying seven points from safety, would need "a miracle" to stay in the Premier League. Perhaps that is what Sherwood requires to remain in post, but some solace for Tottenham is that they jumped back above Manchester United into sixth place.
Eriksen almost scored direct from a right-wing cross in the sixth minute, forcing Vito Mannone to tip over the crossbar, but Sunderland carried a threat on the counter-attack. Fabio Borini and Adam Johnson offered ample pace and trickery up front, and Poyet's side came close to the first goal when Wes Brown headed a Johnson free-kick narrowly wide. Sherwood delayed his entrance before kick-off and emerged from the tunnel to a swarm of cameramen waiting expectantly in front of the dugout. Yet it was Sunderland who took the initiative and made a bright start as the rain swept down in north London. Poyet made two changes to the team that lost at home to West Ham United but persisted with five at the back, a ploy that paid dividends in the early stages as Spurs dominated possession and piled forward with numbers but failed to breach the yellow barricades.
They did not have to wait long for the opener, though the manner of the goal was bizarre to say the least. Vlad Chiriches, one of four changes made by Sherwood who opted to play Adebayor and Kane in attack, will not want to remember his part in a farcical exchange. The defender took a quick throw-in on the right wing in the 17th minute back to Hugo Lloris and, after a comical exchange of passes with the Tottenham goalkeeper, he inadvertently slid the ball back inside to Lee Cattermole, who finished precisely into the bottom corner from 25 yards out. The manner of Sunderland's opener was bizarre to say the least. Vlad Chiriches, one of four changes made by Sherwood, will not want to remember his part in a farcical incident. The defender took a quick throw-in on the right wing in the 17th minute back to Hugo Lloris and, after a comical exchange of passes with the Tottenham goalkeeper, he inadvertently slid the ball back inside to Lee Cattermole, who finished precisely into the bottom corner from 25 yards out.
Sherwood appeared aghast, but Sunderland held their lead for only 11 minutes. During that period they sustained a minor barrage of pressure, with Kane snatching at a fine opportunity and Kyle Naughton firing into the side netting, before Adebayor pulled them level. Sherwood appeared aghast, but Sunderland held their lead for only 11 minutes. The equaliser came from a seemingly innocuous position, but Eriksen managed an excellent cross from wide left and the ball flashed across goal to the far post where Adebayor bundled the ball in with his thigh .
It came from a seemingly innocuous position, but Eriksen managed an excellent cross from wide left and the ball flashed across goal to the far post where Adebayor bundled the ball in with his thigh. The Togolese striker was close to a second before half-time but Phil Bardsley made a vital block with Adebayor inches away from making contact with a low cross from the right. Poyet said: "I'm very honest and I know where I am. If you look at the table and the games we have got left to win, we need a miracle. We need something unique. A shock. I cannot see it coming. As soon as we chased the game and opened up and needed to go attack for attack we became a very easy team to play against. As soon as we go forward we cannot defend, we cannot make decisions. We cannot go one v one.
Poyet stormed down the tunnel before the opening half had reached a conclusion, shouting angrily at the fourth official Mike Dean, but appeared to have calmed down during the break. "We cannot pass the ball, we cannot get a shot on target. There are so many things that we cannot do. And there is no place to hide. The good thing is that I am responsible and I will take responsibility."
It was Sherwood cursing soon later, as Lee Mason waved away penalty appeals from Tottenham following a collision between Eriksen and Carlos Cuéllar. The Dane, at the heart of Spurs' midfield, jinked into the area and darted for the by-line with three yellow shirts around him, only to hit the ground after contact with Cuéllar's leg. Sherwood was incredulous, especially after watching a TV replay, but his ire soon quelled as Tottenham took the lead. Sunderland's players, though, need to answer some serious questions after a miserable second-half in which they conceded four goals. Poyet added: "We were backwards in decision-making, in basic things. I came to England in 1997 and the first couple of things they told me at Chelsea was: 'Follow the runners. Stop the cross.'"
Eriksen was again the architect, controlling the ebb and flow before picking the ball up down the left and delivering an enticing low cross across goal, similar to his assist in the first half, that Kane gratefully tucked past Mannone. Eriksen was the architect for everything Tottenham created and set up Kane for the second, the striker gratefully tucking past Vito Mannone after a cross from the left. Eriksen was rewarded for his performance with Tottenham's third, a low shot that took a deflection on the way into the bottom corner before Adebayor tapped into an empty net in the 85th minute, following up on Mannone's parry from a Kane effort. The substitute Sigurdsson completed the scoring with a close-range finish in injury time. By then, Sunderland were dead and buried.
Kane was soon forced to the sidelines with a head injury that required bandaging, yet Sherwood, having just seen the striker score, was bellowing at the youngster and urging him to speed up his recovery and return to the pitch. His language, however, was more frank.
Eriksen, by far the brightest player on the pitch throughout the 90 minutes, was rewarded for his performance with Tottenham's third. The midfielder has certainly proved to be the biggest success story following Spurs' summer spree last year and again picked up the ball on the edge of the opposition penalty area, and fired a low shot from the left that took a deflection on the way into the bottom corner.
Adebayor tapped into an empty net in the 85th minute, following up on Mannone's parry from a Kane effort, and although he appeared in an offside position, the game was long gone. When Sigurdsson completed the scoring with a close-range finish in injury time, Sunderland were already dead and buried.