This article is from the source 'guardian' and was first published or seen on . It last changed over 40 days ago and won't be checked again for changes.
You can find the current article at its original source at http://www.theguardian.com/football/2014/apr/12/west-bromwich-albion-tottenham-hotspur-premier-league
The article has changed 3 times. There is an RSS feed of changes available.
| Version 1 | Version 2 |
|---|---|
| Tottenham Hotspur stun struggling West Bromwich Albion with comeback | Tottenham Hotspur stun struggling West Bromwich Albion with comeback |
| (about 3 hours later) | |
| Tim Sherwood may be drowning rather than waving, but at least if he is going down it is with a splash. The Tottenham Hotspur manager – his days at White Hart Lane supposedly numbered – witnessed the best and worst of his erratic team as they went three goals behind before staging a storming comeback that merited at least the point salvaged when Christian Eriksen slammed the ball into the corner of Ben Foster's net, in the fourth minute of added time. | Tim Sherwood may be drowning rather than waving, but at least if he is going down it is with a splash. The Tottenham Hotspur manager – his days at White Hart Lane supposedly numbered – witnessed the best and worst of his erratic team as they went three goals behind before staging a storming comeback that merited at least the point salvaged when Christian Eriksen slammed the ball into the corner of Ben Foster's net, in the fourth minute of added time. |
| West Bromwich Albion have let slip a two-goal lead three times already this season, and, after following a similar script here, Sherwood was able to admit his disappointment that Spurs had not claimed the victory that would have kept them within four points of fourth-placed Everton in their diminishing pursuit of a Champions League place. | |
| Spurs seem to go behind even when they win – as well as getting biffed on the chin in heavy defeats by Chelsea and Liverpool – so for all the credit they deserve in fighting back for a draw, they bring ridicule for the slipshod manner in which they get themselves into a hole. | Spurs seem to go behind even when they win – as well as getting biffed on the chin in heavy defeats by Chelsea and Liverpool – so for all the credit they deserve in fighting back for a draw, they bring ridicule for the slipshod manner in which they get themselves into a hole. |
| The away fans briefly chanted "We want Levy out" as West Brom scampered wantonly into a fragile lead, but it is more likely to be the manager who departs this season than the chairman, who has reportedly lined up Louis van Gaal to succeed Sherwood after the World Cup finals. | The away fans briefly chanted "We want Levy out" as West Brom scampered wantonly into a fragile lead, but it is more likely to be the manager who departs this season than the chairman, who has reportedly lined up Louis van Gaal to succeed Sherwood after the World Cup finals. |
| For all the panache displayed in the second half and in the 5-1 dismantling of Sunderland on Monday, Spurs have won 11 and lost nine of Sherwood's 24 games in charge. For a club that invested more than £100m in fresh talent last summer, that will not suffice, even if they were not Sherwood's selections. | For all the panache displayed in the second half and in the 5-1 dismantling of Sunderland on Monday, Spurs have won 11 and lost nine of Sherwood's 24 games in charge. For a club that invested more than £100m in fresh talent last summer, that will not suffice, even if they were not Sherwood's selections. |
| What Sherwood is responsible for is the slapdash defending that allowed Morgan Amalfitano to beat Danny Rose with such ease that Hugo Lloris could only palm the ball out for Matej Vydra to swivel and volley home the opening goal after 27 seconds. | What Sherwood is responsible for is the slapdash defending that allowed Morgan Amalfitano to beat Danny Rose with such ease that Hugo Lloris could only palm the ball out for Matej Vydra to swivel and volley home the opening goal after 27 seconds. |
| Chris Brunt was left entirely free at the back post to volley home in textbook fashion in the fourth minute, after Stéphane Sessègnon – all 5ft 7in of him – won a heading duel to flick on Steven Reid's cross. And, after Foster had saved Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty – Amalfitano had felled Rose – Younès Kaboul was culpable when he misjudged his leap to head backwards Jonas Olsson's long punt for Sessègnon to run clear of Vlad Chiriches and make it 3-0. | Chris Brunt was left entirely free at the back post to volley home in textbook fashion in the fourth minute, after Stéphane Sessègnon – all 5ft 7in of him – won a heading duel to flick on Steven Reid's cross. And, after Foster had saved Emmanuel Adebayor's penalty – Amalfitano had felled Rose – Younès Kaboul was culpable when he misjudged his leap to head backwards Jonas Olsson's long punt for Sessègnon to run clear of Vlad Chiriches and make it 3-0. |
| "Credit to West Brom, they started very well and we didn't," Sherwood said. "It's not good enough, we have to try and stop that somehow. They didn't have to work very hard for their goals and, at 3-0 down, we had a mountain to climb. | "Credit to West Brom, they started very well and we didn't," Sherwood said. "It's not good enough, we have to try and stop that somehow. They didn't have to work very hard for their goals and, at 3-0 down, we had a mountain to climb. |
| "I always believed we would get back into the game. You have to give the fans a lot of credit – they stuck with us and believed we would get back into it. On the balance of play, 20-odd shots to five, we deserved something." | "I always believed we would get back into the game. You have to give the fans a lot of credit – they stuck with us and believed we would get back into it. On the balance of play, 20-odd shots to five, we deserved something." |
| West Brom were guilty of misplacing this kind of lead the last time they were at home, and – just as they allowed Cardiff to battle back for a 3-3 draw – so they relaxed and let the game go out of their control. Liam Ridgewell barely bothered to turn when Harry Kane sent in Kyle Naughton behind him, and the right-back's driven cross looped up off Olsson and over Foster into the net. | West Brom were guilty of misplacing this kind of lead the last time they were at home, and – just as they allowed Cardiff to battle back for a 3-3 draw – so they relaxed and let the game go out of their control. Liam Ridgewell barely bothered to turn when Harry Kane sent in Kyle Naughton behind him, and the right-back's driven cross looped up off Olsson and over Foster into the net. |
| The second half was an entirely different match. The clouds came over and West Brom went back under cover. Sherwood claims he did not tear any strips of paint off the walls of the visitors' dressing room, but his players responded with a 45-minute showing to match his passion. | The second half was an entirely different match. The clouds came over and West Brom went back under cover. Sherwood claims he did not tear any strips of paint off the walls of the visitors' dressing room, but his players responded with a 45-minute showing to match his passion. |
| It was a shame, for Spurs, that it came so belatedly. All too often under Sherwood their fight comes after failure. They made it 3-2 when Aaron Lennon wriggled past Ridgewell, with some ease, down the right and from his cross Kane followed up his maiden Premier League goal on Monday by heading the ball just over the line. | It was a shame, for Spurs, that it came so belatedly. All too often under Sherwood their fight comes after failure. They made it 3-2 when Aaron Lennon wriggled past Ridgewell, with some ease, down the right and from his cross Kane followed up his maiden Premier League goal on Monday by heading the ball just over the line. |
| West Brom replaced Sessègnon with Claudio Yacob but rather than gain a foothold, this seemed to take away an escape valve for the home team. | West Brom replaced Sessègnon with Claudio Yacob but rather than gain a foothold, this seemed to take away an escape valve for the home team. |
| Just when West Brom thought they had, however, hung on to stay five points clear of the relegation zone, Lennon crossed from the right, Craig Dawson could only head on and Eriksen, Tottenham's go-to man, composed himself by coming inside and slamming home the equaliser. | Just when West Brom thought they had, however, hung on to stay five points clear of the relegation zone, Lennon crossed from the right, Craig Dawson could only head on and Eriksen, Tottenham's go-to man, composed himself by coming inside and slamming home the equaliser. |
| "The players are very cross in the dressing room, we're very cross," Pepe Mel, the West Bromwich Albion manager, said. "No one had been given any orders to play further back. We needed the points." | "The players are very cross in the dressing room, we're very cross," Pepe Mel, the West Bromwich Albion manager, said. "No one had been given any orders to play further back. We needed the points." |