Sick As A Cockerel
‘WHEN the fight was done, when the Hotspurs were dry with rage and extreme toil, they surely reflected on last nights defeat by Manchester City as one of the lowest points in a series of low points.
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There can be no mistaking that last nights FA Cup match between Spurs and Manchester City produced one of the greatest ever comebacks in the history of the venerable competition.
In Miracle Men, the Mail heaps praise on Kevin Keegans City, who reduced to 10 men and three goals to the bad came back to score four and win the tie.
At half-time, when Spurs had scored three and City none, Kevin Keegan tells the Express how he turned to his assistant manager, Derek Fazackerly, and asked him the way to the nearest job centre.
Hed have done better to have asked the board at Spurs, who have been showing their own managers the way to pastures new ever since Bill Nicholson set the benchmark at White Hart Lane.
But now those glory days are a distant and fading memory.
There are no excuses from any perspective, says Spurs manager David Pleat to the Sun. We simply let ourselves down…the supporters must feel gutted.
That they must. But if Spurs fans possess one thing it is a belief that the cockerel will crow again – possibly to crow three times and thus signal the end of another Messianic leaders tenure at the club, but crow it will.
We would like to move on from this match, to tell you, as the Express tells us, how last night Fulham ended Evertons season with a battling 2-1 FA Cup win, but we cannot drag our eyes off the game that was, as the Telegraphs Henry Winter says, UNBELIEVABLE.
Only it wasnt. What with this being Spurs, we know that they can surrender a lead. Not too long ago they were putting Manchester United to the sword only to concede six and lose.
The four they conceded to City smacks of a marked improvement.
And this story only gets yet more romantic (a word that must be used when talking about the FA Cup at any available juncture) when readers learn that Citys next opponents are none other than Manchester United.
Its a game that promises to be a cracker. But we fear that if City go to Old Trafford and find themselves three goals and one man down after 45 minutes, they should all leave the ground, take a sharp left, progress over three sets of lights and visit the local employment bureau.
Of they might just care to stay and score four ’
Posted: 5th, February 2004 | In: Back pages Comment | TrackBack | Permalink
