By Stuart Hill
As Mario Ballotelli tucked away his penalty with typical nonchalance in the 94th minute at the Etihad on Sunday afternoon, it was confirmation that Tottenham Hotspur are still some way from being good enough to become champions.
That Ballotelli was given the chance to win the game after he was brought down by Ledley King says much about Spurs’ title bid. King seemingly had Ballotelli under control, but then he went to ground. It is a cardinal sin to commit in your own penalty area, not to mention in the final minute of a potentially season defining game.
Sadly for Spurs, this game probably will be season defining – they are not quite ready to go the distance. They have been given credit for their performances so far – and rightly so – but there are certain things that title winning sides don’t do and King’s impatience in trying to win the ball rather than stand up, blocking Ballotelli’s route to goal is one of them.
King won’t need telling of his error. He is experienced enough to know he should have stayed on his feet but in order to win the title, those errors have to be cut out – whether they are aware of them or not.
Moments earlier, Jermain Defoe had the chance to win it for Spurs when Gareth Bale crossed having outpaced Joleon Lescott. The ball was slightly too heavy and, again, it is those passes that title winning sides get right. Pundits’ reluctance to criticise Bale doesn’t make his pass any better.
Replays clearly showed Defoe was at full stretch and he still couldn’t get enough purchase on the ball to tap it in – Graeme Souness was wrong to say the weight of the pass was perfect in the Sky Sports studio. Again, teams who win titles don’t rue such tiny margins of defeat at the end of the season which Tottenham will inevitably now do so in May.
Unfortunatley for Harry Redknapp, Sunday’s game highlighted some weaknesses in his squad, too. The most notable liability is Benoît Assou-Ekotto at left back. In an odd combination of one orange and one blue boot, the Cameroon international’s performance indicated he was not up to standard of a Premier League winning side.
Too often he gave away simple passes or his touch was poor, while his defending is far from convincing. Redknapp must see the January transfer window as an opportunity to strengthen in that area as, again, if Spurs want to win the league, there is no space for passengers.
I have been critical of Spurs in this column, and they won’t be used to it. Pundits and writers have been singing their praises all season with analyses of why they can win the title. I am merely offering a view as to why they can’t.
They did play well against City on Sunday for large parts. After a drab first 45 from both teams, Spurs looked incredibly dangerous on the break and were unlucky not to win it with Defoe’s aforementioned chance, while matchwinner Ballotelli should not have been on the pitch after his disgraceful stamp on Scott Parker.
For the majority of the season, too, Tottenham have been excellent with their free-flowing football and potent attacking threat, inspired by the pace and power of Gareth Bale and the wizardry of Luka Modric.
But as their North London rivals Arsenal have found over the years, there is no room for conceding silly goals late on in games if they have real ambitions of still being in with a shout come May.
Furthermore, despite coming close on Sunday afternoon, Spurs haven’t picked up points against their main title rivals, City and United, after comfortably losing 3-0 at Old Trafford and being humbled 5-1 at home by City earlier in the season. They have still got to play United at White Hart Lane, a game which they may win. But even if they do, it’s too late in terms of their title aspirations.
Tottenham have been a revelation so far this season and will probably finish third – a great achievement showing great progress under the guidance of Harry Redknapp. But it is too early for them to go all the way.
Maybe with some strengthening in the summer and the experience of a season of being nearly there, they may be right in the shake-up by May 2013. However, they’ll have to hope The FA don’t pick up the phone to their manager after Euro 2012 as a certain Mr Capello needs replacing.