Published: 1 March, 2012
by RICHARD OSLEY

ON a merry high with Tottenham’s successful season – it’s dizzy to find yourself in third place when you haven’t won the league since the week George Clooney was born – the nice chap in the column next door, Tony Dallas, was very excited last week.

He summed up the delight within the Tottenham support with some relish: “Not even a loss at the Emirates on Sunday, though I don’t think we will, could cool this article down.”

Now, fair play, fair play, everyone, I could see where our Tony was coming from. If Arsenal had snuck past Spurs 1-0 or 2-1 or something in the north London derby over the weekend, then what has gone before this season – all those matches in which Spurs have trounced the easy teams – could cushion the blow.

A 1-0 loss couldn’t “cool this article down”.

But as the fifth goal zinged into the back of the Tottenham net, I could not help but wonder whether the “cooling down” rules he prescribed were different when you get COMPLETELY AND UTTERLY SPANKED 5-2.

It is one thing to lose the north London derby 1-0.

We’ve all done that.

It is something completely different to lose it 5-2, surrendering a two-goal advantage in the process.

Whatever happens now, this is the height of embarrassment.

You could see it in the faces of the Spurs fans as the camera panned across to them every time Arsenal scored a goal.

They had expected so much, their team had delivered so little.  

As I explained in my own column last week, Jimmy Greaves once said Spurs had always been in Arsenal’s shadow.

Always indeed.

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