Published: 17 May, 2012
by RICHARD OSLEY

MAJOR congratulations to London’s Evening Standard who earlier this year ran the fab headline: “No St Totteringham’s Day this year as Harry Redknapp’s men rule the roost”.

A big well done too to the Spurs fans who turned up to matches with “Mind The Gap” T-shirts on earlier in the season.

A round of applause also for the Spurs Photoshop whiz kids who sent out web pictures of Arsenal players melting into the GAP clothing store’s logo. It was all so hilariously funny at the time. Tottenham, of course, were 10 points ahead of Arsenal, might have been 13 ahead had they not crumbled at the Emirates Stadium.

But what is so strange, is there seemed to be an outrageous optimism that Spurs, with its lavish history of some quite momentous bungling, would not at some stage encounter a poisoned lasagne moment.

They always do. There is always something with Spurs. “It was the lasagne.” “It's because Harry was distracted by the England job.” For 17 years – that’s almost the time it takes to grow a whole Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain – Arsenal have finished above Tottenham. It’s a way of life, yet this time, they probably had no right to. Arsenal lost 10 matches, only one won of their last five, got beaten by Blackburn, had to play with Chamakh and ultimately stumbled backside first, rather than cruised, into the Champions League.

And yet, despite all of that, there was still a St Totteringham’s Day to celebrate. What an awful reality for Spurs. Happy St Tot’s Day, everyone. We got there in the end.

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