Glorious stuff.

I tuned in to try and catch Tottenham vs Man City on the web and managed to watch the game, and a convincing performance by Spurs as they quite literally put City to the sword. Now, the scoreline doesn't have the same ring as 9-1, and I am not saying Tottenham even came close to completely and utterly destroying Mark Hughes side. But, from the very first few mins, Spurs showed that they wanted to banish the disappointment left over from the weekend defeat at home to Wolves.

HR named a strong side for the match, and was no doubt bouyed by the continued return of Luka Modric (who was a named but unused sub), and for the first time in a long while, I saw Tottenham's center midfield totally dominate the park. Huddlestone and Palacios worked well together, with both fulfiling the expected roles - Palacios making the tackles, Huddlestone spreading the play.

It was almost getting tedious constantly hearing the commentator repeat that Tottenham needed to convert the chances they were making or face the consequences. "Yes", he had a point. Tottenham are masters of:

1) Going 2 or 3-0 up, to then draw or lose the match
2) Dominate a match only to lose

So he had a point. However, even if Tottenham did start to take their chances, option 1 indicates that it still wouldn't have been the end of the match.

Step forward Niko Kranjcar. The man who's position is under threat from Croatian compatriot Luka Modric. Kranjcar who had been playing well was in the right place at the right time to stab home Tottenham's first in the 37th minute. A good cross into the box, and Crouch's header was blocked by Ireland. The ball fell to Kranjcar who didn't have a too difficult task in putting the ball in the net from about 4 yards out.

Tottenham came out in the 2nd half looking dangerous, but City were also keen to make a go of overturning the defecit. It was great vision by the Tottenham goalkeeper no less, who quickly launched the ball upfield for Peter Crouch to flick on. His touch took the ball beyond the last City defender, and Defoe showed his lethal instincts to pounce on the ball and steer past the helpless Shay Given.

The fact that Tottenham had relinquished a 2 goal lead against Everton not so long ago should have provided a sense of optimism for City, and Hughes tried to invigorate his ailing side by bringing on Santa Cruz and Petrov. No luck though. The Tottenham defence remained resolute and Spurs heaped a little more woe on the Citizens with a cheeky, but delicious goal by Kranjcar. A quickly taken short-corner, followed by a through ball by Lennon which took out 3 City players. Kranjcar latched on, tapped the ball round the last City man and beat him for pace, before driving the ball through Given's legs and into the back of the net.

                         

It was a great result and special praise for Assou-Ekotto who had a blinder of a match. He made sure to make the tackles that counted, and had the composure, skill and intelligence to distribute the ball amazingly from the back, as well as fool and trick his way past City's attackers.

One concern. When it was 2-0, I couldn't understand why HR was reluctant to make any subs. Tottenham had been doing some amazing running, but the Spurs manager was taking calculated risks in keeping on Palacios (who had been booked), and especially when there was 10 minute period where the concept of passing to a teammate seemed to be forgotten by the team. Glory was the word and each member wanted to get their name on the scoresheet. Don't get me wrong, I love seeing Crouch chest the ball and attempt a 35-yard volley. But not when he's up against one of the best goalkeepers in the league, and not when the option of the easy ball exists.

But enough, 3 points...bring on Blackburn!