A point here would have been a good point.” The way the game ended was in stark contrast to the start. After sticky opening 20 minutes for the hosts, when they found few gaps and even fewer sightings of goal, Tottenham eventually came unstuck in a manner that left their manager, Martin Jol, distinctly unhappy. We put in good performances against top teams and then we end up shooting ourselves in the foot The second goal was woeful. The Baggies’ manager Bryan Robson was in no doubt as to where the blame lay for losing this game and throwing away the chance to extend their lead over Birmingham City, who occupy the last relegation position, by at least a point “That was sheer bad play by us,” he said “We’ve done that too many times. He had notched up his 99th, 21 minutes earlier to put Spurs back into contention. Defoe chased the looping ball and was pulled back by the Polish international.

A penalty-kick was inevitable and the Irishman dispatched his 100th career league goal, 51 of them coming in the Premiership, with the minimum of fuss. Tomas Kuszczak, otherwise excellent, hit his clearance into Jermain Defoe on the edge of the penalty area. West Bromwich were entitled to feel hard done by, although in the end they were the architects of their own downfall. With only seven games remaining for Spurs, they may need to draw on the manner of this victory if they are to hold their nerve and reach Europe’s premier club competition for the first time. Never mind the quality, feel the width. Tottenham were poor last night and it required a penalty one minute from time converted by Robbie Keane to secure this win, but it widened the gap between them and their neighbours Arsenal, one of their main rivals for the last Champions’ League place, to five points.

The ephemeral nature of this “extraordinary relationship” was revealed to Vieira the following summer when Arsenal sold him to Juventus Initially, he felt betrayed and angry Ultimately, he realised “that’s business, that’s football”.. He thought then, he later reflected, about the extraordinary relationship he had “with my team-mates, my manager, the fans and everyone who worked at the club from the guys in the club shop right through to the secretaries”. His misapprehension was one of the reasons Vieira decided to stay at Arsenal when Real Madrid came calling in the summer of 2004. It has to be more than a hostile tide of disbelief that winning football matches needs to be accompanied by such massive shortfalls in style and grace.. Patrick Vieira thought he was part of a family He was wrong He was part of a business. It has to be more than functional football and some relentless statement about the gap that money inevitably creates between the strong and the weak.