Top four race hots up
When taken in isolation, the goalless draw against Aston Villa on Saturday could be considered a decent result.
The Carling Cup finalists are no mugs and will maintain their push for the Premier League top four right till the end of the season. But with just one league win all year those missed chances could come back to haunt Spurs.
The one bonus was once again David Bentley, who finally appears to have developed the right attitude and is beginning to show his true talents. His inconsistent first season, his links with Arsenal and his sometimes poor attitude have left many Spurs fans questioning his future at the club. But credit to the former Blackburn man he has appeared rejuvenated in recent games and could yet force his way back into the England fold.
Looking at results elsewhere it becomes clear that Spurs can't afford too many more slip ups, regardless of the opposition.
Liverpool's battling win over Everton in a fractious Merseyside derby once again put Rafa Benitez's men in that precious fourth spot - at the expense of Spurs.
They may have dropped out of the FA Cup, but in the League the Reds appeared to have gained fresh impetus and the win meant they have taken 17 points from a possible 21 in their last seven matches. Benitez's promise of Champions League football now looks a lot more realistic than it did a few weeks ago.
That win effectively knocks Everton out of the race. Their nine game unbeaten run had given Toffees fans hope that they could sneak in through the back door. But having fallen 12 points adrift of their Mersey rivals, they have left themselves too much to do.
The one bright spot of the weekend came at Hull, where The Tigers battled to a shock 2-1 win over Manchester City.
Going into this weekend many Spurs fans will have virtually conceded this game as a City win, meaning they could have been above us when the Villa game kicked off.
But thanks to goals from Jozy Altidore and George Boateng they slipped to a defeat which will be seen as a bonus by Tottenham supporters.
They may have slipped down to fifth but with Wolves, Wigan and Bolton (in the FA Cup)next up, Harry Redknapp's men should soon add to that solitary league win in 2010.
Results 06-07.02.10
Bolton 0-0 Fulham
Burnley 2-1 West Ham
Hull 2-1 Man City
Liverpool 1-0 Everton
Man Utd 5-0 P'tsmouth
Stoke 3-0 Blackburn
S'derland 1-1 Wigan
Spurs 0-0 A. Villa
B'mingham 2-1 Wolves
Chelsea 2-0 Arsenal
Barclays Premier League
Pos Team P W D L F A GD Pts
1 Chelsea 25 18 4 3 60 20 40 58
2 Man Utd 25 18 2 5 61 20 41 56
3 Arsenal 25 15 4 6 60 30 30 49
4 Liverpool 25 13 5 7 43 26 17 44
5 Spurs 25 12 7 6 45 25 20 43
6 Man City 23 11 8 4 45 32 13 41
7 A. Villa 24 11 8 5 31 18 13 41
8 B'mingham 24 10 7 7 24 24 0 37
9 Everton 24 8 8 8 33 35 -2 32
10 Fulham 25 8 7 10 27 28 -1 31
11 Stoke 23 7 8 8 22 26 -4 29
12 Blackburn 25 7 7 11 25 43 -18 28
13 S'derland 24 6 7 11 31 41 -10 25
14 Hull 25 5 9 11 25 50 -25 24
15 Burnley 24 6 5 13 25 47 -22 23
16 Wigan 23 6 5 12 25 48 -23 23
17 Bolton 23 5 7 11 29 45 -16 22
18 West Ham 24 4 9 11 30 40 -10 21
19 Wolves 24 5 6 13 20 42 -22 21
20 P'tsmouth 24 4 3 17 19 41 -22 15
