Clattenburg is doing alright for Spurs!
Referee Mark Clattenburg is doing alright for Spurs this season! Often slated by Spurs fans, especially in games at Old Trafford, Mr. Clattenburg is on form for us so far this season, having "played" twice, and won both games 1-0.
In our opening game at Selhurst Park, Mr. Clattenburg awarded us the decisive penalty for a handball, and on Sunday at The Cardiff City stadium, he resisted claims that Hugo Lloris had handled the ball when rescuing from the feet of Fraizer Campbell after Naugton's horrible back-pass. Mr. Clattenburg also spotted Gunnarsson's foul on Lloris in the split second before Turner headed into the net. if you look at the TV replays, the referee was putting his whistle to his mouth before the defender struck his header.
Since we first met Mr. Clattenburg ( a 1-0 win over Birmingham in August 2003), he has been in charge of 27 games (won 14, drew 5, lost 8). He won notorious declamation at Old Trafford, when Pedro Mendes "goal" was not awarded, but even the most critical would accept that the decision was in the hands of the linesman that night.
Mr. Clattenburg has embraced controversy on other occasions, of course, and a referee is only as good as his next decision, and his next game.
Despite our fourth win in five league games (the second time since the 60s that we have done this), there has actually been quite a bit of negativity in the ranks of Spurs fans over this last performance. No doubt a lot of the angst was over the fact we had to wait till the third minute of added time for the beautiful victory gained by a piece of magic from Holtby, Lamela and Paulinho, and perhaps the frustration was felt more by those watching on Internet streams or foreign TV coverage at home. Thos of us at the ground simply basked in the glory of a wonderful moment for any fan.
Three of our league wins have been 1-0 of course, and fans want more goals and more entertainment; not just results. As for me, I said after the Palace win that I'd take 38 1-0 wins with a penalty, and I'll take as many 1-0s as you like if it keeps us up there not only in the top four, but in the running for a tilt at the title.
Paulinho won your man of the match vote, perhaps for that goal, rather than his 90 minute performance, but he didn't put a foot wrong that I can recall. Erikson won favour, perhaps because he has won the affections of the fans in his three appearances so far. Personally, I did not think he was too impactive on Sunday. Lewis Holtby won acclaim for his great cameo, bringing back memories of his substitute debut at Norwich back in January.
· See this "spursometer" in full
Results 21-22.09.13
Norwich 0-1 A. Villa
Liverpool 0-1 S'hampton
Newcastle 2-3 Hull
West Brom 3-0 S'derland
West Ham 2-3 Everton
Chelsea 2-0 Fulham
Arsenal 3-1 Stoke
C. Palace 0-2 Swansea
Cardiff 0-1 Spurs
Man City 4-1 Man Utd
Barclays Premier League
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Arsenal 5 4 0 1 11-6 5 12
2. Spurs 5 4 0 1 5-1 4 12
3. Man City 5 3 1 1 12-4 8 10
4. Chelsea 5 3 1 1 6-2 4 10
=========================================
5. Liverpool 5 3 1 1 5-3 2 10
=========================================
6. Everton 5 2 3 0 6-4 2 9
7. S'hampton 5 2 2 1 3-2 1 8
8. Man Utd 5 2 1 2 7-6 1 7
9. Swansea 5 2 1 2 7-7 0 7
10. Stoke 5 2 1 2 4-5 -1 7
11. Hull 5 2 1 2 5-7 -2 7
12. Newcastle 5 2 1 2 5-8 -3 7
13. A. Villa 5 2 0 3 6-6 0 6
14. West Brom 5 1 2 2 4-4 0 5
15. West Ham 5 1 2 2 4-4 0 5
16. Cardiff 5 1 2 2 4-6 -2 5
17. Norwich 5 1 1 3 3-6 -3 4
=========================================
18. Fulham 5 1 1 3 3-7 -4 4
19. C. Palace 5 1 0 4 4-8 -4 3
20. S'derland 5 0 1 4 3-11 -8 1
