Alli's season might be over, but Spurs haven't finished yet!
Un-noticed by most Spurs fans in the stadium on Monday night, but ultimately pinpointed by the all-seeing TV cameras, Dele Alli delivered what was almost a "mock" punch to the stomach of West Brom's Claudio Yacob, during the first half of the match covered live on Sky TV. The two players had a running battle until Alli was substituted in the 90th minute.
Referee Mike Jones has confirmed to the FA that he did not see the incident, and they in turn have charged Alli with "violent conduct". We don't know how Alli will respond yet (he has until 6pm tonight), but my guess is that he and the club will not protest innocence, which would risk a suspension running into next season. Therefore, we are likely to be without the PFA Young Player of the year for our last three games. Such are the highs and lows of life and football that 20 year old Alli will have to bear in his fledgling career. It is a shame that in a season where no Spurs player has been shown a red card we are finally likely to see a three-match suspension.
Alli has England and Euro 2016 to look forward to, and whilst Monday's disappointing draw means that the title is likely to be beyond us, Spurs' season is not yet over. Two more points are required to secure top three status, but Mauricio Pochettino will ensure that our boys are fired up to reap the maximum benefits from our last three games. As things stand, we are not yet out of the title race mathematically, but whatever happens there is our highest ever Premier League finish to aim for (top three), not to mention the prospect of being the top London club for the first time since 1995. Incidentally, that was the year that Blackburn won the Premier League title.
There are few Spurs games these days when Mousa Dembele is not hailed with a chant or two by the fans, and Monday night was no exception. On a night of disappointing grades by Spurs Odyssey voters, Dembele was voted man of the match by a considerable margin. Dembele is currently one of our top three players of the season. I'll write more on that in my April review later this week.
· See the spursometer in full
Results 23-25.04.16
Man City 4-0 Stoke
A. Villa 2-4 S'hampton
B'mouth 1-4 Chelsea
Liverpool 2-2 Newcastle
S'derland 0-0 Arsenal
Leicester 4-0 Swansea
Spurs 1-1 West Brom
Barclays Premier League Table
P W D L F-A GD Pts
1. Leicester 35 22 10 3 63-33 30 76
2. Spurs 35 19 12 4 65-26 39 69
3. Man City 35 19 7 9 66-34 32 64
4. Arsenal 35 18 10 7 58-34 24 64
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5. Man Utd 34 17 8 9 42-30 12 59
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6. West Ham 34 14 14 6 57-43 14 56
7. Liverpool 34 15 10 9 58-45 13 55
8. S'hampton 35 15 9 11 49-37 12 54
9. Chelsea 34 12 11 11 53-46 7 47
10. Stoke 35 13 8 14 37-51 -14 47
11. Everton 34 9 14 11 53-48 5 41
12. Watford 34 11 8 15 33-40 -7 41
13. West Brom 35 10 11 14 32-43 -11 41
14. B'mouth 35 11 8 16 42-61 -19 41
15. Swansea 35 10 10 15 34-49 -15 40
16. C. Palace 35 10 9 16 36-45 -9 39
17. S'derland 34 7 10 17 39-57 -18 31
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18. Norwich 34 8 7 19 35-60 -25 31
19. Newcastle 35 7 9 19 38-64 -26 30
20. A. Villa 35 3 7 25 25-69 -44 16 R
