Tottenham Hotspur 1-1 Manchester United

Before this game i would have been happy with a point, and even after the entirely predictable result from the boo camp, i didn't change my opinion. What a pity that Arsenal have already played at Spurs this season, and when Jol was in charge, as they had that disastrous start to the season. This was exactly what i expected, a really tough game. I can't complain at the team selected, on paper it looked exactly what was required, Scholes to deliver the guile, with Hargreaves just behind protecting the back four. But it has to be said it didn't deliver, partly because Spurs played so well again, but partly because the passing was not up to the standard we saw on Wednesday. When we bought Hargreaves, i presumed he was bought for matches like these, tough away European games and matches against the top four. I think Spurs are now the closest they have been to the top four, and in fact i expect them to be challenging hard for a top four spot next season. So i would class yesterday's game as in that bracket of match. But in the last two matches against Spurs, he has begun to worry me. I still believe he is a good defensive midfield player, but i am not sure whether he suits United's passing game, specially when we play 4-4-2. All our other three front rank midfield players are very comfortable on the ball, but you couldn't really say the same for Hargreaves. So when he plays, we don't play our usual slick passing game as well. But in the last two games, he hasn't done the job he was picked to do either. He didn't cover the back four very well last week, and he was at least partly to blame for the Spurs goal yesterday. I know Van Der Sar was claiming a hand ball, but when you saw the action from behind it looked like a pretty good shout for a penalty to me. Not that it mattered either way, Hargreaves had dived in, hadn't got the ball and allowed Spurs the chance to get it over. Obviously there was a big chunk of luck in the goal, as it wasn't a great cross, but Van Der Sar could only manage to parry it out straight to the grateful right foot of Berbatov, who made no mistake.
I am not going to lay all the blame on Hargreaves, nobody played well in that first 45 minutes. Scholes didn't look sharp, but we will have to accept this and put up with it, because the only way he is going to get back to full fitness back for the crunch part of the season is to play. Giggs had a dissappointing day, as did Rooney and Ronaldo. Although our squad is very very strong, i do not like us going into games without a centre forward on the bench. A case could have been made for taking of either Rooney or Tevez yesterday, if Saha is not going to be fit put Welbeck on the bench. He is probably not ready for this standard of football yet, but he is fast and good in the air, so if we are desperate in the last ten minutes, bring him on instead of putting one of the centre half's up front.
Spurs must be looking back to the the four games they have played against us and Arsenal since Ramos took over and be wondering how they have only won one. They had great chances last week to go back in front after we equalised, they had great Chance's against Arsenal at the Emirates, and yesterday they had two glorious chances to kill us off. The Berbatov volley in the first half was a good chance and in games of this calibre you have got to be hitting the target in situations like that. But he made up for that with that great run that took out our entire defence to pick out Keane running through in the middle. I thought that was it for us to be honest, and gasped in amazement at such a poor effort.
I thought he made the right call with the substitution at half time, the only way we were going to get a grip on the game was by trying get control of midfield. And for the first ten minutes it looked we might manage to do it, the passing was better, but Spurs did manage to get through that period without us really getting a decent effort on goal. So on the hour mark Fergie threw his last roll of the dice, bringing on Nani and Anderson for the ineffective Giggs and Scholes. United now started to control the game at last with Anderson in particular looking good, but we weren't really creating clear cut chances still. I thought Spurs missed a trick in this last period as well, they seemed to sit back and not even think about catching us on the break, which they have shown over the last week they are well capable of doing. Though i have noticed in both games, that they stopped counter attacking us in the last half hour. I don't know if it is a fitness thing, but if they keep that going for 90 minutes next season they will be very dangerous.
As the game entered the last 10 minutes United at last started to dominate the game, and slowly chances started to come. Nani had a shot saved easily from a tight angle, Anderson had a decent shot from outside the box, that Cerny pushed past the post. Then finally, with virtually the last kick of the match, United equalised from a corner, watching it live we all thought it was Tevez, but apparently it was a Dawson own goal. Whatever, it was a precious goal and we had the draw i would have settled for at the start of the afternoon.