AT one of those numerous awards bashes which mark the end of the season, a category should be introduced for the most stupid fan in English football.
The competition would be pretty hot, admittedly.
But there’s no doubt that a few of the front-runners would be wearing the colours of Tottenham Hotspur: The men who left White Hart Lane at 7.15pm on Saturday.
You would have thought that a certain event at The Emirates three days earlier was a lesson for those who duck out early.
When Aaron Lennon thumped the ball past Manuel Almunia to make it 4-4 in the North London derby, thousands of fans from both teams had already left the ground and were on their way to the tube.
Yet while they were less in their numbers, there were still a few supporters who had headed for the exits before Roman Pavlyuchenko flicked the ball past Pepe Reina in the 90th minute for a thoroughly undeserved — but spectacular — victory.
Presumably, the supporters who couldn’t last the distance had something very important to go to. Maybe they were going home to pick up the missus before going to watch Quantum of Solace. However, you can bet they would have left five minutes before the end of the film.
Yet Pavyluchenko’s winner not only proved that Harry Redknapp has waved a magic wand over N17, it also illustrated Liverpool have yet to fulfil a basic requirement for any team with realistic hopes of winning the title.
Top teams win when they play badly, something Liverpool have done this season. Yet Premier League champions also put away teams when they are playing well.
For an hour against Tottenham, Liverpool were outstanding. They were solid but also enterprising when they needed to be.
The visitors should have been as many as five goals to the good. And yet they lost.
To quote the great Iain Dowie, their ‘bouncebackability’ will be tested against Atletico Madrid tomorrow night and then against West Brom in the league on Saturday.
Had Jamie Carragher not headed into his own net to give Spurs an equaliser, then Liverpool would surely have closed the game out as Tottenham had offered very little until then. Awesome in defence until that moment in the 70th minute,
Carragher said: “That’s the Premier League for you. Credit to Spurs but we were in total control. We should have got a second or third goal but if you don’t do that Spurs have definitely got quality going forward.
“I’m disappointed to score the own goal. I don’t know what happened. I don’t know if I was unlucky or what. Even then 1-1 isn’t too bad at Spurs. It’s not an easy place to go, even though they’re in a bad situation. We are more than disappointed to concede a goal in the last minute.
“Normally when you’re in such control you go on to win the game but you have to give credit to Tottenham for showing character and sticking in there and the effect Harry Redknapp has had. But we probably should’ve finished it off.
“Look how Chelsea have reacted since we beat them and how Man United reacted when they lost to us. They’ve been on a great run since. It’s how you come back from your setbacks. If you want to show you’re a championship contender, it’s how you bounce back.
“Before Mourinho came to Chelsea you could get away with losing five or six but now it seems to be three or four. The standards are so high. You can’t afford to lose too many.”
After West Brom visit Anfield, Liverpool have winnable matches against Bolton, Fulham, West Ham, Blackburn and Hull. The return of Fernando Torres will obviously be a massive plus.
Carragher admitted: “If we play as well as we can we should go on to win those games but, in the past, we’ve come unstuck in those games and it’s important we get maximum points now.”
After their incredible comeback against Arsenal, you expected Spurs to come racing out of the blocks — yet Dirk Kuyt ended those hopes when smacking the ball past comedy keeper Heurelho Gomes in the third minute.
Steven Gerrard hit the woodwork twice, while Kuyt and Xabi Alonso missed golden chances before Carragher scored for Spurs.
Then, the drama was complete when Reina made a great one-handed save from David Bentley only for Darren Bent to square the ball for Pavlyuchenko.
Asked what technical advice Redknapp gave to Pavyluchenko in the dressing room at the break, the Spurs boss said: “I told the interpreter to make sure he f*****g ran about — and it worked!”
