Steady Teddy edges out Sunderland

13 April 2012

It took one confident swish of Teddy Sheringham's left foot to sweep away the fear at White Hart Lane that Tottenham's season may be about to implode. The England veteran had already missed two sitters when he drilled a reverse pass into the path of Christian Ziege, who squared for Les Ferdinand to tap home the winning goal midway through the second half.

With memories still fresh of a strangely ineffective display in last week's Worthington Cup final, the first murmurs were circling that perhaps, at 35, Sheringham might just be starting to struggle with the demands of a full season.

The swish quietened them in an instant. Equilibrium had been restored in Tottenham minds for Wednesday's trip to Old Trafford, and Saturday's FA Cup quarter-final against Chelsea.

For Spurs manager Glenn Hoddle there had never been any doubts. He said: 'Teddy's strong-minded - that's the difference. Even though he'd had two glaring misses, he didn't duck the pass and he played it exquisitely and won us the game. 'I've got no problems with

Teddy having a little dip in form because he's a leader. With him it doesn't matter if he's on top of his game or just a little bit off, you know he can turn the game for you. It's human nature - nobody can perform at their very, very best all the time. What you do is you give your best.

'It's a lesson for Simon Davies and the other young players here. It's lovely when crowds are behind you.You can respond, they can lift you and make you a better player.

'The real challenge is when the crowd are maybe groaning a little bit.You've got to have the bottle and the mental strength to carry on playing and believing in your own ability. Teddy's got that in abundance.

'I know him from England. The bigger the game, the better he plays. And they don't come much bigger than Manchester United and a quarter-final against Chelsea. England boss Sven Goran Eriksson was present again on Saturday to witness another moment of Sheringham magic. He will also have seen a second successive moment of hesitation by England Under 21 central defender Ledley King, which cost Tottenham a goal. After dallying against Blackburn in Cardiff, King allowed Sunderland loan signing Patrick Mboma to sneak behind him in first-half injury time and cancel out Gustavo Poyet's 30th-minute opener for the home side. Switzerland and the European Under 21 championship, rather than Japan and the World Cup, will surely be King's destination this summer.

Whether Kevin Phillips has any trip other than a family holiday this summer will depend largely on his ability to turn chances into goals for the remainder of the season.

The Sunderland striker screwed shots wide in the first and 90th minutes at White Hart Lane and once more drew a blank in front of the watching England coach and Tottenham supporters wondering whether he could be one of their players next season. Deeper considerations may come into play, however, if Sunderland fail to beat Bolton at the Stadium of Light tomorrow night and slip into the relegation scrap.

For the moment, Phillips' manager, Peter Reid, remains unconcerned.

Reid said: 'Kevin usually hits the target but that's the way it goes for even the best strikers in the world sometimes.

'I think there are goals in the partnership between him and Patrick if we can get the ball to them with a bit more quality. 'When you have quality players like those two, sooner or later the chances will be taken. I'd settle for it being against Bolton on Tuesday.'

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