Pre-match browsing of the Spurs website revealed the existence of something termed "distressed flock" in stock at White Hart Lane. And while that proved to be a T shirt design, it was perhaps an apt description of the travelling contingent by the end of this game.

Our previous two visits to this ground had seen the Magpies fall behind before hitting back to take all three points when attacking the away section, but third time round, the Lazarus-type revival stalled.

Andy Carroll's late leveller at Stoke the previous weekend had seemingly revitalised both team and fans, but even before we conceded here, familiar failings of sluggishness on the field and quiet desperation off it had returned - and Shola wasn't even playing....

Again the absence of Enrique meant a make do and mend approach to defence, with Steven Taylor returning from an ankle injury (although he failed to come out for the second half) and David Edgar dropping down to the bench. Fabricio Coloccini watched on from the stand; whether he was deemed unfit - or unfit for purpose - remains unclear.

Getting underway in a 3-4-1-2 lineup, the replacement of Taylor by Smith made that into 4-4-2 at the restart before Martins and Viduka arrived in what some observers deemed to be 4-3-1-2 for the finale. 
It's to open to question however whether any of those formations were accurate, given the habitual deep lying positions Owen took up - reminiscent of the final days of Peter Beardsley's first spell at SJP.

It's interesting also that Al's three alleged formations were interpreted as some media observers as an example of indecisiveness and muddled thinking leading to confusion on the field. However when other top-flight bosses have switched tactics in mid-game, it's been heralded as welcome and courageous - notably on the sofa of a certain Saturday evening highlights programme.

Even more galling than that criticism (or Redknapp's Dick Van Dykesque pronunciation of the word "Noocarsul") however, was our continued inability to master basic skills - regardless of system.

Set pieces were as appalling as usual, while the forced defensive rostering of Duff meant that crossing duties fell to Gutierrez and Taylor, with predictably barren results; Jonas blowing his best chance to deliver a meaningful centre just before the interval. Taylor meanwhile was incapable of simple passes.

Carroll never had anything close to a decent ball to get his head to and his attempts at holding up the ball were eclipsed by the later pedestrian, but effective efforts of Viduka. In fact, the only thing Big Andy got on the end of was Dawson, who duly departed in favour of the ring rusty Alan Hutton. 

And with Corluka off his game, there looked to have been opportunities there for progress down the flanks that were never exploited. And through the middle of the park, things were little improved, as Jonathan Woodgate did his bit to wound us with a solid display - and good fortune when making contact with Oba in the area late on.

Martins also had a goal chalked off for handball and our clearest opportunity to level the scores when blasting over from six yards after chesting a cross down late on.

A far from unexpected defeat then, given the home side's latest resurgence - this fifth successive home clean sheet being Tottenham's best return since back in 1987. 

Like Stoke last week however, Redknapp's side lost momentum after failing to grab a killer second goal after the break. And as the afternoon wore on, there was some perceptible anxiety from home fans whose memory of their late collapse at Blackburn was still vivid.

Robbie Keane was quiet by comparison to previous outings against us, while Jermain Defoe buzzed around on his comeback, but was no more incisive than Aaron Lennon. And searching for crumbs of comfort, Alan Smith's introduction gave us some much-needed forward impetus in midfield.

Against that though, there were disappointments across the field for Shearer to worry over. Kevin Nolan may have been in the mood for dancing, but football was way down his list of priorities - and week by week it's becoming clearer why the good folks of Bolton were glad to see him waddle off. 

The hoped-for return of Joey Barton next week becomes more and more crucial - a man who has played just three home games this season, but come off the field with two wins and a draw from those.

Three games then that hold the key to our destiny - the visits to Anfield and Villa Park being the wildest of wild cards. Parallel to those are the run-ins of Hull and the smoggies, who could easily fail to win again this season. West Brom are surely down now.

That would give us an escape clause, if we can make the most of those three remaining home games. At the moment though - and after the lethargy we showed for much of this loss - that is a mighty big 'if'....

Monday now becomes our biggest game since the last big game, but in fairness it's looked that way since before Shearer was installed. We move on, hopefully in a forward direction and hopefully with a large and forgiving home crowd, elements of whom won't flounce out if things are less than perfect.

Portsmouth will come to town just two days after the seventeenth anniversary of our 1-0 win over them here. That winner was a late, late one after a game that was mostly nervous and forgettable - but is now completely forgotten about. It's a moot point how many of today's punters would have stayed though until the interesting bit - or deserted their places in favour of an early pint/metro.

As much as the players, the crowd now have a part to play - let's hope we can finally rediscover that "famous atmosphere" and pull our weight.


Biffa