Keane sulks and Spurs stumble

JUANDE Ramos insists no member of his Tottenham squad will be untouchable as he uses the final weeks of a suddenly rudderless season to evaluate his playing resources ahead of the summer transfer window. Try telling that to Robbie Keane.

Clearly incensed at being called to the touchline for the seventh time in his last eight appearances shortly after Manchester City had unexpectedly hauled themselves back into the game thanks to Stephen Ireland’s 59th-minute equaliser, the Tottenham captain’s frustrations were evident in his snail-paced exit, and the casting aside of a tracksuit top when, enraged, he finally made it back into the dug-out.

Keane’s acts may have ill-befitted a senior player and team leader, but nobody could deny he had a point.

At that stage the forward was by some distance his side’s best player, having scored the game’s opening goal, and his hard-work and enthusiasm shamed his more talented strike partner Dimitar Berbatov, whose display suggested he had been taking all those comments about Spurs’ season now being over following their midweek UEFA Cup exit all too literally.

Ramos dismissed the event — unsurprisingly, for a Premier League manager, he ‘‘didn’t see’’ Keane throw away the training gear — but as he ponders how to launch a more credible challenge for a Champions League spot next season, he would be well advised to reconsider the wisdom of making a player like Keane a scapegoat while pandering to Berbatov, whose mind appeared to have wandered.

Perhaps the Bulgarian was thinking about the likelihood of nearby Old Trafford becoming his permanent home next season.

‘‘I didn’t see him throw a tracksuit down but I think it’s normal, players want to play and they are disappointed when they are replaced,’’ said Ramos.

‘‘But it’s football and we have got a squad, we have people on the bench and we need to share the minutes out between the players who are available.’’ Without Keane, an already stuttering Spurs side finally capitulated in the face of sustained City pressure that eventually produced a first home win in seven attempts and revived their faint hopes of qualifying for Europe.

A fifth-placed finish will guarantee a place in the UEFA Cup yet while Everton’s defeat of Fulham helped, a yawning eight point gap will surely be too much to make up over the remaining eight games.

More realistically, but still a long shot, sixth spot will ensure passage into the Intertoto Cup, forcing a rescheduling of holiday plans but at least fulfilling Eriksson’s target of reaching Europe in his first season in charge.

If City are to have any chance of achieving that aim, they will need to replicate their second half performance and ensure their insipid first-half display, reminiscent of so many City showings since the turn of the year, becomes a thing of the past.

The excellent Richard Dunne held the home defence together for long periods but there was nothing the central defender could do when Vedran Corluka’s inexplicably flimsy challenge on Pascal Chimbonda allowed the Spurs left-back to advance before releasing Keane, who supplied a clinical finish.

After the break, though, the home side showed more purpose and Ireland levelled from close range from Elano’s header before Nedum Onuoha secured the win with a header from the Brazilian’s corner.

Ramos insisted Ireland was offside when he scored and that a late Tottenham effort should not have been ruled out but while his complaints may have been valid, they lacked conviction.

Eriksson is today due to meet with club owner Thaksin Shinawatra, back in England following his arrest and bailing on fraud and corruption charges in Thailand, to map out the club’s summer transfer policy.

‘‘The chairman has been away a long time and finally to sit down with him is important for the club, for me and hopefully for him as well,’’ said the manager.

‘‘I think we have a lot of things to discuss. We’re at the end of the first season, his first season and my first season.’’

MANCHESTER CITY (4-5-1): Hart 6, Corluka 4, Dunne 8, Onuoha 7, Garrido 6, Castillo 4 (Vassell 70, 6), Fernandes 6, Johnson 7, Ireland 6, Elano 5 (Caicedo 75, 5), Benjani 6 (Sun 87, 5) .

Subs Not Used: Isaksson, Geovanni.

TOTTENHAM (4-4-2): Robinson 7, Hutton 6, Dawson 7, Woodgate 6, Chimbonda 6, Lennon 5 (Huddlestone 46, 6), Jenas 5, Zokora 6, Malbranque 6 (O’Hara 67, 6), Berbatov 5, Keane 7 (Bent 67, 6).

Subs Not Used: Cerny, Tainio.

REFEREE: Mark Clattenburg (Tyne & Wear) 7: City were convinced they should have had a first half penalty but otherwise the match official steered clear of controversy.

MATCH RATING: ** Dubbed the first end-of-season fixture of the campaign, this clash was living up to billing before City finally rallied in the second period and injected life into the contest.