Cisse sinks Spurs as Keane calls for Berbatov exit
Berbatov missed Saturday’s encounter after telling Tottenham head coach Juande Ramos he was not in the right frame of mind to play for the North London outfit.
He spent yesterday locked in discussions with the club’s board over his future, but it remains clear the Bulgarian is eager to complete his move to Manchester United before the transfer window closes on September 1.
This should have been an afternoon when all talk was of Sunderland’s late win, as debutant Djibril Cisse headed home seven minutes from time.
Instead, Keane was left with his own take on how Ramos should treat Berbatov.
“If a player said he didn’t want to play for me, then I’d drive him myself to wherever he wants to go,” Keane said.
“No player is bigger than any club. If a player came to me at Sunderland and said he fancied moving, I’d wish him luck. I wouldn’t try too hard to keep him.”
Ramos is in no doubt that Berbatov’s behaviour has had an effect on his side, who have now lost their opening two matches of the campaign.
“This is the first time this has happened to me and the truth is it is a strange and conflictive situation to be in,” Ramos admitted.
“Roy Keane is a great manager and was a great player with a lot of experience, and that’s a very interesting point of view of his indeed.
“Of course there are repercussions on our play, because here for example we were only able to play with one forward.”
Defender Jonathan Woodgate is not in agreement with his manager, however.
“What, because we’ve lost a couple of games it’s Berba’s fault? No, that’s a load of bulls**t,” he said.
“We’ve lost the two games because we haven’t played well. It’s got nothing to do with him.”
The first half of this game was less than thrilling, with a Steed Malbranque shot against the post for Sunderland the highlight.
It became more lively after the break though, and Kieran Richardson opened the scoring on 55 minutes with a rasping drive.
Tottenham rallied for a leveller, though. They got their reward on 73 minutes, as Luka Modric broke free from midfield. His initial shot was parried by goalkeeper Craig Gordon, but Jermaine Jenas followed up to stroke home.
It seemed the game would end level, but Cisse had been introduced on 65 minutes and made an immediate impact for his new club.
The Frenchman has joined on a season-long loan from Marseille, and rose seven minutes from time to convert Daryl Murphy’s cross with a neat header.
“I want to do my best and try to make the move permanent,” Cisse said.
Tottenham can only dream of their star forward having the same attitude.
Man of the Match: DJIBRIL CISSE (SUNDERLAND) The French forward may have only played the final 25 minutes, but his impact can not have been more dramatic. He only linked up with his new teammates 24 hours earlier, and to score the winning goal late on at White Hart Lane was impressive.
SPURS (4-4-1-1): Gomes 5; Zokora 6, King 5, Woogate 6, Assou-Ekotto 6 (Huddlestone 56, 6); Lennon 6 (Giovani 56, 6), Jenas 6, Modric 6, Bale 6; Bentley 8; Bent 5.
Subs: Sanchez, Gilberto, Gunter, Dawson, O’Hara.
SUNDERLAND (4-4-2): Gordon 6; Bardsley 6, Nosworthy 7, Collins 6, Higginbotham 6; Malbranque 7, Whitehead 7, Richardson 7 (Cisse 65, 8), Reid 6 (Miller 87); Diouf 6, Murphy 6.
Subs: Ward, Chopra, Leadbitter, Healy, Stokes.
REFEREE: Mike Dean (Wirral) 7 Made just three bookings all afternoon, and was correct to hand one of his yellow cards to Gareth Bale for simulation in the first half.
MATCH RATING: *** The first half was dour, but once it came to life the excitement reminded everyone inside White Hart Lane what the Premier League is all about.
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