Berbatov goal gives Spurs that old sinking feeling

Tottenham 0 Fulham 1

Only a fortnight ago, when Tottenham got the better of Arsenal in the north London derby, few would have backed against Andre Villas-Boas’ side qualifying for the Champions League.

But, after this strange 1-0 defeat at home to Fulham, their position looks more than a little unsteady.

Which brings us to last season’s capitulation, still not forgotten at White Hart Lane. Spurs fans goaded their Arsenal counterparts with ‘Mind The Gap’ T-shirts when they were 10 points clear of their bitter rivals while Harry Redknapp was the best thing since sliced bread and the overwhelming favourite to become the next England manager.

That was until a miserable run of just four victories in their final 13 Premier League fixtures left them in fourth. Of course that would usually have been enough to secure a place in Europe’s premier competition — but when Chelsea won the thing, Spurs were shunted into the Europa League.

But with the Villas-Boas revolution in full swing, and the pain of missing out last season still palpable, Tottenham looked like they had finally cracked it and were sweeping aside everyone in their path, including, of course, Arsenal.

But Arsene Wenger’s side are staging their usual late show, spluttering into life with the season’s end in sight. An impressive 2-0 win at Swansea 24 hours before this one, left them just four points adrift of Spurs. And that is exactly where they stay, now with a game in hand, after Tottenham failed to beat Fulham.

The first few cracks had appeared at Anfield eight days ago, when Tottenham’s 12-game unbeaten run ended at the hands of Liverpool, despite leading 2-1. And, although they went through against Inter Milan, let’s not forget they were still hammered 4-1 at the San Siro.

But after such a testing week, this was the perfect chance to put everyone’s minds at ease and Spurs could not have picked a more winnable fixture.

They had beaten Fulham six times on the trot and had not lost to them since 2008, while former-manager Martin Jol had lost on each of the three occasions he had returned here for league fixtures.

The Dutchman is still much-loved at the Lane, and he was even serenaded by Tottenham fans during the first half — although they were probably just trying to find something to do with the action on the pitch providing little inspiration.

Gareth Bale, in his now-customary free role, had a header cleared off the line in the fifth minute but then spent most of his time either firing well over from distance, or over-complicating things in the middle.

He should have taken a leaf out of Dimitar Berbatov’s book.

The former Tottenham favourite, whose lofty brilliance shone throughout, needed only one chance to settle the game, turning home Sascha Riether’s cross in the 52nd minute.

And, with Arsenal now moving slowly through the gears, and Chelsea moving above them into third after beating West Ham, Tottenham are staring more end-of-season heartbreak in the face.

Villas-Boas admitted: “You cannot hide from what has happened previously with Spurs but it is another opportunity to fight it. It has been a difficult month for us.

“The most important thing is that we have enough games to get out of a tight situation.”

Of Arsenal, the manager added: “The situation has shifted and they are in with a chance, today we weren’t good enough and after the international break we have to get back to business.”

TOTTENHAM: Lloris 6; Naughton 6, Caulker 6, Dawson 6 (Dempsey 46, 7), Vertonghen 6; Sigurdsson 6 (Defoe 62, 7), Parker 5, Dembele 7 (Carroll 66, 6), Assou-Ekotto (5); Bale (5) Adebayor (6).

FULHAM: Schwarzer 7, Riether 7, Hangeland 6, Senderos 6, Riise 6; Karagounis 7 (Enoh 77, 6), Sidwell 6; Duff (6), Ruiz 6 (Emanuelson 90), Dejagah 7 Berbatov 8.

Referee: Mike Jones 7.