ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUE: Sunderland 1 Tottenham 1FORGET iPODS, DVDs and all those other hi-tech dressingroom toys, Ricky Sbragia is poised to patent the perfect match day coaching tool. Frustrated by his players' persistent failure to comprehend pre-kick-off and half-time hints relayed by the electronic gadgetry at his staff's disposal, Sunderland's manager is considering an ingenious reinvention of a primary school staple.
“Felt-tip pens,” said Sbragia. “I think I’m going to have to write instructions on their hands in felt-tip pen: ‘If we get a corner in the last minute play it short’.”
It is a mantra the Scot has drummed into his charges since succeeding Roy Keane but Sunderland’s self-destructive squad appear resolutely deaf and blind to both verbal commands and those transmitted via cutting edge on-screen imagery. Spurs duly equalised after counter-attacking from a last-minute home corner with Darren Bent crossing for Robbie Keane to earn Harry Redknapp’s team a deserved point courtesy of a splendid volley.
Redknapp’s strong suits are instinct and man management so it was no surprise when he ascribed Keane’s Spurs rebirth since returning from Liverpool to basic psychology.
“Robbie can get fitter and sharper and we’ve got to keep him on his toes and focused,” explained Tottenham’s manager. “But I make him feel important. I involve him a lot when I talk about how we play. I’ll have a chat with him. I think he loves that. A bit of love, that’s what it’s about.”
There was precious little of the stuff flowing between Sbragia and the hugely disappointing Djibril Cisse. The French striker, on loan from Marseille until the end of the season, was hauled off after repeatedly failing to hold the ball up.
“Flipping hell, I need a beer, a couple of beers,” admitted Sbragia whose side lacked tempo and dropped far too deep after Kieran Richardson’s stellar third-minute opener. “Djib kept giving the ball away. Djib’s paid to retain the ball and he hasn’t done it. I’m annoyed.”
With Sunderland, like Tottenham, hovering just five points above the relegation zone, falling out with Cisse seems a high-risk strategy.
Yet Redknapp – whose bold, late, switch to 3-4-3 paid dividends – seemed similarly unconcerned about upsetting Aaron Lennon as he deflated the growing hype suggesting the right winger is worthy of an England recall.
GuardianService
