English FA Premiership/ Tottenham Hotspur 3 Sunderland 2: Perhaps Sunderland should be sponsored by Otis since the inexorability of their rise guarantees the inevitability of their descent. Manager Mick McCarthy must be the world's highest-paid lift attendant.
Sunderland's defeat at Tottenham on Saturday hastened their progress towards another record-breaking season. No team has been promoted to the English Premier League with more points nor relegated from it with fewer. At the present rate, however, they will struggle to equal even the meagre 19 points they scraped together before going down in 2002-'03. So far, Sunderland have taken five from 16 matches.
Their fans are understandably frustrated, though one diehard did inform BBC Radio Five Live on Saturday evening the performance at White Hart Lane was Sunderland's best of the season by far. If so, it was a dire comment on their other games.
Certainly McCarthy's team were not lacking in effort or spirit, only competence, especially in defence. They led through a Beckhamesque free-kick from Dean Whitehead, and drew level at 2-2 through a piece of opportunism by Anthony Le Tallec, but at the back they remained in a panic-stricken muddle throughout.
Ben Alnwick made some agile saves, not least in keeping out a penalty from Robbie Keane. Yet his relationship with the Sunderland defenders was always tenuous. They were never sure whether he was coming or staying.
McCarthy is not one of football's dissemblers; he tells it like it is. "I had a clip at them for all three goals," he said, "because we could have defended better. Whether it is inexperience or bad decision-making it has cost us. We just have to keep working and try to improve. That's all we can do."
Keane scored in the 51st minute, in between goals by team-mates Mido and Carrick. Danny Collins and Alnwick contrived to impede each other as Keane chased Mido's nod down. In stumbling over the bodies, Keane helped the ball towards the net with a hand, but the goal was allowed to stand.
* Guardian Service
