A good second half fightback wasn't enough to earn a point after United had gone in at the break with a 2 goal advantage.

Coming on the back of the defeats against Newcastle and Boro, the signs were ominous as Giggs flicked Gary Neville's cross just wide in the 2nd minute.

Kanoute then miskicked at Dalmat's low cross and Keller saved Ruud van Nistelrooy's effort at the 2nd attempt.

United opened the scoring after a quarter of an hour as O'Shea found space at a corner and flicked the ball home.

We tried to hit back immediately. Carr's ball over the top found Keane but he could not get enough power on it, mainly due to a large shove in the back which went unnoticed by referee Rob Styles, who had another game to forget.

Before the 20 minute mark Anderton succumbed to injury and was replaced by Poyet, who got involved immediately and brought a good save from Howard a couple of minutes after coming on. A marked change from his anonymous substitute appearance against Boro in midweek.

Shortly after United doubled their lead. RvN broke clear of the defence. Garnder came across to tackle him but only succeeded in deflecting his shot the wrong side of Keller.

At this point it seemed as if the 3 points were already guaranteed to be going back to Manchester. It was merely a question of how many they would score.

The Spurs team were sent out ealry for the 2nd half. Plenty of jokes were made about it being the only way they could pass to a teammate.

10 minutes into the half Giggs played in RvN but he fired wide from a tricky angle.

A strange moment happened as the 4th official put up the board for Taricco to be replaced by Ricketts but they then wanted to take off Dalmat as he seemd to have picked up a knock. Dalmat and about 30,000 fans voiced their objections to this and he remained on the pitch and Ricketts went back to the bench

Spurs found a way back into the game on 63 minutes. Konchesky overhit a cross but Dalmat was there to fire it back across goal. Poyet managed to steal a yard from Rio Ferdinand and bundled the ball home as Howard could only touch the ball onto the post.

Ricketts immediately replaced Taricco. Dalmat's remaining on the pitch was causing problems for United as he dinked the ball through to Keane who was unable to get enough power onto his volley. With 15 minutes to go an exhausted Dalmat was replaced by Postiga.

Gary Neville had to flick the ball away from Richards and Howard palmed away a good effort from Ricketts. The final chance of an equaliser came and went in injury time as Kanoute's snapshot went wide.

There were plenty of signs of potential this afternoon but United are too good a team to throw away a 2 goal lead. It is now vital that the team and management take the positives and apply them well against Portsmouth, Charlton and Birmingham otherwise we will be well and truly engaged in the relegation dogfight for the rest of the season.

MOTM: Dalmat - The only player to consistently cause United problems. Match fitness still seems to be a problem for him but he was still head and shoulders above the rest.

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
15	Tottenham	17	5	3	9	19	26	18

Might not get round to blogging again before Xmas so I wish you all a very Merry Xmas and a Happy New Year.

Hope Santa brings you everything you desire. Now go get pissed!

Schnurrbs

FIFA 2004 for the PS2

Dave Spikey: Overnight Success Tour on DVD - (Jerry from Phoenix Nights)

Still want to get Underworld's greatest hits but trying to cut down on frivolous spending!!

Some woefully inept tactical decisions combined with our usual inability to pass a ball to a teammate and take advantage when we're having a good spell meant yet another defeat which plunged us back into the relegation zone.

A Carlton Cole header condemned us to a 5th defeat in a row after we been the better team in the first half.

Charlton's Johansson was guilty of squandering the best chance in the first 45 minutes as he was firstly denied by Keller when clean through on goal and then managed to steer the ball wide of the post when the ball rebounded to him with Keller still laying on the ground.

Keane's 5th minute drive was delfected for a corner, which Kanoute headed over. Johnnie Jackson's set-piece deliveries were one of the many plus points for him on his home debut.

It was Jackson's cross a couple of minutes later that Fish had to divert away from Poyet before Jackson smashed a volley across goal from a difficult angle.

Kiely made himself large to stop Keane scoring when through 1-on-1. Just after Johansson's miss halfway through the period Keane had another shot saved.

Kanoute then saw a header tipped over and then hit a volley on the turn that landed on the roof of the net.

Poyet's header from another Jackson corner was cleared off the line by the impressive Scott Parker before Gus tried a scissor kick which went over.

The final action of the 1st half saw Ricketts snatch at a shot after confusion in the Charlton defence as we went in scoreless.

The second half saw us start well again as Taricco and Ricketts both got the 2nd ball from cleared free-kicks but were unable to get their efforts on target.

Once again we had a good penalty claim turned down when Keane was jumped on by Fish before the action went to the other end and Charlton scored from their second corner in a row after we failed to clear the first adequately.

Pleat in his infinite wisdom decided to to replace Ricketts playing wide on the right with the left footed striker Zamora. Unsurprisingly Bobby was unable to make much of an impact from out there while Gus lumbered on ineffectively in the middle. The crowd made their feelingsabout the substition known.

Keller tipped over a good curling effort from Parker before the same player flashed a cross across the face of the goal that just needed a touch from Cole.

Poyet was finally taken off with 10 minutes to go as Postiga became the 4th striker on the pitch but we had no shape and failed to cause Charlton too many problems in the last 10 minutes. In fact Charlton could have scored again as there was a goalmouth scramble with Keller and the centrebacks somehow keeping the ball out and then Keller saved Cole's drive.

Another unbelievable decision saw Pleat replace Taricco with Mabizela when Richards and King had both been struggling with knocks.

If we carry on like this we will be relegated. We are not too good to go down. In fact we are probably too poor to stay up at this rate. We are already relying on 3 teams being worse than us and that complacency could be fatal for this club's Premiership status.

How Poyet can be chosen to start a Premiership game is beyond me. He is too far off the pace and hopefully Michael Brown, who is joining us in January will replace him. The return of Simon Davies would also be welcome if he can recapture his old form. King is struggling to distribute the ball effectively from his defensive midfield position and would probably be better off reverting to centreback.

The 2 first choice strikers are capable of scoring goals but the supply is generally poor. The defence is prone to making too many errors and Keller, although an excellent shotstopper does not command his are well enough, his anticipation is poor and his distribution leaves a lot to be desired the majority of the time.

There are plenty of good players at Tottenham, but not a good team. Unless we find one that can play well for the rest of the season we will be in the Nationwide next season.

MOTM: Jackson - the only ray of light on another dismal day at the lane. Leaves you wondering why he was shipped out on loan to Coventry when he's capable of this kind of performance on the Premiership

Pos	Club	P	W	D	L	F	A	Pts
18	Tottenham	19	5	3	11	19	29	18

Christmas is done and dusted. Just New Year left to get through then back to the grindstone.

One of the main managers at work let us got at 12 on Christmas Eve so only had to do 3 hours and most of that was spent talking and doing the endless supply of Excel quizzes that were doing the rounds by email.

Went and picked up the final few bits and bobs I needed in town on my way home. The missus had decided she wanted to spend Xmas Eve here rather than go to my parents that night. We stayed in and ended up watching TV all night. Managed to find the Madness musical "Our House" on BBC3 so watched that.

Got the new Peter Kay DVD and Red Hot Chili Peppers Greatest Hits from the missus. Got plenty of presents off her mum and dad too. Main thing was The Pub Landlord (Al Murray from Time Gentlemen, Please) on DVD.

Headed over to Cheshunt. Usual Xmas day routine. Next door neighbours came round. Had their usual rant about what's wrong in the world. Xmas dinner was up to its usual high standards and my mum had even remembered the bread sauce. She did try melting the plastic tub to the Christmas pudding but everyone survived. More presents in the afternoon.

Got 3 series of Red Dwarf on DVD, the traditional selection box and chocolate coins. Got a wine rack for the flat and some more wine glasses. Plenty of smellies as you'd expect.

Boxing Day meant my Nan and her bloke came round. They got us a new sandwich toaster which was handy as our previous one had seen better days. Headed off about 5 as the missus had to work Saturday.

Went to a restaurant in Aldershot called AM on Saturday night. Very nice all you can eat buffet. Reasonable prices as well. Left feeling stuffed.

Football on Sunday. Yet another defeat. We've put the dining room table together and 1.5 chairs so far. A few of the bits are a very snug fit so I've applied a hammer to wedge them in.

Since then I've been mainly playing Simpson Hit & Run - a superb present from my normally evil brother. Been doing some CIMA studying as well but lacking motivation as per usual.

Off to the Grim North tomorrow evening to spend a few days up there. Going to one of her mate's houses for a New Year's Eve party. Back down on Saturday, probably by train, to see Spurs play in the Cup then back to Cheshunt for my Grandad's birthday. Hopefully the missus will pick me up from there. If not I've got a train ticket which will get me home eventually.

Back to work Monday. Boo.

just before Christmas from a girl I went to junior school with. Had barely seen her since.

Sent her a card back and got an email from her yesterday. Been pinging emails back and forth since then.

It's amazing how much I can remember about junior school yet I can barely remember what I did last week.

Got to go to the Post Office now to get a parcel weighed for the missus and get rid of a load of empties at the bottle bank. Then got to tidy the flat and pack ready for going to the Grim North.

Got a stinking cold. Boo.