Tottenham 0 Wigan 1 – That’s why we love this game!

Nobody expected that

Example

I have no axe to grind with Tottenham and I have no great love for Wigan, but the score-line Tottenham Hotspur 0 Wigan Athletic 1, is a great example of why it is such a great game.

Tottenham have just qualified for the group stages of the Champions League. Wigan were rock bottom of the table. Tottenham were riding high with four points from two games. Wigan had lost twice and conceded ten goals. Lat season, Tottenham beat Wigan 9-1.

Sack

There was only one possible outcome and it involved Wigan getting thrashed, Roberto Martinez getting the sack and Tottenham staying in the top three.

Of course, football being the wonderful game it is, the form books, common sense and football punditry, went straight out of the window as Wigan picked up the points.

Points

The statistics after the game show that Tottenham had 55% of the possession and had more attempts on target than Wigan. They show that Tottenham had twice as many corners, yet the only statistic that actually matters is the one that shows that Wigan picked up the three points.

In truth, Tottenham were below par in this game and didn’t show any of the spark and flair that we all know they are capable of, but Wigan showed great character and spirit and fully deserved their win.

Maligned

An eightieth minute goal from the much maligned Hugo Rodellaga, together with some fine goalkeeping from reserve keeper Ali Al Habsi, were enough to give this Wigan team, who many people including me have already written off, three points at the home of one of the best four teams in the country. That simply doesn’t happen in any other sport.

It is a fact that if you picked a joint Tottenham and Wigan side there wouldn’t be any Wigan players in it! Logic would tell you that it would be a matter of how many goals Tottenham would score rather than a question of who would win the game.

Beautiful

This result shows why we all love the beautiful game. David can beat Goliath and you can never know what is going to happen.

I love football, don’t you?