Norwich vs. Tottenham Hotspur: Instant reaction

I'll probably have a full report from this game later, because I have plenty of notes, but I really can't be assed to write it right now. Tottenham Hotspur just threw away a lead in the most Spurs way possible, and simultaneously the most Andre Villas-Boas way possible. They played well for most of the match, finally found a breakthrough after the hour mark, then subbed on a defensive midfielder, lost all composure, and fell apart. Gareth Bale fired Spurs in front early, but late goals from Alexander Tetteh and Simeon Jackson helped Norwich advance with a 2-1 win.

After falling apart, Spurs managed to win a penalty. They missed said penalty, because of course they did.

You've seen this before. You've seen the sub on a DM and crumble trick from Spurs this season and from Chelsea all of last year. You've seen Spurs play the better football and melt down late in a match before. This is not new. It's a match we've all watched a million times. AVB will probably never learn, so we just have to hope that we start going three goals up instead of one.

Observations:

- Iago Falque was encouraging. He's improved a lot in just over a year.

- Tom Carroll was pretty encouraging too. I was surprised to see him get a start and he played well.

- Hugo Lloris is better than Brad Friedel. His defense melted down in front of him. He made a great stop just before the winner, but the defense failed to clear/mark anyone.

- Gareth Bale is kind of a monster.

- Clint Dempsey

- Jan Vertonghen is not a DM. Subbing off a guy who can pass for a guy who is a worse passer and who does not play the position you're putting him in when you're trying to hold a lead is really fucking stupid.

- We're still Spurs.