With Mourinho claiming he doesn't care about the Premier League this season, as his focus is on winning the Europa League to get into the Champions League, do not be fooled by his mindless mind games.  He will want to win a game against one of the top six sides and while he is injury hit at the back, he will be fielding a decent enough side to try and stifle the game, with busses making it onto the pitch way before the bulldozers.

Spurs are chasing second place and need at least a point from the last three games, so there is something to play for and the desire not to repeat last season's late collapse.  Mourinho has already said that he intends to make a lot of changes for their last game against Crystal Palace, as it is just before the Europa League final, but having just qualified for that game against Ajax, it may be that the manager decides to field more of the first choice eleven against us, before resting them in their last two games.

Rooney might make a rare start, as Pogba, Young and Ibrahimovic are both missing, but Mourinho might go with youth and start with Rashford, Lingard and Martial up front, although he has doubts about each of them.  He is lucky to have Smalling and Jones returning from injury at a time when Rojo, Shaw and Fosu-Mensah are out for the rest of the season.  Axel Tuanzebe played in the loss at the Emirates and is said to be one for the future, so he might be given a run-out.

Spurs will need to be up for it, as some player sin the United side might be paying for their future at Old Trafford, so it won't be an easy game, but Spurs need to play at a tempo they failed to find at the Olympic Stadium, to keep pushing United back and making sure that we take our opportunities, to see off the old stadium in style.
 

TV
Sky Sports 1 - (live coverage, including The Finale after the game)
Match of the Day 2  (BBC 1) - Sunday 22.30 (highlights)  Also available online.

For coverage in all parts of the world, check here and here.

Radio :  
BBC LONDON 94.9FM (London area only), Digital Radio (London area only) &  Sky Channel 0152  (live coverage)
Commentary may be found on
>   BBC Radio Five Live (live coverage)  606/939 MW
>  TalkSport (DAB or 2nd89 MW)
>  Absolute Radio  (1215 AM/MW)

If available on BBC radio, it can supposedly be heard in these countries on these stations ...
Australia (Melbourne) SEN  -  116 AM  Live Transmissions: TWI, Saturday. 12.45 & 15.00 matches
Australia (Sydney)  Radio 2  -  1611AM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 12.45 Match
Singapore Media Corp Radio  -  93.8 FM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
South Africa  SABC (Radio 2000)  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
Uganda  Radio 1 (English) 90.0 FM, Radio 2 (Lugandan) 87.9 FM  Live Transmission: TWI, Saturday, 15.00 Match
North America (USA, Canada, Mexico, Caribbean)  Sirius Satellite Radio  Live transmission: Saturday - 12.45, 15.00 (TWI) & 17.15 (BBC) Sunday - 14.00 & 16.05 (BBC) Mon, Tue, Wed - Various times (BBC)

Internet :
www.spurs.co.uk   Live webcast  - subscribers only
BBC London - http://www.bbc.co.uk/london/content/articles/2005/2nd/12/live_commentaries_feature.shtml click on link to "Listen to Tottenham Hotspur live commentary" on top right hand menu.

16  Kieran TRIPPIER  (  2  Kyle WALKER  83)
  4  Toby ALDERWEIRELD
  5  Jan VERTONGHEN
33  Ben DAVIES

12  Victor WANYAMA      
15  Eric DIER

  7  Heung-Min SON  (19  Mousa DEMBELE  72) 
20  DELE Alli
23  Christian ERIKSEN  (14  Georges-Kevin N'KOUDOU  90+2)

10  Harry KANE 

Unused subs: 
13  Michel VORM
27  Kevin WIMMER
17  Moussa SISSOKO
  9  Vincent JANSSEN

  3  Eric BAILLY     
12  Chris SMALLING
  4  Phil JONES
17  Danny BLIND

16  Michael CARRICK
38  Axel TUANZEBE  (21  Ander HERRERA  61)

  8  Juan MATA  (19  Marcus RASHFORD  79)
14  Jesse LINGARD  (22  Henrik MKHITARYAN  61)
10  Wayne ROONEY  (c)       

11  Anthony MARTIAL

Unused subs: 
20  Sergio ROMERO
39  McTOMINAY
36  Matteo DARMIAN
35  Demetri MITCHELL
 

A day of great emotion.  A day of great tradition.  A day of great atmosphere.  But most of all a day of great achievement.

The achievement of going the whole season unbeaten at White Hart Lane in the League.
The achievement of securing a second place finish in the Premier League.
The achievement of securing a new stadium that will match the best in the land or the world.
The achievement of equalling a club record of 14 consecutive home League wins.
The achievement of setting a club record Premier League points total.
The achievement of setting a club record Premier League goals scored total.

The achievement of winning a game that took second place to the achievement of producing a classy, honourable send off for the old stadium ... unlike some other clubs.

For the purposes of this match report, I will stick to the match and leave the surrounding events for others to tell you about.  Mourinho is concentrating on getting into the Champions League the only way available to Manchester United, through the InterToto Cup ... sorry, the Europa League.  So, he is willing to sacrifice any sort of domestic face to ease his fragile players through the remaining league fixtures.  His choices here failed spectacularly to impress, with only de Gea showing the standard he usually plays at.  Lingard, Bailly, Carrick, Blind, Smalling and Jones would have looked out of place (for the wrong reasons) in the Wycombe Wanderers team that gave us our hardest game at the Lane this season.  While Rooney is approaching Akinfenwa in terms of paucity of hair, size and pace, he is somewhat less effective as the Chairboys striker.  Yes, he scored, but he was reduced to kicking Spurs players he couldn't keep up with, thus replicating the fading Ryan Giggs' performance at the Lane a couple of seasons back.

From the start, Tottenham were on the front foot and restricted United to a few chances.  An early effort from halfway by Rooney failed to trouble Hugo, who was right behind it and when Spurs went up to the Park Lane end, they won a corner. It started with Jan winning a defensive header, Son holding it up for Dele, Kane playing it back for Victor to send Dele away down the left wing.  Getting to the dead-ball line, he played it off Bailly for a corner.  Christian Eriksen went short to Ben Davies, who bent a long cross towards the far post, where Wanyama rose to power a header the way that de Gea had just come.  Spurs had the lead after just five minutes and the noise from the crowd, which was loud anyway, cranked up to 11.

Spurs might have paid for allowing Blind to run the left wing and cross for Juan Mata, but luckily, he has a head like a three-penny bit (or one pound coin for you youngsters) and he missed by a long distance ... and was flagged offside.  Rooney then headed over with a free jump at the ball, while Davies read Lingard's intentions when he looked to cross across the face of goal.  Martial went close, coming in from the right onto Rooney's pass, but his curler went past the post as well as Lloris' dive to his left.  This chance was matched by Son, whose run from the halfway line was not blocked by Rooney and Tuanzebe, leaving him through on the edge of the box, but shooting from just left of centre, he went for power and de Gea beat it out, straight to Eriksen outside the box.  Unfortunately, he had to take the shot quickly and scuffed it across goal and wide.

Kane almost doubled the lead with a neat near post header to Eriksen's second go at crossing after a right wing corner came back to him via Trippier.  Harry got ahead of Smalling and crashed his header against the bar and over.  Then Eriksen's cross from the right came off Bailly and caused de Gea to furiously back-peddle to palm the ball out.  It fell to Dele, but fell behind him and he couldn't make more of it than forcing a hurried clearance by a defender.  Kane set up the cross for Christian and then held the ball up well before playing Dele coming into the area from the right and he smashed a drive at goal and again de Gea kept it out.  It gave Spurs a couple of corners, before they sang for one of the remembered missing players today - Aaron Lennon, who we all wish well.

Rooney finally got booked for kicking Tottenham players since the kick off and Spurs continued to press through Davies on the left, but United looked dangerous when they picked off a loose pass by Wanyama and Martial looked to be through.  Vertonghen stuck with him and put him off enough for his shot to give Hugo a routine save as he came in from the right.  A similar position for Kane at the opposite end saw him hit a low effort that de Gea kicked out with his feet.

There was a welcome return for Chas and Dave at half-time, with Chas having undergone treatment for cancer recently, but looking in rude health and going back on the road soon.  The teams emerged from the tunnel in the West Stand for the last time, with United starting the livelier, as Hugo cleared weakly and ended up giving away a corner, but the Reds made nothing of it.  On the break, Bailly once more could not deal with Dele and fouled him, giving Eriksen the opportunity to play the ball in from the left and Harry Kane once more got in front of Smalling to deflect the ball past de Gea with his foot from a couple of yards out.   Dier almost got a touch on it first, as Bailly lost him, but the outside of Harry's right boot put Tottenham 2-0 ahead. 

Spurs were coasting and United offering very little in retaliation.  Attacking either side of the box, United were being stretched and while Tuanzebe is tipped as one for the future, it appears he is not one for now, having a very poor display.   Sonny hit de Gea from 20 yards out with a shot, Kane curled one a yard wide after Spurs broke on United and then Dier's quick thinking at a free-kick put Son in, but his shot was blocked for a corner, from which Victor headed over this time. 

Mourinho made a double sub with Herrera and Mkhitaryan coming on for Tuanzebe and Lingard. It brought a penalty shout as Dele crossed and it hit a defender, but it would have been harsh if it had been given.  Spurs were warming up a sub of their own in Dembele, but, before he could replace Son, Martial tricked his way past Trippier and put a low ball into the near post, where Rooney got across Jan to nudge a rising shot over Lloris and into the net to make it 2-1 with 20 minutes left.

Wanyama picked up a yellow card for knocking over Martial and United brought on Rashford for Mata, who had been quiet, with Spurs soon having to replace Trippier with the reportedly Manchester City bound Kyle Walker.  Still Spurs worked the ball well and when it was played up to Kane, he held it up and played it straight into the path of Dele to curl a shot past de Gea, but Jones was back to head the ball away from the goal-line with six minutes remaining.

The rain started to fall heavily and Spurs were keen to push forward rather than soak up any pressure United might be able to find.  Their best chance of an equaliser came from a route one move that saw Rashford through from just inside the Spurs half and as he got to the box Toby and Jan did enough to make him put his shot into the Park Lane end rather than the net. 

When Dele ran the ball at the United defence deep into added time, Jones chopped him down in the area and it would have been a fitting finale for The Finale at the Lane, but Moss waved play on, with play only lasting a few seconds before the final whistle sounded on the final game at White Hart Lane and the win got us guaranteed second place in the Premier League.  It also ensured we had gone unbeaten at home in the league and conceded only nine home league goals all season.  It was just a shame that the last goal at the Lane wasn't scored by a Spurs man.

The fans couldn't contain themselves and raced onto the pitch, with the stewards not trying too hard to stop them. 

A fitting end to the Lane's playing days, even though Manchester United were much reduce din their circumstances and sad that they don't have the resources to put out a decent side even with a Cup Final ahead.  Still, you can only beat what is put in front of you and Spurs have done that for the bulk of this season at home.  White Hart Lane has been the archetypal "fortress", so will Wembley be transformed into the same ?

With this team, all giving their all for each other, the belief must be there that there is a possibility that we will improve further next season and with a few additions to the squad to cover for injuries we might pick up, this group can go onwards and upwards.  We have to be prepared to go again and be willing to work harder as teams strive to find ways of preventing us playing our game, but with barely a bad performance today, it has shown that it could be possible.

With this manager and this group of players, maybe anything is possible.

Marco van Hip