West Ham were let down by Curbishley, and his decision to bring on Ashton for a psychological boost and allow Manchester City the space that he took away from them at halftime. Sadly, I don’t think Freddie will be the same ever again. Bergkamp was the only player who could consistently pick out his runs, which were really quite unconventional. He’ll always make the same runs, but Bowyer and Parker aren’t going to be able to tell where he’s going, much less pass the ball to him.

Isn’t it interesting that when Tottenham buy young players, they’re always “going forwards” and “buying players with potential” but when Wenger finds a genuinely talented player, it’s always “going backwards” or “transitional”? I just laugh at that.