FA Premiership: A harassed Glenn Hoddle must have wished he could trade dug-outs with Graeme Souness as Blackburn qualified for the UEFA Cup again in some style, mocking Tottenham's own European ambitions.
For Blackburn's joyous fans, chanting Souness's name at every opportunity, the main concern was checking the score at Goodison Park, because the outcome here was effectively settled when Gus Poyet was sent off after half an hour, for a two-footed lunge on Garry Flitcroft.
Hoddle must have envied the potency of Blackburn's attack while enumerating the shortcomings of his defence. Tottenham had no young forward of Damien Duff's quality and neither now, with Teddy Sheringham departing, do they have a seasoned striker of the calibre of Dwight Yorke or Andy Cole.
Both scored, and Cole contributed to two other goals to complete a day that his one-time England colleague Sheringham must have envied. If the 37-year-old Spurs captain enjoyed his ovation at the end, then he did not show it as he marched grim-faced down the Tottenham tunnel for the last time.
Sheringham mischievously signed off his captain's page in the match programme like this: "You never know, I might see you all again sometime in some other capacity at the club." Hoddle does not need any further threat to his managerial security.
And he did not fail to hear the brief chants of "We want Hoddle out" from one corner of Tottenham support after Blackburn's fourth goal on the hour.
Afterwards Hoddle said: "I understand their frustration - possibly a frustration of 25 years. There's no one more frustrated than me and everyone in the dressing-room. Seventh is the highest we have achieved in the Premiership and two years (Hoddle's time in charge) is not a long time. In the long run I'm sure I can get things right and make the club successful."
This was most emphatically Blackburn's day from the time a wonderful build-up after only five minutes ended with Yorke, from Cole's back-heel, shooting into the far corner for his first league goal since February.
Even so, the game was meandering until it took on a new focus with Poyet's dismissal, and Blackburn moved further ahead before the break. No one seemed more surprised than Craig Hignett himself when Ledley King's loose header presented an opportunity. The midfielder made the most of it, volleying instantly into the far corner from the edge of the area. It was a lovely way for Hignett, who broke a leg earlier in the season, to mark his first and last Premiership start of the campaign.
Tottenham, having seen Robbie Keane shoot wastefully into the side netting in the first minute after a superb turn on the byline, were equally generous just after the break. Cole set up the third, producing a cross which spun off Stephen Carr for Duff to slide home.
There were brief retaliatory flashes from Tottenham, but a fourth Blackburn goal was a formality. Duff just eluded Carr's outstretched leg and ran round Kasey Keller before crossing. Cole scuffed his shot and the ball rolled lazily home.
TOTTENHAM: Keller, Carr, Perry, King, Taricco (Ziege 61), Davies, Poyet, Redknapp (Toda 69), Etherington, Sheringham, Keane. Subs Not Used: Sullivan, Bunjevcevic, Acimovic. Sent Off: Poyet (31). Booked: Taricco.
BLACKBURN: Friedel, Neill, Todd, Martin Taylor, McEveley (Johansson 63), Flitcroft (Dunn 45), Hignett (Jansen 76), Tugay, Duff, Cole, Yorke. Subs Not Used: Kelly, Sukur. Booked: Neill. Goals: Yorke 5, Hignett 45, Duff 48, Cole 60.
Referee: A D'Urso (Essex).
Guardian Service
