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The visitors were a man down at Anfield before they started and they showed reduced attacking verve against Liverpool

Tottenham Hotspur were a man down before they even started. Perhaps that assertion just underlines the fact that we put such weight on everything a manager says and does. In practice, though, it was difficult to tell if the visitors would have been more vibrant under the watchful eye of Harry Redknapp.

We have been taking managers very seriously for a long time. It is not enough that they pick the team and lay down the tactics. Their presence on the touchline or in the stand is somehow thought essential. Given that the cult of the manager is so marked, the lack of Redknapp made the scene a little odd. Perhaps, too, it accounted for diminished verve in his Tottenham team.

Regardless of the court case in London and his inability to get to Merseyside because of a technical problem with the plane, it was still hard to forget him. Kevin Bond, the assistant manager, and Joe Jordan, the first-team coach, would have been in no doubt as to what was required and the plan for the night had been laid down already.

All the same the true issue was whether footballers somehow need their leader in view to give of their best. It seems preposterous such an attitude could be allowed in a professional sport where players are paid so lavishly on the basis that they themselves shape the outcome of a match. Even so, this was the type of fixture that did call for managerial expertise and the lack of Rafael van der Vaart because of a calf strain was another factor to be addressed by those in the technical area..

Liverpool held some advantages. They were at home and, just as significantly, far closer to full strength than their opponents. Tottenham mostly had to resist in the first half but they still hinted at the ability that makes a Champions League campaign very likely next season.

That under-strength line-up did at least have Ledley King in its midst. That, in its own way, was a means of compensating for Redknapp’s unavailability. Given the severity of the knee trouble that has bedevilled his career, it said much that the defender was starting a match for the second time in seven days. There is hope that playing the game regularly might again become normal to the centre-half.

If Redknapp, glowering at his television, had a complaint, it would have related to the lack of confidence on the ball that hindered Tottenham’s efforts to take the game to the opposition. It was Liverpool who dominated possession before the interval but Tottenham had an intensity of their own even if they had neither sight nor sound of their manager.

Any small misgiving lay then in the conservatism. The best moment for them in the first half probably lay in Michael Dawson’s impeccable tackle on Andy Carroll after five minutes when a penalty could so easily have been conceded. Even so that stringency would not have sufficed for Redknapp. His emphasis on attacking style has, after all, seen the team notch 20 goals in 11 away fixtures in the league before they got to Anfield.

That incisiveness was out of reach in the opening 45 minutes. The interpretation of that fact is awkward to assess. It is, after all, supposed to be a taxing night when any side takes on Liverpool here. All the same we have come to expect more from Gareth Bale, Luka Modric and others in the line-up.

It was easy to think how exasperated Redknapp would have been at that stage. The bid for the title itself has faded but the manager is still entitled to call for confidence and ambition when his side is on the ball.

Tottenham, too, had beaten Liverpool in all three of their most recent encounters, including a 4-0 spree at White Hart Lane in September.

Given the context, it was natural to ask that Tottenham do more than demonstrate efficiency while containing Kenny Dalglish’s side. They did better in the second half and looked more interested in attacking but still the verve and penetration were in short supply.

The single heartening factor would have been the discipline in Tottenham ranks when Liverpool commanded so much territory.

That focus had to be even more intense when Luis Suárez made his return from suspension and came on before an adoring Anfield in the 66th minute. Everything depended then on Tottenham’s capacity to maintain order even without Redknapp’s presence.

Premier League 2011-12LiverpoolTottenham HotspurPremier LeagueKevin McCarra
guardian.co.uk

• Uruguayan will lift Anfield club, says Kevin Bond
• Spurs can get a result, says assistant manager

Kevin Bond believes that Luis Suárez’s probable return for Liverpool against Tottenham Hotspur at Anfield on Monday night will make it harder for Harry Redknapp’s side. Spurs are third and know that beating Liverpool will keep their championship hopes alive.

Suárez has been serving an eight-match ban for racially abusing Manchester United’s Patrice Evra earlier in the season and Bond, the assistant manager, said of his likely return to action: “The introduction of Suárez on a night match at Anfield – they’re going to be a real tough nut. It will give them a lift – as if they need a lift. You can imagine it, the crowd will be rooting for him hugely. They are flying – so you never know, he might not get in the side.

“He’s a good player. He’s a fantastic player and has been a fantastic signing for Liverpool. You’d have expected them to really sorely miss him. Maybe a couple of results have gone against them in his absence but they’ve just had three big wins without him and now they’ve got him as well.”

Spurs beat Liverpool 2-0 in the corresponding fixture last season and Bond said the side can take heart for this: “It was a real big performance up there last year. I’m sure the lads will reflect on that and think if we go about our job we can go to Anfield and get a result. We definitely need to get something there. Last year’s win will give us a bit of a lift. Players have favourite grounds, strikers have certain teams they think they always do well against. We focus on that factor to help them.”

Regarding Tottenham’s title hopes Bond said: “When we were eight points adrift [before midweek games] that wasn’t bang in the title race but now it’s five and we’re nearer. A lot of things will change. Next week it might be two points or you might have a blip and you’re back to eight and effectively out of it. It’s an ever-changing situation and I see it like that for the rest of the season. We’re only a couple of results away from the teams above us, which is terrific.”

Manchester City, the leaders, dropped three points when Everton beat them 1-0 last Tuesday and Bond said: “If his opinion was it was a two-horse race, now his opinion is different. It’s exactly what I mean. One minute we’re 20-1 and the next we’re 10-1 on the back of one result.

“I don’t see City collapsing. It’s a disappointing result but it’s never easy playing away to Everton. They had a great result against us [3-2 at the Etihad last month]. Come the back end of the season experience will count for a lot, which means [Manchester] United have the edge on everybody. They’ve been in tight title races come March and April before. Most of the time they come out on top. They’ve been there and done it and that’s in their favour. United will relish that close finish. We’ve not been in this situation before and they seem to thrive on it.”

Regarding Emmanuel Adebayor, who has scored nine goals but none since 22

• City spend £9.7m in a total of £71.8m for 2010-11
• Total is highest since spending was published in 2008

Manchester City, Tottenham Hotspur and Liverpool were the top spenders on agents’ fees last year as the top-flight clubs spent a total of £71.8m, latest figures have revealed.

City, unsurprisingly, topped the payments table with £9.7m paid to agents, followed by Spurs on £7.6m, then Liverpool on £7m.

The total in the top flight of £71.8m is the highest since the Premier League decided in 2008 to publish club-by-club spending on agents – in 2009 it was £70.7m.

The three lowest spenders included two promoted sides Swansea City (£248,000) and Norwich City (£710,00), with Wigan Athletic having spent £659,000.

The amounts shown include payments made by clubs on behalf of players.

Club-by-club spending on agents’ fees between 1 October 2010 and 30 September 2011

Manchester City £9.7m; Tottenham Hotspur £7.6m; Liverpool £7m; Chelsea £6.5m; Newcastle United £6.3m; Arsenal £4.6m; Manchester United £4.5m; Blackburn £4.2m; Sunderland £3.7m; Aston Villa £3.2m; Everton £2.9m; Queens Park Rangers £2.5m; Stoke City £2.2m; Bolton Wanderers £1.9m; West Bromwich Albion £1.3m; Wolverhampton Wanderers £1.1m; Fulham £0.9m; Norwich City £0.7m; Wigan Athletic £0.66m; Swansea City £0.24m.

Premier League 2011-12Manchester CityTottenham HotspurLiverpoolPremier LeagueBusinessguardian.co.uk