"What can you do? The keeper has had an unbelievable day and will never play like that again in his life. They were miraculous saves, five or six incredible, world-class saves. They played six minutes of stoppage-time at the end of the game, four in the first half. The referee needs to book players quicker, that's the way to deal with it. It makes it difficult. They are in a difficult position, scrapping for points and Phil will go home happy but it's not for me."

Harry Redknapp's remarks after the scoreless draw with Hull are a pretty fair summation of what was, all in all, a tremendously frustrating afternoon at the Lane. This is the third hugely disappointing result at home against markedly inferior teams, following one-nil defeats at the hands of Stoke and Wolves.

At least those scorelines indicate that the opposition had one shot on target, which is more than Hull could muster over 100 minutes. The phrase "parking the bus" was never more apposite and the sooner Hull are on a bus back to the Championship where they belong, the better for anyone who is a fan of football. It would be interesting to know if Nicky Barmby's booking for time wasting inside the first half-hour is some sort of Premier League record, but it was indicative of his team’s tactics on the day, which also included feigned injuries, niggley fouls and a total lack of ambition in front of goal.

Had Spurs achieved the expected wins against Hull, Stoke and Wolves, they would now be very much in contention at the top of the table with "the big three" - "the big four" being a concept clearly now consigned to history, for this season at least. Instead, partly as a result of dropped points by those around them, Spurs now top a group of clubs competing for the fourth Champions League place. Admittedly this is not such a bad position to be in, but with Premier League fixtures against Liverpool, Fulham, Birmingham and Villa to be played over the next couple of weeks or so - along with an FA Cup tie with Leeds - maintaining this top four spot by no means looks certain.

Hopefully Aaron Lennon will be coming back from injury and hopefully Keane will be returned to the bench where he belongs - before hopefully being sold to Celtic. His latest start was followed inevitably by his substitution. It was unfortunate that the rebounds from good efforts by Palacios and Modric fell to him (although it would have to be said that his strike partner Defoe was hardly at his best). The latter of those two rebounds presented Keane with a very acceptable chance, which he somehow managed to drive into the outstanding Myhill’s face. Instinct immediately kicked in, with Keane raising his arms in appeal, a sight that occurs with tedious regularity whenever he is on the field.

Appealing for what is the question - the blindingly obvious corner kick? Divine intervention? Or for the ground to open up and swallow him? The only logical explanation for Keane’s inclusion in the starting line-up is that a) he must play occasionally if he is in the shop window or b) that Peter Crouch was being a given a rest before the meeting with his former employers in midweek. One thing is for sure, the prospect of facing that other former Liverpool striker, Robbie Keane, is unlikely to strike fear into the hearts of the Anfield faithful.