Spurs reax

Sam Wallace, The Independent

Robinho was the worst offender in a poor City performance but he was by no means the only one. Emmanuel Adebayor blasted his only decent chance over the bar in the closing stages of the game and he failed to make a tackle when he had a chance to stop Tottenham's third goal. Kolo Touré was at the centre of a City defence that no one would describe as commanding.

This was a godforsaken City performance and Hughes knew it. The City manager twitched and gesticulated, but the uncomfortable truth was that the superstars of this £200m team Hughes has assembled are letting their manager down. In the last 10 league games they have only won once and that is not what the oilmen of Abu Dhabi had in mind come Christmas.

Russell Kempson, The Times

Hughes’s star players did not perform, with Robinho, the Brazil forward, looking totally out of sorts. It was a blessing in disguise when he was substituted in the second half, disappearing straight down the tunnel — presumably to keep warm rather than sulk. He did not look that concerned about being replaced.

Kevin McCarra, The Guardian

Whatever the flaws, there had been an intent to Tottenham's work that was not echoed by the visitors. The blandness of City appeared to increase. They were in a familiar 4-2-3-1 system, but the lone centre-forward, Adebayor, was isolated. The visitors sorely missed Bellamy's readiness to go haring into the attack with clear intent.

Jeremy Wilson, Telegraph

Lennon is blossoming as a right winger of genuine international class and, with the 35 year-old Sylvinho deputising for Wayne Bridge at left-back, it was clear that Tottenham were determined to exploit City’s obvious weakness. In fairness, Sylvinho does still possess a sharp footballing brain and sound positioning sense but, on the occasions he was caught one-on-one with Lennon, there was only one winner.

Ivan Spenk, Daily Mail

One victory in 10 Premier League encounters, albeit against Chelsea, is not the kind of return City's Abu Dhabi owners would have anticipated when they financed the club's astonishing spending spree. Especially when so much of that money has been blown on strikers.