Irony alert. Only 20 minutes remained of this strange, unpredictable match when at last something normal and predictable happened - Les Ferdinand made a premature departure from the field of play. As Ferdinand looked in some pain as he was carried to the touchline, the immediate thought was that he would have to withdraw from the England squad for the Chile game. Sure enough, yesterday morning it was confirmed that this was the case.

Normally, of course, Ferdinand's replacement would come from the B squad - if there was one - and until the telephonic events of last Wednesday, the leading candidate would have been Christopher Sutton, ironically just a few yards away from where Ferdinand pulled up.

But Sutton is not for England and his remarks yesterday will have killed off any possibility of a reconciliation. "The vibes I'm getting, obviously Glenn Hoddle doesn't rate me," Sutton said. "It was probably naive, but I believed, stupidly, that I had an outside chance of going to the World Cup and, stupidly, of playing in the Chile game.

"I am bitterly disappointed to have made the decision, but I must stand by what I believe. I am not being big-headed, nobody wants to play for their country more than me." Comparing Sutton with Ferdinand on Saturday, it was hard not to have some sympathy for him. Without his trusty sidekick Kevin Gallacher, it appeared Sutton had decided that he would try and do both jobs, and made a useful stab at it. It meant, though, that his main striking role was affected.

However, Spurs did not deserve to win by three goals, even if the midfield authority of David Howells and the immaculate first touch of David Ginola merited the three points on their own. Espen Baardsen made good saves, Stephen Carr headed off his own line and at last, Tottenham looked like a team again.

BLACKBURN: Flowers, Kenna, Sherwood, Hendry, Ripley, Sutton, Wilcox, McKinlay (Bohinen 82), Croft (Dahlin 62), Henchoz, Duff. Subs Not Used: Flitcroft, Broomes, Fettis. Booked: McKinlay.

TOTTENHAM: Baardsen, Howells, Fox, Nielsen (Clemence 67), Ferdinand (Armstrong 70), Carr, Ginola, Vega, Wilson (Brady 71), Campbell, Berti. Subs Not Used: Calderwood, Grodas. Booked: Vega, Nielsen, Carr.

Goals: Berti 37, Armstrong 89, Fox 90.

Referee: G Barber (Pyrford).