Football: BARCLAYS PREMIERSHIP - IT'S TOTAL FOOTBALL; MAN CITY 0 TOTTENHAM 2 FROM EASTLANDS Jol's English kids continue to look a class collection but Pearce is left feeling the Blues again.

Byline: David MADDOCK

WHILE Tottenham extended their north London bragging rights last night, Manchester City now have only Stockport's plight as local consolation.

A gritty, deserved victory for an impressive Spurs side means they have opened up a six-point gap between themselves and Arsenal, as they chase a Champions League spot.

City enjoy no such giddy heights, their dismal recent run extended to just two wins in their last 10 games, leaving them worst placed of all the many Greater Manchester teams in the Premiership.

For Tottenham, goals in each half from Egyptian striker Mido and his partner Robbie Keane were enough to narrow the gap between themselves and Liverpool in third place above them to a single point.

It also offered more evidence of the rich promise that is fast developing at White Hart Lane. Martin Jol has assembled a young team based largely on home-grown talent that is bursting with promise.

The likes of Michael Carrick, Jermaine Jenas, Michael Dawson, Aaron Lennon and sub Jermain Defoe, as well as the injured Ledley King and Wayne Routledge, could represent an interesting future for England if they are allowed to develop together at the club.

Even without the suspended Edgar Davids, a player who has exerted a large influence over their recent form, you could see the confidence in the Spurs side and, certainly, they were far too crisp in their passing and swift in their movement for a sluggish City side.

Michael Carrick looks to have benefited from the opportunity to view Davids at close range, and he suggested with his control of the tempo of the game for long periods that he could, perhaps, lay a late claim to a holding position within the England midfield.

For City, there were no star performers. Astute observers judge this the worst performance of Stuart Pearce's reign, so no wonder then that the manager was booed not once but twice for his baffling substitutions as his side struggled to assert themselves.

Quite why he chose to replace full-back Nedum Onuoha with another in the leaden David Sommeil when trailing, was one thing, but his decision not to bring on proven scorer Robbie Fowler when a goal was desperately required was certainly another, and the City faithful made clear their displeasure. The decision to bring on Sommeil backfired spectacularly, because the French defender will surely be hauled up before the FA and given a lengthy ban for a disgraceful off-the-ball challenge - somehow missed by the referee - on exciting Spurs full-back Young-Pyo Lee, who was stretchered off.

It was possibly the only setback Spurs suffered all evening though, because they controlled the game and could have scored more, but for some erratic finishing.

Spurs had chances through Carrick, Lennon and Jenas, and the surprise was not that they took the lead on 31 minutes, but merely the manner of the goal.

There seemed little danger when Canadian full-back Paul Stalteri drifted a hopeful pass forward but, as Sylvain Distin stepped over the ball in an attempt to usher it out of play, the only dummy thrown was himself.

He was humiliated to see Lennon charge past him, keep the ball in on the right goalline, and then pull it back for Mido to crash home into an unguarded net as keeper David James was left cruelly exposed.

Spurs' second came six minutes from time when Mido flicked on a long ball and Keane smashed it into the corner.

The simplicity of the strike summed up not only the visitors' almost innocent approach to the game, but the woeful nature of City's defending.

MAN CITY: James, Onuoha (Sommeil 54), Dunne, Distin, Thatcher, Sinclair, Barton, Jihai, Ireland (Croft 70), Cole, Vassell (Wright-Phillips 70).

TOTTENHAM: Robinson, Stalteri, Gardner, Dawson, Lee (Pamarot 74), Lennon (Defoe 84), Carrick, Jenas, Brown, Keane, Mido (Rasiak 89).

51% POSSESSION 49%

1 SHOTS ON TARGET 2

11 SHOTS OFF TARGET 5

6 OFFSIDES 3

12 CORNERS 8

8 FOULS 12

2 YELLOW CARDS 2

0 RED CARDS 0

ATTENDANCE: 40,808

MAN OF THE MATCH: Carrick

CAPTION(S):

WHAT HAVE I DONE: City defender Sylvain Distin holds his head in horror after his mistake allowed Mido to hit the Tottenham opener Pictures: BRADLEY ORMESHER' GIVE HIM A HAND: Mido thanks Aaron Lennon for setting up his goal' JOL: Five wins out of seven