Superpavhaspackedhisbags

.....andnowhesgonetorussia

It seems Pav’s departure has been on the cards for almost every transfer window since he joined the club, but now it’s finally happened. The striker’s a bit of a footballing Devon Malcolm – managers and teammates alike must wonder how to get him wound up so we can all see more of his undoubted talent and considerable finishing skills. Accordingly, the moody Russian has always been a player who divides opinion. Some, myself included, have been frustrated that a striker with a powerful physique and a good shot with either foot doesn’t put himself about more or hold the ball up effectively. Others admire him purely for being an accomplished, unashamed goalscorer – get him the ball and he’ll do the rest. Whichever side of the debate you’re on, you’ve got to say that Pav has had some crucial moments in a lilywhite shirt. In fact, the more I think about it, the more of those moments there are. Here are a super seven of his most important contributions.

Liverpool – 1 Nov 2008

We were still bottom of the league when unbeaten, top-of-the-table Liverpool came to visit. On form alone, a thorough kicking should have ensued. Indeed, that was exactly what came to pass. The visitors scored early on and proceeded to pepper our goal for the majority of the game, hitting the woodwork three times and forcing Gomes into a series of outstanding saves. The only way we were going to score was if a Liverpool player inexplicably put the ball into his own net. Which is exactly what happened. And then in stoppage time, with the rain lashing down, Pav popped up to tuck away Darren Bent’s cut-back from close range, and we’d won the game. At long last, we were off the bottom – and the nightmare was slowly but surely coming to an end.

Burnley – 31 Jan 2009

Not even Spurs could surrender a 4-1 first leg lead against a Championship side in a Carling Cup semi-final. Could we? Of course we damn well could. Sure enough, a position of utter comfort gradually unravelled into chaos. 4-1 became 4-4 and we were losing on away goals. As we entered the dying embers of extra time, it suddenly dawned on me that we were heading out. This was actually happening. With just over a minute to go, Pav converted Beni’s low cross to put us ahead on aggregate and Defoe got another one immediately to finish Burnley off.

West Ham – 11 Apr 2009

We weren’t entirely safe from the drop when we took on West Ham in a tight derby. Pav had endured a particularly frustrating few weeks, being largely reduced to substitute appearances. Harry must have lit a fire under the bench because when the Russian came on in this one, he was mean. He was angry. Far from content to stand up front and give the ball away, he was chasing, harrying, even bullying the centre backs. He was a new Pav. Receiving a pass from Modric, Roman turned the burly James Collins and fired in from an angle to put West Ham to bed, along with any lingering fears about relegation. This contribution was particularly notable for the performance the striker put in – one of assertiveness and aggression that we very rarely saw from him.

Wigan – 21 Feb 2010

We only had one win so far in 2010 when we travelled up to Wigan for the kind of away game we’ve traditionally struggled with. A bog of a pitch made coherent football nigh on impossible, yet we led thanks to Defoe’s offside goal (nice when it goes the other way from time to time.) Already in a rich vein of form, Pav entered the fray as a second half substitute and grabbed two goals in the last six minutes to secure a crucial away win that lifted us back into 4^th place, reigniting our challenge for Champions League qualification.

Young Boys – 17 Aug 2010

There’s a fine line between love and hate. I realised that as the dream of Champions League football very quickly turned into a nightmare 3-0 deficit against one of the supposed minnows. I suddenly hated Spurs. I hated them for being scared of astroturf, for apparently making it into the top four just so that the humiliation of our exit would be all the more acute. It would be a humiliation in front of the whole of Europe, one to rival Lasagnegate. I could sense all the trigger-fingers on the send buttons. The air was swelling with an avalanche of abusive emails about how Spurs were thrashed by Young Boys. Bassong’s header gave us hope, but even a 3-1 deficit looked a daunting one. With only seven minutes to go, Pav, who all night had the ball bouncing off him like it was on the end of a piece of elastic, suddenly went from dumps to trumps. Dummying a ball on the edge of the box, he swivelled away from his marker to latch onto Keane’s flick and lash a shot inside the near post from absolutely nothing. Two away goals gave us a real chance. The importance of Pav’s goal might have been disguised by our 4-0 win in the second leg, but it’s a lot easier to play your football when you only need to get one goal, not two.

Inter Milan – 2 Dec 2010

We were well on the way to putting European Champions Inter Milan to the sword when an Eto’o goal turned a comfortable lead into a nervous one. At 2-1 and with Inter suddenly able to mount some pressure, we were in for a torrid last couple of minutes. That was until Bale embarked on another surging run down the left, roasting Lucio and the hapless Maicon, before swinging over another inch-perfect cross for Pav to finish it off with yet another late goal. People rightly remember the game for Bale’s performance – one that arguably surpassed even his hat-trick in the San Siro – but it takes two to make a great cross. With that goal, Pav became an important part of one of the great European nights at White Hart Lane.

Birmingham – 22 May 2011

We’d already thrown away the top four when relegation-threatened Birmingham visited on the final day. Now we had to equal or better Liverpool’s result to even make Europe. We managed it thanks to two blinding strikes from Pav: the first a sublime curler from 25 yards and the second a rocket in off the underside of the bar with virtually the last kick of the season.