New Sunderland striker Cisse buries the Tottenham softies

Tottenham 1 Sunderland 2

In an age of uncertainty, Tottenham Hotspur can be relied upon to provide one of the traditional comforts of Merrie England, to make you feel instantly at home on your return from holiday to the football season.

Come the time when season-ticket renewal notices go out, names like Ronaldinho and Andrei Arshavin are bandied about as transfer targets, and they even overpay for a few neat, if not exactly explosive, talents like Luka Modric and David Bentley.

Heading to victory: Cisse heads the Sunderland winner.

A few weeks later, off go the likes of Robbie Keane to Liverpool, with Dimitar Berbatov - left out yesterday - likely to follow, to Manchester United any day now.

Then, no matter the manager in charge and how big the turnover of players in and out, they go up to the north-east on opening day and lose, to be followed by defeat in their home opener, this time by Sunderland, who inflicted a first-day reverse at the Stadium of Light last season.

There is just something amiss at the heart of the club's culture and mentality. While they frequently entertain, they flatter to deceive, too.

Now they are in danger of making what is becoming an annual play for the title of early-season crisis club.

For Martin Jol, read Juande Ramos. Next Sunday, they take on Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Don't look now. Ramos's decision to leave out Berbatov was understandable given how his presence could have been distracting and riled supporters, but so powder-puff were Spurs that the Bulgarian below par might still have made a difference.

After Kieran Richardson gave Sunderland the lead, Jermaine Jenas equalised only for Djibril Cisse to come off the bench, after just one training session and having been cleared to play only on Friday night, and pinch a winner to start on a high note his season-long loan from Marseille.

'He gives us options,' said Sunderland manager Roy Keane, basking in an away win at the first time of asking this year after waiting until April last time around. 'And it's good to look over your shoulder at the bench and see the options.

'Our character has never been in doubt but we needed a bit more help and quality, players who are a bit more streetwise. We've got that now.'

Getting shirty: Kieran Richardson celebrates his goal.

Spurs need to resolve the Berbatov situation and secure a swift replacement. Darren Bent struggled to link play and behind him, Bentley imposed himself only fitfully in the role he dreamt of when watching his hero Dennis Bergkamp while at Arsenal. More defined focal points, and goals, are required.

'It's not good to lose two games in a row,' was Ramos's post-match lament. It was delivered in his native Spanish to leave you wondering how long his commitment might be.

While there was clearly talent on view, and Tottenham commendably sought to play with fluency, when it came to end-product, not enough materialised. Sunderland, indeed, came closest in the first half when Spurs old boy Steed Malbranque thumped a low shot against Heurelho Gomes's right post. The powerful shooting of El-Hadji Diouf also threatened.

The natives grew restless but Spurs quelled them momentarily at the start of the second half when Gareth Bale rose to meet Bentley's corner only to head over the bar.

It was - in a phrase with which Tottenham fans are only too familiar - a false dawn. Andy Reid, his left foot returning to haunt his former club, sent in a cross from the left that was only half-cleared by King and Jenas was robbed by Richardson, who took a couple of strides forward and unleashed a fierce 25-yarder past Gomes.

Ramos's response was to bring on £4million signing from Barcelona, Giovani Dos Santos, and Tom Huddlestone, adding bite to ambition.

Bentley fizzed in a free-kick that Craig Gordon could not hold and Jonathan Woodgate stabbed the rebound wide. Bentley then sent Bent clear for a shot which Gordon turned into the side-netting.

The equaliser arrived when Modric, for once determined to hurt Sunderland rather than just pass the ball in front of their back four, drove into the penalty area and got in a shot that Gordon could not hold, Jenas on hand to tap in the rebound.

Now they would surely go on to grab a winner. Instead it came at the other end.

Darryl Murphy put in a cross from the left and Cisse stole in between Woodgate and King to plant a strong downward header past Gomes with the bone of his brow.

Spurs in turmoil? Ah, the rituals of summer and early season.