Cheer up, people – British Summer Time is on the way and the clocks go forward later this month.
In UEFA time zones, presumably they will be adjusting watches by an hour and 10 minutes after another Champions League tie in London was delayed by the capital's ever-worsening traffic. Just as Borussia Dortmund pitched up late for their 2-0 defeat at Chelsea because snails could move faster than their team bus on the way to Stamford Bridge, Tottenham and AC Milan's coaches were gridlocked in the north London thrombosis.
For Antonio Conte, back at the wheel after his medical timeout, a fraught journey to the biggest game of Tottenham's season was not the episode of On The Buses he would have chosen.
And what dear old Stan Butler and Olive Rudge would have made of all the cycle lanes, ultra-low emission zones and congestion charges boggles the mind. The 10-minute delay, after Milan's executive chariot arrived five minutes outside UEFA's deadline - teams are required to be on the premises at least an hour before scheduled kick-off – disrupted Spurs more than the Italians.
This Milan side may not be dripping with great names from San Siro's golden years – Franco Baresi, Paolo Maldini, Marco van Basten, Ruud Gullit – but they are nobody's slouches. To make the 1-0 deficit from the first leg seem less mountainous, Conte's side needed a fast start. But like their bus marooned in the tailbacks, for 45 minutes they didn't get out of first gear.
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Whether they were unnerved by Cristian Romero - who was eventually given his marching orders - and Clement Lenglet's yellow cards in first 20 minutes, or Junior Messias shovelling a yawning chance wide for Milan, Spurs were barely lukewarm when they needed to be running hot. Conte never favoured the kitchen sink where the tiptoeing through the trenches was an option, but Tottenham's lack of urgency was baffling.
Harry Kane – just one goal in seven previous Champions League appearances this season – foraged deeper than a mineshaft for scraps of meaningful possession. As the crowd's anxiety increased, and the clock ran down, Tottenham were left to pin their hopes on that old adage about two buses coming at once – if they could make it through the traffic.
