YOU wonder whether Mike Dean was born in Burslem in a previous life, or perhaps he was an ageing full-back once humiliated by a young Stanley Matthews.

Something somewhere deep in his psyche, it seems, there are the first signs of a pathological hatred of all things Stoke City.

At least that's the impression forming in this part of the world where, before too long, bad refereeing decisions will soon be described as "taking the Mickey Dean".

Never, not in our worst nightmares, did we ever think anyone could replace the late, lamentable Rob Styles as our refereeing hoodoo.

But along comes Mike Dean to undermine those of us trying to argue the toss for referees and their frequently impossible task.

Having erroneously sent off Andy Wilkinson at Portsmouth last month – and seemingly apologising to Wilkinson before Saturday's game – you'd have thought that only first degree murder would have left Dean waving anything more than his finger at any Stoke player at the weekend.

Not a chance. Dean Whitehead's second yellow card against Spurs on Saturday was on a par with the Wilkinson decision, as Dean once again fired first and asked questions later.

Whatever happened to the common sense notion that a sending-off should be the last resort for any official?

It was a mistimed clatter with Luka Modric, not a cynical foul, an infringement punishable by free-kick, not with Whitehead's second dismissal in 369 senior games.

Stoke have now lost the remains of whatever confidence they still had in Dean, while his bosses will be squirming with embarrassment after being warned loud and clear earlier in the week of this accident waiting to happen.

Another disturbing feature of his performance on Saturday was the theatrical manner with which he later awarded Stoke their penalty after flinging back his right hand to his right shoulder and then melodramatically thrusting his arm towards the spot.

Was this the action of a poser playing to the crowd – or a referee relishing the chance to even up an earlier mistake? Both, probably.

Dean's decision to dismiss Whitehead in the 49th minute may have been influenced by more than mere incompetence, to be fair, after he was frequently hounded from the sidelines during the first 45 minutes by a Spurs bench protesting at almost every Stoke challenge.

Their backroom staff moved as one – a bit like the Ant Hill Mob – but there was no mistaking their ringleader as Joe Jordan, the one-time Stoke manager, who was only one step away from removing his false front teeth and letting his fists do the talking.

At least their antics were providing some distraction during a first half of relatively few genuine assaults on either goal, as the likes of Abdoulaye Faye were firmly holding sway.

Sadly, Faye's renowned strength was found momentarily wanting some 20 seconds into the second half, when Eidur Gudjohnsen, carrying an extra layer or two these days, fended off the Stoke skipper long enough to unleash powerfully after latching on to Peter Crouch's flick over the top.

Whitehead's dismissal moments later appeared to kill the game as a contest, but events then took a curious twist when Spurs duo Benoit Assou-Ekotto and Vedran Corluka began squabbling for some reason on the halfway line and had to be parted by self-appointed peacemaker Ricardo Fuller... yes, Ricardo Fuller.

Stoke gamely took their cue and were level just after the hour when Assou-Ekotto climbed on Dave Kitson as they leapt for a Danny Collins cross, leaving Matthew Etherington to coolly send the keeper one way and the ball another from his 64th-minute penalty.

Kitson's role in the goal was no coincidence in what was arguably his most impressive game ever in a Stoke shirt – certainly his most competitive – as he won headers, made tackles, crossed balls and generally linked the play with frequent certainty and occasional ingenuity against his boyhood club.

If only we could be sure of regular repeats in a Stoke career that just refuses to die.

The only disappointment was seeing the best chances subsequently fall to others, as Fuller spooned over after Danny Higginbotham's sliced volley fell to him in front of goal.

Tottenham's superior quality duly punished such flagrancy in the 77th minute when Assou-Ekotto's left-wing ball was dummied by Gudjohnsen to leave Niko Kranjcar bludgeoning a first-time effort past Thomas Sorensen's futile dive.

Gareth Bale snaked one just the wrong side of the far post, while both Higginbotham and Fuller couldn't quite pull the trigger within sight of the opposite goal.

But the best chance of all fell to Mama Sidibe in stoppage time, when he nipped in between defender and goalkeeper to try to intercept a back header, but he slipped at the vital moment and left the keeper kicking clear as he dived the wrong way.

There seem to be plenty of fans on Sidibe's case at the moment, and harshly so, but on this occasion their bile was being saved for a rather more legitimate target.