Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs were knocked out in round two of the Carabao Cup on Tuesday, one of two cup competitions the club is involved in after failing to qualify for Europe. It has now been over 15 years since Tottenham triumphed against Chelsea in the League Cup in 2008, but what is the reason for the extended wait for a major honour?
Photo by Clive Rose/Getty Images
Tottenham have been particularly unsuccessful since Daniel Levy was announced chairman in 2001 and has been the longest serving Premier League chairman. Spurs are not a club who dominate periods of time like Liverpool, Manchester United and Manchester City have, but a drought as large as 15 years is not acceptable for the size of club which Spurs are.
The argument that Daniel Levy lacked ambition in the key years of success is absolutely valid. Maurico Pochettino’s Spurs were in touching distance of success but were not supported in transfer windows. It is undoubtedly tough to compete with clubs such as Chelsea, who have spent over a billion since Todd Boehly’s consortium took over the club, while Manchester City are owned by Sheikh Mansour and the oil riches of Abu Dhabi. Eventually, Daniel Levy must know that large amounts of investment are necessary to keep Tottenham competing near the top of the table, so must invest or depart.
However, the entire blame cannot be placed on the ownership. Tottenham’s previous coaches have seen Spurs knocked out due to poor management of cup competitions. Though these are individual errors, games such as most recently against Fulham tell a story of trusting players who are not good enough to see Tottenham through to the later stages of the competition. Ange Postecoglou starting the likes of Davinson Sanchez, Fraser Forster and Oliver Skipp who do not have the quality required to get past a Premier League side.
The players have clearly lacked desire in the past, additionally. Tottenham have embarrassingly exited cup competitions in the past, where particularly a lead has been blown away. The players do not seem to understand the drought and how desperate fans are to see trophies and success at the club, even if it comes at a cost.
The recent League Cup loss encapsulates the effort taken to win a trophy, which is remarkably low, but the hope is that Ange Postecoglou realises the importance of silverware and takes the FA Cup more seriously in January, especially as fixture congestion is not an issue for Spurs this season.
The tireless wait for a trophy is growing into great frustration for Spurs fans, and if true effort is shown from the top of the club to the players, Spurs can start challenging and adding to the trophy cabinet, as not one person is to blame for the everlasting drought, the entire club is.
Comments