Tottenham Hotspur suffered their first setback of the Ange Postecoglou era. On Tuesday night they went out of the Carabao Cup on penalties away at Fulham after a 1-1 draw led the tie straight into a shootout.
Tottenham Hotspur selection scrutiny
Spurs have had a good start to the new era under the Aussie manager, and he would’ve liked that to continue in this competition, especially as the club has been starved of silverware in recent times. He will come under scrutiny for his selection as he made nine changes from the team that won 2-0 at Bournemouth this past weekend.
Most top-flight teams rest and rotate their teams in the early stages of this particular Cup, but with a realistic approach, you would think that targeting this or the FA Cup as potential areas they could thrive, it was a puzzle as to why so many changes were made. Their opponents Fulham made five changes from the weekend.
There was a bright spot though as Richarlison bagged the Spurs goal, as he looked to calm the critics. This wasn’t enough though and they were taken to the lottery of the shootout which they lost 5-3, Davinson Sanchez missing the critical kick.
“We weren’t at our fluent best, particularly early on which was not surprising considering the amount of changes I made. We lacked cohesion and fluency, but I liked the way we hung in there. There are many different ways to grow as a team and we showed some real character.” A downbeat Postecoglou said postmatch. “It is my priority (the cups) but there is no European football so how am I going to find out about our players? What opportunity would I have to do that other than the game?” he added in defence of his selection.
Lack of depth
Exiting this competition at the first hurdle will not go down with many fans as it will be viewed as an opportunity wasted, but others have also said that going out early could be a blessing as there are fewer games now to navigate. For a team that needs to win trophies, this will though be a disappointing result. It also proves that the squad depth is not where it should be and maybe before the Friday transfer window closes they need to dive in and strengthen. One area could be helped if they secure the signature of Brennan Johnson from Nottingham Forest.