Facing daunting run, Spurs’ cup exits no longer look so bad
Tottenham face a daunting run of matches over the next month. Mauricio Pochettino’s disdain for domestic cups may be about to pay dividends.
On Sunday, Tottenham host Leicester, the Premier League’s current giant-killing experts. Claude Puel’s side have beaten Manchester City and Chelsea already this season, took two points off Liverpool and deserved better than 1-0 defeat against Manchester United in their last match. An injury-riddled Spurs squad will have to step up, and not only because the Foxes are likely to face a sterner test than Newcastle.
After the Leicester match, Spurs face Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League round of 16, Burnley, Chelsea, Arsenal and Dortmund again, all in the span of 23 days. That’s a game just under every four days.
For Spurs to hope to close the current five-point gap to co-leaders Liverpool and Manchester City, they’ll need a strong push during those four difficult games — not to mention wanting a Champions League run.
The furore surrounding Mauricio Pochettino’s recent comments about winning trophies has faded after two dramatic wins in a row, but they’re worth revisiting ahead of the club’s hardest stretch of the season so far.
After Tottenham were knocked out of the FA Cup by Crystal Palace last month, their second domestic cup exit in a week, Pochettino caused a stir by playing down the importance of trophies and insisting “the most important thing for Tottenham right now is to always be in the top four.”
The comments were not, on the whole, well received, not least because of their similarities to Arsene Wenger’s refrain during his difficult latter years at Arsenal. But Pochettino is in a very different situation to Wenger, and he’s justified in prioritizing the Premier and Champions League above the domestic cups.
The two bigger prizes — the Premier League and Champions League — start to create congestion at this point of the season. Pair that with the two domestic cups, and there becomes a lot of matches in a short period of time, and depth isn’t Spurs’ strong suit at the moment.
Had Spurs won both cup matches, there would be two additional matches in their current run of games. The Burnley match would have to have been rescheduled, causing the congestion to extend later in the season.
A slew of injuries has left Spurs’ lineup decimated in recent weeks. Competing in four competitions would only weaken the squad. So for Tottenham’s current situation, focusing on a respectable finish for the top two prizes is understandable. Stretching the squad too thin could lead to slip-ups.
Both Liverpool and Manchester City have shown vulnerability recently. Liverpool have their own injury crisis, and City are playing in four competitions. Spurs still have a chance to sneak up on the leaders.
On the other side, Manchester United have earned 22 points in eight matches since Ole Gunnar Solskjaer took the helm, better than any other Premier League side, and sit in fifth. Nine points behind Spurs, United could catch up should Tottenham hit any rough patches.
Falling out of the top four could be catastrophic.
For some teams, a series of consistent top four finishes can build to a title run. Liverpool’s title challenge this season, for example, has come off the back of two consecutive top four finishes and a deep run in Europe. Meanwhile, they’ve been largely disappointing in the domestic cups.
Since Pochettino took over, Tottenham have finished fifth, third, second and third, and currently sit in third. That’s three top four finishes in four full seasons, second only to Manchester City in that time.
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Despite the consistency instilled by Pochettino, however, Tottenham have yet to win a trophy in his four-and-half-year tenure. While trophies haven’t come, stability has, and that could be more valuable to a team like Spurs who don’t have the money their big rivals do. Finishing in a top four spot means more money and more exposure, not for just signing players (or building stadiums), but keeping them.
Christian Eriksen, Harry Kane, Dele Alli, Toby Alderweireld, et al, would be difficult to replace, and without the ambition for Champions League or a Premier League title, Spurs would likely wave goodbye to several superstars. Those players likely aren’t sticking around for a chance at an EFL Cup. They want a shot at the league, and at a Champions League final.
Should Pochettino stick around for another season at Tottenham, it might be time to shed the underdog epithet, and push to compete as a team that can challenge for all four trophies available. That’s assuming they keep the big stars and make a few signings, never a safe assumption when dealing with Spurs.