JAMIE CARRAGHER has pinpointed the moment Ange Postecoglou’s entire Tottenham reign changed for the worse – and reckons Chelsea are to blame.
Spurs were marmalised by rampant Liverpool in the second leg of their Carabao Cup semi-final, losing 4-0 on the night having won the first leg 1-0.
Jamie Carragher has pinpointed the moment Ange Postecoglou’s Spurs reign began to sour[/caption]
Tottenham were battered 4-0 by Liverpool to crash out of yet another cup competition[/caption]
Cody Gakpo levelled the tie in the first half before Mohamed Salah gave the Reds an aggregate lead.
Dominik Szoboszlai and Virgil van Dijk both netted late goals to smear salt in Spurs’ immense wound.
The result compounded what has been a miserable season for Tottenham – who sit 14th in the Premier League.
And former Reds ace Carragher reckons he’s pinpointed the moment Postecoglou‘s fortunes changed – the 4-1 defeat at home to London rivals Chelsea in November 2023.
Speaking on Sky Sports after the game, Carragher said: “They’ve lost 20 in their last 45 games, since. That’s an awful lot.
“Going back to that Chelsea game at home from last season, since then their record is horrendous.
“It’s not just a case of injuries right now, which I do sympathise with and playing 18 year old…
“I’d like to see him given till the end of the season, but I think we’ve got to be careful talking about the injuries of the last two, three months.
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“This form has been a problem since last season.”
And former Liverpool star Carragher was hardly surprised by the Anfield demolition job, adding: “It’s Tottenham!
“When do Tottenham ever win a big game? When do Tottenham ever go and surprise, win against the odds?
“The odds were massively in favour against Liverpool, they’re at Anfield, they’re the best team in the country, possibly the best team in Europe right now.
“But it’s not just this Spurs team. They never shock you, never do something out of the ordinary.”
But Carragher wasn’t the only Sky Sports pundit to tear into Spurs.
Jamie Redknapp said: ” It was fun watching Tottenham for a while.
“But there’s the old saying: ‘When the fun stops, stop.’”
Redknapp – appearing to place the blame on boss Postecoglou – continued: “I cannot remember a team in my lifetime go down with less of a fight with what Spurs did today.
“Not having one shot on target in the semi-final of a second leg when you’re trying to change the course of your history?
“I feel sorry for those players… there’s been some lows – Palace, Ipswich and Everton this season.
“But when you look at that today, the scoreline? Just horrendous.”
Another former Spurs ace, Michael Dawson, was equally critical, ranting: “That was a low, low night for Spurs.
“It was always going to be backs against the wall but they didn’t show any character in possession, out of possession and they didn’t show any desire to keep the ball out of the back of the net.
“To come here and get beat 4-0 without any fight and without a shot on target, it’s a damaging performance.”
Tottenham’s top 10 biggest signings: Hit or miss?
1) Tanguy Ndombele – £52.7m
Ndombele joined from Lyon in 2019 with huge expectations after shattering Tottenham’s transfer record.
But he would go on to play just 91 times for the club, scoring 10 goals and is now set to leave one year before the end of his contract.
2) Richarlison – £49.3m
Richarlison almost broke the £50m mark when he arrived from Everton in 2022 as Harry Kane’s back-up.
And while his tally of 12 goals this season was a significant increase on the three from his opening Spurs campaign, he is being linked with a departure this summer.
3) Brennan Johnson – £46.8m
Johnson was signed by Ange Postecoglou last summer and has impressed in patches during his first season in North London.
He scored five goals and 10 assists in 38 games and will look to build on that in the 2024/25 campaign.
4) Cristian Romero – £44.2m
Romero initially joined on loan from Atalanta in 2021, before his impressive displays saw him secure a permanent deal the following year.
He is two games shy of 100 for Spurs and, while he can be reckless with his tackling at times, is beginning to form a promising partnership with Micky van de Ven.
5) James Maddison – £39.4m
Maddison was handed Kane’s No10 shirt after arriving at Spurs and hit the ground running with three goals and five assists in his opening 11 matches.
But after getting injured against Chelsea in October, he failed to return with the same sharpness – managing just five goal contributions in 15 league matches as he missed out on England’s final 26-man squad for the Euros.
6) Davinson Sanchez – £35.7m
Sanchez joined Spurs from Ajax in 2017 and played more than 200 games across a six-year spell.
But he was always considered a somewhat erratic defender who did not play more than 20 games in a Premier League season from 2020 onwards.
7) Pedro Porro – £34m
Porro was another signing who originally arrived on loan in January 2023, before he signed permanently last summer.
He has 54 appearances for Spurs under his belt, scoring seven goals and impressing under Postecoglou this season.
8) Micky van de Ven – £34m
Rapid Dutch centre-back Van de Ven was named Spurs Player of the Season in his first campaign at the club.
His pace, athleticism, and technical ability on the ball have made him arguably Postecoglou’s best signing to date.
9) Moussa Sissoko – £29.8m
Sissoko came to North London for a substantial fee after being relegated with Newcastle and went on to enjoy five years at Tottenham, playing more than 200 games.
Unfortunately for the French midfielder, he is best-known for giving away a controversial penalty for handball in the first minute of Spurs’ 2-0 Champions League final defeat to Liverpool in 2019.
10) Giovani Lo Celso – £27.2m
Lo Celso joined on loan from Real Betis in 2019 – a deal that was made permanent the following season.
He has 10 goals and eight assists in 108 games, with some Spurs fans still unsure about the Argentine.
