Ange Postecoglou’s claim that his job is harder than the Prime Minister’s may have been laced with exaggeration – but his own players did their best to support his case on another chaotic night out with Tottenham’s great entertainers.
Spurs eventually overcame United with a 4-3 win to reach the last four, but that scoreline barely touches the sides of an extraordinary night at Tottenham Hotspur Stadium – or some might say just an ordinary one given their previous form for mayhem.
In the build-up to their Carabao Cup quarter-final against Manchester United, Postecoglou said: “This job is the hardest in any walk of life. How many times does Keir Starmer have an election? I have one every weekend and I either get voted in or out.”
In election terms, Postecoglou was heading for a landslide at 3-0 up after 54 minutes but ended up having to gratefully settle for a narrow majority.
This was after goalkeeper Fraser Forster gifted United two goals, Son Heung-min’s fourth providing some relief in a panic-stricken stadium before Jonny Evans’ third for United restored the tension for the final seconds.
The big ticket in Postecoglou’s manifesto is all-out, full-throttle entertainment – and by that measure he is delivering on every word of his promises.
“Are you not entertained?” he asked after a night that was pure theatre, a mixture of high quality and farce, but also which actually put Spurs in sight of Wembley and still in the running for their first silverware since their 2008 win in this competition.
Entertaining? Most certainly. And the Spurs fans who drifted away looking on the brink of exhaustion will probably agree once blood pressures return to normal levels.
Tottenham pull themselves around – but only after ‘Spursy’ spell
The outstanding Dominic Solanke, proving once more what a fine signing he has been since his £65m arrival from Bournemouth, scored twice with a Dejan Kulusevski goal sandwiched in between to put Spurs in total control.
This being Spurs, however, if something is worth doing it is worth over-doing. And so it proved.
Forster only found Bruno Fernandes with a pass from his goalline, the Manchester United captain setting up substitute Joshua Zirkzee after 63 minutes.
The keeper then made matters worse seven minutes later when hesitation and a poor touch saw him crash a clearance off Amad Diallo into the net.
Cue chaos. Cue the old “Spursy” jibes being dusted off.
The latest sideswipe is the label “Dr. Spurs” – providing a cure for teams who have not won before in the Premier League season, as applied to Crystal Palace and Ipswich Town.
Spurs can make themselves an easy target at times but they are still one of the hottest tickets around when it comes to putting on a show – for good and bad – under Postecoglou.
They eventually pulled themselves around here, leaving Postecoglou still with the chance to fulfil his boast that he always wins a trophy in his second season.
Postecoglou’s commitment to attack and entertainment is laudable and it will be a personal triumph if he finally ends the long wait for Spurs to win a trophy, although they face a tough two-leg semi-final against Liverpool, especially with the second game at Anfield.
‘I know the TV studio is probably having a meltdown over my lack of tactics’
Postecoglu had every right to provide context to Spurs’ current position with 10 first-choice players missing, saying: “We self-inflicted some pain on ourselves, but we ended up getting a fourth and winning the game.
“I still can’t get away from the fact this group of players is doing an unbelievable job. We had 10 players unavailable for one reason and another. We can’t rotate like other clubs. The current situation is incredible.”
Included in that list of key absentees are goalkeeper Guglielmo Vicario, first choice central defenders Cristian Romero and Micky van de Ven, along with full-backs Destiny Udogie and Ben Davies. Postecoglou has even been forced to press 18-year-old Archie Gray into service as an emergency central defender alongside Radu Dragusin.
Postecoglou, with tongue a little in cheek, said: “I know the television studio is probably having a meltdown over my lack of tactics. We’ve got so many absences, centre-halves, kids on the bench. If we get through this period we’re going to get enormous growth out of it.
“I love football and love watching teams that go out to entertain. Obviously we want to be successful and we won’t be if we make things difficult like we did here, but we’re not going out there to try and grind out 1-0 victories.
“We’re trying to keep folks entertained. I can’t see how that’s a bad thing.”
It is not, but is also means Postecoglou walks a fine line, even with his own supporters.
Postecoglou two games away from ‘glorious vindication’
In recent weeks, Postecoglou has faced down the anger of his own fans after the loss at Bournemouth, while serious questions were asked after the 4-3 defeat at home to Chelsea, when Spurs once again showed the same self-destructive streak that almost cost them dear here.
The manager, however, will point out that Manchester City and Manchester United have both been beaten in the Carabao Cup. It has been no easy passage to the last four.
Spurs’ 4-0 Premier League win at Etihad Stadium was one of the results and performances of the season. They were also magnificent in winning 3-0 at Old Trafford and when demolishing Aston Villa 4-1 at home.
It is the other side of the character that begs the questions of whether Postecoglou’s principles can survive the harsh realities the Premier League can inflict.
If Postecoglou ends the barren sequence of silverware at Spurs, it will be a glorious vindication for a manager who lives by the principle that football is an entertainment business and sends his players out to prove it, as he did during his successful two seasons at Celtic.
And such a success will ensure Postecoglou a lengthy term in office in charge of Tottenham Hotspur.