Ange Postecoglou may have looked at last weekend’s results and wondered ‘what if’ as Tottenham Hotspur evidently missed a golden opportunity to launch an assault at the FA Cup.
Ange Postecoglou was very bullish in announcing Tottenham’s trophy ambitions at the start of the season, pointing out that he has always won trophies during his second seasons at his previous clubs.
The Carabao Cup appeared like Spurs’ golden opportunity to fulfil their manager’s promise, but an injury-hit Tottenham side were dumped out of the competition by Liverpool in the semifinals, leaving the Europa League as the only competition they can aspire to win.
However, given the way the FA Cup has panned out, it is clear that Spurs also blew a huge opportunity by being knocked out of the competition.
Tottenham’s missed route to the FA Cup semi-final
Tottenham were eliminated by Aston Villa at Villa Park in the fourth round, with the tie coming just days after the Lilywhites’ harrowing defeat at Anfield in the Carabao Cup.
However, looking at the way the draw of the competition has gone, it is clear that Postecoglou’s men had an easy route to the semifinal if they had beaten Villa.
After overcoming Spurs, Unai Emery’s men beat Cardiff City at home in the fifth round and have now been handed an extremely favourable draw in the quarterfinal, with Preston North End set to be their next opponents.
Tottenham could have easily found their way into a Wembley semifinal by beating two EFL sides if they had somehow managed to muster a win in the Midlands last month.
Draw for the cups has not been favourable for Spurs
One’s chances in cup competitions are hugely influenced by the draw, and it is fair to say that Tottenham have had no luck in that respect this season.
Spurs had to overcome Manchester City in the round of 16 stage of the Carabao Cup and Manchester United in the quarterfinal.
After getting past those, they were handed the mammoth challenge of playing Liverpool in the semifinal with the second leg being at Anfield, which was nearly an impossible task for Postecoglou’s men, given the injuries they had.
Being drawn away at Villa Park in the fifth round is also as tough a draw as Tottenham could have gotten in that stage of the FA Cup as Emery’s men were firing on all cylinders at the time.