Tottenham Hotspur saw off a resilient Southampton side 3-2 in the fourth round FA Cup replay, and while the result was impressive, some of the post-game comments were eye-opening. Spurs and England playmaker Dele Alli said that his side “deserve a trophy” and that “it had been a long time coming”. While the midfielder may have also suggested nobody would give it to them, the sense of entitlement that this side deserves a trophy is slightly concerning considering they were 14th in the Premier League after 12 games when Mauricio Pochettino was sacked and Jose Mourinho consequently appointed.
The most recent trophy which Tottenham lifted was the 2008 League Cup, though they came agonisingly close to ending their drought last season after reaching the Champions League final only to lose to Liverpool. While Alli’s sentiment is correct that this Spurs side have a good enough squad to challenge for silverware and they have come close in the past, also finishing second in the Premier League in 2016, any trophy they do eventually win will have to be earned. The mentality of assuming you deserve silverware could lead to complacency and see the wait continue in the capital.
Although Spurs have had a reasonably successful recent period, they have not been prolific with regards to accumulating trophies throughout the Premier League era, also winning another League Cup in 1998/99. There was a nine-year gap between their past two successes, so the current wait has not been anything out of the ordinary. However, the main concern could be that their current side is vastly superior to the past two cup winning squads, who both finished 11th, meanwhile Mourinho’s team has finished in the top four for the past four seasons running.
Tottenham could be considered slightly unfortunate not to have won more silverware over the past five years after Pochettino built a side capable of finishing as runner up in both the Premier League and Champions League. However, they would be wrong to assume they deserve a trophy, and that attitude could see the 12-year wait extended within the realms of north London.
