Tottenham are regarded as one of the most consistent teams in the Premier League in recent times but we have no trophies to show for it. Despite finishing in the top spots of the English top-flight quite regularly, our failure to win silverware is proving to be rather cumbersome.
We had a golden opportunity to win the FA Cup this season but that went in vain as well. Playing Manchester United can seem like a daunting task but we had to face them at our temporary home, Wembley, which did fill most of us with hope.
Furthermore, United have been rather inconsistent this season and yet they managed to edge two goals past us and advance to the final.
That was a disappointing performance from the lads, to be very honest. While most of our players came under the fire for lacklustre displays, Mauricio Pochettino’s tactics also seemed a tad bit questionable.
He chose to deploy Michel Vorm in goal, leaving club captain and first-choice keeper Hugo Lloris on the bench. Vorm might have played most FA Cup matches for us this season but a match of such gravity called for Lloris between the sticks.
The decision proved to be a costly one. Vorm failed to stop the decisive Ander Herrera goal which sealed the victory for United. However, our gaffer seemed to remain unaffected by all this as he chose to justify his selection in the post-match press conference (h/t ESPN).
“For me, it’s not about the names or who is going to play. It’s about the team. Last season we play the semi-final and we lost 4-2 to Chelsea with Hugo, or the final of the league cup and we lost 2-0,” Pochettino said.
Speaking on the Vorm fiasco, the Argentine manager said:
“Today we lost 2-1 to Manchester United and we should have won. For me it is about the team. Michel Vorm today deserved to play and I am so happy because I thought he was good. It is not about one players or 11 players or playing a different 11 players. I think it’s not like this.
“I am happy with the performance and the effort, it was an even game, in my head a little bit more for us. We were close but not enough to win,” concluded Pochettino.
Be that as it may, success in the footballing world is measured with trophies. Call it unfair or whatever you want but it is the simple rule of thumb and if we fail to lay our hands on silverware anytime soon, we could lose our status as one of the Premier League’s top contenders.
