It was an A for effort but Tottenham Hotspur won’t be winning the FA Cup this season.
Spurs were dumped out of the competition by Everton at Goodison Park last night, slipping to a 5-4 defeat after extra time following a stunning and pulsating 90 minutes.
That defeat, coupled with the fact that they’re eighth in the Premier League table, means this really isn’t proving to be a very good domestic season for a Tottenham side that were actually top of the thing less than two months ago.
However, Jose Mourinho’s side are only four points behind fourth-placed Liverpool – who have played one game more – and Craig Burley has told ESPN that the Portuguese coach is probably secretly happy with the defeat because it gives him one more reason to focus on masterminding a charge into the top four.
He said: “In some ways, it [the defeat] could please him [Mourinho]. With Kane coming back a little quicker than we thought, there’s less games for him to occupy his mind in terms of trying to get into the top four. With Kane, there’s a smidgen of a chance. Without him, forget it – absolutely forget it – but with him they have a chance of getting into the top four. And if Mourinho can achieve that it’ll be worthwhile dropping into these competitions.
You can see Burley’s point but really, Tottenham fans won’t be happy with going out – not one bit.
This is a fanbase who haven’t won anything since 2008 and although they’re in the final of a League Cup against Manchester City in April, it isn’t a competition big enough to satisfy the hunger on that part of North London.
Winning the Carabao Cup and securing Champions League qualification is a very decent season. Winning it and finishing outside the top four would’ve been considered a poor season before a ball was kicked.
And failing on both fronts might land Mourinho is serious, serious trouble during the summer.
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