Ange Postecoglou had a message for the pundits who criticised his tactical nous, asking: “Are you not entertained?”
Tottenham progressed to the semi-finals of the Carabao Cup as they beat Manchester United 4-3 in an epic tie in north London, but that result doesn’t begin to tell the tale of a mad contest.
Despite being 3-0 up, two costly errors that came from Spurs playing out from the back via veteran goalkeeper Fraser Forster allowed Man United back into the game through goals by Joshua Zirkzee and Amad Diallo.
Spurs managed to get themselves over the line and Postecoglou was in a chipper mood as he addressed criticism over his tactical approach.
Speaking to Sky Sports, Postecoglou said: “Obviously we made it harder than it should have been – we were well in control and playing really well.
“Obviously the first mistake affected Fraze (Fraser Forster) and then the second came as a result of that and we had to scramble a little bit but showed some character at the end and got a fourth and are through to the semis.”
Asked about the moments when Spurs were on top, Postecoglou smiled: “I liked the whole thing – are you not entertained?
“Come on, what do you want a scrambled 1-0? I’m sure the studio is going into meltdown about my lack of tactics but I love that we go out there and take it to our opposition even though we’ve got so many absences.
“Goalkeepers, both centre halves, left-backs, we’ve got kids on the bench and yet these boys are maintaining their principles about who we want to be.
“If we get through this period I think we’ll get enormous growth out of it.
“I really liked the way we played tonight – obviously those two mistakes kind of taint the overall result and it’s happened this year before and it doesn’t help us to gain traction in terms of our consistency but in terms of the mentality of the boys, I love it.”
While Postecoglou was happy with his team’s performance, Jamie Carragher and Jamie Redknapp weren’t as convinced by his team’s performance, criticising their lack of football intelligence.
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Carragher said: “They never change how they play, no matter what the game state is.
“I don’t think that football should be played the same from minute one to minute 90.
“When it’s gone 3-1 and the stadium know and you know what you’ve been through in terms of having leads, you don’t give the ball back to the goalkeeper and make them nervous.
“He makes another poor mistake but I think Ange Postecoglou tells them that whether it’s the first minute or the 90 minute, whether they’re winning or losing, they play the same way and I can’t have that. It’s not right.”
After saying that Spurs committed ‘football ‘suicide’, Redknapp added: “He’s absolutely right and I think about Yves Bissouma because you’ve got to take the steam out of the situation.
“There’s a theme now – not just in senior football but in academies – where you pass the ball back to make the pitch big.
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“The goal’s that way so why are you even doing that and putting yourself under pressure?
“The crowd are already edgy because you were 2-0 up against Brighton and lost 3-2, you were 2-0 up against Chelsea and lost 4-2 so why are you doing that?
“I would say to Bissouma that it’s ill-discipline and I thought tonight he was really good but just say, ‘let’s all calm down and put the ball up the other end of the pitch.”
Reflecting on The Sports Bar, Jamie O’Hara wasn’t impressed either, saying: “I was fuming mate. Because listen, we got away with that.
“I don’t care what anyone says right. We battered Man United really. Freeing it up, see the game out, thanks for coming. We sit here and we slaughter Man United right.
“And they got things wrong tonight massively. But when it goes 3-1 and you’re watching them and you’re going, why are we still pressing?”
“Why are we still trying to win balls in the other half of the pitch? Why are we playing out from the back? Why don’t you just go long? And why don’t we just see it through? In-game management, see a game out, 3-1, thanks for coming into the semi-final. We’ve ended up winning 4-3. We’re freeing it up.
“Freeing it up. The game finishes 4-3. Like come on, what is going on, seriously?”
Spurs will face Liverpool for a spot in the Carabao Cup final. The other tie sees Arsenal take on Newcastle.
The semi-final ties will take place over two legs across the week commencing January 6 and the week commencing February 3.