Tottenham Hotspur were condemned to their fifth defeat in seven games in all competitions on Thursday night by a ruthless Liverpool side who romped to a 4-1 aggregate win to cement their place in the Carabao Cup final.
Ange Postecoglou's side have struggled for consistency both on and off the pitch this season with poor results following an unbelievable string of injury issues to some of the club's most important first-team players.
Despite this, the Australian manager has himself come under fire for his supposed lack of flexibility in the face of adversity, seemingly refusing to deviate from his principles despite the side's recent struggles adding further to the downturn in results and performances.
Tottenham Hotspur come under increasing pressure
The North London outfit took a one-goal lead to Anfield ahead of Thursday's semi-final clash against the Premier League leaders, with it came a genuine belief that Tottenham could even end their almost 17-year trophy drought having seen Arsenal bow out the previous evening.
However, the Lilywhites crumbled at Anfield, producing just 0.19 xG as Arne Slot's side ran rampant, leading to even more questions about how exactly Postecoglou can turn things around.
Speaking after the game, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Carragher unleashed a fierce critique of the current state of the club, drawing unflattering comparisons to League Two club Accrington Stanley, who were put to the sword by Liverpool in early January.
“I am not saying this to make a headline," said Carragher in his analysis of the game. "I think Accrington Stanley, Liverpool didn’t have their best team, but they gave more trouble to Liverpool than Tottenham tonight.
"He later added: “He’s (Postecoglou) a manager who is just trying to find something and what he’s trying is not working. But this is not just this run. This goes back to last season. I think they’ve lost 20 out of the last 45 games. It’s an awful lot.
"We’re talking almost 50 per cent of the Premier League games he’s lost going back. This is not just this season. Tottenham had such a brilliant start to his first season – top of the league after 10 games. He continued to go with the idea even with nine men – since then the record is horrendous for Tottenham.”
Tottenham currently sit 14th in the league, propelled by their 2-0 win away to Brentford over the weekend, which saw them alleviate murmurings of a genuine relegation battle in the weeks prior.
However, with the injury list seemingly ever-growing, Postecoglou appears to have his work cut out if he is to avoid getting dragged back into the mix with fixtures against Manchester City, Bournemouth, Fulham and Chelsea all rapidly approaching.
