Inside Futbol

Tottenham Hotspur’s first half performance against Coventry City in the EFL Cup has been dubbed ’embarrassing’ by a former Spurs star.

Ange Postecoglou’s men are in cup action away at Coventry as they look to plot a route through to the next round and bounce back after a derby defeat against Arsenal.

Spurs ended the first 45 minutes at the Coventry Building Society Arena locked at 0-0 with the hosts.

They bossed possession, enjoying over 70 per cent of the ball, but had not a single shot at the opposition goal.

Former Tottenham star Jamie O’Hara took to X to react and wrote: “No shots in 45 minutes embarrassing really ain’t it, jeez.”

While Tottenham did not register a shot, Coventry had four efforts at goal, with two on target.

Spurs boss Postecoglou has piled pressure on himself by vowing to deliver a piece of silverware for the club this season.

The EFL Cup is considered to be one of the most likely silverware targets for the north London club.

Fixture: Coventry City vs Tottenham Hotspur

Competition: EFL Cup

Kick-off: 20:00 UK time

Tottenham Hotspur have announced their team and substitutes to take on Championship side Coventry City in the EFL Cup this evening.

Spurs were beaten by Arsenal in the north London derby at the weekend and there is pressure to respond.

Ange Postecoglou has created extra pressure by insisting he always wins trophies in his second seasons at clubs, something which means there is now more riding on the EFL Cup.

Coventry currently sit in 14th spot in the Championship and head into the cup tie on the back of a 1-1 draw at Watford.

Spurs have Fraser Forster in goal tonight, while in defence Postecoglou goes with Archie Gray, Radu Dragusin, Ben Davies and Destiny Udogie.

The Tottenham boss looks towards a midfield of Rodrigo Bentancur, Pape Matar Sarr and Lucas Bergvall, while Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner support Dominic Solanke.

If Postecoglou needs to shake things up he has options on the bench to call for and they include Pedro Porro and James Maddison.

Tottenham Hotspur Team vs Coventry City

Forster, Gray, Dragusin, Davies, Udogie, Bentancur, Sarr, Bergvall, Odobert, Solanke, Werner

Substitutes: Vicario, Spence, Porro, Reguilon, Moore, Maddison, Kulusevski, Johnson, Son

Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou has indicated he could unleash three of his top talents on Coventry City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday.

Postecoglou has put extra pressure on himself by insisting he always wins a trophy in his second season in charge of clubs.

That has led to a real focus on what side the Australian might put out against Coventry, with the EFL Cup considered a possible trophy target for Tottenham.

Postecoglou has young talents Mikey Moore, Archie Gray and Lucas Bergvall as his disposal and indicated he could unleash them on Coventry.

“You can see them. Yes, they might even be on the pitch mate. Yes, they’re ready to play and we’re keen to get them some game time”, he told a press conference.

“That’s why we brought them to the club.

“They’re training really well and the games haven’t gone the way we wanted in terms of giving them some more exposure but we always knew that this is the period where it starts.

“Not just between now and the next international break but post that, probably until the end of January we’re going to have a really busy schedule and they’re going to play a big part in that.”

Spurs splashed out a monster £40m to sign Gray from Leeds United, while they notably beat Barcelona to the signature of Swedish midfielder Bergvall.

Coventry impressed with their run in the FA Cup last season and are primed to try and spring a surprise on Tottenham at home on Wednesday evening.

Former Premier League striker Chris Sutton believes that the final ball of one of Tottenham Hotspur’s attacking players ‘is awful’.

Ange Postecoglou was looking for his attackers to make having the lion’s share of the possession against Arsenal count on Sunday, but they could not hit the back of the net as the Gunners won 1-0.

The Spurs boss threw on a number of substitutes in an effort to change the game, with two attackers in the shape of Wilson Odobert and Timo Werner introduced.

Sutton believes that in the case of Werner it is clear what he brings to the table, but it is also clear where he falls down.

The former striker feels that the German’s final ball is just not good enough, despite his honest and committed displays.

“Then in truth you bring on Timo Werner and you sort of know what you’re going to get from him”, Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club.

“He’s honest, he’s quick, his final ball is awful on most occasions and I think that is where they maybe have fallen down a little bit.”

Sutton also stressed that Tottenham’s Heung-Min Son has also not yet hit the heights needed.

“Son hasn’t started the season as well as everybody expected”, he said.

Tottenham are in action next away at Coventry City in the EFL Cup on Wednesday night, while their next league assignment is a visit from Brentford.

Chris Sutton has dubbed one of Tottenham Hotspur’s signings from last summer, who cost a big £47.5m, a ‘massive disappointment’.

Spurs are currently reflecting on a damaging loss to rivals Arsenal on Sunday that has left them with just four points from their opening four Premier League games.

Ange Postecoglou has shrugged off the criticism and promised he will win a trophy for Spurs this season.

There is scrutiny about a number of Spurs stars though and what they have been contributing and Sutton has passed judgement on attacker Brennan Johnson.

Tottenham forked out a massive £47.5m to sign Johnson from Nottingham Forest last summer and Sutton believes he has been a big disappointment.

“I think Brennan Johnson has been a massive disappointment since he’s gone to Tottenham”, Sutton said on BBC Radio 5 live’s Monday Night Club.

“I don’t actually think he is a real creator.”

Johnson was brought off at the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium against Arsenal, with summer arrival Wilson Odobert thrown into the fray by Postecoglou.

Ange Postecoglou can live up to his Tottenham Hotspur silverware promise, former top flight star Andy Gray believes.

Spurs have not had the start in the Premier League they wanted as they have managed only one win from their first four matches.

They hosted their biggest rivals Arsenal at home on Sunday and lost the match 1-0 despite the visitors missing two of their key midfielders.

Postecoglou, though, after the defeat stressed that he always wins a trophy in his second season at a club and Gray feels that there is no reason why the Australian cannot live up to that vow.

“There is no reason why they can’t think that, there is no reason why they shouldn’t believe that they can win the Carabao Cup or the FA Cup”, Gray said on beIN SPORTS about Spurs winning a trophy this term.

“There is no reason why they can’t win one of those, while still progressing as a club and as a group.”

He also feels that if Postecoglou wins one of the two domestic cup competitions this season, he will be praised as he would do something Spurs have struggled to do.

“And if you are a Tottenham manager, if you could just break that glass ceiling that seems to be around the club right now, that they can’t win something.

“If he is to win the FA Cup, if he is to win the Carabao Cup, that would give him great kudos.”

Postecoglou will be determined to progress in the EFL Cup as Spurs face Championship outfit Coventry City in the third round of the competition on Wednesday night.

Former midfielder Kevin Nolan has reminded Tottenham Hotspur boss Ange Postecoglou that he is not in the Scottish Premiership with Celtic anymore but is manager of a Premier League team.

Tottenham appointed Postecoglou as their boss last summer, tempting him south of the border from Celtic, where he enjoyed huge success in Scottish football.

Spurs have had a slow start to the ongoing campaign and at the weekend, suffered a 1-0 defeat at the hands of their north London rivals Arsenal.

Tottenham’s performance against Arsenal has drawn criticism from several former players and Nolan pointed out that Spurs do not have the squad to take on Mikel Arteta’s side.

The former midfielder believes that Spurs performed poorly against Arsenal and issued a wake-up call to Postecoglou, stating that he is in the Premier League now, not in Scotland, Australia or Japan.

“I don’t think they have the squad to be better than Arsenal at this moment in time”, Nolan said on BBC Radio 5 live.

“It’s the Premier League, not the Scottish league – you’re not in Australia or Japan now.

“It will be interesting to see what happens because it was very poor from Tottenham.

“I expected more due to Arsenal’s vulnerabilities.”

Tottenham are currently sitting 13th in the league table with only one win from their four league games and all eyes will be on Postecoglou to see whether he can turn their season around.

Former Premier League midfielder Nigel Reo-Coker feels that Tottenham Hotspur do not have an alternative plan and other teams have decrypted their style of play.

Spurs have made a difficult start to their Premier League campaign as they have rescued only four points from their four opening matches and suffered a crushing defeat against arch-rivals Arsenal on Sunday.

Ange Postecoglou and his coaching team are under massive pressure early on in the campaign, but Reo-Coker stressed that he was impressed with Postecoglou’s style of play last season.

The former Aston Villa and West Ham midfielder feels that even though Spurs play an attractive brand of football they do not have other approaches to adapt to situations.

He also labelled them as completely lacking in balance.

“Last season I was massively impressed and thought we could see a change happening there. But Tottenham completely lack balance”, Reo-Coker said on BBC Radio 5 live about the north London side.

“Yes, their football is entertaining but there is no plan B.”

The 40-year-old believes that other teams have worked out Tottenham’s playing style, but Spurs are still insisting on their brand of football.

“Teams have worked them out, yet they still continue to play the same way with the same style.”

Postecoglou’s side will be taking on Coventry City on Wednesday in the EFL Cup and they are back in the league against Brentford on Saturday.

They will look to get back to winning ways after suffering back-to-back losses against Newcastle United and Arsenal.

Dean Ashton believes that Tottenham Hotspur do buy players who are not the finished article and that shows where they are as a club compared to rivals Arsenal.

Tottenham had a bitter pill to swallow on Sunday afternoon when Arsenal visited and came away with a 1-0 win in a Premier League clash.

Spurs had the lion’s share of possession and even had more shots on goal than their rivals, but could not break through and walked away empty handed, with Gabriel scoring the winner for Arsenal.

While Arsenal are expected to be challenging for the Premier League title this season, Tottenham’s ambitions are limited to fighting for the top four.

Ex-top flight striker Ashton feels that Tottenham do simply have players who need to improve and are not the finished product, unlike Arsenal.

He thinks that is where they are as a club at the moment.

“Tottenham do buy players that still can improve, that still need work and are maybe more of an investment”, Ashton said on talkSPORT’s Sunday Session post match.

“That is where they are as a club and that must be really difficult for the Tottenham fans to see when Arsenal come to town and are more of a rounded side that have got better players and they struggle to compete.”

Ashton also stressed he would understand any Spurs fans that left before the end.

“If a couple of Tottenham fans left towards the end of the game it wouldn’t surprise me.

“There was no way they were going to score”, he added.

Spurs notably signed Archie Gray, Wilson Odobert and Dominic Solanke in the summer, while Arsenal landed Riccardo Calafiori and Mikel Merino.

Dean Ashton has pointed to what surprised him most about Tottenham Hotspur during their 1-0 defeat at the hands of Arsenal on Sunday.

Spurs were hoping to put an early dent in Arsenal’s title ambitions in the Premier League clash on home turf, but endured a frustrating afternoon.

Five Tottenham players were booked in a fiercely contested north London derby, but Gabriel scored the only goal of the game for the visitors, from a set piece.

Ex-Premier League striker Ashton admits that he was surprised by how Tottenham responded to going behind.

Ashton stressed that after Arsenal went ahead, Heung-Min Son looked disinterested, James Maddison was unable to do anything and Spurs almost left their striker Dominic Solanke to his own devices.

Ashton said on talkSPORT’s Sunday Session: “The one thing that really surprised me was, after the goal, the response.

“Son looking very disinterested, Maddison not being able to get into the game.

“Nobody at all supporting Solanke. They just said we’ll leave you to it, to two of the best centre-backs in the division.

“That is the biggest question for me, the reaction of the Tottenham players and manager after the goal.”

Tottenham had the lion’s share of possession, having the ball over 60 per cent of the time, while they also had more shots and more shots on target than Arsenal managed.