Ever wondered how General Custer felt at the Battle of Little Bighorn as he waited for reinforcements which never came to the Seventh Cavalry’s aid? Ange Postecoglou knows all about the abject despair as Tottenham’s casualties pile high and an horrific end becomes increasingly inevitable.
A run of terrible results has seen Spurs tumble down the Premier League table with defeats at Everton and home to Leicester leaving them on the fringes of the relegation zone with a difficult trip to Brentford up next at the weekend.
That’s followed by a Carabao Cup semi-final, second leg at Liverpool and the FA Cup fourth-round tie at Aston Villa and, in the current state of affairs, it is difficult to see them winning any of those matches.
Before all that is the final outing in the Europa League group phase with Swedish club Elfsborg visiting N17 on Thursday night and the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will become even more toxic if the hosts fail to win.
Ange’s cause is not helped by James Maddison becoming the latest to join an overcrowded treatment room which has left overworked and exhausted players such as Son Heung-min, Dejan Kulusevski and Pedro Porro playing below their best.
Spurs must rely on inexperienced teenagers Archie Gray, Lucas Bergvall, Mikey Moore and – in the likely absence of injured Richarlison and Dominic Solanke – Will Lankshear against Elfsborg and although each of them appear to have the brightest of futures, the weight of responsibility under such intense scrutiny is a huge burden to bear.
It begs the question why Daniel Levy and Tottenham’s board have not brought in significant new signings this month to strengthen a threadbare squad, especially as they were named the third most profitable sports team in the world by CBS Sports in November – only behind NFL powerhouses the New England Patriots and Dallas Cowboys and just ahead of the NBA’s New York Knicks.
Maybe acquiring that wealth means forgoing success on the pitch as the other clubs at the top of the rich list have also failed to win silverware in recent years, although that’s another story for another day.
Spurs are in the strange position of continuing to back struggling Postecoglou as their manager and yet failing to support him with new recruits aside from goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky.
The only other new January signings are the Rolling Stones, who will play four nights at the entertainment venue, er, football stadium in the summer.
Anyway, even if Tottenham limp over the line it won’t be by much and the best bet is Elfsborg +2 goals at 29/20 with BetMGM.
• Since Ruben Amorim called his team perhaps the worst in Manchester United’s history they have beaten Rangers and Fulham, both by a single goal. Fourth in the Europa League group standings, they play the final match in the league phase at FCSB in Bucharest, who are eighth, and may have to settle for a point at 3/1 across the board. Bet365 go Amad Diallo at 6/1 to break the deadlock and 11/5 to score at any time.
• Ireland only have two home matches in this year’s Six Nations but, crucially, they are against England and France, their two toughest opponents in the quest for a three-peat. Back Andy Farrell’s team to be champions once again at 15/8 with Ladbrokes, Coral and Sky Bet, 7/2 across the board for the Grand Slam and 6/4 with Paddy Power, Betfair and Sky Bet to win the Triple Crown. Go each-way at 12/1 with Betfair for their Leinster wing James Lowe to be the top tryscorer and they are evens with bet365 to win Saturday’s opener with England in Dublin by seven points in the handicap market.
• World No.1 Scottie Scheffler returns to action for the first time since cutting a hand on a broken wine glass at Christmas when he tees-off in the AT&T Pebble Beach Pro-Am. Scheff is 5/1 with BETMGM and SpreadEx to win at Torrey Pines and will benefit from there being no cut. However, there’s better value to be had with each-way flutters with bet365 on Ludvig Aberg at 18/1, Hideki Matsuyama at 20/1, 40/1 chance Taylor Pendrith and Mark Hubbard at 100/1 to finish in the top eight.