Carragher was spot on – Tottenham have been pitiful in knockout stages for years, serial winners couldn’t even crack it

JAMIE CARRAGHER was spot on – Tottenham simply never win big football matches.

They might beat Manchester City for fun and even reach a final once every blue moon – but when silverware is on the line, Spurs are nowhere to be seen.

“There’s a mental block with the club” – Carragher said.

He’s right. This goes back years and is far deeper than Ange Postecoglou and his current flops.

Not even serial winners Jose Mourinho or Antonio Conte could crack it, so what hope does the Aussie boss have?

Managers and players have changed, but the type of abysmal performance we saw at Anfield has been seen time and time again.

ZERO shots on target in a major semi-final? It’s no wonder Tottenham haven’t won a trophy since 2008.

They’ll be waiting another 17 years at this rate.

Carragher said after the 4-0 Anfield surrender: “It was never in doubt. It’s Tottenham!

“When do Tottenham ever win a big game? When do Tottenham ever go and surprise, win against the odds?

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“It’s not just this Spurs team. They never shock you, never do something out of the ordinary.

“Whenever they go into a big game, nobody ever believes they’re going to win.”

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In their slight defence, Tottenham’s injury list is almost unheard of, and even at full strength, they have absolutely no right to rock up at Anfield and win.

But that wasn’t Carragher speaking with his Liverpool hat on, his brutal assessment of Spurs was on the money.

Since lifting the League Cup in 2008, Tottenham have been nothing short of pitiful in knockout football.

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Excluding the miracle of Amsterdam in 2019, when Lucas Moura’s hat-trick against Ajax took Spurs to the Champions League final under Mauricio Pochettino, it’s been atrocious.

Burnley, Sheffield United and Brentford – all outside the Premier League at the time – are the only semi-finals or finals Tottenham have won during that period – in 2009, 2015 and 2021 respectively.

Even then, they needed extra time to beat Burnley despite being 4-1 up from the first leg.

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And tried their best to cock-up the second of those after squandering a 2-0 aggregate lead before Christian Eriksen eventually sent them to Wembley.

Basically, any time Spurs come up against half-decent opposition in a high-pressure knockout game, they lose.

Take out that trio, who they were expected to beat anyway, they’ve lost every other semi-final or final tie in the last 17 YEARS.

That is some going, especially considering Wigan, Portsmouth and Swansea – all currently outside the Prem – have won silverware in that period.

Even Newcastle… yes, Newcastle, are just 90 minutes away from ending their 70-year drought.

How humiliating would that be if the Toon, dubbed serial losers for decades, have won a trophy more recently than Tottenham?

And it’s not like Spurs haven’t had their chances.

For all the stick they get about being trophyless, they’ve had plenty of deep cup runs.

Thursday’s embarrassment at Anfield was just the latest in a painful list for Tottenham, which includes one against Portsmouth, one other against Liverpool, one against City, two against Manchester United and FIVE against Chelsea.

That’s now 11 defeats from a possible 11 against Premier League clubs in semi-finals or finals since 2008.

It’s no wonder no one in the footballing world takes Tottenham seriously.

Somehow, Spurs still have two chances left this season – the FA Cup and Europa League – and therefore could ultimately end their trophy drought very soon.

But if recent history is anything to go by, you can think again.