Matthew Chadder

Wed 30 August 2023 14:10, UK

While Tottenham boss Ange Postecoglou might well have started Davinson Sanchez against Fulham to put him in the shop window, that plan backfired miserably as the Colombian had a night to forget.

It is not yet September and Tottenham are already out of one competition, as their early season momentum came crashing down following their elimination from the Carabao Cup via a penalty shoot-out on Tuesday 29 August.

It offered as a painful reminder for those in attendance at Craven Cottage who had made the short trip across London, new season, new manager, new players, new hope – same old Spurs.

While fingers can be pointed in many directions for the defeat, such as at the manager for his weak team selection, Sanchez for his missed penalty or the overall team for their sloppy performance, it makes little difference now.

The underlying fact is that once again, it is the familiar suspects letting the club down and this should act as a wake-up call that these players must be moved on if Tottenham are ever going to progress. Year after year fans see second teams played in cup competitions which is always a baffling decision, as the one thing the club is desperate for, is a trophy.

Each time those second teams let them down, with Sanchez proving that to be true once again. As reported online by French publication L’Equipe (29 August), Rennes had made a £7.7million offer for Sanchez, although, on the same day, Sky Sports News reported in their live transfer centre (5:04 pm) that Spurs had rejected the bid, with the Ligue 1 outfit now deciding whether or not to submit another offer.

And if scouts from Rennes were watching the 27-year-old’s performance on Tuesday evening, they might now be counting their blessings that their bid was rejected. Despite Micky van de Ven being credited with the own goal which put Fulham in front, it speaks volumes that Sanchez was still the defender more at fault.

As the above image shows, he was completely spun initially by Tom Cairney, which allowed the Fulham man to make his way into the box.

He then managed to recover and make his way into the box yet was spun by Cairney again, for the second time in a matter of seconds. This allowed the midfielder to burst toward the byline and make the cross, which was deflected in by van de Ven, who could do nothing about it.

While his penalty shoot-out miss seems cruel to pin on him, as it takes plenty of confidence to step up and take a spot-kick in the first place, it unfortunately just demonstrated once again that he was the root of his side’s downfall on the evening. He never looked confident stepping up to the spot and his effort was very tame.

Throughout the match, he gave possession away nine times, was dribbled past once, and only won one of his three attempted ground duels and one of his three attempted aerial duels, in addition to missing his penalty (Sofascore).

The longer Spurs wait, the more his value decreases and it is time for the club to accept an offer for their defender and cut their losses.

In other Tottenham news, Wenham believes that the club can benefit from spending the season out of Europe.