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Tottenham undroppable sends new Ange Postecoglou message as bizarre Djed Spence call questioned

Djed Spence was a pivotal figure in Tottenham's late win at Coventry City
-Credit: (Image: Pete Norton/Getty Images)


Ange Postecoglou's Tottenham team selection at Coventry City was always going to be a major talking point regardless of the end result. An opportunity to rotate his team and give some of those on the fringes of the first XI an opportunity from the off, the last thing the Australian wanted to do was make too many changes and his team ultimately pay the price in the end.

That is almost what happened at the CBS Arena on Wednesday evening following eight alterations until a late comeback turned the game on its head. Substitutes Djed Spence and Brennan Johnson were the heroes for Tottenham, scoring in the 88th and 92nd minute respectively following Brandon Thomas-Asante's 63rd-minute opener.

Prior to that late double from Tottenham, Coventry were the better team, had created the better opportunities and deservedly held the lead and looked set to take their place in round four. Tottenham, on the other hand, were extremely poor and failed to even get a shot on goal in the first half before things improved slightly after the break.

Tottenham may have advanced on the night but the end result merely papered over the cracks of what was a dire performance for the most part. It was Tottenham's substitutes who helped the team get out of jail as Johnson and Spence spared their blushes.

"Yeah both were really good," said Postecoglou in his post-match press conference. "They made an impact when they came on. Look, it was it wasn't an easy night for us, as I said, credit to Coventry. But, you know, a lot of guys getting first starts, but I really think there's some positives in there with Archie [Gray] and Lucas [Bergvall] and these guys getting some significant game time for us.

"And Djed, and as you said with Brennan, you know I spoke about it yesterday that he comes in, works hard at his game and when you're an attacking player, you're always kind of getting measured against certain things. I said, if he can get through this period and just be positive and and play like he can, he can be a significant contributor to us and credit to him. He got a good goal tonight."

READ MORE: Next stage of Tottenham transfer blueprint clear for Ange Postecoglou after Coventry example

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Spence's contribution was a timely reminder of just what he can offer Tottenham in the months ahead after forcing his way back into Postecoglou's plans this season. In his first appearance since it was revealed that he had unfortunately missed out on Spurs' Europa League squad, the 24-year-old was in the right position to stab home Dejan Kulusevski's pass to restore parity.

It was great play from the Swede as he held the ball up, swivelled and then played in Spence, who got what he deserved for making a smart move into the area from his left-back berth. Spence did replace Destiny Udogie at the break and Postecoglou revealed after the game that it was always the plan to give both players 45 minutes.

Tottenham's No.24 was a rare bright spot on an otherwise dismal night for the club despite their late comeback and it is a crying shame and rather bizarre that he cannot get more game time in Europe after his omission from the 25-man squad. Looking to attack at every opportunity to help his team back into the game, the 24-year-old also contributed defensively with Coventry causing the Lilywhites some real problems in the second half as they went close to adding to Thomas-Asante's goal on a couple of occasions.

One player who was pivotal to Tottenham's comeback was Kulusevski. Replacing the injured Timo Werner in the 74th minute and immediately going up front, the Swede almost restored parity not long before the equaliser as Ben Wilson saved expertly low down from his powerful drive after some persistent play from Spence to tee him up.

Kulusevski was involved in the equaliser in the 88th minute after a lovely bit of play released Spence to level things up. James Maddison, who also came on in the closing stages as Spurs chased an equaliser, also had a key role to play in Spence's strike after a smart ball with the outside of his right foot between two Coventry players picked out Kulusevski, who in turn then played through Tottenham's left-back to finish off the move.

On his return to his former home after coming through Coventry's academy, Maddison delivered a lively display and showed what he can do in the final third with a bit of invention to fashion the chance for Kulusevski and Spence to team up and get Spurs back into the contest. As he has been over the course of the season so far, Kulusevski was once again an influential figure for Tottenham in those central positions and they may well have exited the Carabao Cup at the first time of asking if it wasn't for his purposeful cameo off the bench.

On the eve of the visit to the CBS Arena, Postecoglou had hailed his player and revealed that he sees a huge upside to the ex-Parma loanee.

"I look at our attacking midfield players, I think there’s massive upside in [Dejan] Kulusevski," stated the 59-year-old. "I’m seeing more and more growth in him in that attacking midfield role. I definitely think there is capacity to improve there in that area, for sure, 100 per cent."

Tottenham's brightest player so far from their opening five games of the 2024/25 term, Kulusevski could turn out to be a major figure in Tottenham's season if he continues to grow in his attacking midfield role and reaches new levels altogether. Very much surviving a scare at Coventry on Wednesday evening thanks to the contributions from the substitutes, all connected with Spurs will be hoping that their late rally in the West Midlands sparks their season into life after such a mixed start so far.

As bad as Tottenham's performance was for the most part, the most important thing is that they are in the hat for the fourth round of the cup as they finally look to end their barren run without silverware. One thing for certain is that they are going to have to improve drastically from the next round onwards if their dream is to become a reality.

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