Why Tottenham's Carling Cup clash with Manchester United tonight could mean everything to their season - Martin Lipton's Big Lunchtime Read

By Martin Lipton in Laptop with Martin Lipton

Published 11:16 01/12/09

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Carling Cup quarter-finals do not, as a rule, tell you that much.

But at Old Trafford tonight, we may well discover whether Spurs under Harry Redknapp are going to be a real side - or just going through the motions again.

While Redknapp will make changes, with Peter Crouch, Jermaine Jenas and Gareth Bale likely to start, his team will be far more recognisable than Sir Alex Ferguson's.

Forget the name of the opponent and the famous shirts; just look at the personnel filling them and seek to deny that United should be, home advantage notwithstanding, a team there for the taking - as they were against Besiktas a week ago.

Too often though, Tottenham have proven themselves too scared of winning, of showing the character and cast of mind that separates the wheat from the chaff, to seal the deal.

Look at the results so far this season.

Ignore the home defeat by Stoke - on any other day, with so many chances and such domination, they would have won by three - and focus on the three other teams to have beaten Redknapp's side.

United, Chelsea, Arsenal. And what do they have in common? All of them inculcate an inferiority complex that runs through the spine of the Tottenham team and fans alike.

Admittedly, United gave arguably their most compelling and convincing display of the season at White Hart Lane back in August, on an afternoon where, for an hour or so, Spurs would have beaten probably every other team in the league.

But against Chelsea and Arsenal, the 3-0 margins did not flatter Redknapp's men, who ended up getting exactly what they deserved.

It is not without reason that Spurs have not won at Old Trafford since 1988, when, incredibly, they did it twice in a week, a 3-0 League Cup triumph before Gary Lineker curled the only goal of the game into the top corner from 25 yards.

There have been chances since, no question, even in  the last four or five years.

There was the Pedro Mendes "goal" that the whole of Old Trafford apart from Mark Clattenburg and his officials spotted, the 1-0 defeat two years later when Tottenham hit the woodwork twice and were denied at least one penalty, and of course last term's game in April, two up and cruising before Howard Webb saw Heurelho Gomes take the ball off Michael Carrick's toes and then awarded a penalty.

But the capitulation which followed that spot kick was symptomatic of the innate lack of belief that casts a collective shadow over Tottenham whenever they have the chance of beating United.

Tonight, unquestionably, represents a massive opportunity to change that, to show that the talk about Spurs as genuine top four contenders is based on more than just wishful thinking.

What Redknapp needs is for Crouch to prove he really wants it, for Jenas and Wilson Palacios to demonstrate they will impose their will in midfield in a hostile environment, and not roll over, for Michael Dawson and Sebastien Basson to stand firm.

Do that, go put and play with composure and conviction, win a game they have the players to win even in United's own territory, and the doubts over Spurs' credibility will continue to disappear.

Redknapp feels his players are on the cusp of that move from wannabes to genuine contenders, if not for the biggest prize, at least for a seat on the High Table.

Results so far, and the goals they are capable of scoring with Defoe,Keane, Crouch, Lennon, Krancjar and soon the returning Luka Modric at his disposal, tell you why, especially with Gomes a different keeper to the flap-happy flop of 12 months ago and four proper centre-halves to choose from.  

But swallow it again, show the customary lack of  conviction and belief, and the feeling that Tottenham remain flaky under pressure and scrutiny will grow yet further, encouraging their rivals and making a change in that culture of under-achievement  increasingly difficult to reconcile with the reality.

What happens tonight will have no direct relevance to the rest of the season.

It is a one-off cup tie, in the least important competition, against what will be a United shadow side.

That, though, is exactly why Tottenham need to win, to prove they have the mentality required to still be there where it matters at the business end of the season, to illustrate the feeling that there is substance to the claims being made on their behalf.

Two weeks ago, Redknapp sat next to Ferguson at the LMA's 1000 Club dinner on Park Lane, an evening of mutual backslapping and enjoyment, in which the Spurs boss joined in the tributes to the Godfather of the English game.

Tonight, though, represents Redknapp's opportunity to make the Spurs fans an offer they cannot refuse, an offer of a team that can start to be genuine and serious, realistic contenders ready to make the next step forward.

It is just a Carling Cup quarter-final. But it is about sending out a message of intent. Or the foretaste of eventual surrender.

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