Winning the Europa League can help change the 'Spursy' narrative

An abysmal domestic campaign and a mounting injury list do not bode well for Tottenham, but with three wins over Manchester United already this season, is the 17-year wait for a trophy set to end?

Tottenham Hotspur's Dominic Solanke, centre, will be key to the club's chances of ending a 17-year wait for a trophy. PA

"Spursy" – a derogatory term that is now shorthand to describe Tottenham Hotspur's wildly inconsistent form, an ability to have success in reach but ultimately throw it away, and put their supporters through hell on a regular basis.

Perhaps the best example of Spurs being "Spursy" came in 2016. In a two-horse race with Leicester City for the Premier League title, they somehow managed to finish third, behind Leicester and, worst of all, Arsenal, their bitter North London rivals and arguably the club to whom the "Spursy" myth can best be traced back.

Another tale often told to burnish the backstory stems from a game against Manchester United, coincidentally Tottenham's opponents in Wednesday's Europa League final. In 2001, United trailed Tottenham 3-0 in a game at White Hart Lane. United's legendary manager, Sir Alex Ferguson, famously told his players during a half-time team talk: "Come on lads, it’s Tottenham." The Red Devils would go on to win 5-3.

Tottenham last won silverware in 2008, when Jonathan Woodgate bundled the ball over the line in extra time to secure an all-too-rare win over Chelsea. The lesser-spotted League Cup, only the fourth in the club's history, headed to White Hart Lane.

The 2-1 victory ended Spurs' nine-year wait for a trophy. The gap before that 1999 League Cup success was eight years, a Des Walker own goal in the 1991 FA Cup final deciding that Wembley showpiece, better remembered for Paul Gascoigne losing his head and scything down Gary Charles, which resulted in the Tottenham player wrecking his knee in what turned out to be his last game for the club.

Spurs' current trophy drought stretches to 17 years. There have been opportunities to end the hoodoo: a Uefa Champions League final over before it had even got started, in 2019, League Cup final defeats, in 2009, 2015 and 2021.

That 2009 defeat came at the hands of United. The game was decided by penalties after neither team could break the deadlock following 90 minutes of regulation and 30 minutes of extra time. United scored all four of theirs; only Vedran Corluka converted for Spurs.

That was the only time the two clubs had met in a major final until now. Since then, United have contested 13 finals, winning seven and losing six, a win ratio of 53.8 per cent.

Spurs have lost all three finals they have featured in since the 2009 League Cup final. That bleak statistic is somewhat skewed, though, when looking at the two clubs' overall record.

If we ignore the Community Shield, Spurs have played in 24 major finals and won 15 (62.5 per cent). United have played in far more (47) but lost 20, a win ratio of 57.4 per cent.

It's hard to remember a time when the outcome of one match had so much riding on it for both teams. United and Spurs have endured abysmal seasons domestically. It makes a mockery of Uefa's second-tier club competition that its final is being contested by the clubs 16th and 17th in their own league, safe from relegation by dint that there are three teams even worse than them.

Winning the Europa League will offer some shine, but scarcely paper over the cracks. Tottenham need to win a trophy to get that monkey off their back, United need it to convince themselves that they still belong on the big stage, with the carrot of Uefa Champions League qualification on offer for the winner.

For Spurs boss Ange Postecoglou and United counterpart Ruben Amorim, winning the Europa League could be the difference between remaining in a job or looking for new employers over the summer.

Spurs have faced United three times already this season and won them all. Winning a fourth time, especially given a crippling injury list that has robbed them of James Maddison, Dejan Kulusevski, Lucas Bergval and, potentially, Pape Matar Sarr, statistically at least, seems improbable. Doing so might just go some way to reversing the "Spursy" narrative.

This article was amended to show that Tottenham won the League Cup in 1999. A previous version stated it had been 17 years between winning the FA Cup in 1991 and the League Cup in 2008 without winning a trophy.