Here are the main talking points following Tottenham's Carabao Cup exit at the hands of Fulham after a 5-3 penalty shootout defeat at Craven Cottage on Tuesday evening
A missed opportunity
Ange Postecoglou and his Tottenham team will now have to wait until the turn of the year to play cup football once again after falling at the first hurdle of this season's Carabao Cup. Exiting the competition at the first time of asking for the second year on the trot, it was a huge missed opportunity for Spurs with the trophy presenting the club with a real shot of winning silverware in a season where they have no European football to contend with.
Admitting after Saturday's win at Bournemouth that he would make changes to his Spurs team, very few would have predicted that Postecoglou would make wholesale alterations. Micky van de Ven and Richarlison were the only two players to keep their place in the team from the victory on the south coast as a total of nine changes were made.
The Dutchman was rather unfortunate to put the ball through his own net but it was all too easy for Tom Cairney as he twisted Davinson Sanchez inside and out before his low ball found the net via Van de Ven's heel. Also going close on a couple of occasions through Rodrigo Muniz, at the other end Tottenham didn't lay a glove on the Cottagers until a few minutes before half-time when they started to get a foothold in the game and Richarlison saw his effort blocked by Tim Ream.
An extremely disappointing first half from a Tottenham perspective going on their very promising start to the Premier League term, the number of changes certainly had an impact on their performance with the fluency just not there due to the players barely playing alongside each other this season as they have been on the periphery of the team.
Clearly with the words of Postecoglou ringing in their ears at the break, Spurs were much better in the second half and restored parity 11 minutes later as Richarlison nodded home Ivan Perisic's delightful cross for his first of the campaign. Seeing a lot of the ball after that and unlucky not to go ahead courtesy of Manor Solomon's curling effort, Fulham had chances of their own late in the game to send Tottenham packing.
Bobby De Cordova-Reid, Harry Wilson and Raul Jimenez couldn't apply the finishing touch though and the game went to penalties. Sanchez, who had a disappointing evening after his recent good showings, was unfortunately the villain with his penalty miss giving Kenny Tete the opportunity to send Fulham through to round three. It was an opportunity he didn't pass up.
The right-back's penalty duly brought an end to Tottenham's Carabao Cup campaign and it has only added to the club's recent cup frustrations in the process. Postecoglou's team selection was very much a big talking point beforehand and it certainly dominated talk after the game.
"We thought they'd be able to bring a different energy tonight, and that doesn't mean the cup or any game isn't our priority. From my perspective, we're very much at the discovery stage so we need to find out and give the players the opportunity to contribute. Because that's why they're here - they're not just here to make up the numbers. They keep working hard and deserved the opportunity to go out and play tonight."
Had Postecoglou only made a handful of changes and kept players such as Cristian Romero, Yves Bissouma, James Maddison and Son Heung-min in his starting XI rather than giving them a rest, we could well be talking about Spurs' passage through to the third round. That is not the case, however, with another early cup elimination unfortunately dominating the headlines from a Tottenham perspective.
While of course it is understandable that the new head coach wants to take a closer look at his players and give them an opportunity after impressing on the training pitch, Spurs, in a year when the club have no European football, should have been going all out to end their trophy hoodoo. Now it's about putting things right and getting three points at Burnley on Saturday.
Unlucky Lo Celso
Needing to find a way back into the contest after such a disappointing first half, Postecoglou made one change at the break. Despite having the likes of Bissouma, Son and Maddison to call upon, the Australian sprung a surprise by introducing Dane Scarlett.
Excelling for the team in pre-season but so far seeing limited minutes come his way in the Premier League, the cup game at Fulham was viewed as the perfect opportunity for the Argentina international to make his case to his boss. Not exactly seeing as much of the ball as he would have liked with Fulham on top, the 27-year-old was doing all he could when in possession to get Spurs ticking in the final third.
Accurate with 25 of his 29 passes, the former PSG star also made five passes into the final third and he was the man who teed up Richarlison for his blocked effort. Lo Celso will have felt extremely hard done by to make way and now he just needs to make a real statement the next time he is given pitch time by Postecoglou, ideally at Burnley on Saturday afternoon.
"Yeah I thought he was bright when he came on," he told football.london. "He has been really good for us in training, he's working really hard.
"Look, I'll sit down with Dane over the next couple of days and sort of chart a way forward for him. I really think he's definitely got a future at our club and I really like his attributes as a striker.
"It's always a balance with young players, will they get enough game time because the next stage of their development is to play. He played a fair few games last year and I think he's improved as a player since then.
"I'll make that decision over the next couple of days and sit down with him, but I certainly see him as a Tottenham player and a lot of that will depend on what else happens over the next two or three days."
A weight off Richarlison's shoulders
Cutting a frustrated figure in Tottenham's previous three games with a lack of chances on goal coming his way, it was very much more of the same for Richarlison in the first half at Craven Cottage. Seeing very little of the ball with Fulham taking the game to Spurs, it was just before half-time when the ex-Everton man had his first sight of goal but his effort was blocked by Ream.
He did appear to pick up a knock not long after his goal and was replaced in the closing stages as Postecoglou added Son and Kulusevski to his attack. Just needing that goal to spark his season into life, his equaliser against Fulham will hopefully be the start of a purple patch in front of goal both before and after the first international break of the season.
His strike came against his former Everton manager Marco Silva, who hailed him when speaking to the media after the game.
"It is life, it is life but he is a top guy, a top professional," he said when asked about his former player scoring against his team. "I know and Richarlison knows as well how he has been working so, so hard to achieve and reach what he already reach in his football career.
"Of course all strikers they need goals. A striker that is replacing a player like Harry Kane probably needs to score quick to start to be more confident as well but Richarlison is already the number nine of the national team. It is not a bad national team I have to say, the Brazil national team is not so bad! And he is the number nine for them.
"He is a hard worker, a top quality player and I wish the best for him in the future - every time he doesn't play against me, for sure."
Three huge days
Prior to Saturday's Premier League encounter against Burnley, Postecoglou, Daniel Levy and the football club face three huge days before the summer transfer window closes for business. Before the clock strikes 11pm on Friday evening, Tottenham need to finalise a number of incomings and outgoings to give the head coach his ideal squad to work with before the market reopens again in January.
Outgoings are imperative for Tottenham over the next 72 hours as they bid to cut down on a bloated squad. Djed Spence will drop back down to the Championship with a loan move to Leeds set to come to fruition, while Japhet Tanganga could be heading to Italy amid reported interest from Torino.
Hojbjerg and Sanchez's futures will also be determined over the coming days following plenty of speculation regarding them all summer, with Hugo Lloris, Sergio Reguilon and Tanguy Ndombele then needing to find new clubs before the window slams shut.
Another centre-back may also be on the agenda to ensure that Postecoglou has sufficient cover at centre-back and that the levels don't drop if Romero or Van de Ven are missing. Not so active at the end of the summer transfer window 12 months ago, it looks like things will be a lot different this time around.
Three days remain in the transfer window and there is so much for Levy to sort out. Eyes are going to be firmly glued to Tottenham Hotspur Stadium as the chairman aims to hand the new Spurs boss the perfect end to their summer business.