Tottenham's trophy drought, for anyone who hasn't been paying attention, is approaching 17 years.
It's been more than 6,000 days since Jonathan Woodgate's header beat Chelsea at Wembley Stadium at a time when people still thought Carabao were some kind of reindeer.
But the great trophy-laden era for Spurs, 20-odd years of major league titles and the 1961 FA Cup double and a song about cup glory at White Hart Lane, ended with victory in the UEFA Cup in 1984.
Four full decades since then have produced one FA Cup and two League Cups. Fewer major trophies than Everton and Leicester City.
“It's in black and white,” as Mauricio Pochettino would say when asked about winning something to show for five solid years, finishing as runners-up in the Premier League and Champions League.
The idea that Tottenham and trophies should go together is a misnomer.
Tottenham's trophy drought is approaching 17 years, but their last great era ended in 1984
The desperation to compete with the elite drove them through José Mourinho and Antonio Conte.
Ange Postecoglou has brought freedom and identity, but Spurs have had a poor run of results
Yes, a great club with a huge fan base, a fabulous stadium and a stylish training ground, but while they won those three pots in 40 years, Manchester United won 31, Chelsea 21, Liverpool 19, Manchester City 18 and Arsenal 17. That's without getting into Community Shields, Super Cups, etc.
Spurs are lucky that someone still considers English football to have a Big Six and not a Big Five.
Despair to compete with the elite led them through José Mourinho and Antonio Conte and a handbrake towards Ange Postecoglou, fearing losing something dear along the way.
Get to the heart of Tottenham's great enigma. What is the most important thing? Trophies or entertainment? They no longer include the classic Danny Blanchflower quote in the preamble to kick-off, but fans of a certain era know it well.
“The great fallacy is that the game is first and last about winning,” said Blanchflower, captain of the double-winning team in 1961. —It's nothing like that. The game is about glory. It's about doing things with style, with flourish, going out and beating the rest, not waiting for them to die of boredom.'
While they failed to win trophies in a pragmatic style under Mourinho and Conte, everyone agreed that there must be more fun ways to not win anything.
Under Postecoglou they have regained a sense of adventure and restored their identity. At their best, they rejoice, although due to their winter stagnation, sunk closer to the bottom three than the Premier League's top four and amid an injury crisis and a dismal sequence of results, it has been difficult to find reasons to rejoice.
Protest songs aimed at Daniel Levy are back in fashion and if the president is under fire, then the coach is a little less sure, hostage to the promise that he will always win something in his second season.
Protest songs aimed at President Daniel Levy (centre) are back in fashion in north London
Tottenham suffered another defeat on Saturday with the team plagued by injuries and illness.
Postecoglou is now hostage to his promise of winning something in his second season.
Therefore, they could do with tangible success in one of the knockout competitions to ease the pressure and regain some faith in the plan ahead of this semi-final against Premier League leaders Liverpool, the Carabao Cup champions and a team that scored six when they fell to N17 last month. As my colleague Sami Mokbel reported last month, this semi-final is considered crucial for Postecoglou's future.
Their ranks were depleted the last time Liverpool visited and they are not much better now.
There is £12.5m goalkeeper Antonin Kinsky, who is 21 from Slavia Prague and could walk straight in after his work permit arrived on Tuesday. Rodrigo Bentancur returns from a suspension. Radu Dragusin and Archie Gray, who played against Newcastle on Saturday through illness, are feeling stronger and flying winger Mikey Moore, 17, is back in the mix after a virus.
However, with James Maddison and Pape Matar Sarr suspended, up to 10 could be missing.
These have been difficult times for Postecoglou. His tense and irritable attitude after the match does him no favours, but those who think he hasn't tried different things because his key message is that he won't change his attacking policy are not looking closely.
His full-backs have been controlled to adapt to the emergency in central defense and with Dragusin and Gray ill against Newcastle on Saturday, he modified his usual 4-3-3 shape to provide more protection with two deep-lying midfielders in a 4-2. -3-1 formation.
It cost Maddison his place on the team and ultimately it didn't work out as they lost again. There are seven defeats in 14 games. Another bold decision against Newcastle was to remove Son Heung-min, and it was probably with this draw against Liverpool in mind.
Son has not been at his best this season, playing more minutes than Postecoglou would have liked due to the absences of Richarlison, Wilson Odobert and Moore, and the poor form of Timo Werner.
New signing Antonin Kinsky could move straight into the team amid Tottenham's injury crisis
Postecoglou has adapted in recent games to protect a repaired Tottenham defense.
Son looked flat in the 2-2 draw against Wolves in last year's final game, missing a penalty before being taken off after just over an hour.
Postecoglou has given him a break, a rare clear week without a game followed by half an hour on the bench against Newcastle in the hope that he can shine against Liverpool, because he knows he will need it.
Arne Slot, who Tottenham came so close to signing in place of Postecoglou, has built the best team in the country and anyone looking for ways to cause them problems will start by looking at the space behind their full-backs, particularly behind Trent Alexander-Arnold if play.
Slot hinted that Spurs would pick a strong team, defending Alexander-Arnold from criticism after Sunday's draw against Manchester United and deflecting it towards Ruben Amorim's tactics.
“We always try to find arguments,” Slot said. 'Nine times out of 10 the best argument is the quality of the team you are facing or their game plan.
“United had a very good game plan: no preparation, just carrying the ball long and not giving us the opportunity to press them high and go to a low block, which makes it difficult for any team to create chances, which we did quite a bit. good”. a lot actually.'
Spurs need Son to be sacked, and he will go into the semi-final feeling fresher and perhaps more settled after the clause was activated to extend his contract until next year. “It's great to extend your stay,” Postecoglou said. “And the aim is to make sure he ends his career at Tottenham with titles.”
Let's get back to that. Trophies. It's a tall order, but Tottenham have beaten Manchester City and Manchester United to get here, so why not Liverpool? Why not dream of Wembley?
Son Heung-Min looks set to return against Liverpool and Spurs need him at his best
Son could help exploit the space behind Trent Alexander-Arnold should the Liverpool star turn up
Tottenham beat Man City and Man United in the cup and will seek to surprise Liverpool
It would ease the pressure that is building on the Postecoglou project.
Juande Ramos and George Graham, the latest managers to disrupt Spurs' trophy cabinet, might say it doesn't guarantee much more. Mourinho was sacked less than a week before the Carabao Cup final four years ago.
Ryan Mason was left to guide them during that loss to Manchester City, so competition is not and can never be the ultimate goal. Levy didn't mention winning in 2008 when he was recently asked on a fan forum about his best memories from two decades in office.
He spent billions on the stadium to host the Champions League, but for Postecoglou stopping the clock on the years without trophies is an essential step forward.