If ‘crisis club’ Chelsea overtake Tottenham, it could be catastrophic... and lead to star exodus
CHELSEA fired a warning shot to Liverpool and Tottenham with their victory over the Reds on Sunday.
One which told them they haven’t given up hope of clinching a Champions League berth just yet.
And while I don’t see Liverpool surrendering their top-four place in their final game against Brighton on Sunday, with two games apiece remaining for Chelsea and Spurs this week it is entirely possible the Blues could leapfrog their London rivals.
What a catastrophe that would be for Tottenham given Chelsea have been so far off the pace this season.
They’ve been plagued by rumours of managerial unrest since August, they have not had a forward who has consistently scored goals while a defence that was unflappable as they won the Premier League last year has been anything but this time out.
The perception is Chelsea have had a poor season and that Tottenham have had another very good one.
So what a blow it would be for Mauricio Pochettino and the big-name players in his Spurs squad if Chelsea were to finish above them.
In fact, it would be embarrassing, wouldn’t it?
I’d even go as far as to say that if Chelsea were to pip Spurs that if I was Pochettino, Harry Kane, Dele Alli and one or two others I’d be thinking, ‘Maybe now is the exit’ rather than waiting to play a season in the new stadium.
For Tottenham to finish fifth would be as bad as it has been in the Pochettino years, because they have been building towards something and then all of a sudden the rug will have been pulled from underneath them.
They have played well at Wembley this season – the highlight of which was the Champions League victory over Real Madrid – and really looked to have kicked on again.
But instead of celebrating their first campaign in their newly-refurbished White Hart Lane stadium with more nights like that one, they could end up hosting Europa League football instead.
Unfortunately, that competition is draining for the clubs who believe they should be challenging for titles domestically.
It might be exciting for clubs such as Burnley, basically for clubs who know their place in their leagues, but the Champions League is where it is at for a club of Tottenham’s size and stature these days.
My feeling would be that there would be at least two or three of those big names at Spurs who would go away this summer, whether it’s to the World Cup or just on holiday, and think, ‘Have I done as much as I can here?’
After all, you don’t play as well for Spurs as some of them have done and have all the plaudits just to be playing in the Europa League.
The best players, the Kanes of this world, want to test themselves at the highest level possible and if Spurs miss out this time, can they be certain they will be back in the Champions League next time out?
That’s why finishing outside the top four would be a genuine footballing catastrophe for the club.