United can show Spurs their trophies..but Poch has vital ‘home’ advantage
THERE is only one key performance indicator that truly matters ahead of Tottenham’s FA Cup semi-final against Manchester United.
In terms of major honours won as a manager, Jose Mourinho leads Mauricio Pochettino 20-0. You could add that, since 1991, United have won 27 trophies. Over the same period, Spurs have won two. And in 14 head-to-head meetings in England and Spain, Mourinho has won 10 to Pochettino’s three. All of that makes United favourites to reach the FA Cup final, right? Er, not necessarily. Tottenham have been lodging at Wembley this season with their new stadium at White Hart Lane under construction and, in my book, that gives them a ‘home’ advantage. Semi-finals are supposed to be played on neutral grounds. I believe it would have been fairer to play this one at the Emirates, the London Stadium or Villa Park. But in any event, it’s a massive game for both clubs and both managers. Pochettino says the title and the Champions League are the big prizes he really wants, which is fair enough – but sooner rather than later, Spurs need to start winning trophies, not just pats on the back. Since 1991, when Paul Gascoigne was crocked in the FA Cup final against Nottingham Forest, they have only won the League Cup twice. Sorry, you cannot be counted among Europe’s elite if you have won only two trophies in 27 years. Pochettino has built an exciting side and, yes, they are terrific to watch when Harry Kane, Christian Eriksen, Heung-min Son and Dele Alli are on song. But the way champions Manchester City outplayed them at Wembley last weekend shows Tottenham are still miles short of winning the title, so they need to make the most of their opportunities in cup competitions.
Spurs fans want to win silverware. And they can’t wait forever.
This is also a huge game for Mourinho. Paul Pogba, his most expensive signing, is already being linked with a move away from Old Trafford and, with the title going to the Etihad for the third time in seven seasons, finishing the season without a pot would be unthinkable.
Even if Mourinho can finish second in the Premier League and win the FA Cup, some people will say the season has been a failure for Manchester United – yet Pochettino could finish fourth, without a trophy, and everyone raves about him!
When you look at the stats for 2017-18, it’s incredible that United are six points ahead of Tottenham.
In terms of goals scored, shots on goal, possession, pass completion, tackles, sprints and distance covered, Spurs are ahead on every count.
As a team, they have run 7km further per game than United – that’s an extra 4.3 miles – and yet United have more points to show for it. That goes to show that possession and running around don’t win football matches. There has to be some end product, some purpose to all that mileage and custody of the ball.
And for all the negativity about Mourinho’s style of football, he must be doing something right.
This semi-final is going to be a tactical battle, which will suit United’s manager down to the ground, and he’ll certainly be hoping they hold out longer than the 11 seconds it took Eriksen to fire Tottenham in front when they won 2-0 at Wembley in the Premier League three months ago.
If I was Mourinho, I would play Alexis Sanchez – a big-game player who had a good record at Wembley in cup finals for Arsenal.
Although ‘home’ advantage makes Spurs slight favourites for me, there’s no escaping that 20-0 killer stat.
And until Pochettino breaks his duck, he will remain a pretender to the throne, not the king.