Now the Cup's so crucial
AFTER Amazing years Cupit’s theof again. being Fantasticallydisrespected,
This weekend we’ll see just how highly Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester City and Arsenal value the 145-year-old knockout competition.
The key reason for their newly discovered love for the cup is their failure in the Champions League.
Also, their respective managers recognise, in these days of quick-fire dismissals, it’s useful to win SOMETHING – even the once disregarded FA Cup.
Just ask Arsene Wenger. Imagine what the protests against him would be like if Arsenal hadn’t landed the trophy three times during 12 years without winning the title, soon to become 13.
Not so long ago managers whose teams were in the Champions League felt they were in with a shout of winning it.
EURO WOES THE KEY
Master
Not any more. Following years of dismal efforts, summed up this year by Leicester being the only team to reach the quarter-finals, that Champions League confidence has evaporated.
Even the last win, by Chelsea in 2012, was hardly done in style, the Blues battling their way to success with breakaway football against Bayern Munich, winning on penalties after a 1-1 draw.
Bayern had 21 shots on target, compared to the west Londoners’ six. The German giants had 20 corners, while the Blues had one!
Manchester United’s Jose Mourinho is the master of getting a cup on the board to boost his position.
He won the League Cup in his first year at Chelsea and followed that up by winning it again it the second year of his return to Stamford Bridge.
His debut season for United has also brought victory in the same competition.
The message has certainly sunk in, too, for Antonio Conte, Mauricio Pochettino, Pep Guardiola and Wenger. Here’s why winning the FA Cup is so important for these four high-profile managers. CONTE: Must recognise that, unlikely as it may seem, Chelsea, now just four points clear of Spurs in the Premier League, could choke. Win the FA Cup and the blow of such a disaster would be softened. POCHETTINO: For all the wonderful football and goals galore, as yet, the Argentine has no silverware to show from three seasons at the club. Great football is all well and good but fans demand success. GUARDIOLA: Doubts have been raised about his ability to excel in such a competitive league as the Premier. He won 21 club trophies in six seasons with Barcelona and Bayern – a blank this campaign looks very bad. WENGER: The Frenchman is on the rack at Arsenal. The FA Cup might not save him, but it helps and whatever the fans say, look at how wildly they celebrated winning it two years ago. So the way English clubs have been taking Brexit to heart in the Champions League has been great for the FA Cup. It’s impossible to imagine Crystal Palace, Aston Villa, Hull, Wigan, Stoke, Portsmouth (twice) and Cardiff getting to the final again – as they all have in the last decade – while the trophy remains so seductive to the big guns.