The Easter bank holiday weekend has come and gone and now we are locked in on, for me at least, our biggest game of the season so far. We face Chelsea at Wembley in the FA Cup Semi Final.
The Premier League season has only six games left and without doubt the two best teams in the league are us and Chelsea so it is almost sad this is not the final however it is what it is and it is to be hoped the game lives up to its billing.
The rivalry between the two teams has grown a lot in the last couple of years mostly following the ‘Battle of the Bridge’ where Spurs were chasing the title and a rejuvenated Chelsea were doing all that they could to stop us. The game ended in a 2-2 draw handing the title to Leicester City however the story most remember is how the young Spurs team snapped in the hostile atmosphere picking up booking after booking, amazingly no one was sent off!
Now this season we have played twice in the league, one victory for them and then another for us making this semi final the decider in more ways than one.
The Premier League gap is now just four points, whereas four games ago it was ten giving Spurs as the chasing team a glimmer of hope that the title could be coming to White Hart Lane in the old stadiums final season (potentially last season).
However for me the talk about psychological blows etc for this game all pales insignificance to the potential of winning the FA Cup for the first time since 1991, a competition we have won 8 times. It is there for the taking. Our players are in fantastic form, they just now need to show the maturity from having an extra season under their belts.
Win, lose or draw this coming weekend I am proud of where we are as a team now. Like our manager said recently we are not buying titles, we are building and developing. It is slower for sure but there is always an element of satisfaction that comes from knowing you have worked for something rather than being handed it.
My pride no matter what aside I obviously want us to smash them this weekend and go on to lift the cup! Our players deserve a trophy. Our fans deserve a trophy. Pochettino deserves to win his first major honour as a manager!
We can do this. COYS!
-Admin SJ
