It has been 12 years since Tottenham Hotspur last won a major trophy, that being the League Cup against Chelsea, prior to that, it was the same competition 9 years before in 1999.
Spurs are often jeered for their lack of silverware, and it is something that is always lurking around them, sometimes considered a ‘banter club’ due to their recent inability to win a trophy.
Looking at the bigger picture though, Tottenham have improved beyond belief since former manager Mauricio Pochettino took over in May 2014. The Argentine took on a difficult task with a rather average team, who had just finished 6th in the Premier League under Tim Sherwood.
Pochettino rejuvenated that Tottenham side, guiding them to the League Cup final in his first season at White Hart Line, before pursuing impressive title challenges in the following two seasons, prior to two more comfortable top four finishes, followed by a Champions League final loss to Liverpool.
Over those five and a half years in charge of the Lilywhites, Pochettino revolutionised the side, turning young players like Harry Kane and Dele Alli into some of the best players in the Premier League, making very good signings with players such as Heung-Min Son and Toby Alderweireld, with rather limited financial resources.
His faith in young players was a massive factor to his success, he was always willing to take that risk, and as shown in his spell in North London, it proved to be a massive success, all without making a huge number of signings.
However, come November 2019, it looked like he had done all that he could’ve with his Spurs side, whereby it seemed like, after their Champions League defeat, they had lost all desire and determination, and painfully, Daniel Levy decided it was best for the club if the Argentine departed White Hart Lane.
Then Jose Mourinho came in. A serial winner, three Premier League titles under his belt, two Champions Leagues, and a domestic title in a record four different countries.
This was exactly the manager that Tottenham needed, deemed to be one of the greatest managers of all time, if there was anyone to win them their first trophy for over a decade, it was him.
Fast forward just over 12 months, and Mourinho has Tottenham sitting top of the Premier League after 12 games, they have topped their Europa League group, and have a comfortable Carabao Cup quarter final tie against Stoke City, before travelling to 8th tier side Marine FC in the third round of the FA Cup. Things look good for them right now, and Tottenham fans have never felt so confident of winning some silverware.
On paper, a quarter final against Stoke looks like a winnable fixture, and with a favourable draw, providing they win against the Potters, Spurs could be facing one of Brentford or Newcastle in the semi finals, which would be an ideal draw that would most likely see them reach the final, and then it’s just a matter of putting on a strong, winning display against whoever they would meet in the final. Most likely easier said than done, but it is an excellent chance for Spurs to end their trophy drought.
However, Mourinho wouldn’t want to stop there, the FA Cup is too difficult to predict at this early stage, but Tottenham have bee labelled as one of the favourites to win and if they can make their way to the latter rounds comfortably, they may pose a real threat to Arsenal to steal their crown off them and seal their ninth FA Cup.
Spurs fans would be over the moon with those trophy wins if they were to happen, however the two they would want to win the most would be the Premier League and the Europa League, the ones that would be more valuable.
Tottenham have topped their Europa League group, not as easily as they would’ve liked, but they will be glad to have done so nonetheless. They will face Wolfsberger AC in the round of 32, which will be viewed as a fairly generous draw compared to North London rivals Arsenal, who drew Benfica.
It could be a comfortable journey to the final for Spurs, or they could catastrophically crash out, and it mostly depends on how seriously Mourinho takes the competition, as his main focus will be the league.
Tottenham currently sit top of the table, and after seizing seven points out of a possible nine, against three of the ‘big six’ in a row, keeping clean sheets in all of them, fans are finally starting to consider them genuine title challengers. After all, Jose Mourinho is a serial winner, and this season seems like it could be Tottenham’s best chance of winning a trophy.
There are still 24 games to go, with many tough fixtures ahead, as well as FA Cup, Carabao Cup and Europa League games to play on top of them, and it really is now a test of Tottenham’s fitness, depth, quality, and desire.
Sport With Sean 