The Spurs Are on Their Way to Wembley Tottenhams Gonna Do It Again

Dom Le Roy

As a slow quondam git who has now followed Spurs for 51 of his 63 years on the planet, I can recall a time when the knees of a famous Argentinian retainer of the guild went "all trembley", as the Chas 'n' Dave vocal of the time had it, at the prospect of a Wembley appearance. And, of course, Ossie Ardiles'due south bearded buccaneering compatriot, ane

Ricky Villa, suggested, with his famous solo loving cup concluding replay winning goal in 1981, that said trembling knees were a sign of excitement, an adrenaline rush, not fearfulness. Yes, younger readers – once upon a time we had a squad who didn't plough upwards at Wembley with the idea that overturning a one-goal deficit to a team sitting 8th in the mighty Belgian League was a veritable Everest to climb.

Our current famous Argentinian retainer (and, of course, I'thou talking non of Erik Lamela, whose absence remains worryingly unexplained and is certainly not only downward to, every bit has been reported, a mysterious hip injury, but of our manager) has fabricated it clear that we need to learn to treat Wembley as our dwelling, given that that is what it will be as our new super-stadium, complete with its own micro-brewery and an artisan cheese-board to dice for ( what would Roy Keane say about that, I wonder?), is completed next season. Our players accept clearly taken this on lath, with performances that accept ensured that we have only been able to play the minimum possible, iv games, there this season (OK, if you desire to split up hairs we could have reduced that to three if we had lost our concluding Champions' League game and failed to qualify for the Europa booby-prize, but you get the point, right?).

Now, Mauricio has said that he can tell within the first 50 seconds if our team is 'upwards' for the claiming in forepart of them. I call back information technology's fair to say that that also goes for anyone who saw the Monaco or Bayer Leverkusen Champions' League group games. I didn't see the first simply have it on practiced authority from a mate who has followed Spurs for fifty-fifty longer than I have that we were terrible and I did see the second, where we spent the get-go few minutes thinking that pissing effectually, passing the brawl square across our own box then dorsum to Lloris with an opposition frontward virtually attached would somehow signify that we were absurd, fearless, and unfazed, rather than uncool, clueless and distinctly fazed. I know we won our last game against CSKA, but past then it didn't count. And then, Thursday night, when it did count – at to the lowest degree if you lot call up the Europa, full every bit it is of teams from places that most people would struggle to pick out on a map, counts – we struggle to depict against a mid-table Belgian side, scoring real (Harry Kane'due south header) and metaphorical (Alli'due south sending off) ain goals in the process. I just saw the highlights, and I've read match reports that said we were upwardly for it, gave it a real go etc. etc. but, come up on – Gent!!??

Soon, we'll be taking on the might of Millwall for the chance to again play at our new domicile pitch. As Millwall have already deposited three Premiership sides out of the cup, our recent form, the Fulham game apart, suggests nosotros could – maybe should – be considered the underdogs. But supposing, but supposing, the natural order is restored and we don't cocky-destruct – by, I don't know, something like Hugo Lloris being beaten by a 200 grand.p.h Walker back pass simply equally he's tucking into a giant pasty as a bet – what side by side, eh? A semi-final there nosotros've grown to love, Wembley. And, given nosotros'd be probable to face Arsenal, Chelsea, Human being. City or a resurgent Man. Utd, I'd rather bet on Hugo eating a pie mid-match than on the states passing that test and earning another shot at a decent Wembley performance.

Now, I know the FA Cup has get devalued – in the eyes of gild owners and managers, if not the poor fans. These days, everything is about the Premiership and the coin it guarantees. If you're not in information technology, everything'southward almost getting into it, to the extent that Title teams will field weakened sides to preserve their players' legs for the promotion challenge. If you lot are in information technology, you must stay in it, hence it'south imperative you field a weakened side in the FA Cup. If you are in mid-table, just unlikely to claiming for the acme four or get sucked into the relegation struggle, seemingly y'all must too play a weakened side in the cup – fuck knows why, merely there you go. And if you lot are in the top five or six – well yous all know the reply to that ane. So, nosotros oasis't won the FA Cup, or even appeared in a final, since 1991. Funny, though, isn't it, how, the odd Wigan apart, Chelsea, Arsenal, Man. Utd, Human being. City and Liverpool somehow manage to testify it plenty respect to laissez passer information technology around amongst themselves most years and stick a trophy or two in their cabinets.

But then, where exercise trophies go y'all, anyway? Ask Claudio Ranieri, who committed the atrocious crime of giving the fans of Leicester, onetime perennial relegation forage, the season of their lives last year. Meanwhile, our manager, who, while, credit where credit is due, has made us fitter, harder to beat (if sometimes harder to lookout man) and given youth its head, and who is apparently coveted past the groovy and (morally) not then good of the European elite, has however to put a trophy in the chiffonier anywhere he'south been. Mayhap in years to come the money earned by finishing third or fourth in the Premiership will be considered an laurels and a framed cheque will appear aslope dusty old cups in the cabinet, with my equivalent old gits many years in the future reminiscing fondly about that neat third place or whatever. But, to me, that's not what the game should be about.

Anyhow, dorsum to our managing director and what I anticipate will exist his stirring pre-lucifer squad talk before the Millwall game, when he will surely highlight the aureate opportunity to play at Wembley once more. I'd love to be a wing on the wall for that i. Or a pie in the goalkeeper's kit-pocketbook. Win, and we can get out the former song-sheet. Not the Chas 'north' Dave i but the i that goes: "Wemberleee, Wemberleee, nosotros're on our way to Wembley and we're gonna win fuck-all."

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Source: https://www.spurs-web.com/tottenham-hotspur-fan-articles/wembley-win/

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