Jan Vertonghen has conceded that it is too long since Tottenham Hotspur have won a trophy and stressed that the players will “try everything” they can to end that drought in this season’s FA Cup.
We play Middlesbrough in the third round on Sunday, having last won the competition in 1991. It has been 11 years since our last piece of major silverware – a 2008 League Cup triumph in which current ‘Boro boss Jonathan Woodgate scored the winner against Chelsea.
Not that you need reminding of course.
MORE: Did You Spot The Penalty Dele Should Have Been Awarded?
Jose Mourinho was brought to this club to turn the squad into winners. He has got a hard task ahead of him considering the recent performances – we have lost four of our last eight games in all competitions and New Year’s Day’s 1-0 defeat to Southampton was particularly depressing, compounded by injuries to two of our most important players.
Vertonghen has backed Mourinho to have the desired influence but has admitted that our trophy hopes relies on the players.
The Belgian defender told Standard Sport: “It’s too long [since we last won the FA Cup]. It’s a major thing. We’ll try everything to win it.
“The manager has the experience to get us there but it’s us [the players] that have to do it on the pitch. He’ll pick the team, make sure we’re ready, but we’ve got to do it ourselves.”
I have very little confidence that we can compete for the FA Cup on current form. But I have absolutely confidence that Mourinho will give us a chance by taking it more seriously than Mauricio Pochettino ever did.
The Poch sacked off domestic silverware saying it was of little importance when you have set your goals for bigger and better. Problem he had with that champagne philosophy was he only had Fanta Orange resources ……
The more I think back to his tenure. I’m glad he’s gone.
It doesn’t explain why Wigan, Birmingham city and Swansea have all won more major honours than us in the past decade. We need to measure success by tangible achievement and not by if onlys. Being overly attached to nearly moments is not what winners do. Poch knew the score with Enic and ultimately paid the price.
The Spurs team managed by Bill Nicholson were the big spending club of their day. I’m talking about the double years, the four year period in the early sixties. It was Spurs who transferred the first £100,000 player in Jimmy Greaves( the fee was for technical reasons £99,999). They tried to to sign every big player in English football, including Bobby Moore, but other clubs refused to deal with them for fear of strengthening them. There’s an old saying about the English First Division, (as was) “you don’t win it you buy it”.
Heard it all before…………………………Yawn.
I also noticed Jan was quoted as saying we have the squad to overcome Kane’s absence and achieve success.We will see,but I have less faith.
Nicholson and Burkinshaw managed in an era where there wasn’t the huge disparity between the financial clout of football clubs.The fact is we are a wealthy club,it’s just not the owners’ believe that success can be achieved by spending money.
I don’t think Poch lost belief in himself,but in his ability to do more with the existing players with no improvement to the squad.
All of us deserve Levy. In the next couple of seasons we’ll see if Poch over achieved. Nicholson and Burkinshaw teams played great football and won trophies. Neither of which were given a bottomless pit of cash to deliver. I still miss Poch but he gradually lost belief in himself and Levy is not one for sentiment.
So I guess “the fancy flicks and sweet sherry on the pitch” is a backhander to Poch, the manager who spectacularly overachieved with minimum support from ENIC. Some supporters deserve Levy.
We have to go back to the 1940s to relive another trophyless decade like the last ten years. For all the fancy flicks and sweet sherry on the pitch it doesn’t replace the grim reality that success isn’t measured in top 4 finishes.
Those comments from Jan combined with the hugely positive and inspiring pre match comments of Mourinho, quoted in the Independent , are exactly what I want to hear. If anything , they hammer home the opinions and feelings of those not in the boardroom. The power of money has killed off the true meaning of sport , somewhere along the line of what is deemed as success to the few, should have to take in to account that there has to be a balance between profit and winning trophies .
Too bad SuperJan is now in the worst LB form of his life. Wants a new contract just like Toby though.