Five PL clubs who should take FA Cup seriously

Seb Stafford Bloor

Tottenham (vs Middlesbrough on Sunday)
First and foremost, because they just need to start winning games again. And scoring goals from open play. And constructing moves which look like they might lead to goals from open play.

Jose Mourinho’s long-term ambitions for Tottenham will be revealed in time, but for now the muddle created by his appointment has turned them into one of the most unwatchable sides in Europe. It’s not just that they’re bad – in defence, in midfield and in attack – but that they’re boring too.

Long ball. Long ball. Defensive mistake. Long ball. Long ball. Full-time.

One of the causes might be a lack of confidence. There are other issues too, including but not limited to Mourinho’s neglect of the attacking side of the game, but when technically proficient players suddenly become incapable of completing ten-yard passes, it’s probably more than just a problem with the structure.

It’s really less the cup they need, then, and more a run of competitive games against teams of a slightly lesser standard. Mourinho has to work out how he wants this team to play – please, God, let it not be like this – and then build some conviction into their game.

Hopefully that’s an opportunity which extends beyond just a single game; they could certainly have done with a much easier task than Middlesbrough away and Degsy Bilton is predicting an ugly weekend for good reason.

 

West Ham (vs Gillingham on Sunday)
West Ham have already authored one of the season’s most ridiculous moments. Losing 4-0 to Oxford days after beating Manchester United not only demonstrated the hazards of hubris, but also encapsulated what they currently are as a club and how brittle the professional pride of their players can be. In hindsight, nothing was ever the same for Manuel Pellegrini after that week.

David Moyes could certainly do without becoming a punchline at Priestfield on Sunday. More broadly, though, he and West Ham are trying to restore the optimism which has been destroyed by this disastrous season. The quick win over Bournemouth has quietened some of the fatalism, but none of the club’s major issues have been – or will be – cured overnight. West Ham need to be something other than the club that talks loudly and spends lots of money and the cup is their best hope of achieving something tangible.

Maybe the ownership even need it? Bouncing back to Moyes after just 18 months was a very discouraging moment for the fanbase and further evidence that, really, nothing they say with regards future direction holds any weight. West Ham are hot air, as ever, and the only way of dispelling that perception is by doing something real.

 

Leicester City (vs Wigan on Saturday)
Here it comes: the ‘taste of champagne’ argument.

Rightly, though, because Leicester are very obviously less than themselves whenever they face the best teams in the country. And they weren’t very good against Manchester United, either. They have some consistent parts like Jamie Vardy and Kasper Schmeichel, whose form tends not to be affected, but all of Brendan Rodgers’ more pliable talent seems to shrink when it matters most.

Part of that is due to Rodgers, because there are legitimate questions about his tactical dexterity, but it also theorises that those younger players – Maddison, Ndidi, Barnes, Chilwell – could do with being legitimised by something like the FA Cup. That’s not just about whether they can win the tournament – which should very much be among the club’s aims this season – but also whether they can win games when it actually matters.

That’s Leicester’s weakness at the moment. Beating Wigan specifically won’t help defeat it, but a deep run into the cup and its myriad challenges might help.

 

Everton (vs Liverpool on Sunday)
If ever Everton had a chance to play Liverpool at the perfect time then it’s this weekend. It’s the game to watch .

Like everybody else, Jurgen Klopp’s team will have been drained by the festive period and will enter this game with 24 hours less rest. Conversely, Everton can actually afford to feel pretty good about themselves. Two wins from three and an encouraging performance during the narrow defeat at the Etihad. And now they’ll go to Anfield with Carlo Ancelotti in the dug-out, which should certainly put a strut in the team’s stride.

The key point is perhaps that Everton have to do something about their local inferiority. They can’t do much about that in the league, obviously, and derbies tend to be chastening experiences whatever the circumstances, but imagine the gains from knocking Liverpool over in their own backyard now, at this particular moment in time? And what if that was then followed by a nice, enthusiasm-building run to the semi-final or final?

This is the last chance to make 2019/20 anything more than a successful failure. What an effect it could have, though, if those supporters could take Ancelotti, some tangible evidence of progress and Farhad Moshiri’s wealth into the summer and towards the new stadium on the horizon.

 

Wolves (vs Manchester United on Saturday)
It’s perfectly fair to make this argument in the other direction. To suggest that with their Premier League commitments and continued interest in the Europa League, Wolves are already well occupied – and that adding to their list of important fixtures may overwhelm an already stretched squad. A squad which has been playing competitive football since July, no less.

But think of this in terms of what Wolves are and where they intend to go. They have the head coach of a top-six side, they have the outline of a Champions League squad and, if they were able to capture a domestic cup, they’d have an emblem of their progress and, ultimately, something to describe the extent of their ambition.

In a way, it makes what happened last year a shame. Not because Watford didn’t deserve their place in the final after their stirring comeback, but because Wolves were better placed to contest that game with Manchester City. Maybe they’d still have lost, but it wouldn’t have been 6-0 and they definitely would have scored.

It suited Wolves’ place in the game to be in that final as it would this year. Stage One was promotion. Stage Two was survival. Both have been achieved serenely and Stage Three, qualifying for Europe, was even reached ahead of time. The next step is vaguer, though, and probably involves winning something. Do that and they really will be on their way back.

Seb Stafford-Bloor is on Twitter.