We Are Going To Win the F.A. Cup This Season

Yes, I believe that the F.A. Cup will be the trophy we win this season. I came to this determination by looking at the club's history and the strange coincidences that have cropped up over the last four years involving our challenges for silverware. Let me show you what I mean, and I think you'll find it quite astounding how clear this has been.

Since the years of the Invincibles, we have not won a double, and truth be told we haven't even come close. In fact, in the last four seasons after we won the league undefeated I have noticed a pattern has arisen whereby we have only seriously challenged for one major honour each season. We may have been entered into four competitions every year, but in each of the last four seasons we have only made it to one final, or came close to winning one trophy. But due to bad luck, we have only been successful in one of those four seasons. Let's go over each briefly to show you what I mean.

The 2004-05 season was the first of these four seasons where the pattern has held true. That year, ten matches in, we saw the end of the Invincibles' unbeaten run after a loss to Man Utd. And while we stayed relatively strong in the league after that, we were never again serious contenders for the title. We were eliminated rather easily in both the League Cup and Champions League, but we excelled in one competition: the F.A. Cup. We made it all the way to the final that year, but in that final we had one thing that has not been on our side the last few years: luck. We were by far the worse team, but in the end we denied Man Utd a goal and we won the penalty shootout. Thus we had a trophy from the season - the F.A. Cup.

In 2005-06, we saw the exact same pattern, but this time the cup final we made it to was the Champions League. We struggled to hold down fourth in the league, finally doing so on the last day, we crashed out of the League and F.A. Cups rather early, and that left us with the Champions League as our one chance for silverware. We made it to the final, took the lead against Barcelona, and were less that 15 minutes away from another trophy, but then our luck ran out and we succumbed 2-1 to the Spanish club when their extra player showed. Bad luck, or at least the lack of luck, left us empty handed that season.

The next season, 2006-07, saw us fail on the F.A. Cup front by going out to Blackburn. We were only average at best in the league, but managed to hold fourth a little easier. In the Champions League we were eliminated in the Round of 16 by lowly PSV, and that left us with one trophy to win: the Carling Cup. For the third year in a row we made it to a cup final, and for the second year in a row, we took the lead, this time against Chelsea. But again we fell prey to our opponents and Chelsea came back to beat us 2-1. I remain convinced that with a bit more luck we could have won it.

Last season, 2007-08, didn't see us reach a cup final, but we did the equivalent in the league. We were eliminated from the F.A. Cup and League cup after crushing losses to Man Utd and the scum from White Hart Lane. We only made it as far as the quarter-finals of the Champions League, but like the seasons before there was at least one trophy we were challenging for, this time the Premier League. We were leading the league for the majority of the season, we were getting result after result, we had as much as a five point gap at one point over second, but then with a huge but of bad luck, we lost out. This was of course the Eduardo injury. It so shocked and upset the team that they were never the same afterwards, and though we finished just four points off the champions, we again lost out on silverware.

So do you see what I'm getting at? Each of the last four seasons we have, whether intentionally or unintentionally, focused on one competition. We have fallen short in everything else, but we have always come withing touching distance of silverware. But due to pure bad luck, we have only claimed the trophy in one of the four seasons. I believe that this year will be the same: we will seriously challenge for only one trophy. And we are left with two.

We fell out of the League Cup rather easily, and we will have to fight to finish fourth this season, though I do think we'll eventually claim it. This leaves us with the Champions League and the F.A. Cup. I think we could win either won, but for some reason I just get the impression it will be the F.A. Cup. There are a couple reasons I think so.

First, the competition in the F.A. Cup is always easier than the Champions League, at least in terms of team strength. With Barcelona still in magnificent form and all of the other big teams still in it, the Champions League will be very difficult this season. The second reason is that I have seen hints that the players and club are more determined to win the F.A. Cup than anything else.

Both Cesc and RVP have come out with quotes in the last few days saying how much they'd like to make it to Wembley. And I haven't seen anything close to the same about any other competition this season. The player have been saying they'll give it their all in the other competitions, but I haven't once heard quotes that showed so much desire as in these two. As further evidence we are taking the F.A. Cup seriously this season, look at the team played vs. Plymouth Argyle at the weekend verses the team that faced Burnly in the same round last year.

Last year we rested almost all of our first team, playing back-up fullbacks, the third-choice goalkeeper, reserve strikers, and a weak midfield. We did the same thing later against Man Itd and lost 4-0. And you could see from that game the team really didn't care. This year almost the entire first-team played. Only Clichy, Adebayor, and Almunia were rested, and Clichy was due to injury. But Van Persie, Nasri, Sanga, Denilson, Gallas, Djourou, and most of the rest of the first team played. This is in stark contrast to last year, and I think it shows we are truly concentrating on the F.A. Cup this year.

So perhaps the cycle is starting over again. Perhaps this year we are to reach the F.A. Cup final. And if we do indeed make it, I genuinely believe we will win it. I think, therefore, that our best and most likely source of silverware this season will be the F.A. Cup, and that's why I am now throwing my full support behind the team focusing on that competition this season. I'm really hoping I'm right, and looking at the history books, I think I am.

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