Inside Lane: Let’s not be too quick to abandon the trophy trail

By Ben McAleer
Wednesday, January 30, 2013
12:18 PM

Tottenham blogger Ben McAleer reflects on Spurs’ disappointing FA Cup exit at Leeds on Sunday.

“We would like to extend our competition, in terms of titles, to all of them,” were the words of Andre Villas-Boas after taking over the reins at Tottenham Hotspur earlier in the season. The 35-year-old succeeded Harry Redknapp over the summer with one simple objective – to secure Champions League football.

The Portuguese tactician continues to abide by Daniel Levy’s wishes, with Spurs currently fourth in the Premier League. However, while securing a place in Europe’s elite competition remains the priority – particularly when the financial rewards would go towards covering the cost of the new stadium - it needn’t overshadow the quest for glory.

Arsenal manager Arsene Wenger recently insinuated that securing a top four finish is more important to him than picking up an FA Cup or Capital One Cup winner’s medal, if only to continuously compete with the best the continent has to offer.

Understandably, this cause uproar in the Gunners camp, considering Arsenal haven’t landed a trophy in over seven years now.

While there is reasoning behind his words, fans are quick to speak up and point out that teams go down in history for picking up winners’ medals, not securing a place in the Champions League 15 years running.

On that note, Villas-Boas endeared himself to the supporters by insisting he would take the FA Cup, Capital One Cup and Europa League seriously - a far cry the Redknapp days, during which only the former was of a high priority.

However, the chance to make that trip to Wembley and the opportunity to see the club’s name etched indelibly into the history books and watch the players lift a trophy, is unparalleled and should not be dismissed so quickly and easily.

Villas-Boas’ team selections show that he was indeed taking both the Capital One Cup and FA Cup seriously. It was merely a case that their conquerors, Norwich and Leeds, wanted to win more than Spurs on both occasions.

That leaves the Europa League as the last realistic chance to land silverware this season, and we can be sure that Villas-Boas will battle fiercely all the way to Amsterdam in May, while the fans will be equally keen to see the European glory days return to White Hart Lane.

Follow me on Twitter @BenMcAleer1