Along with the other Premier League clubs, Spurs entered the FA Cup at the 3rd Round, taking on Peterborough United at White Hart Lane in early January. Peterborough is last in the League Championship table and the quality chasm separating the two sides was clear. Harry Redknapp’s chaps dispatched Peterborough 4-0, as Spurs took the first step toward fulfilling ‘Arry’s goal of the lifting the FA Cup for the second time in three years, Harry having won the competition with Portsmouth in 2008.
But Spurs’ 4th Round opponents are clearly capable of putting up stiffer resistance than Peterborough did. Leeds United come a-calling at White Hart Lane on Saturday.
A Pennine for your thoughts
Leeds’ visit to London was made possible by an upset victory at Old Trafford over the mighty Manchester United, once Leeds’ bitter rivals in England’s top league. The excitement before that match was electric and the 9,000 Yorkshiremen who invaded Manchester that day proved that Leeds fans are still keen for the competition with their neighbors across the Pennines. But bad financial investments in recent years caused Leeds fortunes to decline with shocking rapidity, and the Yorkshire club descended in free fall through the various leagues, finally coming to rest on the far side of the football world: the third tier of the English professional game.
So ended the semi-annual Leeds–Manchester United league rivalry, and but for the serendipity of a cup draw, the contests between these two clubs is a treat we’re not destined to see very often.
But Leeds' current position at the top of League One, combined with their stunning victory in Manchester, suggest that a Leeds resurgence toward the top flight may not be far off. A result against Spurs on Saturday would lend abundant credibility to the notion.
Spurs drop points in recent matches
Tottenham has experienced some disappointment of late. A 0-0 draw at home with Hull City at the weekend and a 2-0 loss in Liverpool on Wednesday have prevented Spurs from digging in and extending a points lead over their rivals for the coveted fourth place in the league table.
In the Hull match Spurs had chances aplenty and most of the possession. But Hull keeper Boaz Myhill was unbeatable on the day. Harry Redknapp waxed philosophical following the draw. "What can you do?" he asked rhetorically. "The keeper has had an unbelievable day…”
But Redknapp was less forgiving following the Liverpool defeat. "I came here thinking we could win tonight so I was disappointed really. We missed a chance,'' an un-‘appy ‘Arry aptly uttered.
Spurs can’t afford to miss too many more chances if they plan to compete in Europe next season; fourth place in the league guarantees a shot at Champions’ League football, so the loss to Liverpool was significant. An FA Cup win however, would offer Tottenham some insurance on that front, since the winner goes straight into the Europa League next season. It’s not the Champion’s League, but it represents a financial windfall nonetheless. Given Leeds’ success this season Redknapp will want to avoid overconfidence as Saturday approaches.
Grayson confident despite recent losses
The euphoria that intoxicated Leeds' supporters following their club’s stunning win over Manchester United has been dulled some by their more recent results. A 1-1 draw to home to Wycombe Wanderers in the league was followed by a 2-0 away loss in the league to Exeter. Then midweek Leeds lost at home to Carlisle United in the first leg of the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy semi-final.
It has been a disappointing run of form over the three matches. “Sometimes you don’t get your
rewards and on Tuesday we didn’t get our rewards” said a rueful Leeds manager Simon Grayson following the loss to Carlisle. But Grayson expressed confidence in his club, “The main thing is you know that if you keep doing the right things the results will come.”
Danger Man
Leeds certainly did the right things to achieve victory over Manchester United. That victory was an emphatic repudiation of Lancashire’s footballing hegemony over Yorkshire in recent years, and Leeds striker Jermaine Beckford, whose goal sunk the Red Devils, now basks in the afterglow of that day’s performance.
Premier League employment cannot be far off for Beckford. And having retracted his desire to leave the Yorkshire club in the January transfer window, he now finds himself the subject of a possible move to Everton in the summer. But as of today Beckford is still a Leeds player, and he’ll be the man the Spurs defense will have to contain if they are to move on in the competition.
