Tottenham haven’t won a trophy since 2008, so beating Manchester City in the Carabao Cup Final on Sunday would represent so much more than simply winning the League Cup.
Everyone is fully aware of the Carabao Cup’s reputation in England. It’s the forgotten cup, England’s inferior domestic knockout competition. It pales in comparison to the FA Cup’s importance.
But don’t let that convince you that Sunday’s final doesn’t matter, because it does, and in a massive way. It’s a monumental moment any time you have the opportunity to play England’s top team in a final, especially when you consider the rest of Tottenham’s underwhelming, underperforming campaign.
In a season with more negatives than a bunch of electrons drinking together at a party, the prospect of a cup final provides a chance to take something positive from the campaign. The excitement and apprehension is considerably amplified when taking into account the last time Spurs achieved cup glory.
It’s been 13 years long, frustrating years. No current player was part of Tottenham’s 2008 League Cup win over Chelsea, so winning on Sunday would mark a monumental achievement in the lads’ careers.
It will give them a taste for winning, hopefully turning them into a predatory shoal, like bull sharks in blood-infested water.
The current group is, but for a few members, completely devoid of trophy winners, particularly at club level. So winning this match can be used not only as a confidence booster, but also as a platform from which to springboard.
That winning pedigree is invaluable at this level, and celebrating as a collective could galvanize an entire team, spearheading them to other, more prestigious team honours. Defeating City might just be the most effective way of instilling a winning culture into the current crop of Spurs players.
Upending City would also mean Tottenham are still up for big matches. The club’s latest horrific record against top clubs suggests that Spurs are unable to conquer their big-match demons. To be one of the elite sides in England, you must be able to get up for the big matches and vanquish other top teams. A win against City would certainly help eradicate Tottenham’s current inferiority complex.
Will winning sway Harry Kane to stay at Tottenham?
Expecting a Carabao Cup victory to help sway Harry Kane’s decision to stay at Tottenham might be slightly hopeful. Yes, it would represent Kane’s first ever team trophy, the magnitude of which should not be diminished.
But I doubt it will be enough to convince Kane to stay. Beating City will whet his whistle, making him more hungry than ever to achieve more team honours. But it definitely won’t satiate his burning desire to win the Premier League or a different domestic league title if he decides to leave, and the Champions League.
Those are the trophies Kane has set his ambitious eyes on, and rightly so. It would be selling Kane entirely too short to expect him to be satisfied with a solo Carabao Cup.
However, winning the Carabao Cup could impact his decision when it comes time to make up his mind. He might use it as a stepping stone, knowing that greater accomplishments with Tottenham could be on the horizon. It took Steven Gerrard, who remained at Liverpool for his entire career in Europe, eight seasons to win his first trophy — the 2006 FA Cup — with Liverpool.
Kane, if he leads Tottenham to glory on Sunday, would win his first trophy with the club as he verges on completing his seventh full season at the club. Nobody, unless you’re in his close cohort, can know where Kane’s mind is on where his future lies.
But winning a Carabao Cup certainly can’t degrade the likelihood of Kane staying put in north London.
What winning the Carabao Cup would mean to Ryan Mason
Ryan Mason, albeit in an interim capacity, is the youngest man to ever take the helm of a Premier League side. Imagine him winning his first trophy less than a week after being appointed gaffer, the importance of which even more emboldened considering Tottenham’s 13-year barren patch.
The former Tottenham player, who’s coaching a number of former teammates, will be raring to prove he belongs managing at the top level. Winning the Carabao Cup at the first time of asking after only six days in charge could also define the young gaffer’s managerial career.
While landing the permanent job is, for the time being, almost impossible to expect, defeating City in a cup final will only help to bolster his CV for future permanent job openings.
Mason’s presence as manager, along with the absence of “The Stoic One”, should help buoy and relax Tottenham’s players, so much so I feel Tottenham will finally end their 13-year trophy-less drought.
Aside from all of the other aforementioned reasons, winning the Carabao Cup would also represent a direly needed silver lining in an otherwise disappointing season. We all dream of a bit of glory, especially right now. God knows we deserve it.