COMMENT
For Tottenham fans, it is a choice between the devil and the deep blue sea.
The prospect of one of Chelsea or Arsenal winning the FA Cup on Saturday is deeply unappealing for the upwardly mobile north Londoners.
Both are bitter rivals who are the least two favourite clubs of the majority of Spurs fans.
But there is some logic as to why the White Hart Lane faithful should be rooting for a Chelsea win at Wembley.
A Chelsea victory would mean that Spurs would face the Blues in August’s Community Shield, the traditionally sun-drenched season curtainraiser that is a friendly in status but has deeper ramifications.
This would be the perfect opportunity for Mauricio Pochettino’s side to lay down a marker and prove to themselves that they can go head to head with the Premier League champions next season.
Spurs were very unfortunate not to beat Chelsea in the FA Cup semi-final but it reinforced the opinion that even on their best day, they are still incapable of coming away victorious against their London rivals.
Realistically, it was Tottenham’s last chance of silverware this season and they watched it slip through their grasp. This Tottenham side are simply too good not to win a trophy and Community Shield success at the start of next season could be the lift that they all need.
Recently, the Community Shield has been looked down upon and many have scoffed at Manchester United referring to it as an important piece of their trophy cabinet this season but in previous years, it has set the tone for how the season is going to pan out.
At the start of the 2015/16 campaign, Chelsea lost to Arsenal in the season opener and it turned out to be the beginning of the end for Jose Mourinho at Stamford Bridge as his side produced a miserable defence of their Premier League title and the Portuguese manager was sacked in December.
This season’s curtain raiser saw Manchester United win the trophy at the expense of last year’s champions Leicester City and Claudio Ranieri’s side rarely recovered from the defeat. The Foxes found themselves hovering above the relegation zone after the new year and the charismatic Italian boss was shown the door in February.
Winning the Community Shield would also mean winning at Wembley Stadium, a feat that Tottenham struggled to achieve throughout their Champions League campaign.
In fact, Spurs only managed one victory in five matches in all competitions at the ground this season and they were even dumped out of the Europa League at Wembley following a 2-2 draw against Belgian side Gent.
Spurs are moving away from their beloved White Hart Lane next season and they need to turn the national Stadium into their new home, and picking up a trophy in their first competitive match of the new campaign at Wembley would encourage Tottenham players and fans to start believing in more success.