12 years is a long time to go without a trophy, doubly so for a club as big as Tottenham who since the 2008 League Cup have come close in a wide range of competitions but are yet to snap their drought.
Although Spurs have made massive strides as a club in that 12-year timeframe, trophies and accolades have still eluded them despite their best efforts and making it to the finals of both the League Cup and the Champions League.
Yet the appointment of Jose Mourinho has seemingly changed all that, with the Portuguese instilling a new sense of belief and desire that silverware could be achievable under his tenure as Harry Kane confessed to BBC Sport.
Middlesbrough...WinLoseDraw |
But, with Spurs already out of the League Cup and a second run to Champions League final as unlikely as last year’s fairytale, Mourinho’s best chance of silverware this year appears to be in the form of the FA Cup, but their opposition in the third round could prove to be their doom already.
Although Middlesbrough have for the most part been underwhelming this season with the Championship side currently in 16th in the league table, Jonathan Woodgate has appeared to have steadied the ship with Boro, winning the past four games in a row as well as remaining unbeaten in their past six matches at home as records from WhoScored show.
With Spurs’ away form yet to improve under Mourinho and the likes of Harry Kane and Tanguy Ndombele set to miss out due to injury, the potential for an FA Cup upset is on the cards at the Riverside Stadium this weekend, and the Tottenham manager’s dream of taking the club to silverware could be over before it had even started.