Class of 2008 vs 2015 and a Different Feel to the Final

[mil1lion]

7 years on from our last League Cup final against Chelsea and I can't help but feel a lot different to how I felt back then.

In 2008 we were a struggling side in the Premier League under a manage who couldn't speak English. The Final was a welcome break from the League campaign. However it always felt like we were a long way off where we wanted to be. The manager was clearly not right for us. Although there were some similarities between Ramos and Pochettino. Both managers worked hard in training with their tought fitness regime and they both adopted a high energy pressing game. The biggest difference was that Ramos was no good at getting the message across and I'm not convinced he ever really had the right players for his style either. Pochettino is closer to the right players especially in terms of their age because he is able to mould them into his philosophy. It's no shock to me that some of the more experienced players like Kaboul, Lennon & Adebayor did not buy into this yet the youngsters have had no such problems.

The team of 2015 will be a lot younger for sure. Compared to some of the ageing players we had in 2008. It always felt back then that this was a last chance opportunity for the likes of King and Woodgate to grab glory. While Berbatov was already eyeing a move way in the summer. This time however it feels like a fresh start and not the end of a cycle. I never felt optimistic in 2008 that whatever the result we could grow and build on from it. The feeling this time around is different however. I would Kevin Keegan love it if we win on Sunday. Not just because it's a trophy to add to our trophy room but also because it's against Chelsea. However a loss is not the end of the world for us this Sunday but merely a small setback. Whatever happens at the end of the day it will be a huge learning curve for our young squad, a new lesson in their education as footballers. These are the experiences that players grow from and I'm looking forward to seeing the long term results of this Final.

Here's hoping this is the first of a number of finals we play in over the next 5 years or so.

Here's a reminder of the 2 teams in comparison;

2008

Robinson
Hutton----Woodgate----King----Chimbonda
Lennon----Jenas----Zokora----Malbranque
Berbatov----Keane​

Possible 2015

Lloris
Walker----Dier----Vertonghen----Rose
Bentaleb----Mason
Lamela----Dembele----Eriksen
Kane​

 

[NEVILLEB]

Berbatov and Keane

Kick ass

 

[yiddo_4eva]

I still feel that we will be entering this as the under dogs, which is always my preferred option. Less pressure on the players, the papers are expecting to lose but know we'll put up a fight opposed to going in as favourites and then not turning up, ie, Portsmouth Semi Final afew years ago.

I agree with the OP. Losing isn't all bad as the squad is young will know just how close we have come and will be wanting to better the loss but, I think they'll all be up for it, especially after last night and really think it will be the likes of Mason, Bentaleb and Kane really going at it and hopefully encouraging the rest of the team to fight for it.

When comparing the 2 squads and making a 'dream team' I'd switch to a 4-4-2 with Ledley in place of Dier, Lennon (2008 version) instead of Lamela and Berbatov upfront with Kane instead of Dembele. Keane obviously has the experience over Kane but think Kane will have the true fighting spirit we will need

Lloris
Walker----King----Vertonghen----Rose
Lennon--Bentaleb--Mason--Eriksen
Kane---Berbatov

 

[Beni]

So excited about Sunday, really hope we stuff them. Just hope we don't have a 'Spurs'' week, where we drop points in the league, out of Europa and lose a cup final all in a week.

 

[HodisGawd]

Down in the dumps after the two games this week - WH looked good until they scored then somehow rescued it, against F again we were good until Bobby's miss and they scored, then just insipid. It's not encouraging. I know we can win, I just don't think we will.

 

[mil1lion]

So excited about Sunday, really hope we stuff them. Just hope we don't have a 'Spurs'' week, where we drop points in the league, out of Europa and lose a cup final all in a week.

It's one of those that if we lose then it will be looked back on as a crucial part of the season that we threw away. Yet if we win on Sunday we'll probably forgive and forget all about the last 3 games.

At least once the final is over we can focus 100% on the League and I think we have plenty of winable games left.

 

[Beni]

It's one of those that if we lose then it will be looked back on as a crucial part of the season that we threw away. Yet if we win on Sunday we'll probably forgive and forget all about the last 3 games.

At least once the final is over we can focus 100% on the League and I think we have plenty of winable games left.

Yeah, and as much as I don't want Arsenal or Liverpool to progress in Champs and Europa Leagues, was hoping they'd got through so that it would impact there games in the PL.

 

[dondo]

At the point of the final I thought we were going places under Ramos ( no not the championship), we had just beaten arsenal. 5-1 and results were picking up after a poor start to the season. I was confident going into that final more so than I am now , would be a lot more confident if we had berbatov and keane 2008 upfront

 

[pablo73]

I wish Chavski still had Avram Grant as manager....

 

[dondo]

I still feel that we will be entering this as the under dogs, which is always my preferred option. Less pressure on the players, the papers are expecting to lose but know we'll put up a fight opposed to going in as favourites and then not turning up, ie, Portsmouth Semi Final afew years ago.

I agree with the OP. Losing isn't all bad as the squad is young will know just how close we have come and will be wanting to better the loss but, I think they'll all be up for it, especially after last night and really think it will be the likes of Mason, Bentaleb and Kane really going at it and hopefully encouraging the rest of the team to fight for it.

When comparing the 2 squads and making a 'dream team' I'd switch to a 4-4-2 with Ledley in place of Dier, Lennon (2008 version) instead of Lamela and Berbatov upfront with Kane instead of Dembele. Keane obviously has the experience over Kane but think Kane will have the true fighting spirit we will need

Lloris
Walker----King----Vertonghen----Rose
Lennon--Bentaleb--Mason--Eriksen
Kane---Berbatov

2008 woodgate has to get in, he scored the winner

 

[kungfugrip]

If you put King, Woodgate, Berba and Keane into our current team that would be a great team to watch.

 

[JonnySpurs]

I think the key here is for there to not be a gigantic meltdown on Sunday if we don't win. I realise that warrants an optimistic rating but come on, this season has ended up being pretty good, certainly better than I thought it would be.

As I've said before, next season is the one to be excited about, anything that comes from this season is a bonus and that includes a trophy. Poch has proved what he is capable of and with the right players going out and coming in to the club, we can really do something special next year.

Europa League can suck my balls, I hate that competition. So no major loss to go out of that. Progressing would have been a continual drain on the rest of the league campaign and whilst we have Harry Kane firing, we have an outside shot at top 4 finish.

 

[mil1lion]

I think the key here is for there to not be a gigantic meltdown on Sunday if we don't win. I realise that warrants an optimistic rating but come on, this season has ended up being pretty good, certainly better than I thought it would be.

As I've said before, next season is the one to be excited about, anything that comes from this season is a bonus and that includes a trophy. Poch has proved what he is capable of and with the right players going out and coming in to the club, we can really do something special next year.

Europa League can suck my balls, I hate that competition. So no major loss to go out of that. Progressing would have been a continual drain on the rest of the league campaign and whilst we have Harry Kane firing, we have an outside shot at top 4 finish.

Indeed this season was always going to be a transitional one yet again with a new manager. We certainly are progressing better than I expected so far. Mostly because of the breakthrough of Kane & Mason, but also improvements some of our other players have made. I've been really impressed with how Bentaleb is progressing this season too. The Cup Final is more than I expected this season so hopefully they show the passion and desire to win and then no matter the result we'll come out with our heads held high.

I feel differently about the Europa League though. It's a good tournament and an opportunity for a trophy not to mention the CL qualification. I'm a big advocate for winning silverware and there are only 4 trophies to really go for, 6 if you include things like Community Shield & Super Cup. For us though we will not win the League anytime soon, while the FA Cup is tough and Europa even tougher to win. I'd still love to see us win either. The League Cup seems the most achievable for us but I still want us to compete for the others. It's all about building that winning mentality so that no matter what competition we're in we go out and believe we can win. It will take time but experiencing Finals and Semi Finals will only make us stronger. Ultimately we want CL over EL and again we need regular CL football to really progress to the top level. I think the EL is good preparation for the CL though and if we can get further in that or maybe even win I think we'll be better positioned for the CL.

 

[Mr Pink]

I think the key here is for there to not be a gigantic meltdown on Sunday if we don't win. I realise that warrants an optimistic rating but come on, this season has ended up being pretty good, certainly better than I thought it would be.

As I've said before, next season is the one to be excited about, anything that comes from this season is a bonus and that includes a trophy. Poch has proved what he is capable of and with the right players going out and coming in to the club, we can really do something special next year.

Europa League can suck my balls, I hate that competition. So no major loss to go out of that. Progressing would have been a continual drain on the rest of the league campaign and whilst we have Harry Kane firing, we have an outside shot at top 4 finish.

Totally agree, I'm happy if we keep progressing under Poch.

Now that we're out of the Europa League I actually think we've more than outside chance of top 4 as well. Not favourites but our chances have just improved quite considerably IMO.

 

[eddiev14]

I think the key here is for there to not be a gigantic meltdown on Sunday if we don't win. I realise that warrants an optimistic rating but come on, this season has ended up being pretty good, certainly better than I thought it would be.

As I've said before, next season is the one to be excited about, anything that comes from this season is a bonus and that includes a trophy. Poch has proved what he is capable of and with the right players going out and coming in to the club, we can really do something special next year.

Europa League can suck my balls, I hate that competition. So no major loss to go out of that. Progressing would have been a continual drain on the rest of the league campaign and whilst we have Harry Kane firing, we have an outside shot at top 4 finish.

Agreed.

However, this summer has to finally be the moment when we use the window to waft away the stale farts lingering around our squad.

They have been utterly stifling us for far too long now.

If we do that and give Poch the players he wants then I think we have a lot to look forward to.

Really think Poch has done such a marvellous job this season with the squad he was given.

 

[tototoner]

I wish Chavski still had Avram Grant as manager....

Exactly what I was going to post

 

[garryparkerschest]

I still feel that we will be entering this as the under dogs, which is always my preferred option. Less pressure on the players, the papers are expecting to lose but know we'll put up a fight opposed to going in as favourites and then not turning up, ie, Portsmouth Semi Final afew years ago.

I agree with the OP. Losing isn't all bad as the squad is young will know just how close we have come and will be wanting to better the loss but, I think they'll all be up for it, especially after last night and really think it will be the likes of Mason, Bentaleb and Kane really going at it and hopefully encouraging the rest of the team to fight for it.

When comparing the 2 squads and making a 'dream team' I'd switch to a 4-4-2 with Ledley in place of Dier, Lennon (2008 version) instead of Lamela and Berbatov upfront with Kane instead of Dembele. Keane obviously has the experience over Kane but think Kane will have the true fighting spirit we will need

Lloris
Walker----King----Vertonghen----Rose
Lennon--Bentaleb--Mason--Eriksen
Kane---Berbatov

I'd have a fit Woodgate over Vertonghen all day long.

 

[spursfan77]

The 2008 team is easily better Individually.