It might happen again
I thoroughly enjoyed Tottenham's quarter-final demolishing of Newcastle United. I found the draw for the semi-final to be equally pleasing. Let's face it, if it was Chelsea in a two-legged affair we'd be giving up on Wembley by now but Sheffield United makes it far more plausible that we'll reach the final. That's if we make sure our home performance is equal to the way we brushed the Toon army aside. The final is a one off so anything is possible (for an example see 2008 when we beat them lot from Stamford Bridge 2-1).
Just to clarify, I've not yet got my suit measured. I'm not discounting the possibility that Sheffield United can cause an upset. I'm a Tottenham supporter after-all so I don't take anything for granted. But I'd be damned if I'm not going to be happy that there's a chance of silverware within our grasp. They are probably thinking the same thing.
Yes, it's the much maligned League Cup. It's still a day out that could be graced with those very moments we're so desperate to experience. Back in 2008 we made it so much more than what it was thanks to our semi-final glory, beating Arsenal 6-2 on aggregate and then seeing Jonathan Woodgate head in for a 2-1 extra-time cup final victory.
As for that 4-0 demolishing of Alan Pardew's men, the most prominent highlight was the fact that the game played out with a sense of heart-warming normality. The visitors we're weakened in selection due to injury but lined up with their strongest possible eleven. We made changes. With Mauricio Pochettino defending his rotation pre-match it's fairly wonderful that we played with shape and tempo without the disjointed concerns we've had to endure at White Hart Lane a fair few times this season.
Michel Vorm was commanding and confident between the sticks. It was good to see him tested as it allowed us to connect with the keeper as we don't often see him start.
Christian Eriksen and Harry Kane were superb. Eriksen with a visionary first time pass to Danny Rose who hit it first time back across the goal to Roberto Soldado who should have scored. He did earlier after coming on as a sub, taking a touch and slotting it home. It was quite funny that even with the entire goal in front of him one nervous Spurs fan behind the goal held his hands on his head in panic that the Spaniard would somehow miss.
Kane's goal was a smart left-footed effort on the turn. Nacer Chadli aimed his short through the Newcastle defence to score at the start of the second half, burying the memory of when Newcastle did the very same thing to us. Nabil Bentaleb was positively beaming to score his first Spurs goal thanks to a goal-keeping calamity.
Sure, Newcastle missed a couple of sitters and had some early efforts. But 4-0 is comprehensive and to see a rotated side play with urgency and deliver cutting edge has stuck a smile on my face and has me dreaming about white and blue ribbons on a cup.
