Winner of FA Cup Semi Will Win The League!

Anyone else surprised how easily Manchester United had Chelsea’s number on Sunday?

I was.

Chelsea, from pretty much the early part of the season when Conte couldn’t quite get a back four to work, have looked incredibly impressive, tactically sound and have had all of the attributes you’d expect from Champions.

Not on Sunday, which begs the question..

Is this a bad day at the office or the start of a full on choke?

Concern For Conte
When the Blues went on their best run of the season, winning ten games on the spin, they kept seven clean sheets and you knew – you knew – that teams had to do something consistently special over 90 minutes to beat them.

In the last ten Premier League games they haven’t kept one clean sheet.

And with Spurs scoring goals for fun and, most importantly, keeping shut out after shut out, if I was Conte…

I’d be seriously concerned.

Add to the mix a volatile Diego Costa who is begging to be sent off anytime soon and an Eden Hazard who was so easily marked by Ander Herrera, that every manager who has to face Chelsea until the season ends must be thinking their chances increase massively if they now put someone man to man on the Belgian.

Spurs The Neutrals Choice?
Poch surely now must be thinking that after falling foul of the Leicester love fest last season, the average football fan is rooting for Spurs to do it.

Why would that matter? I’m convinced that opposition players bought into the general public mood of “We’d love the Foxes to win too” and in some cases rolled over and had their bellies tickled by Leicester, so I’m wondering whether some teams may well be hoping Spurs and their cracking group of talented youngsters can do it after a season where for most of it we’ve been crowning Chelsea as Champions. Players are only human after all!

One thing is for sure, when I’m at Wembley for BoyleSports this coming Cup Semi weekend, neither Conte or Poch will be treating this as a phoney war, both will now have to go for it, and you know what?

The winner for me not only gets a return visit to Wembley, but takes the biggest prize of them all. The League.