FA Cup wrap: Spurs defeat puts Redknapp in tight spot

The paths taken by Tottenham and Chelsea to get to this late stage in the season have taken very different directions. At one stage, Spurs were threatening to launch a Premier League title bid; now they’ve got no trophies to play for – and will struggle to make next season’s Champions League. By contrast, Chelsea spent the autumn and winter treading water. But the removal of Andre Villas-Boas as manager has been the catalyst to spark a springtime revival expertly orchestrated by his stand-in replacement Roberto di Matteo. That revival includes a Champions League semifinal date with mighty Barcelona. And lest we forget, Tottenham couldn’t even get out of a Europa League group featuring PAOK, Rubin Kazan and Shamrock Rovers. [caption id=“attachment_276900” align=“alignleft” width=“380” caption=“Spurs manager Harry Redknapp. Getty Images”] [/caption] Despite the contrast in recent fortunes, it was not to be expected that the grand occasion of an FA Cup semifinal at Wembley would result in a four-goal winning margin for the blue corner of London. Chelsea led through a super Didier Drogba goal just before the interval, but their passage was made significantly easier by a horrible decision from referee Martin Atkinson, awarding them a second goal when he erroneously believed the ball had crept into Carlo Cudicini’s goalmouth. Stung by the injustice, Spurs poured forward and got one goal back, but their defence remained stretched as they went in search of further goals, and Chelsea picked them off three more times. One argument afterwards was that Spurs only got their goal, and thus a tentative foothold on the match, because they were so furious with the Chelsea goal that should never have counted. I’m not sure about that – if it had stayed at 1-0 for much longer, Chelsea would have retreated into their shell and that could have proved dangerous. Astonishingly, a number of Tottenham fans were calling for manager Harry Redknapp to be sacked. It’s a remarkable swing in fortunes for a man whose career has already had its ups and downs. When, almost simultaneously, Fabio Capello resigned from the England job and Redknapp was cleared of tax evasion by a jury following a criminal trial, Redknapp was the bees’ knees in English football – apparently Capello’s successor-in-waiting while in north London they pleaded for him to stay at White Hart Lane. Indecision, from the FA and by Redknapp himself, plus Spurs’ poor form, means it’s impossible to know what’s going to happen now. One of the more outlandish theories I’ve heard is that Redknapp is negotiating with the FA, hoping they’ll let him bring his son Jamie into the coaching structure. I assume Jamie’s not well known outside the UK so I’ll fill you in - he’s a 38-year-old former Liverpool midfielder better known these days for flogging games consoles and cheap holidays alongside his model wife. Harry’s running out of bargaining chips quickly. Picking Carlo Cudicini as his goalkeeper ahead of Brad Friedel was the latest bizarre manoeuvre. Last week, after a home loss in the league to Norwich, he’d blamed the formation for the defeat – yup, the same formation he’d chosen himself. A contingent of Chelsea’s fans, meanwhile, did their collective image few favours when refusing to observe a minute’s silence before the game. It was intended to mark the anniversary of the Hillsborough disaster in 1988 while also paying respect to Livorno midfielder Piermario Morosini, who collapsed and died after suffering a heart attack during an Italian Serie B game on Saturday. If Liverpool’s fans remember that misdemeanour, the final’s sure to be a spicy occasion. The Reds were pretty good most of the time against Everton in their own semifinal on Saturday, even though Kenny Dalglish had strangely pushed Daniel Agger to left back, leaving the veteran Jamie Carragher in the centre with Martin Skrtel. That decision was directly responsible for Everton’s opening goal, but Luis Suarez and Andy Carroll saved their manager’s blushes with well-taken goals of their own. Things are far from perfect at Liverpool. Chief scout Damien Comolli was sacked in mid-week – I’ve been told the press release was prepared while he had lunch with the board, unaware of what was happening behind the scenes – and their league form has been laughably poor at times. However they are one win away from winning a second trophy this season, and should they manage that they’ll be the only Premier League team to do so. That should keep the American owners happy for the time being.