The modern reputation and prestige of the FA Cup is a source of frequent discussion among football fans, with many wondering if it still retains much relevance in an era where the Premier League and Champions League are the main priority for the big teams.
But Chelsea are quickly becoming aware of the benefits that succeeding in the knock-out tournament can bring.
Last year the world's oldest cup competition was a welcome consolation for the Blues, with its capture seeing Guus Hiddink rescue a season that had been all-but ruined by Luiz Felipe Scolari’s disappointing tenure. This term, however, no-one in and around the club will be happy if that is the only trophy they finish the season holding. Having been top of the league for much of the campaign, a failure to go on and win it would be a massive disappointment for Carlo Ancelotti’s men.
But the club's league and European challenge has floundered in recent weeks, not helped by John Terry’s difficulty in preventing his off-field problems affecting his on-field performances. A 2-1 defeat to Inter Milan in the first league of their Champions League tie gives them work to do in the return leg in under two weeks' time at Stamford Bridge, while Manchester United are rapidly overhauling the Blues in a title race that was once Chelsea's to lose.
But, once again, the FA Cup offers up the chance to save the Blues’ season. This time by giving them a timely reminder of the approach required to win one, or both, of those other more important prizes.
Chelsea will be favourites to beat Stoke City in front of their own fans on Sunday, but in the process they should ensure they learn from their opponents’ approach.
Tony Pulis’s side have been in the spotlight this week, after defender Ryan Shawcross left Aaron Ramsey with a horrific broken leg in last weekend’s 3-1 victory for the Gunners. That terrible incident has led to scrutiny of the Potters' aggressive and perhaps overly physical playing style.
Despite Arsene Wenger’s initial comments that Shawcross’s tackle was “unacceptable”, replays showed the 22-year-old’s tackle was not malicious, merely poorly timed. It was telling that Wenger, while updating his club’s official website on Ramsey's condition and recovery yesterday, declined the opportunity to heap further criticism on the player and club that had inflicted the injury.
With time to reflect, even the Frenchman seems to have accepted it was an unfortunate accident.
Hopefully the fallout from the incident doesn’t affect Pulis’s men when they arrive at Stamford Bridge. If it doesn’t, and they continue to play in the same uncompromising style, Chelsea’s players will get a first-hand demonstration of the effectiveness of their methods.
Shawcross, the player most likely to be adversely affected by the experience, has already insisted he will continue to play in the same way.
"What happened in the Arsenal game will not be a factor when I next play again for Stoke," the defender assurred The Mirror this week.
"Whenever I pull on the Stoke shirt I have got to be 100 per cent committed and I have got to be the same as ever. Hopefully, when I am back from the suspension I can do well again."
Chelsea should learn from Stoke’s approach to the game, and then look to add it to their own gameplan.
After all, despite their clearly inferior talent, Pulis’s team have only lost to Manchester City once this season in four meetings (beating them in a replay to get to Sunday’s FA Cup quarter-final), while Chelsea have failed to get anything from two games against the Eastlands club.
Sometimes, especially against the more technically gifted sides, a more direct approach can bring tangible rewards.
Last time the two sides met, at the beginning of September, only a last-gasp Florent Malouda strike deep into injury-time earned the Blues all three points. The Frenchman and his side need to get back to that 'never say die' attitude they seem to have lost.
Terry was lucky not to be castrated, literally, by his wife in light of his extra-marital dalliances, but on the football pitch he seems to be showing many of the signs of emasculation. In recent weeks he has seemed marginally off the pace, perhaps fearful of the reaction of already unsympathetic fans and media, making uncharacteristic errors as a result of being slightly more reticent to put his foot and head in where it hurts or to ‘leave his mark’ on an opposition player.
With Michael Essien out injured, that leaves Chelsea with a noticeable lack of ‘bite’ — and the likes of Everton and Inter Milan have conspired to take advantage in recent times.
A quick refresher course from Stoke on the powers of physical play might do the Blues the world of good. Having for much of the season beaten sides through quality and reputation alone (in their October-November run of 4-0 and 5-0 wins, teams just seemed to give up before the whistle even blew) opponents are now smelling blood and going in for the kill, and the players are struggling to rise to the challenge.
Ancelotti, as much as it might go against his better judgement, needs his players to incorporate an uncompromising style of gameplay. Get challenges in early; make your opponents know they are going to be in a game all day. Stoke will demonstrate how effective that approach can be.
If Rory Delap plays, the midfielder with few other discernible talents might also once again show the benefit of having a long-throw specialist in a team. By now every club should have one — surely it can only take a few hours after training for a player to master the art — because, as unfashionable and 'anti-football' as the technique is, it brings proven rewards.
And with a Premier League title on the line, can Chelsea afford not to utilise every advantage at their disposal?
