David vs Goliath in the FA Cup

That’s right ladies and gents, it’s that time of the season again to prepare ourselves for the FA Cup Final. This season, which will see the 129th FA Cup Final, will see two teams who are at polar opposites in the Premiership battle it out for the trophy. But what’s gone on, particularly with Portsmouth, that has led to such a catastrophic fall from grace in as little as two years, and how have Chelsea improved to become Premier League Champions again?

For Chelsea, it’s been a return to the Mourinho-era in some respects, as Stamford Bridge has seen the return of the Premiership trophy for the first time since 2006. The arrival of Carlo Ancelotti from AC Milan has given a mostly unchanged squad a rejuvenated spirit and drive that eventually pushed them past Manchester United to the title. Their Champions League season was cut short as they were haunted by the ghost of Mourinho past, who returned with his Inter side to knock them out in the last 16 round of the tournament and who are now set to face Bayern Munich in the final having also disposed of last years winners Barcelona. The main challenge for the blues is to avoid complacency against an easily written off opponent.

For Portsmouth however the story couldn’t be more different. Put up for sale by their Russian owner, Alexandre Gaydamak, at the end of last season and the close season saw the arrival of a new owner, Sulaiman Al Fahim. Al Fahim was best known for his involvement in the takeover of Manchester City by Sheikh Al Mansoor. This was short lived as Pompey quickly dived into financial trouble and within months the club had another owner, this time in the form of Ali Al-Faraj. The sale of top players like Peter Crouch, Glen Johnson and Niko Kranjcar had not helped with performances on the pitch, and despite these sales finances continued to worsen, with players not getting played and a transfer embargo being enforced by the Premier League. By the second half of the season another owner, the fourth in less than 12 months, in the form of Balram Chainrai, had taken control. Yet still the club sank further into debt, eventually leading to it declaring itself in administration and therefore receiving the obligatory 10 point deduction. This confirmed their relegation from the Premier League and a return next season to the Championship. Eventually Pompey ended the season bottom, due only to that points deduction.

However the FA Cup has granted them a welcome distraction from financial troubles and Premier League woes. The scalp of

Piquionne

Tottenham in the semi-final at Wembley was the highlight of their cup campaign, and brought loan signing Frederic Piquionne in particular even more praise. That could be added to the plaudits he received for his performance in the Sixth Round against Birmingham where he struck twice past England hopeful Joe Hart.

We must also not forget that Chelsea were FA Cup winners last season and therefore are the holders, while Portsmouth won it the year before in 2008 while being led by the expertise of Harry Redknapp. Sadly, winning a major trophy seems to have been the beginning of Pompeys troubles, rather than the next stage in their development. Meetings between these teams in the Premier League this season have seen Chelsea win both times, 2-1 at home and 5-0 away. In the FA Cup, they have only ever met twice, with a win for each. Portsmouth won a Fifth Round replay in 1929 1-0, then 68 years later it was Chelsea who won 4-1 and went on to win the trophy.

It’s a safe bet to say Chelsea are favourites and really should win, but as Portsmouth have shown the FA Cup has been good for them, and they will want to end an extremely disappointing season with a trophy no one ever thought they would get close to winning. As always your feedback, views, and football banter are welcomed and encouraged!

This post was by The Gent. You can follow him on Twitter: @The__Gent

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