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The romance of the FA Cup will be truly tested out this weekend as Chelsea take on Portsmouth at Wembley in this Saturday’s English season finale.
Champions, Chelsea, will go into this weekend’s match as hot favourites for most, chasing a historic double after emphatically wrapping up their third Premier League on Sunday (with an 8-0 win).
Portsmouth, however, will be hoping to cause a huge upset and lift the trophy for the second time in three years. Although, the circumstances differ dramatically from the success of 2008.
Back then, manager Harry Redknapp had guided Pompey to a respectable eighth place finish in the Premier League and a first FA Cup final appearance in 69 years. The south-coast club went on to defeat Cardiff City 1-0, thanks to Kanu’s first half goal, which also meant Portsmouth would play European football for the first time in their history.
Despite a win in their first continental match, and an appearance in the UEFA Cup group stage, things took a turn for the worse when Redknapp left the club for a second time in 2008.
This time around the Fratton Park faithful have endured a devastating season, with more headlines off the field than on it.
Well-documented financial problems at the start of the season led to the departure of top players and big earners such as Glen Johnson, Peter Crouch, Niko Kranjcar and Sylvain Distin. Paul Hart’s poor start to the 2009/10 campaign saw him sacked, with Director of Football (and former Chelsea manager) Avram Grant taking on the managers role for the near future.
Portsmouth were unable to pay player wages in December and were then given a transfer embargo before it was later uplifted. Having been taken over by their fourth owner in one season, new chairman Balram Chainrai entered the club into administration.
A nine-point deduction followed, which sealed Portsmouth’s relegation from the premiership after seven years in the top flight.
Despite the club’s future still hanging in the balance off the field, a string of spirited performances during the FA cup will provide optimism as they drop down to England’s second tier.
Chelsea though are looking to make history, having never won a League and Cup double in the Premier League era, despite success in both competitions in recent years.
The Londoners have had a favourable draw in this season’s competition, facing lower league Watford, Preston and Cardiff, along with Premier League’s Stoke and improvers Aston Villa – beating the latter 3-0 in the semi-finals.
Even though the odds are stacked up against poor old Pompey, the FA cup is always a special occasion, and a proud one at that. Both teams will have a lot to prove and nerves may ring early, but Chelsea should still win this.
Just don’t expect a repeat of the 5-0 drubbing at Fratton Park earlier this season.
Prediction: Chelsea 2-0 Portsmouth (but not without a few edgy moments).
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