During Lockdown 1.0 back in March and April of last year, and during one of the endless Zoom quizzes taking place, there was one in particular with the in-laws that stood out. One member asked the question, "Who are the only team to reach 3 FA Cup Finals but never win the trophy?" To which the answer, to great mirth, was of course Leicester City. Now this has been a source of great frustration to City fans, who have seen great success in the League Cup, but this one particular trophy is still missing from the Trophy Cabinet.
Now small disclaimer here, I love the FA Cup. I love the traditions of it, I love the fact that you can be drawn against a Manchester United or a Mansfield Town and I love the excitement that a Cup run brings. Prior to THAT incredible season in 2105/2016, the best I thought we could ever achieve was a shot at winning the FA Cup. Of course 2016 blew that thought completely out of mind, and as such Leicester City now are becoming used to being a challenger for European spots in the Premier League, with a squad packed full of young, exciting and in some cases, genuinely world-class players. As we begin 2021, Leicester find themselves third in the Premier League and a Europa League knockout tie against Slavia Pargue to look forward to. As the team heads to Championship side Stoke City this afternoon, the 2 questions are, can they win the FA Cup and should they target the FA Cup?
The first question, of whether they can or cannot win it is easy to answer, which is yes of course. A team does not get to almost halfway in the season sitting in third by being a poor side. The manner of some of those performances have been superb, with Leeds and Man City away coming to mind. In addition, the injury crises at the start of the season ensured that the depth of the squad was tested, with more fringe players getting game time than in seasons previously. As a result, the team selected to play Stoke this afternoon, whilst will be missing Vardy and Maddison amongst other changes, will feature players that have played frequently in either domestic or European competition. Therefore, this will not be the usual scratch side that is sometimes selected at this stage. City have proven on their day, they can match any team in the league (bar maybe Liverpool). Therefore, should we be successful this afternoon, a tie against any of the traditional top 6 should not cause us fear. That being said, if we can hopefully have a friendly draw until meeting those sides in the latter rounds then we would stand a real good chance of winning the trophy.
The second question is then whether Leicester should target the cup, or instead train their focus on the Premier League and the hunt for a top 4 finish or on the Europa League, with the Cup being a distraction too many. I understand those arguments in favour of prioritising other competitions, especially when considering the money on offer for finishing top 4, could mean keeping our best players and attracting more top quality talent to the club. But for me, football is all about winning trophies. It validates everything you stand for as a club and a fan. Anyone who was at that famous night at Hillsborough in 1997 or the afternoon at Wembley in 2000 to see us lift the League Cup, still remember the buzz and joy of those occasions. Whilst finishing top 4 will be an amazing achievement, unless it is by finishing top, it is hard to imagine that it is a greater feeling than lifting a trophy.
In addition, whilst Brendan Rodger is heavily targeted to achieve European football, and specifically top 4 places, he was also brought in to win trophies and get Leicester to semi-finals and Cup Finals. The pain and annoyance of missing out on the League Cup final after losing to Villa last year at the semi-final stage, should be the motivation we use to spur us on. Knowing that this is a trophy that we have a realistic chance of winning, this should not be discarded as a distraction. I think Brendan will know this, and will know that winning a trophy at Leicester would put him amongst our best ever managers, as well as satisfying the desire of constant improvement of the Chairman, Khun Top.
Finally the last argument in favour of going for the cup lies in the players. It is said that only achieving top 4, will our best players such as Youri, Maddison and Ndidi amongst others, stay at the club. Whilst I accept that the chance of them leaving if were to miss out on top 4 again increases, I believe if we were to get Europa League and win the Cup then they will see that this is a club that is capable of winning things and is constantly moving forward. As such by winning the cup, it is the reason to stay at Leicester, even with the disappointment of not being top 4.
Overall, the FA Cup is a domestic trophy that we are missing, and given we have the team that can win, I feel it is one, that we should be going for. Let's hope for a win against Stoke this afternoon so that we can look forward to being in that hat for the 4th round. Come on Leicester!