I just feel there is a bit of a depressing mood around the club at the moment. I think a lot of fans are feeling pretty flat after the Swansea and Arsenal games in particular. There is a definite snobbery around the EL, you can see it at every level, from the fans arguing about whether winning it is better than coming second in the league in another thread, right up to Mourinho with a face like a slapped arse in the press conference doing very little to hide the fact that this is a consolation prize and a route into the CL. The season could end on a high but the mood has been more influenced by how disjointed our performances have been, and the seed of worry that has planted in many of us that we could still end up with nothing. If we go through tonight in an edgy game we will be a step closer but it isnt going to fundamentally change that - especially with a trip to Spurs, where we will field a weakened team and probably end up with yet another fairly underwhelming performance and result.
So I really, really hope we turn it on tonight and do more than the minimum required to go through. We need a lift, dammit. We need belief that we can score goals going into the final, that we might even score some in the league. Sure, it might be practically meaningless now in terms of CL qualification, but we still have games to play and we still want to be entertained.
I just think stumbling through in a similar manner to the last round will put unnecessary pressure on us, make the final seem more 50/50 than it really should. Whereas if we turn up and put in a really good attacking performance that is actually reflected in the scoreline we will all feel a bit more excited and upbeat going into the final.
I dont want to accept that just because we have been incapable of scoring goals this season that we are incapable of scoring goals. But that is a bit how I am feeling, at least. In the score prediction game I went with 0-0 because that is just how I feel going into our games at the moment and I dont want the season to fizzle out with me feeling that way, including potentially going into an EL Final.
So please Mourinho. I know getting to the final is the most important thing and you want to kill their fluency and stop them from playing and yadda yadda yadda. But we are a better team that them, with better players all over the pitch, and we have an advantage in the scoreline and we are playing at home. So let's not worry about them attacking us, let's take the game to them and score a shit load of goals, because it will make all the difference to the mood around here. We need it.
