A Rooster of a Day !!!

Today marks the arrival of the Year of the Rooster in China, as the Chinese celebrate their new year.  This means that twice this year on a New Years Day - Tottenham have claimed victory.

There is only one problem with today's victory, it stirs up a habit in Tottenham fans to attribute omens to their wishful hopes for success.  The omen used to be "Spurs win something when the year ends in 1" ,  for sure they won trophies in 1901, 1921, 1931, 1961, 1971, 1981, 1991 but if the longest gap between 1's is 30 years then perhaps Spurs will win big in 2021, but Spurs fans are at it again - and this time the omen is "The Chinese Year of the Rooster".

For sure fans can claim that the way Spurs scratched out a humbling win against 4th tier Wycombe Wanderers showed that Spurs are finding wins in matches they nearly squandered, but the omen is misplaced, at least in the FA Cup for three reasons.

1. The first reason is that Spurs cockerel is blue, but the Chinese Rooster is Red

2. The FA Cup is sponsored by Emirates Airlines - an airline that is marked by a red logo

3. Emirates Airlines is the chief sponsor also of Arsenal - Spurs despised rivals in London

If anything Arsenal should be entertaining the omen of the Red Rooster - because for the past two decades Arsenal have always had the upper hand against Tottenham.  This year both Spurs and Arsenal are perhaps serious title contenders, or at least if Chelsea squander the large league table lead they enjoy.

Furthermore the focus should remain on the league and the closer Spurs get to a final of a FA Cup, the more crowded the fixture list will be at the end of the season - and due to Spurs heavy duty training due to Mauricio Pochettino's fierce training regiment, typically most Pochettino teams have shown a marked decline in the final few games.

Moreoever if Spurs fail to get a top four position, it can still get into the Champions League with by winning the Europa League.  The Europa League means something this year, the FA Cup does not.  There is some forms of joy such as minnow beating one of the established big boys and Spurs next opponents, Liverpool, are having a torrid time of late, having been beaten by Wolverhampton Wanderers today at Anfield by the score of 1-2.  On the day the other Wanderers team lost to Spurs, it would signal that Spurs are grinding out results, while Liverpool since losing Mane to the African Nations Cup Final have gone down the proverbial tube. Despite that if Liverpool beat Spurs next week - the momentum moves back to Liverpool. (A team which has Red Bird on its team logo, a cormorant).

The only thing to celebrate today was a match which saw Spurs come back from 0-2 and 2-3 respectively.  In the end Wycombe's brave resistance was undone by late goals.  The shot count of 21-17 showed that Wycombe were always in the game.  In the end superior fitness won the day for Spurs, but if truth be told, Wycombe deserved far more - and with just five minutes to go, their fans went delirious as they took a 2-3 lead.  At this point Spurs defender Kieron Trippier also left the game with hurt ankle and since all the subs were used Spurs played the last 15 minutes of the game with a man short. That Spurs came back from the brink and scored after the 6 minutes of injury time showed the team had character, but Spurs fans want most the league title and continuous progress.

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