That's an outside perception though and im not sure it holds much sway on the debate here as it's about the mentality the team has (or doesn't have) not how people outside view us.
I just think it's a shame that after all this side has shown these past few years our own supporters are already priming themselves to lay the blame on mentality rather than to see how the upcoming games unfold.
It is, but this debate is around what we think of winning mentality. No one can really define it, and because of that no one can be absolutely sure the team does or does not have something that can't really be defined.
And maybe it is my own perception, and maybe it is somewhat irrelevant to this debate. I think we have done amazing things. I think as Poch talks about the mentality to be consistent across a season, to pick ourselves up from European disappointment and win 4-1 away, or to have one of the biggest nights in our history and then get the job done against Palace the following Saturday...these are all the things we now have that show we are acting like a top club. And beyond that, you can see it in the players' eyes, in the way they talk, in the way they carry themselves. Their confidence in what they are doing, their belief in what they feel they deserve, it is absolute. That is a big thing. And at some point, that will lead to trophies.
All I'm saying is, we have a big opportunity with the FA Cup. I really hope we prove we're the team to be feared, that no one wants to come up against. Rather than being unlucky, or falling short. I'd never say we 'need' to win a trophy at the start of every season, because there are other big clubs, with more money, that are also competing, so to say we need one just isn't fair on us. But, we have an opportunity because Liverpool, City and Arsenal are out. And we are better, more together, and more well equipped to face United and Chelsea. United are in the news for all the wrong reasons. Chelsea are having a pretty terrible slide down the League. If we ultimately can't beat these teams when we have a near fully fit squad, total belief in our way of working, and great form and conditioning at this point in the season, what will people hold it up as? I would have to say mentality may play a part. Not because we don't have a strong one throughout the season, but I think it is a fair point to say that getting that first one over the line is a big step. I remember there being a lot of talk of Andy Murray winning the US Open in 2012 being a good kick for him to ultimately win WImbledon the following year. And maybe that is complete nonsense, but I think a lot of people would say there is something in getting that first one over the line.
So I'm not saying we need to win a trophy, and I'm not saying we don't have a winning mentality, or that we aren't doing amazing things as a club. But in the context of the next 2 months, we have a massive opportunity to do something, and a lot of thing appear to be in our favor. Let's once and for all go out there and fudging win. No hard luck. No silly mistakes. No bad refs. Let's just fudging do it. There's no reason why we can't. And if we do, then I think we will have taken another massive step, alongside all the other massive steps we have taken over the last few years.
