An FA Cup triumph in 1974 brought European Football to Upton Park, and even my dad had a bit of fun

For me, the Champions League invites for next season had been written and posted a long time ago, even before this campaign had begun. It seemed like a closed shop with Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Liverpool – probably in that order – taking the honour of representing the Premiership on the Continent’s greatest stage.

Newcastle and Tottenham have in the past looked like sides capable of making a breakthrough, but the elite four have always been a step above in class and consistency. Thank goodness it’s not been all too predictable this year, apart from Chelsea running away with the title, of course.

United and Liverpool will slug it out to clinch the runners-up spot, thus avoiding potentially awkward qualifying rounds in the summer. And Arsenal’s domestic decline has seen a battle for regional supremacy with Spurs holding fourth spot for so much of the season.

European wannabes

As the Gunners entered their last-16 match against Real Madrid, they did so with a mission to win the European Cup for the first time, thus making sure they are part of the party next term.

But, despite having reached March suffering an extraordinary nine league defeats, with seven on the road, it’s worth remembering just two seasons ago this group of players – plus Patrick Vieira, of course – went through a whole season undefeated. And I think they can come back to haunt Spurs, who, in fairness, have been doing all they can in recent weeks to throw away their advantage.

William Hill would agree, offering 1/2 on the Gunners edging out the White Hart Lane side. Spurs are priced at 6/4.

But what about that little group of upstarts behind? You can get up to 8/1 on West Ham, Blackburn, Bolton, Wigan and Manchester City forcing their way into Champions League action, and you have to agree Wigan’s achievement is the most stunning. As manager Paul Jewell pointed out when his side drew 2-2 at Spurs last month to move beyond the 40-point barrier: ‘Most people didn’t even back us to get 40 corners.’

When I was growing up, European football seemed a distant concept. Yes, West Ham had followed in Tottenham’s tracks and won the now defunct Cup Winners Cup in the mid-Sixties, but in the 1970s it was a case of peering into the screen of Sportsnight and watching other teams on foreign fields.

My old man didn’t have much time for such games. ‘Bloody cheats,’ he would huff every time a Spanish or Italian player rolled around in agony, trying to con a referee, who, of course, was ‘bent’ because he was foreign as well. ‘Cynical bastards,’ he would rage, when they spat, tugged shirts or went over the top. He was a bit of an Alf Garnet when it came to the continental game.

An FA Cup triumph in 1975 brought European football to Upton Park, and even my dad had a bit of fun with it all. The Hammers were drawn away first in most rounds, so the second legs often became a case of heroic comebacks.

They performed superbly until succumbing to Anderlecht in the final. Upton Park punters still fondly remember those days.

The same goes for Tottenham fans, who have been starved of the glory, glory nights they made as early European pioneers. Spurs must be kicking themselves that they haven’t put more daylight between themselves and Arsenal for the run-in.

The expansion of the European Cup into the Champions league perhaps makes the established big boys a bit blase about the confrontations now… and attendances in the early stages reflect this. Yet when it gets down to it, there is still a fantastic sense of occasion and unusual goings on.

The Champions clique

And that is what still gives the Champions League its kudos and financial strength. The potential problem though is that the greater the number of seasons teams are in it, the richer they become, which means they attract the best players and so they can qualify again and again.

The snowball effect enhances the move towards a closed shop, which is of course what Europe’s elite clubs really want. That is why it would be a massive shot in the arm to the Premiership if Arsenal fail to make it this season.

Suddenly, a club like Tottenham, hell even a West Ham, would have the added muscle not merely to gate crash the party, but to step up another level.

Everton had the chance this season but failed to grab it. And of course a few years back, intoxicated by the adrenalin rush of a Champions League run, Leeds virtually bankrupted themselves in reckless pursuit of the dream.

But at least the dream is still alive. So the challenge is there in the remainder of the season for Spurs, the Hammers, Wigan, Blackburn, Bolton and City to go fourth and multiply the odds.