Chelsea fans would consider Tottenham securing Premier League survival at Stamford Bridge on Tuesday an appropriate finale to a dismal season.
A win for Spurs will secure their Premier League survival – and realistically, given their goal difference advantage over third-from-bottom West Ham, so would a point.
Their hosts have had little to cheer recently.
The fans feel disconnected from the ownership and the players.
Their team sit 10th, and they have just lost the FA Cup final.
But the appointment of new manager Xabi Alonso on Sunday has at least brought some optimism.
So too would beating Spurs, and forcing Roberto de Zerbi and his players to take their survival fight to a final-day home match against Everton.
Chelsea’s History of Spoiling Tottenham’s Ambitions
Chelsea, in a sense, have been here before: In 2016, they mathematically ended Tottenham’s Premier League title challenge with a draw at Stamford Bridge, in what had been a difficult season.
The following season, Chelsea won their most recent league title, and many of the problems of the previous campaign were quickly forgotten among a squad that faced similar criticism from supporters.
Spurs have won just once at Stamford Bridge since 1990.
It is a miserable record, and one Chelsea fans want to continue.
A Century-Old Rivalry Fueled by Relegation and Cup Finals
The rivalry between Chelsea and Spurs dates back more than a century – and includes two relegations and a cup final.
The rivalry’s origins date back to 1910, when Tottenham relegated Chelsea from the First Division by beating them on the season’s final day.
It was cemented when they met in the first all-London FA Cup final, in front of 100,000 fans at Wembley in 1967.
Author Mark Meehan says: “It’s a fan-driven rivalry going back generations and needle has built between fans, rather than being based on geography, like Arsenal versus Spurs.”
He added: “It goes back as far as 1910 when Spurs relegated us. The rivalry escalated in the 1967 final because two former Chelsea players, Jimmy Greaves and Terry Venables, helped Tottenham win the cup.
Relegation and Fan Violence Intensified the Rivalry
“However, it intensified in 1975 when Eddie McCreadie, who had played for the club in the 1960s and early 1970s, was put in charge.
He wanted to show he was as brave off the pitch as on it.
He gave the captaincy to a young Ray Wilkins.
But sadly, it all ended in relegation, with Spurs playing their part again.
“On day of fan violence, Spurs won 2-0 a week before the end of the season, and Chelsea would be relegated again.
It intensified the rivalry between supporters.
“In more recent times, Chelsea began getting the better of the rivalry to the point I got credited with calling their stadium ‘Three Point Lane’ in the Chelsea Independent fanzine, though I must admit I don’t remember ever doing that.”
That folklore explains why, when the iconic Liquidator walk-on music plays at Stamford Bridge, many Chelsea fans would judge it an appropriate finale to a dismal season if Tottenham’s Premier League survival fight went to the final day.