Don't worry Tottenham, losing the Capital One Cup final doesn't always mean the rest of your season will go down the pan

Some teams have managed to avoid malaise after final

Tottenham's players despondent and dejected at the final whistle after losing to bitter rivals Chelsea at Wembley (Getty Images)

The theory goes that losing the Capital One Cup is bad for your health.

Birmingham City were famously relegated in 2011 after handing Arsenal a shock defeat, thanks to a late Obafemi Martins own goal, while Arsene Wenger's Gunners slipped out of title contention, winning just two of their final 11 matches to fall from second to fourth in the Premier League.

Spurs fans might be fearing the worst after their 2-0 defeat to Chelsea on Sunday - they have also experienced a post-Cup final defeat slide. In 2008, following their 2-1 extra-time win over Chelsea, Tottenham only managed to take 14 points from their remaining 12 league fixtures; Spurs only recorded two victories in that sequence.

In the last 10 years, however, four sides have shown that defeat in the League Cup final can drive you on to great improvement in the final months of the season.

After losing to Tottenham in 2008, thanks to an extra-time Jonathan Woodgate header, Chelsea were brilliant, picking up 30 points in their final 12 Premier League games, going undefeated and even reaching the final of the Champions League under Avram Grant. Unfortunately for the Blues, they ended up runners=up in the league and losing in Moscow after John Terry's penalty miss.

A season later Tottenham were in the final to defend their trophy, although they would eventually lose 4-1 on penalties to Manchester United.

Harry Redknapp's team got over the defeat to pick up 23 points from a possible 36 and drive their way up the table. They had been 14th on the day of the final that year but ended up finishing in 8th place.

Just last season Sunderland produced a remarkable run of results to keep themselves in the Premier League. Manchester City scored an easy 3-1 victory at Wembley (they too improved their form to win the title), but Gus Poyet's men completed a miraculous escape in the final months of the season.

Sunderland went on a brillaint run to avoid relegation after losing the Cup final last season (Getty Images)

The final came in the middle of a nine game run in which they lost eight matches, before they visited City again on 16 April, Connor Wickham scoring twice to earn Sunderland a shock point.

Three days later they went to Stamford Bridge and ended Jose Mourinho's long unbeaten home record in the league (that stood at 78 matches), a victory that kicked off a run of four successive wins that kept the team in the division.

Fear not, Tottenham.

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SINCE 2005

2005 – Chelsea 3 Liverpool 2

Chelsea

League form after triumph: P12 W9 D3 L0 PTS95 (1ST)

League form towards final: P26 W20 D5 L1 PTS 65 (1ST)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 77% win ratio (Leading up to final)

Chelsea were able to take 30 points from their remaining 12 games in the League following their League Cup win over Liverpool. Furthermore more Chelsea, didn’t lose another league game after their 3-2 extra time victory over Liverpool.

Liverpool

League form after Cup Final loss: PL12 W4 D3 L5 PTS58[ (5TH)

League form towards final: P26 W13 D4 L9 PTS 43 (5TH)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 50% WIN ratio (Leading up to final)

Affects/Conclusion: Liverpool took 15 points from their remaining 12 games and although they were beaten by Chelsea in the final, their league position didn’t alter and they stayed in 5th until the end of the season.

2006 – Manchester United 4 Wigan 0

Manchester United

League form after triumph: P12 W9 D2 L 1 PTS83 (2nd)

League form towards final: P26 W16 D6 L4 PTS54 (3rd)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 62% win Ratio (Leading up to final)

United took 29 points from their remaining 12 games following their League Cup triumph. The Red Devils were only beaten once in the league contrast to their 4 defeats leading up to the final. They also finished a league position higher in 2nd than the 3rd place they were at leading up to the final.

Wigan

League form after Cup Final loss: P11 W3 D2 L6 PTS55 (10th)

League form towards final: P27 W12 D4 L11 PTS40 (9th)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 44% win Ratio (Leading up to final)

Wigan only won in the three more times following their defeat to United. Beaten on 6 more occasions, Wigan finished 10th, one place below their league position leading up to the final.

2007 – Chelsea 2 Arsenal 1

Chelsea

League form after triumph: P11 W6 D5 L0 PTS83 (2nd)

League form towards final: P27 W18 D6 L3 PTS60 (2ND)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 67% win Ratio (Leading up to final)

Just like in 2005 after winning the League Cup, Chelsea once again didn’t lost a single came en route to their runners-up finish in the League this year.

Arsenal

League form after Cup Final loss: P12 W5 D4 L3 PTS68 (4th)

League form towards final: P26 W14 D7 L5 PTS49 (4th)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 54% win ratio (Leading up to final)

Arsenal had a steady end to the season staying in fourth place and taking 19 points from their remaining 12 games.

2008 – Spurs 2 Chelsea 1

Tottenham

League form after triumph: P12 W3 D5 L4 PTS46 (11th)

League form towards after final: P26 W8 D8 L10 PTS32 (11th)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 31% win ratio (Leading up to final)

Spurs failed to capitalise on their league Cup win and only won three matches from their remaining 12 games.

Chelsea

League form after Cup Final loss: P12 W9 D3 L0 PTS85 (2nd)

League form towards final: P26 W16 D7 L3 PTS55 (3rd)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 62% win ratio (Leading up to final)

Despite losing to Spurs in the final, it seemed that this loss galvanised The Blue as they took an incredible 30 points from their remaining 12 games and once again, not losing a single game in the process. They also finished a league place higher in 2nd, missing out on the Premier League by two points to Manchester United.

2009 – Manchester United 0 Tottenham 0 (United won 4-1 on pens)

Manchester United

League form after triumph: P12 W9 D1 L2 PTS90 (1st)

League form towards after final: P26 W19 D5 L2 PTS62 (1st)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 73% win ratio (Leading up to final)

United benefited greatly by winning the League Cup on this season, taking 28 points from their remaining 12 games en route to their Premier League triumph.

Tottenham

League form after Cup Final loss: P12 W7 D2 L3 PTS51 (8th)

League form towards final: P26 W7 D7 L12 PTS28 (14st)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 27% win Ratio (Leading up to final)

Spurs’ loss in the League cup improved them collectively, finishing eight places high by the end of the season with a positive form guide of PL12 W7 D2 L3.

2010 – Manchester United 2 Aston Villa 1

Manchester United

League form after triumph: P10 W8 D1 L1 PTS85 [2nd] *lost League to Chelsea by one point

League form towards final: P28 W19 D3 L6 PTS60 [2nd]

Points per game/Win Ratio: 76% win Ratio (Leading up to final)

United lost the League to Chelsea by one point in this year but their league form stayed impressive for the remainder of the season, only losing once and winning 8 from their 10 remaining games.

Aston Villa

League form after loss: P12 W5 D4 L4 PTS64 (6th)

League form towards final: P26 W12 D9 L5 PTS45 [7th]

Points per game/Win Ratio: 46% win Ratio (Leading up to final)

Aston Villa finished in a Europa League place and were able to pick themselves up following their loss to United.

2011 – Birmingham City 2 Arsenal 1

Birmingham

League form after triumph: P12 W2 D3 L7 PTS39 (18th)

League form towards final: P26 W6 D12 L8 PTS30 [16th]

Points per game/Win Ratio: 23% win Ratio (Leading up to final…)

Unfortunately for Birmingham, their Capital One Cup victory over Arsenal didn’t help them to stay in the League that season as they were relegated from the division.

Arsenal

League form after loss: P11 W2 D6 L3 PTS68 [4th]

League form towards final: P27 W17 D5 L5 PTS56 [2nd]

Points per game/Win Ratio: 63% win Ratio (Leading up to final…)

Arsenal suffered hard in this particular season following their loss to Birmingham. Leading up to the final Arsenal were in second, flying high having taken 56 points from 27 games. After their defeat, Arsenal only won on two more occasions and slipped to fourth at the end of the season.

2012 – Liverpool 2 Cardiff 2 (Liverpool won 3-2 on pens)

Liverpool

League form after triumph: P13 W4 D1 L8 PTS52 [8th]

League form towards final: P25 W10 D9 L6 PTS39 [7th]

Points per game/Win Ratio: 40% win Ratio (Leading up to final…)

Liverpool lost more games after their League Cup victory than they did leading up to the final.

Cardiff (Championship)

League form after loss: P14 W5 D7 L2 PTS75 (6th)

League form towards final: P32 W14 D11 L7 PTS53 [6th]

Cardiff’s form stayed steady until the end of the season.

2013 – Swansea 5 Bradford City 0

Swansea

League form after triumph: P11 W2 D3 L8 PTS46 (9th)

League form towards final: P27 W9 D10 L8 PTS37 (9th)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 33% win Ratio (Leading up to final…)

Surprisingly, Swansea only won two more times in the league and lost 8 more times. Taking 9 points from their remaining 11 PL fixtures.

Bradford (League Two)

League form after loss: P15 W6 D7 L2 PTS69 (7th)

League form towards final: P31 W12 D8 L11 PTS44 (11th)

Bradford were able to benefit from the League Cup run finishing 4 places higher by the end of the season.

2014 – Manchester City 3 Sunderland 1

Manchester City

League form after triumph: P12 W9 D2 L1 PTS86 (1st)

League form towards final: P26 W18 D3 L5 PTS57 (4th)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 69% win Ratio (Leading up to final…)

City went on an impressive run after winning the League Cup. The Noisy Neighbours, took 29 points from their remaining 12 games, and only losing once and finishing three places high than they was before the final to win the League.

Sunderland

League form after loss: P12 W4 D2 L6 PTS38 (14th)

League form towards final: P26 W6 D6 L14 PTS24 (18th)

Points per game/Win Ratio: 23% win Ratio (Leading up to final…)

Sunderland managed to survive relegation finishing four places high by the end of the season.