Title tilt doomed by home horrors
AROUND the same time Mauricio Pochettino was getting tetchy about his new home on Saturday evening, Kieran Trippier was asked a loaded and entirely relevant question in the next corridor.
Can Tottenham take the title on away form alone? He straightbatted, saying Spurs needed to ‘move on’ from the unsolved problem of Swansea’s excellent defence. But the answer, much like Tottenham’s Wembley form, was unconvincing.
What is happening at England’s national stadium is predictable given the history of clubs moving home, but it’s a big concern if Tottenham hope to win the league from a temporary base.
Can they do that while drawing at home to Swansea and Burnley? That appears highly doubtful, even at this early stage. The facts are that Tottenham have played three home league games and dropped seven points.
The scenario takes on a more troubling light when you consider only four points were given away at White Hart Lane last season.
The Wembley ‘hoodoo’ talk overblows the topic, because they are playing pretty well — they controlled possession against Burnley and Swansea, only they didn’t take their chances. They also looked excellent at times in beating Borussia Dortmund.
However, a look at recent league winners is illuminating in the context of points dropped at home against traditionally smaller clubs. Man chester City drew with Sunderland in 2011-12 and 201314, Chelsea were held against Burnley in 2014-15, Leicester drew with Bournemouth and West Brom, and Chelsea lost to Crystal Palace last season. This suggests Tottenham might have used all their lives at home and it’s only September.
Pochettino is growing prickly on the subject. When asked if he had made allowances for dropped points at Wembley, he said: ‘I don’t think about where we are playing, the important thing is to win. Three days ago we were saying the team was fantastic. Now we draw and don’t concede a shot on target and people say we need to improve. We were much better than Swansea and were unlucky not to win.’