Spurs ‘home’ tie does not sit well
The notion of Wembley as a neutral semi-final venue is challenged by club’s tenancy
It was in February last year, shortly after scoring a hat-trick away to Fulham to sweep Tottenham Hotspur into the last eight of the FA Cup, that Harry Kane was asked if the club’s familiarity with Wembley would benefit them if they reached the semi-finals. “It will be an advantage, 100 per cent,” the England striker said.
It did not appear to do them much good when, two months later, they were beaten 4-2 by Chelsea in the semi-finals, just as Wembley had appeared more of a hindrance than a help when they exited the Champions League and Europa League prematurely last season and a debate was raging about whether the venue might hold a curse over the club.
Yet it stands to reason that, if Kane felt that way at a time when Spurs were struggling on a European stage at Wembley, his belief will only have hardened after the sharp upturn in results since Mauricio Pochettino’s side started playing all their home fixtures at the national stadium.
The Football Association must certainly have been sitting more comfortably last season than they might this week as Spurs prepare to face Manchester United in the FA Cup semi-final at Wembley on Saturday, conscious of the rumblings of discontent about the club being effectively granted what some consider a “home” tie.
After an awkward period of adjustment, Tottenham have found their feet at Wembley and their form and familiarity with the place propels what was already the thorny issue of the FA staging semi-finals at a location once reserved solely for the final into an even more intense spotlight.
Spurs will be competing in a semi-final at a ground where they have played 25 times this term, which surely challenges the notion of Wembley as a neutral venue. But their growing comfort is an added poser for Jose Mourinho.
Tottenham’s 3-1 defeat to Manchester City on Saturday was their first at Wembley in the Premier League since they lost to Chelsea in their first league match there in August. Liverpool and Arsenal, as well as Borussia Dortmund and Real Madrid, have all been dispatched there and it is doubtful Mourinho has forgotten what happened the last time he faced Pochettino’s side there.
United’s 2-0 defeat in January was as notable for Paul Pogba being dragged off in the second half shortly after a touchline exchange with his manager as